Fish Ideas!

[Gidge]

Hey all,

I currently have a 95L tank with 6 platies (3m 3f), 3 dwarf gourami's, 2 sterbai cory, 1 peppered cory and a Bristlenose. I want to add another species of fish. Between 3-6 of them. I thought of guppies, but i'm just not sure if that's what I want. Perhaps Rummynose? Or maybe a pair of German Blue Rams.
Im just looking for some suggestions on cool looking fish that would be compatible with what I have.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[snake007]

Hey all,

I currently have a 95L tank with 6 platies (3m 3f), 3 dwarf gourami's, 2 sterbai cory, 1 peppered cory and a Bristlenose. I want to add another species of fish. Between 3-6 of them. I thought of guppies, but i'm just not sure if that's what I want. Perhaps Rummynose? Or maybe a pair of German Blue Rams.
Im just looking for some suggestions on cool looking fish that would be compatible with what I have.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Personally I would Up the number of corys.

 

[Gidge]

Personally I would Up the number of corys.

I was thinking of getting a couple of three lined cory's. The colouration reminds me of the pictus, which unfortunately I couldn't have. Such a shame, I really love them.

But I was looking for something that will occupy the mid range of the tank.

 

[Mowbz]

+1, Corys are shoalers, and prefer to be in groups of 6+. 10 is ideal if you have space, which unfortunately you dont.

In a 95l tank i wouldnt have more than one species of Cory, and even then would aim for a Pygmy variety, and not the one of the largest (Sterbai). The BN plec is also likely to have to go soon. Not only does a plec eat up most of your bioload allowance (swimming poop machines) but its going to get much bigger, and uncomfortable.

If i was inheriting that tank, i would rehome the plec and the Corys, and look to replace with a shoal of pygmy cory, and perhaps some rummynose. I personaly wouldnt go for a breeding pair of Rams in a tank that size.

 

[Gidge]

The BN plec is also likely to have to go soon. Not only does a plec eat up most of your bioload allowance (swimming poop machines) but its going to get much bigger, and uncomfortable

I have a much larger tank for the Bristlenose to go in when he starts to get big.

I personaly wouldnt go for a breeding pair of Rams in a tank that size

I had 2 male rams in this tank before, and they seemed to get along just fine. I'm not really fussed if they breed or not, I just thought it would be nice to have a male and female this time. But I will take this into consideration.

In a 95l tank i wouldnt have more than one species of Cory

Why wouldn't you keep more than one species? I haven't kept cory's before so I'm going off by information that I have read and been told. Go easy on me haha.

and perhaps some rummynose.

So you think a group of say, 6-8 rummynose, would do well in a tank that size and with the mentioned fish?

 

[Tizer]

I can echo whats been said above and regarding Platies, would it not be better to have 2m/4f to lessen the stress the female suffer with the males constantly chasing them around etc. I'm no livebearing expert, but i recently got 2m/4f wagtail things for my 90 litre and joined the ben.t fish club.

I do however disagree on one point, 90 litres, as long as its 2 foot in length, is perfectly fine for a breeding pair of rams, IF the majority of your dither fish are mid to high water dwelling. But they wont work with your current stocking imo, the gourami's and corys will be in their faces and most likely bullied away.

Mixing corys isnt a great idea, i've got a few dozen of them but i try to ensure they have 6+ of their own kind and just by watching the fish in my tank, its more than obvious that they like to swim around together as a species. The Sterbai's like a high temperature and the peppered ones a lower one, if you want to keep both, you need a temp of around 25 degrees for them to be comfortable.

 

[Gidge]

regarding Platies, would it not be better to have 2m/4f to lessen the stress the female suffer with the males constantly chasing them around etc.

I did originally have 2m 3f, but I found a male that I fell in love with because he was so beautiful. I have been looking for more females, but I'm really fussy with what I put in my tank in terms of aesthetics. So duly noted, I will continue to look for more females

I do however disagree on one point, 90 litres, as long as its 2 foot in length, is perfectly fine for a breeding pair of rams, IF the majority of your dither fish are mid to high water dwelling. But they wont work with your current stocking imo, the gourami's and corys will be in their faces and most likely bullied away.

Does it make a difference if they are not breeding? Perhaps if I got 2 females?

 

[Tizer]

Oh i should mention, you need to have a read up on the water conditions of the German Rams, they tend to prefer a lower PH value, which could be the exact opposite of what your other fish prefer. personally i would scrap that idea of Rams, bump up the female platies and corys to suitable numbers and you should have a nice little tank to watch. If you want something different, pickup a couple of Golden Apple snails. I know its extremely hard to resist more fish, but sometimes, less is more

 

[Gidge]

Oh i should mention, you need to have a read up on the water conditions of the German Rams, they tend to prefer a lower PH value, which could be the exact opposite of what your other fish prefer. personally i would scrap that idea of Rams, bump up the female platies and corys to suitable numbers and you should have a nice little tank to watch. If you want something different, pickup a couple of Golden Apple snails. I know its extremely hard to resist more fish, but sometimes, less is more

Oh shoot! I totally forgot about that. Thank you so much for bringing that up. blast. Had my heart set on rams. Looks like I need another tank

I'm not a fan of snails at all. Would you agree with the Rummynose suggested above? Perhaps I should rehome the sterbai corys and stick with one species. I'm such a fan on the Three lined cory's though. Would they be okay?

 

[Tizer]

I think you will find that with the Rummynose in there along with the Platies and the Gourami's the mid water region is going to be very busy, too busy really, especially if you want a couple more female platies. If you took the 3 cories you have at the moment back to the shop, and exchanged them for 6 three lined corys i would consider your tank well stocked. Three lined can get quite big and while some people say you should get smaller species of corys, i personally would be happy to home half a dozen of them in a 90 litre, but i would only do so on a sand substrate as they love to snuffle around hunting for food. Snails are i admit a little freaky, but they do an excellent job of cleaning up the tank of excess food and diatoms. Gluck with what ever you decide, just remember with the suggested stocking, you need to consider the tank full.

 

[Gidge]

Alrighty, I may do that. Exchange the cory's and get 6 three lined. And hunt for more platies. It's frustrating when there are so many fish you want to keep! Thanks for your help, I'll let you know how it all goes

 

[Tizer]

I forgot to ask, has your tank completely cycled now? i recall your tropical emergency post.

 

[Gidge]

Yes this is a different tank. This tank has been up and running for a few years now
I am still battling with the uncycled tank

 

[Gidge]

Just a quick question. Would I be able to put a Betta with this stocking? I'm not going to, but just wanted to know if I could.

 

[Tizer]

I cant really comment, never had one, might be an issue with the gourami's but not sure, best to ask in the Betta forum for a quicker answer.