NEW TO THE HOBBY STOCKING ADVICE

[Byron]

Can you put apistos and gbr together or is it only one or the another

Given the tank size here, no, this really won't work. If you had lots of space for individual territories, it could, maybe, but generally with neotropical dwarf cichlids no more than one species to a tank is best.

 

[Irishlad123]

What would yee recomend for the tank open to all sugestions

 

[Byron]

What would yee recomend for the tank open to all sugestions

We have not yet pinned down the GH. In post #9 I suggested contacting your water authority site.

 

[Irishlad123]

This is what i got from my local water company but the results seem a bit odd maybe ye well make more sense of it.Current mg/l of CaC03 in your water0.04, SoftAverage mg/l of CaC03 for your Water Supply Zone34.1909090909091, Soft

 

[utahfish]

This is what i got from my local water company but the results seem a bit odd maybe ye well make more sense of it.Current mg/l of CaC03 in your water0.04, SoftAverage mg/l of CaC03 for your Water Supply Zone34.1909090909091, Soft

If it is indeed soft then there are plenty of fish to choose from. If one likes coreys and wants activity at all levels then one could pick a shoaling species for each level, example. Pick a group of corydora species for bottom area, a group of tetra species for middle and a group of hatchet fish for the top.
Id suggest no less than 6 of each species and the more the merrier. If doing tetras either stick with one species of 6 or more or if mixing choose like sized body shape and swimming activity tetras. For instance neons and rummynose are about same same long body type and same swimming activity. Where as a blue tetra or bloodfin tetra may look the same in size and shape but are much more active swimmers so shouldnt be kept with neons and the like.Fuller bodied tetras like serpeas, skirts and columbians will get bigger and can be fin nippy to slower species like neons and such. So choose well for best results and there are plenty to choose from. Hatchets are exclusive top dwelling fish, marble hatchets tend to be the smallest of the species. If one didnt like hatchets one could try dwarf gouramis as the top though theyll venture in the middle.
Personally id go with a pack of marble hatchets at the top at least 10
Two different tetra species in groups of ten i really like rummynose with neons or glowlights or even flame tetras.
Then bottom a pack of coreys. I prefer dwarf corydoras like hasbrosus or hastatus cuz theyre really active and stay small.
If you got Apistos they are bottom and middle and prefer to be with tetras as tetras act as a dither fish that make them feel safe as their presence indicate the lack of predators. Apistos though will compete for space at the bottom of the tank with your corydoras but plenty of people do keep them together. Good luck!

 

[Byron]

This is what i got from my local water company but the results seem a bit odd maybe ye well make more sense of it.Current mg/l of CaC03 in your water0.04, SoftAverage mg/l of CaC03 for your Water Supply Zone34.1909090909091, Soft

This would seem to be soft or very soft water, but assuming you are in the UK @essjay may be good to sort this out as she has an explanation of UK standards that I am not familiar with. Utahfish has given some soft water options you can sort out once confirmed.

 

[Essjay]

A lot of UK water companies give hardness as mg/l calcium, and I've even come cross one that uses mg/l calcium oxide. But in this case, the unit does appear to be mg/l calcium carbonate. But 0.04 mg/l CaCO3 does sound a strange level to have.

In post #17 of this thread you gave your hardness as 6 mg/l https://www.fishforums.net/threads/stocking-advice.454492/page-2

If you type your address in here

Water quality

No water at home or low water pressure? View all water supply updates in your area, including water outages, boil water notices, and network incidents.

www.water.ie

does it give a hardness in numbers? If it does, what does it say, both the number and the unit.


Failing that could you look at the map in this website, please, and tell us which colour your town falls in. At least that will help us in the right direction.

Coverage of soft and hard water in Ireland

www.softwater.ie

 

[Irishlad123]

Im in the green area near killarney and i already typed in my address and what i said in #19 is the exactly what it gave me

 

[Irishlad123]

If i do have softwater what would yee recommend something different would be nice. I have just added some rock work and driftwood and plants could these change the water paramaters

 

[Essjay]

Im in the green area near killarney and i already typed in my address and what i said in #19 is the exactly what it gave me

That's fine, I was just a bit mystified that in a previous thread you said it was 6 mg/l. Both 6 and 0.4 mg/l CaCO3 are very soft. They are both virtually zero.

 

[Irishlad123]

Am i very limited with stocking so with a ph of 7.2 and 5-6 kh and 0.4mg/l CaCO3 and will the rocks alter this

 

[Byron]

Am i very limited with stocking so with a ph of 7.2 and 5-6 kh and 0.4mg/l CaCO3 and will the rocks alter this

With your parameters almost any soft water fish species will be fine (thinking of parameters only, obviously tank size and numbers and other species are different factors to also consider). This is by far the majority of fish in the hobby. Utahfish gave a number of general groups in post #20. I for one do not like recommending fish because I have no idea what you might or might not like, and with so many options I coould write a book on possible community setups.

Rocks if calcareous can dissolve and raise the GH, KH and pH. You have to be very careful with this. The chemistry of the individual rock can cause sudden or significant changes (or not, as the case may be). You do not need to do this anyway, if you stay with soft water species. No livebearers as they need much harder water, but you said earlier I think that you didn't want livebearers anyway, so ignore those.

Calcareous means the rock is composed of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, marble, lava, as well as things like coral and shells.

 

[Irishlad123]

Ok thanks what centre piece fish have you worked with which you say would be good for a tank like mine if you have worked with any

 

[Byron]

Ok thanks what centre piece fish have you worked with which you say would be good for a tank like mine if you have worked with any

I am not too fond of "centrepiece" fish in small tanks (this tank though a nice size is still small to the fish) as they tend to bring problems. But there are some options for fish in the 3-4 inch length range that can be housed with much smaller species that will be shoaling. Pearl Gourami in a group of 3-5 with a couple species of rasbora for example; this is a peaceful gourami and a beauty, but other similarly-sized species such as any of the Blue Gourami varieties can be real terrors and kill other fish. Angelfish are not suited here, I think we previously excluded them. A dwarf cichlid like the Bolivian Ram? Have a look around.

 

[Irishlad123]

Ok thanks for all the advice. One last question if i were to put gouramis and rasboras would their be room to put two species of corydoras in groups of 6 or would i be ovrr my stocking level