New stocking for a 52 gallon? Recently lost all my fish :(

[Nameer_K]

Hi, recently I went out of home for 2 weeks, automatic feeder and all. The longest I’ve left the tank was a week and there was no issues. I came back to the sight of the feeder fell into the tank, and as you can guess, the fish hadn’t been fed and the tank was full of trapped food, the fish... sadly passed.

It’s been a while since that, I’ve been dosing ammonia into the tank so the filter stays running. The tank has a few of the healthy plants left, wood and rocks are placed randomly in a mess. Want to rescape everything. Now I’m thinking about the stocking.

The tank is 52 gallons (200L) and 3.4” long. It’s the fluval Roma 200, filtered by a fluval 307. My previous setup was a community. I’m incredibly open to ideas, I want to take it slow with the stocking. Here are some of mine, want to hear yours! I’m really interested in Biotope aquariums, so here!

Thinking of a black water amazon biotope, a single angelfish, a group of rams, corydoras, Otocinculus, Cardinal Tetra and some sort of hatchetfish. Just a few plants from the amazon.

I love gourami and loaches, both come from SE Asia. So mabye a Biotope, decently planted. A trio of pearl gourami, group of harlequin Rasboras and gold barbs. School of Panda Garra and Yoyo Loaches with a flying fox. Want bamboo shrimp but Yoyo Loaches would probably eat them.

Just an angelfish tank? Not sure how many, what tank mates but I love angelfish!

Shell dwellers? Some sort of colony. Would like some other tank mate.

Some sort of larger South American Cichlid?

 

[DancingBetta]

You could get goldfish. Fancy goldfish require about 20 gallons a fish (I think)
A betta sorority tank, maybe?

 

[Essjay]

I love gourami and loaches, both come from SE Asia. So mabye a Biotope, decently planted. A trio of pearl gourami, group of harlequin Rasboras and gold barbs. School of Panda Garra and Yoyo Loaches with a flying fox. Want bamboo shrimp but Yoyo Loaches would probably eat them.

I like this one - but I have a tank with pearl gouramis, espei's rasboras and kuhli loaches so I would prefer that option
I also have a few cherry shrimps, the ones I couldn't catch to move into their own tank. It's the last few rice fish which see the shrimps as food.

 

[Nameer_K]

I like this one - but I have a tank with pearl gouramis, espei's rasboras and kuhli loaches so I would prefer that option
I also have a few cherry shrimps, the ones I couldn't catch to move into their own tank. It's the last few rice fish which see the shrimps as food.

I’d swap the Yoyo Loaches for Kuhli Loaches but I’d have to stick with the classic harlequin Rasboras. Depending on how well i plant it, some shrimp could survive

 

[Essjay]

But I do need to ask - how hard is your water? Most of the options have soft water fish, but shell dwellers are hard water fish.

 

[Nameer_K]

But I do need to ask - how hard is your water? Most of the options have soft water fish, but shell dwellers are hard water fish.

My water is soft, but I’d use crushed coral as a substrate if I need hats water

 

[Fish4dawin]

With your first option with the angelfish and other things, I think that the hatchetfish will become intimidated by the angelfish and they will be out competed. Also since otocinclus are small 3-4cm they have a chance of being eaten by the angel. Another option could be a gold nugget pleco or a clown pleco for an algae eater. You could also do rummynose tetras instead of cardinals if you want other options.

 

[ClownLurch]

Depending on PPM:
Microdevario Kubotai
Apistogramma Hongsloi
Panda Corys
Glowlight Tetras.

Next!.....

 

[Fish4dawin]

Angelfish
Rummynose tetras
GN pleco
Panda corys or albino bronze cory
Kribensis

Next!.....