I Think I've Choose My Fish.

[Jcartwright]

I'm going to be getting a Juwel Rio 180, after going through the fishless cycle i'm going to add 6-8 neon tetra, 3 clown loach, 6-8 diamond tetra and a couple of bottom dwellers to eat the algae. Obviously i'm not going to bung them in all at the time but i would like some comments on the selection of fish, advise on how to introduce them to the tank and what sort of algae eater to get. I was looking at a catfish of some sort or snails.

Thanks

 

[mommyof2bettas]

how many gallons is that?

 

[stang1]

Congratulations on completing your cycle!
Have you got a test kit so you can keep an eye on your ammonia, nitrite, etc.? It's always handy to have one when you're first starting out, also helps when it comes to adding more fish.
The Clown Loaches will end up getting to big for your tank I'm afraid as they grow to about 12". Plus, they also need to go into a tank that has been up and running for a few months.
A lot of people say that neons need a more mature tank before you add them but I'm not sure if that goes for your other tetras.
Ottos are a good algae eater and you could have about 6 or so in there with no problems. Not clued up on snails I'm afraid as I'm not a big fan of them!
Once your water readings are fine you can add a bout 6 small fish to the tank. Float the bag in the water for about 10 mins and then graduallly add some water to the bag and leave for about another 20 minutes. after that you should be fine to add them to your tank, just open ythe bag and let them swim out.
Keep checking your water and if readings are still fine after about a week then it is safe to add about another 6 small fish.

 

[Tessla]

Agree with pretty much everything Stang just said.

Neons have been so captive (in)bred for so long that they're very weak as tetras go, most other tetras are extremely hardy. The otos on the other hand would have to be added once the tank was fairly mature. There are several small species of plecostomus, not all of which are algae eaters. Some of them are very pretty, Planet Catfish has some good info on different species. A snail would likely be bothered by the loaches.

Instead of the clown loaches, you could try zebra loaches, zipper loaches or dwarf chain loaches, they're all fairly common and much much smaller. A group of at least four would be best.

I would introduce tetras first, then loaches followed by whichever algae eater you chose last. I've always found loaches to be one of the more durable fish even though they usually aren't classified as hardy.

Your tank is a little under 50 US gallons I think? You could easily go for a larger group of tetras and loaches eventually depending on the size of the catfish you want to get. Sounds good to me!

 

[FishRfine]

no clown loaches, find a nice substitute.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Once your water readings are fine you can add a bout 6 small fish to the tank. Float the bag in the water for about 10 mins and then graduallly add some water to the bag and leave for about another 20 minutes. after that you should be fine to add them to your tank, just open ythe bag and let them swim out.
Keep checking your water and if readings are still fine after about a week then it is safe to add about another 6 small fish.

After a fishless cycle- isn't it better to add more than 6 small fish? Otherwise, your painfully acquired bacteria will start dying down and you risk a mini-cycle when you add the next 6. I have never had any problems stocking 1/2 to 2/3 of full stocking after a fishless. But leave the otos and neons until tank is mature.

 

[stang1]

Not necessarily. I've only added 6 fish at a time in all of my community tanks and never had a problem. If you've managed to stock more than that then good luck to you. It's down to each individual and I'm only advising by my own experiences.

 

[Birdie]

I thought that one of the things about a fishless cycle is that it *is* OK to add a large proprtion of your stock at once, because you have built up a huge level of nitrifying bacteria - and that level is actually going to be rather larger than is needed to support your fish . ( although of course other factors may need to be taken into consideration, such as a particular fish's requiremnt for a more mature tank)

 

[newtotropical]

Once your fishless cycle has finished you can add approx 3/4 of your total proposed stock. If you add less the bacteria will die of to a point, which means as you add more you will have to wait for it to grow again.....

 

[stang1]

I have to disagree I'm afraid.
We only added 10 Ticto Barbs to our 137G tank and then added 6 Pentazona Barbs after about a week. We had no problems with a mini cycle at all.
The same goes for our 48G tank, added a few at a time over several weeks and again no problems.
In fact, it's been the same for all of our tanks.
As far as I'm aware, adding too many fish at once can cause problems with the water. Most websites suggest that the bacterial colonies need to be fully established before adding loads of fish.
There's no harm in building up your tank slowly and it won't cause any harm to the fish taking your time with it.
I appreciate people have different experiences and I'm certainly not knocking them, it's just this is written on my own experiences.

 

[Benauld]

TBH I think the slower method is better, and here's why:

Adding fish slowly (i.e. 6 at a time), you would get a large initial die off of bacteria compared to the artificially high cycling levels, but the existing population should be able to cope more easily with slow steady rises in subsequent ammonia. One of the joys of exponential growth!

Adding 2/3 of your stocking level at once would result in a smaller die off of bacteria compared to cycling levels, however, any unapparent problems with your bacteria populations that decide to manifest at this point are going to be REALLY exacerbated by the higher stocking density.

In short I think the former method is less risky for the fish. In addition, it gives more time for your water to mature if you wish to stock more delicate species.

 

[Jcartwright]

I've change my mind on the selection of fish.
My new selection is

10 Neon Tetra
10 Black Tetra
6 Sparkling (Or Pearl) Gourami (2 male 4 female)
5 Zebra Loach
5 Corydoras
5 Ottos

I'm going to add them to my tank in that order with a week or two in between adding them.

 

[vinylman]

I've change my mind on the selection of fish.
My new selection is

10 Neon Tetra
10 Black Tetra
6 Sparkling (Or Pearl) Gourami (2 male 4 female)
5 Zebra Loach
5 Corydoras
5 Ottos

I'm going to add them to my tank in that order with a week or two in between adding them.

That looks better; 10 is a decent sized shoal for Tetras. Add the Black Neons first, as they're much more hardy than Neons. Try to add those last, when the tank has had a chance to mature. I'd also leave it a while before adding the Otos, too. You'll love the Zebra Loaches, BTW.

 

[loachman]

I've change my mind on the selection of fish.
My new selection is

10 Neon Tetra
10 Black Tetra
6 Sparkling (Or Pearl) Gourami (2 male 4 female)
5 Zebra Loach
5 Corydoras
5 Ottos

I'm going to add them to my tank in that order with a week or two in between adding them.

That looks better; 10 is a decent sized shoal for Tetras. Add the Black Neons first, as they're much more hardy than Neons. Try to add those last, when the tank has had a chance to mature. I'd also leave it a while before adding the Otos, too. You'll love the Zebra Loaches, BTW.

I'll echo what you said about order of stocking.

Zebra loaches are a much better choice than clowns for your tank.

It looks like you're overstocked with that proposal though. Tetras are about an inch, zebra loaches (botia striata) are about 4, ottos are about 1.75, cories are typically a few inches (what species? pygmies?), and the gouramis run a few inches as well (4 for pearls, 1 for sparkling according to my search-fu).

length x number = total species inches
neon tetra: 1 x 10 = 10
black neons: 1 x 10 = 10
ottos: 1.75 x 5 = 8.75
zebra loach: 4 x 5 = 20
sparkling gourami: 1 x 6 = 6
cory (typical): 2 x 5= 10
total = 64.75

If I were you, I'd want to get this closer to 50-55. Pygmy cories would save you another 5 inches on the total, compared to alot of the other species of cories.

 

[Jcartwright]

According to thinkfish.co.uk I have space for 240cm of fish and with my selection i'm using 128cm unless i just have 2 Gouramis (1 Male 2 Female).