New Tank Stocking Options

[Oswegofish]

Dwarf frogs will go good in your tank and some mollys plus guppies.and spme algae eaters,black kuhli loach

 

[Munroco]

Soft water, so no mollies for sure, not that great for guppies either. I'm down the road a bit from you, in Carnoustie, and have nice soft water too. My PH is about 6.5 yours may be a little lower. Great for most South american fish. When I started up again I bought a £20 bundle of plants and a few java fern. Got 3 tanks full of plants now from the cuttings and I still don't know what they all are. I'd advise a well planted tank to compliment whichever tetras you decide on. Nothing nicer than seeing fish swimming in and out of the plants. I prefer tanks where you don't see everything at once.

 

[Far_King]

I've always subscribed to the theory that a large shoal of one species looks better, and behaves more naturally, than smaller shoals of 2 species, so since you've already got green neons, I personally would get more of those. But that's just me.
 
Your issue is with the platies, these being hardwater fish, they need the dissolved minerals that your softwater doesn't have. If you can rehome them, so much the better, they won't thrive in softwater.

 
I do agree with this.  I have a large shoal of ember tetras in a tank.  I moved neons and yellow phantoms in there from another tank of mine and the shoaling habits of the embers changed as all the tetras kind of mingled.
They have since separated and shoal properly again but they do mix and it can change the look for sure.
 
I found with rummy nose that they did keep themselves to themselves though.

 

[chishnfips]

Soft water, so no mollies for sure, not that great for guppies either. I'm down the road a bit from you, in Carnoustie, and have nice soft water too. My PH is about 6.5 yours may be a little lower. Great for most South american fish. When I started up again I bought a £20 bundle of plants and a few java fern. Got 3 tanks full of plants now from the cuttings and I still don't know what they all are. I'd advise a well planted tank to compliment whichever tetras you decide on. Nothing nicer than seeing fish swimming in and out of the plants. I prefer tanks where you don't see everything at once.

 
Thats good because I dont like mollies or guppies lol. Yeah our PH is about 6.3 Wouldnt mind a heap of Valis at the back (I saw a post yesterday where someone had done this and some really nice rock with bits of bog wood in there too. I agree, it looks awsome having lots of plants and the small fish swimming amongst them.
 
Lots of available hiding places for corrys too. I reckon I'll mix the tetras so will head to my LFS and see what would go well together.
 
Really appreciate all the advice and suggestions ;0)
 
Hoping I'll have room for a BN plec too

 

I've always subscribed to the theory that a large shoal of one species looks better, and behaves more naturally, than smaller shoals of 2 species, so since you've already got green neons, I personally would get more of those. But that's just me.
 
Your issue is with the platies, these being hardwater fish, they need the dissolved minerals that your softwater doesn't have. If you can rehome them, so much the better, they won't thrive in softwater.

 
I do agree with this.  I have a large shoal of ember tetras in a tank.  I moved neons and yellow phantoms in there from another tank of mine and the shoaling habits of the embers changed as all the tetras kind of mingled.
They have since separated and shoal properly again but they do mix and it can change the look for sure.
 
I found with rummy nose that they did keep themselves to themselves though.
 

 
I guess once the fish settle they will mingle more with each other.
 
ANyone know what a good low growing plant is?  One that would kind of carpet the bottom?

 

[Far_King]

Hemianthus is a popular variety and rather cheap to source.  You can split the plants you get into lots of smaller bunches to spread throughout the substrate.
 
However it does require high CO2 and good lighting to thrive.
I put it in one of my tanks and made the mistake of adding fish before it was established as a carpet.  There's now none left as it's all been fully uprooted.
 
Perhaps not the best recommendation but some have had great success with it.

 

[the_lock_man]

Dwarf frogs will go good in your tank and some mollys plus guppies.and spme algae eaters,black kuhli loach

 
Completely disagree with much of that. As Munroco said, mollies and guppies are also hardwater fish, so the issue there is the same as with the platies. I also feel you need to be more specific about what type of algae eater you are recommending. 
 

 

Soft water, so no mollies for sure, not that great for guppies either. I'm down the road a bit from you, in Carnoustie, and have nice soft water too. My PH is about 6.5 yours may be a little lower. Great for most South american fish. When I started up again I bought a £20 bundle of plants and a few java fern. Got 3 tanks full of plants now from the cuttings and I still don't know what they all are. I'd advise a well planted tank to compliment whichever tetras you decide on. Nothing nicer than seeing fish swimming in and out of the plants. I prefer tanks where you don't see everything at once.

 
Thats good because I dont like mollies or guppies lol. Yeah our PH is about 6.3 Wouldnt mind a heap of Valis at the back (I saw a post yesterday where someone had done this and some really nice rock with bits of bog wood in there too. I agree, it looks awsome having lots of plants and the small fish swimming amongst them.
 
Lots of available hiding places for corrys too. I reckon I'll mix the tetras so will head to my LFS and see what would go well together.
 
Really appreciate all the advice and suggestions ;0)
 
Hoping I'll have room for a BN plec too

 


I've always subscribed to the theory that a large shoal of one species looks better, and behaves more naturally, than smaller shoals of 2 species, so since you've already got green neons, I personally would get more of those. But that's just me.
 
Your issue is with the platies, these being hardwater fish, they need the dissolved minerals that your softwater doesn't have. If you can rehome them, so much the better, they won't thrive in softwater.

 
I do agree with this.  I have a large shoal of ember tetras in a tank.  I moved neons and yellow phantoms in there from another tank of mine and the shoaling habits of the embers changed as all the tetras kind of mingled.
They have since separated and shoal properly again but they do mix and it can change the look for sure.
 
I found with rummy nose that they did keep themselves to themselves though.
 

 
I guess once the fish settle they will mingle more with each other.
 
ANyone know what a good low growing plant is?  One that would kind of carpet the bottom?
 


 
FIsh generally only mingle with their own kind.
 
If you are looking for low maintenance low growth plants, then cryptocorynes are great. In fairness, they are a bit taller than hemianthus, but there isn't anything that's a "carpeting" plant that I know of that is suitable for a low light, low CO2 setup (because they are that much further away from the light source, I s'pose). Crpyts, on the other hand, just go and go and go, and no more than 100mm or so high. I have 3 species (c. willisii, c. beckettii & c. wendtii) in my large tank, with the wendtii having been taken as a cutting from my small tank.

 

[Akasha72]

Hi again, I just wanted to jump in and say you might struggle to get vallis to survive in soft water. My tank pH is 6.5 (nice soft Yorkshire water - perfect for my amazonian fish) and like you, I like the look of vallis waving in the current, but I just can't get it to grow at all. I've now given up on it. I asked at my lfs why it just seems to rot and they said it doesn't do well in soft water and from what I've read on the net it all seems to agree.
 
I can tell you what plants I've had in my tanks over the years and which have done well though in case it helps 
 
Amazon swords - mine are out the top of the water (Juwel Rio 240 so a deep tank) 
Echinodorus - I have Ozelots and they are doing beautifully
Anubias - I have the larger variety and the dwarf variety, both are doing well
Java fern - it's not doing brilliant but I don't think it's a water thing. I think the swords are blocking light from it
Java moss - had to remove it as I couldn't stop it growing!
Altnanthera - a lovely plant that did well until certain fish developed a taste for it
Red cabomba - as above, my SAE's like the taste!
Hygrophila - grew like crazy and had to be removed as I couldn't cope with it
Red tigar lotus - does well and looks stunning - can be pruned to keep it in check or can be allowed to go mad and cover your surface with leaves
Cryptocoryne - can be difficult to get going and melts easily but seems to do okay in soft water
 
 
That's all the one's I can think of. Hopefully it's a useful list

EDIT
 
I've just read the comment about carpet plants. I did try one a while back - lilaopsis it was called. I gave up ... with over 20 cories in my tank it spent most of it's time floating around on the surface. If you are planning cories you'll need to plant things with good strong and long roots otherwise the cories will have it dug up in no time. They don't mean to be plant removers - it just comes natural to them! 
Anything that carpets usually has short roots and doesn't work with bottom dwelling fish

 

[Munroco]

Hi again, I just wanted to jump in and say you might struggle to get vallis to survive in soft water. My tank pH is 6.5 (nice soft Yorkshire water - perfect for my amazonian fish) and like you, I like the look of vallis waving in the current, but I just can't get it to grow at all. I've now given up on it. I asked at my lfs why it just seems to rot and they said it doesn't do well in soft water and from what I've read on the net it all seems to agree.
 

I had no problems with Val, it was sending out runners all over the place so I don't think soft water can be the problem. I do have a layer of compost under the sand though. I envy your success with java moss though, I just can't get it to grow at all.

 

[Akasha72]

 

Hi again, I just wanted to jump in and say you might struggle to get vallis to survive in soft water. My tank pH is 6.5 (nice soft Yorkshire water - perfect for my amazonian fish) and like you, I like the look of vallis waving in the current, but I just can't get it to grow at all. I've now given up on it. I asked at my lfs why it just seems to rot and they said it doesn't do well in soft water and from what I've read on the net it all seems to agree.
 

I had no problems with Val, it was sending out runners all over the place so I don't think soft water can be the problem. I do have a layer of compost under the sand though. I envy your success with java moss though, I just can't get it to grow at all.
 

 
How very odd. I was led to believe the soft water was to blame. Chishnfips if you decide to try it can you let me know how you get along with it for the sake of 'research'. As I said, I love the look of it but gave up on it ages ago. I'd love to know if what I was told was wrong. It would possibly make me consider it again

 

[Byron]

Vallisneria is in general terms a hard water plant; it is native to the African rift lakes (Lake Malawi I believe, may be in others too).  It does better in moderately hard to hard water because it can use bicarbonates as a source of carbon, as well as CO2.  Many "soft water" plants cannot.  It depends upon the degree of softness/hardness, and of course hard minerals can be artificially added.  It also takes good light, natural when one considers this is a fast growing plant.
 
If you want a good ground covering plant, for the sort of aquascape you are intending (soft water, green neons, etc), the best is probably the pygmy chain sword, Helanthium tenellum [previously in the genus Echinodorus as E. tenellus, so you might still see it under this name].  There is also a slightly larger but otherwise identical plant, H. bolivianum [previously E. quadricostatis].  These do well in soft water, obviously, and moderate light.  They benefit from a comprehensive liquid fertilizer.
 
Akasha mentioned Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, which is often commonly called the micro sword, but it is (as the genus suggests) not related.  It is very small, and much like the two chain swords, but requires more light, and definitely benefits with CO2.  Without brighter light and CO2, it willnot form the dense carpet one sees in photos.  I have had it for many years in one or two of my tanks, without CO2 and with moderate light, and it manages to hold on, but not much more.  This is not an easy plant.
 
On the fish species, I agree with others to increase the shoal of green neons (Parachierodon simulans).  This is a very sensitive and delicate fish.  It is very closely related to the cardinal, P. axelrodi [they differ by only two or three chromosomes in their DNA]; I have my four remaining cardinals from an earlier group in with the 16 green neons, and they are together as one.  P. simulans is even more sensitive, and water quality and aquascape is important.  It also prefers warmer temperatures, though my group of 16 are thriving in 25C/78F.  This is a species that does very well when attention is paid to its habitat, as it is truly a blackwater fish.
 
Panda corys were mentioned, but this is probably the least successful cory with the green neon.  For one thing, this cory occures in cooler water, but more importantly the streams are in the Peruvian Andes where water flow is faster.  Corydoras panda is found in the Rio Aquas and Riuo Amarillis, streams in the Rio Ucayali system, and will benefit from more water current, something that will not be appreciated at all by the green neons.
 
If you stay with quieter species, which is strongly recommended given the green neons as the centrepiece, you could have quite a number of fish in this tank.  I have a 29g which is expressly aquascaped for this species, and there are 63 fish at present.  I'll attach a photo, as the substrate plant is the H. tenellum I mentioned earlier.  Floating plants are mandatory with these fish.
 
Byron.

 

[jag51186]

I've heard vallis often melts initially then comes back fine. Did you let it be for a bit or pull it right away?

 

[Akasha72]

I've heard vallis often melts initially then comes back fine. Did you let it be for a bit or pull it right away?

 
No I tried to persevere with it for a good few months. It did send out some runners but the leaves would just melt about half way up and it seemed to be rotting. I've tried the twisted variety (that one's my favourite) the 'standard' variety and the giant kind. The giant kind seemed to do mildly better than the other kinds but not by much

 

[jag51186]

 

I've heard vallis often melts initially then comes back fine. Did you let it be for a bit or pull it right away?

 
No I tried to persevere with it for a good few months. It did send out some runners but the leaves would just melt about half way up and it seemed to be rotting. I've tried the twisted variety (that one's my favourite) the 'standard' variety and the giant kind. The giant kind seemed to do mildly better than the other kinds but not by much
 

 
Yeah, that sucks then. I have pretty good water for plants overall, so I'm pretty lucky with most of them...until my Black Ruby Barbs eat them, like you told me they would! lol

 

[Akasha72]

Sorry