Cycle Is Complete...please Help With Fish Selection

[tameem]

My cycle is finished, we are all excited. We want to add additional fish. I currently have 3 cory cats and 11 tiger barbs.

Now I need advice from all you experts on what kind of additional fish to add.

Can someone please give me their recommendaton on what would be a good choice for our next fish, and how many please. Im concerned that I dont want to over crowd, I want do this gradually, and make sure that its a community specimen, of course. I also have a mother that of course likes "pretty looking fish", just something to consider.

This is a difficult decision, but one that I want to make with some research and helpful advice, instead of just making a quick decision with some person at a pets store. I have a good book on the best community fish, but Im not 100% comfortable just going ot and getting it without other advice.

What about one raindbow shark?
What schooling fish would be great with my current stock? How many? We would like to have at least another schooling fish.


Thanks for your help and your responses!!

 

[schooly20]

Well first think we need to know is how big is your tank?? In the way of a schooling fish there are some really nice tetra that dont get very big and aren't messy. Im sure they would be fine and some can be very beautiful.

http/www.fishforums.net/category/40/Characins/

Thats the link to the fish index page with a lot of the tetras on in. I would also suggest possibly getting 2 more corys I'm sure yours are fine but I they do like to be in groups of 4 to 5 or more.

 

[tameem]

ya know I was thinking actually of getting 6 corys total. I might just get the same species, I dont know whether differnet types of cories school together or not.
My signature post as indicated, we have a 55 gallon tank.

What about an algae eating fish? otocinlus?

 

[kniesh]

Hi, this sounds very much like my 62gal in my sig. I wouldnt really recommend another schooling fish with those Tiger Barbs as you will find that they are a fantastic sight to watch when schooling themselves. I would suggest some sort of centre-piece fish, a Rainbow shark sounds very nice and maybe a pair of Rams would look really nice too, although dont expect the young to survive with those Barbs. Ottos would also be a very good Algae crew in there, I would recommend a group of about 4 myself

 

[n3ont3tra]

I would get more cories, you have plenty of room.
Different types of cories may or may not school together, but it seems they prefer groups of their own species. You could always try two groups of two different species.
Otos are schooling fish, but you might want to wait until you get algae to buy them.
Maybe try a group of hatchetfish or danios?

 

[schooly20]

Otos are nice, personally Im a big fan of the pitbull pleco IDA-25. They dont get too big about 2.4" but they're great algae eaters! IME having 2 in 65 gal works great at keeping the algae in check but a third wouldnt hurt you know. Its suggest to keep them in at least pairs. 6 corys would be great, I dont know off hand if two different species would get along I'd suspect but I've only kept one species together so Im not sure about that.

In terms of space you still have quite a bit of room for some fish. I'm a fan of the rummy nose tetra and white cloud mountain minnows are pretty as well. Neon and Cardinal tetra are very flashy with their reds and blues but they can be a little weak. Another fish thats pretty is the blue paradise fish, mines a little nippy at times though, more so around feeding time.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Different species of cories will get along fine, but the general consensus is that they do better with their own species.

 

[fish are friends....]

here is a good website.. it has a list of fish and tell you what care they need and which fist they can be housed with ...
I hope it helps... it helped me out


http/www.elmersaquarium.com/000tropfishcareguides.htm

 

[tameem]

Thanks everyone for your response. Im not sure about any algae eaters quite yet, cuz I dont think I have sufficient amount of algae in the tank, at least the green kind that many prefer.

The otocinclus is a good option, but I hear they are sensitive to water conditions?

Just to make my cute catfish feel more secure and comfortable, I might just add three more of the same?

What is a ram, as mentioned in a previous posting?

I like the cardinal tetras, but I read that they can be hard to keep alive, and they die because of water conditions?

 

[n3ont3tra]

Otos are usually sensitive at first and they might die for no apparent reason. But after about a month, if they're still alive then there usually aren't any problems.

 

[tameem]

Well, we went to the LFS and ended up getting just three more of the cory cats. I got one caought in my net when I was trying to put him in the tank, and he was stuck real good, for several minutes. I didnt know how to get him out and was real concerned about harming him. I even tried to yank him gently from the end of his tail, but he finally came loose! I hope the poor cute guy is ok!

Anyways, we looked at some fish but I was nervous about buying a fish I didnt know about.

What about the harlequin rasboras? I really like the way they look. If I go with, say, 6 of them, would that be okay?
My mom really wants a brightly colored fish, like the rosy barb. But, they grow to as much as 6 inches! That seems large. How many could I get of those?
I'd prefer the cherry barbs, instead. What else, as far as bright colored and how many?

Also, as far as my current stocking goes, if I have 11 tiger barbs and 6 cory catfish, where am I left as far as my remaining stocking capacity?
To be safe, I figure my tiger barbs grow 2.5inches, so thats 28 gallons + 15 gallons for the 6 cory cats (2.5inches big, I imagine),
Am I left with only 12 gallons left for stocking?
I realise the 1" = 1 gallon is only a guidline, but I rather understock and leave room for growth, like 90% capacity, then stock completely.

I guess im more comfortable knowing numbers of a certain fish.

Thanks!

 

[kniesh]

http/www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...erman-Blue-Ram/

Thats a link to the Rams I was talking about. Your mum would love them too as they get very nice colours and would fit in very nicely with your stocking list. They have great little personalitys too. They are only small too and not too aggressive. I would have a pair in my 62gallon but i can never find them around here anymore

 

[n3ont3tra]

I personally hate the inch per gallon rule because there's so many exceptions and things...
If you have good filtration and do reglar water changes then you can have many more fish that the inch per gallon rule would initially allow.
To be honest I'm not sure if differentspecies of barbs will get along with each other.
One type of fish I think you would enjoy are rainbowfish like the praecox rainbowfish. They are colorful, active, schooling fish, and they are also very peaceful. They should get along well with your barbs and cories.
Also, your tank is pretty large, you could get a few more cories if you wanted to. The more you have the funner they are to watch.

http/liveaquaria.com/ is a good site to look at fish and see what you might want. I usually look at it to get ideas for stocking. They're information isn't always right, so you might want to double check that, but otherwise it's a great site.

 

[tameem]

So why does it have to be a pair of rams? Can I get more then that?
Does anyone else know if different barbs can be in the same tank? I saw the cherry barb and that looks real nice.

 

[kniesh]

Haha sorry, I keep sayin 'pair' because thats what I want for my tank. You could get 4 or 5 but they will probably just pair off anyway, or 1 is fine. Cherry Barbs are nice little barbs and could be kept in ur tank and look very nice in a decent sized school.