How Many Fish

[hollanda88]

Hello,

I have just bought a 90L tropical tank (60x35x45) and would like to set up a community of fish including a fighter and an angel fish of some sort. Any suggestions and could people give me an idea of a nice set of fish as well as how many fish I could have in this tank.

Another thing was that I have been advised to stock the tank with a few hardier species before introducing the more fragile ones, could someone suggest some hardy species to start off with?

Andrew

 

[emzyp]

Hello,

I have just bought a 90L tropical tank (60x35x45) and would like to set up a community of fish including a fighter and an angel fish of some sort. Any suggestions and could people give me an idea of a nice set of fish as well as how many fish I could have in this tank.

Another thing was that I have been advised to stock the tank with a few hardier species before introducing the more fragile ones, could someone suggest some hardy species to start off with?

Andrew

you wont be able to keep a male fighter with angels, the fins will get nipped, if you want i fighter it needs to be kept separatly.

good hardy species-danios!

 

[Corleone]

The tank isn't big enough for an angelfish. Their tank needs to be at least 18" or 45 cm tall. A fighter is a bad match for an angelfish anyway. They're a wildcard in a community, but anyway.

The advice you've gotten sounds like fish-in cycling. Review the thread on Fishless Cycling in this thread. It'll let you get a much better start, and some of the more sensitive species can be introduced afterwards, though many are still risky, with slow stocking it's usually ok. This process also greatly reduces the stress to you and almost eliminates the common problem of losing fish in a new tank setup.

After a fishless cycle, you can safely stock up to 20 inches (around 50 cm) of fish (adult size, not the size you buy them), provided you stay under around 4". With good maintenance, that can be pushed about half again above that most of the time. If you stay to very small fish, you can probably even exceed that, but many small fish are also quite sensitive. Danios are good, corydora catfish are a bread-and-butter fish in communities, most tetras or barbs would be ok. For a centerpiece you could have dwarf or honey gouramis, a pair of dwarf cichlids like rams or apistogrammas, etc. You can also have shrimp or snails - many species are quite pretty, their populations are controllable with some practice, and they're a better cleanup crew than any fish.

If you want the fighting fish, safer tankmates might include corydoras, white cloud mountain minnows, ghost or amano shrimp, harlequin rasboras, or most any snails. Any tankmates with bettas are a wildcard. Some individuals will be more aggressive with other species, some will be bullied by anything more active than a snail.

 

[hollanda88]

sorry, the tank is 45cm tall and 35cm front to back.

Another thing was how good are angel fish with smaller fish like the tetras?

 

[Corleone]

That's tall enough. Perhaps 1 angel, but they generally need a 29 gallon tank at least.

Angels will often eat neon tetras, minnows, sometimes guppies. Any fish under 2" with a slim body is at risk once the angel grows up. Some people have good luck starting a shoal of neons or white clouds, then adding a small juvenile angelfish. The angelfish will grow up with the neons, and sometimes not see them as food, but any new neons will be singled out and eaten. This doesn't always work, though.

 

[hollanda88]

thanks, I might get a few neons to start off with then after the danios

 

[hollanda88]

I have come up with a list can someone tell me if it sounds ok or rediculous.

6 x Zebra danios

2 x Cobalt dwarf gouramis

1 x Marbled angel fish

 

[K-Holed]

Personally I wouldn't get neons to begin with. They don't fare well in new setups. They can suffer from neon disease, which is specific to them and for which there is no cure. Most other tetras would be fine and are just as pretty. Cardinals are almost identical to the untrained eye.

//James

Just read your last post. I don't think that list sounds rediculous. Danios do like alot of free swimming space, so you may find some people objecting to that.

 

[hollanda88]

I didn't know if the angel fish would fin nip he gourami

 

[K-Holed]

It may be possible that you get some teritorial problems in the size tank you are proposing. Finding a mix of fish that will work pefectly together can be annoying. Especially in the community setup, it's ususal for people to want everything and as sods law would have it, all the things that won't go together. I'd say the best place you could start is working out what one fish you REALLY want to keep is. You can then check whether a)it will be ok in the tank you have and b)ask for suggestions from people as to what would be safe/ideal tank mates.

 

[Sari]

I would strongly advise you NOT to get the angel!!! Even if the height is ok, the length and depth are not. This fish can grow easily to 15 cm height and length so there may be a chance of stunted growth in 90 litre tank. I would not have angels in anything smaller than 150 litres. You could have the danios and add a few more, gouramis and some corys for the bottom.

 

[Honeythorn]

Best stick with the Danios and the pair of Gouramis, and forget the angelfish altogether.

 

[hollanda88]

I have had some advice form a long time fish keeper today and he said it should be ok to get an angel as they normally only get to 4inch and it can take up to 2yrs and if it does out grow it can be returned. Just thought I would tell ppl

Cheers for your advice.


Also are there any sucking loaches that don't get too big and would be ok in a 90L tank?

 

[OldMan47]

A poorly cared for angel will only get to about 4 inches. The one swimming around in my 120 gallon tank is easily 6 inches tall and is about 3 years old.

 

[manc37]

Hello,

I have just bought a 90L tropical tank (60x35x45) and would like to set up a community of fish including a fighter and an angel fish of some sort. Any suggestions and could people give me an idea of a nice set of fish as well as how many fish I could have in this tank.

Another thing was that I have been advised to stock the tank with a few hardier species before introducing the more fragile ones, could someone suggest some hardy species to start off with?

Andrew

yep keep away from angels for nowas a beginner start with platys/swordtails/mollies/etc remember DONT overstock