Community Stocking Question

[Dylnwllc]

Hey, I'm new, so here it goes

I am setting up a community tank, and am unsure of what type of fish would go well with the tetras that I allready have. So far the tank setup is thus;

-6 HLTL tetras
-6 black skirt tetras
-6 red eye tetras
-6 bleeding heart tertas
-3 pictus catfish
-2 yellow, bristle nose pleccos (the name escapes me),
(75g, corner tank)

Just wondering what else I should add, if anything at all, just looking for something other than the same body type as the tetras I allready have, I want to switch it up.

I was thinking of either adding,
-school of neon tetras/tetras of the body type (4-8 ish)
-a few rams, (awsome colouring)
-unkown option you come up with !

Any advice is appreciated.

-dyl

 

[Colin_T]

pictus catfish will eat neon tetras.

I would increase the number of tetras you already have. Instead fo having 6 of each species add anoth 6 and make them schools of 12 or more.

You could try hatchetfish or African Butterflyfish for the surface.
Melanotaenia praecox for mid to surface.
Maybe pearl, silver or snakeskin gouramis for mid to surface.
Rams should be alright as would most of the Apistogramma dwarf cichlids. Perhaps a pr of Pelvicachromis suboccelatus from Moanda. They are nice fish.

 

[Dylnwllc]

Awsome thanks !

 

[Dylnwllc]

Ok, so I got adding the 1inch fish/g of water, and wouldnt 12 of each tetra throw me way over the limit alone?

12*4= 48
and since tetras grow to be 1.5-2inch;
48*2= 96

therefor I'd need atleast 96g of water?

OR, do you suggest taking two of the species of tetras back, and then filling out the two species' schools left to 12 members +

sorry for the uber noob questions
my 29g i had for the past year of my beginning the hoby only contained 2 angels and the pictus, havn't tried to push the limits my tank can withold before

 

[Colin_T]

most of the tetras you have only get to an inch long. The bleeding hearts and black widow/skirts get a fraction bigger.

The 1 inch of fish per gallon rule is a very basic guide. It doesn't really give an accurate way to work out how many fish you can have in a tank. For example it depends on the body mass of the fish and how high it is, how much they move around, how much they eat and get fed, how often you do water changes and if there are plants in the tank. There are just too many variables. The main thing is most of your fish are tetras and they are small thin fish that don't eat a lot. This means you can have more of them in the same size tank.
If you have a 4-inch angelfish it is going to ned a lot more room than 4 x 1-inch neon tetras. Likewise if you had a 12-inch oscar it would need a lot more room than 12 x 1inch head & tail light tetras.

The easiest way to tell if your tank is overstocked is to test the nitrates in the tank water. If they go up rapidly between water changes then there are too many fish in the tank, or too much food being fed to them. If this is the case then you would reduce the number of fish or increase the water changes.

Your 29 gallon tank is probably about right with a pr of angels and a couple of pictus catfish. Adult angelfish should only be kept in tanks of 30g or more. The pictus also get to a good size so the combination of angels and pictus is about right for that size tank.

 

[Dylnwllc]

Ahhh I see. Thanks for the help man.

 

[bloatedguppy]

If you really want somthing with color and can school get some pearl gouramis, there awsome!