New And Looking For Opinions!

[Cheez]

Hi, everyone! I'm new to the forum and somewhat new to keeping fish though I have my own 5 gallon and have set-up 2 ten gallons with friends. I plan on getting a 26g bow front tank. Its actually a full starter kit made by Aqueon that includes a heater, filter, hood and light. Let me know what you think about my plans.

Plants:
I plan on using live plants in this tank but not very heavily. 5-6 medium and small plants was what I was thinking. I don't plan on adding CO2 or fertilizer so I will be using hardy plants that will do well with an upgraded light.

Fish:
I want community tank with a range of fish sizes. I've been reading up on compatibility and here's what I come up with for this tank.

6 cardinal tetra
2 SAE (algae control)
3 panda cory
3 rainbows (I heard gouramis wouldn't work with tetras, is this true?)
1 discus or angelfish (opinions)

Is it overstocked and will they get along? Are there different fish that I should consider?
Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[SharonCC]

Hi Cheez...I bet you're excited. There's nothing better than setting up a new tank! Your choices sound fine. I wouldn't do a single Discus, but the Angelfish will be fine on it's own. Just make sure the Cardinals are added before the Angelfish. Some say that if the Angel grows up with the Cardinals, they won't be viewed as food. Are you doing a fishless cycle before adding the fish....it'll be much easier.

 

[foley69]

i am currently going through the same stages as you but with the tetras i would recommend rams such as the bolivian as they will be fine with tetras i think and alos they are stunning fish

i am also cycling a 26 gallon tank aswell i have 2 weather loache and a red tailed shakr waiting to go in once cycled

 

[Cheez]

Thanks for the input guys. I move in to my new place in about week and I'll start the fishless cycle then. Don't worry, I'll follow the directions on the forum
Foley I totally forgot about rams. Bolivian ram is a great idea and from what I understand they are easier to take care of than other rams. Do bolivian rams need to be kept as male and female group or are two males fine?

 

[OldMan47]

Cheez, I would ditch the SAEs and go with otocinclus instead. As they get biggre the SAEs can be a real problem and the only problem I have ever seen with otos is feeding them when they have your tank spotless.

 

[strangeworld2002]

Thanks for the input guys. I move in to my new place in about week and I'll start the fishless cycle then. Don't worry, I'll follow the directions on the forum
Foley I totally forgot about rams. Bolivian ram is a great idea and from what I understand they are easier to take care of than other rams. Do bolivian rams need to be kept as male and female group or are two males fine?

Hi Cheez,

I'm not sure if bolivian rams are easier to take care of than other rams. However I would say its best to get a pair 1 male and 1 female. 2 males generally speaking may be ok if you put them in the tank at the same time. As with a lot of fish the males can be very territorial and scrap with each other.

Gourami's are Ok with tetra's but be careful when choosing which tetra's. Some can be very nippy (serpae's) especially if kept in large schools.

Just as an example, I have a 65gal bow front community setup:

5 tiger barbs (various types)
2 pearl gourami's (both males)
2 red thicklip gourami's (both males)
4 serpae tetra's
2 bolivian ram's (1 male 1 female)
4 boesmani rainbow
1 rainbow shark
1 king tiger plec
2 angelicus catfish

There is no fin nipping in my tank and all of the fish get along just fine. With the exception of the gourami's as they do chase each other but there are plenty of hiding spots and they never actually fight.

I hope this helps. Its very much trial and error when choosing fish as no 2 fish are alike even if they are the same species.

 

[Mauricia]

I wouldn't get any SAEs and just get 3 more cories and an oto instead. Cories do better in larger groups, and an oto is a better algae eater anyway

 

[Corleone]

I agree with the suggestions against SAEs. Otos can be a bit hard to start eating, but usually zucchini has done the trick for me. The main thing with SAE's is that there's several species sold under the name (three of which I can barely tell apart, as the difference is in the edge of a black line shared by all three species), and they get mislabeled with Chinese algae eaters sometimes. They all get fairly large, and they range from mostly peaceful to terrors (Chinese algae eaters eventually switch from algae to a diet consisting mostly of your other fish's fins and slime coat). If you want a big algae eater, go with a bristlenose. Active, interesting, harmless (mine has harmless scuffles with the goby and keyholes over slate caves, just make sure there's plenty of caves to go around) and suitable for smaller tanks than most plec species.

 

[Cheez]

Thanks for the input, it's helped alot! Here's what I'm thinking:

6 cardinal tetra
5 panda cories
2 oto
2 bolivian rams

Am I maxed out?

Let me know what you think

 

[Corleone]

Not entirely maxed out, but until the tank is well matured, that's a good max.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Hi there, glad you've chosen not to go with the SAE's

I'd actually dispute that 2 otto's is a sensible choice for this tank though. They really do need to be in a decent sized group so unless you're going to get 6+ then you shouldn't get them at all. They're also delicate as anything, don't acclimitise well and are not forgiving of any newbie mistakes with water quality.

I would personally get 1 Bristlenose plec instead, stays at around 5/6", will eat just as much algae as a couple of ottos but is much hardier, still a great fun playful fish to watch.

If you did this -

6 cardinal tetra
5 panda cories
1 Bristlenose plec
2 bolivian rams

Then you'd still have room down the line for another shoal of tetra type fish or another pair of smallish fish like the rams.

p.s. don't get the panda's until the tank is at least 6 months old, they're v sensitive and won't survive in a newly cycled tank.

 

[LauraFrog]

If you do choose rams or rainbows you will have to be very careful with the water changes, especially in a lightly planted tank because they dislike high levels of nitrate in their water. The stocking sounds great though - can't wait to see the tank!