Stocking Advise Needed

[Tonyb111111]

I think this may be a case of wanting my cake and eating it, but i would really like to get at least 12 rummy nose tetras in my setup and have multiple questions. Tank stats are in my signature

1. I currently have 1750 lph of internal filtration in my 200 litre tank so i do not think the increased bioload would be an issue, can someone confirm this for my peace of mind
2. Wll this put too much stock in the middle/bottom area of the aquarium, in this area we currently have 20 DH neons, pair of GBR's, 6 Colombian Tetras
3. Jumping the gun here, but if Rummy noses arent a goer, the other option would be to go for a really attrative, tight shoaling top/middle dweller and remove my scissortails and danios. Anyone think of anything that could fit this requirement

Would appreciate any suggestions at all on this.

Thanks

 

[Judgejudy]

Insted i would add more zebra danios as they need to be in a bigger group than just 3 probably add 2 or 3 more but i should think that you could add 7 or 8 rummynose tetras aswell

 

[Tizer]

Rummynose wont be middle/top they are bottom/middle most of the time

If you want middle, Harlequin Rasbora are very good, Penguin Tetras are another good middle alternative, but if you want something purely for the top, have a look at Hatchets.

 

[stu40]

If you add, T.Hengli or T.Espei aren't too big, and school well towards the middle/top

 

[ChilversI]

More Zebra Danios, (3-5) and Hatchets.
Agree with JJ - Danios will school better if there are more of them.
And with Tizer re: Hatchets. They are fun to watch at the top of the tank.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

1. Extra filtration does not automatically mean you can add more fish, it does decrease the odds of ammonia or nitrite spikes but more fish will produce more nitrate, which means more and larger water changes are needed. I'm doing at least 3 weekly 50%+ water changes on my Rio240, which contains 49 Liohead Cichlids ("mum", her 44 older brood 4-5cm, her 4 surviving younger brood 3cm) and 7 Ilyodon xantusi i.e. ~270cm of fish; in a tank that contains ~2800-3600lph of actual filtration turnover (you need to take off at least 10% from marketing figures to account for media, some like APS you can take off upto 60%!).

2. Your whole stocking needs are-think in my opinion, if you really want German Blue Rams that need 27/28C, you really need to choose suitable tankmates that are found in such high end tropical waters, which a fair bit of your stock most certainly is not (Colombian Tetras; Zebra Danios; Neon Tetras; Amano Shrimp; BN Catfish; Sissortail Rasboras; Dwarf Gourami). Bolivian Rams would be more compatable with your other fish, but then you still have some sub-tropicals like the Colombians and the Danios that would do better in a heaterless tank in most homes.

Overall, you have an awful lot of fish in this 200l tank when you consider the fishes expected adult sizes.

3. If it was me, I would rehome the Colombians; Zebras; Sissortails; Amano; the Corydoras unless they are a high end tropical species like C. sterbai; perhaps even the gourami. I'd then add a tropical upper level group, either some lovely Pencilfish or a 10+ school of Hatchetfish.

 

[Tonyb111111]

Insted i would add more zebra danios as they need to be in a bigger group than just 3 probably add 2 or 3 more but i should think that you could add 7 or 8 rummynose tetras aswell

More Zebra Danios, (3-5) and Hatchets.
Agree with JJ - Danios will school better if there are more of them.

I know about the schooling numbers but thanks anyway. I used to have six but three of them were killed by my Dwark Gourami when protecting his bubble nest. I nearly upped the numbers back to six again but they just joined in with the Scissortails and are as happy as larry. Truth is, i will probably take them back as they can be real pain sometimes

 

[Tonyb111111]

Rummynose wont be middle/top they are bottom/middle most of the time

If you want middle, Harlequin Rasbora are very good, Penguin Tetras are another good middle alternative, but if you want something purely for the top, have a look at Hatchets.

Cheers Tizer, maybe my original question wasnt as clear as it should be, but in summary will the addition of the Rummy Nose cause too much congestion in the middle/bottom part of tank? If I am not able to get Rummy Nose another option is to get rid of my top/middle dwellers and find a nice, tight shoaling, top/middle fish instead. Not overly keen on Hatchets, and they are purely top. Any more ideas

 

[Tonyb111111]

EDIT: Removed as in wrong place

 

[Tonyb111111]

1. Extra filtration does not automatically mean you can add more fish, it does decrease the odds of ammonia or nitrite spikes but more fish will produce more nitrate, which means more and larger water changes are needed. I'm doing at least 3 weekly 50%+ water changes on my Rio240, which contains 49 Liohead Cichlids ("mum", her 44 older brood 4-5cm, her 4 surviving younger brood 3cm) and 7 Ilyodon xantusi i.e. ~270cm of fish; in a tank that contains ~2800-3600lph of actual filtration turnover (you need to take off at least 10% from marketing figures to account for media, some like APS you can take off upto 60%!). Here’s the thing, my nitrate is at its highest immediately after a water change at about 40ppm, which subsequently drops to about 5ppm over two weeks. Ammonia and nitrite never move from zero as you would expect with the additional filtration. So on this basis I presumed the additional bioload would not be an issue as my plants are taken up the nitrogen.

2. Your whole stocking needs are-think in my opinion, if you really want German Blue Rams that need 27/28C, you really need to choose suitable tankmates that are found in such high end tropical waters, which a fair bit of your stock most certainly is not (Colombian Tetras; Zebra Danios; Neon Tetras; Amano Shrimp; BN Catfish; Sissortail Rasboras; Dwarf Gourami). Bolivian Rams would be more compatable with your other fish, but then you still have some sub-tropicals like the Colombians and the Danios that would do better in a heaterless tank in most homes. When I researched the GBR's I found the temperature range to be 26 - 30C, They spawn every other week, look and behave healthily, so I am loathed to increase the temperature. With exception of the Danios, the remaining occupants are within the high end of the published limits at 26C. Having said that I will now definately take the danios back as i was considering it anyway and the temperature mistake has made my mind up. Ideally, i should lower the temp by maybe 2 - 3C but that would rule out the currently happy GBR's. Overall, quite confused now, as the temperature is set to fall within the researched temperature ranges. All the fish are healthy and active

Overall, you have an awful lot of fish in this 200l tank when you consider the fishes expected adult sizes.

3. If it was me, I would rehome the Colombians; Zebras; Sissortails; Amano; the Corydoras unless they are a high end tropical species like C. sterbai; perhaps even the gourami. I'd then add a tropical upper level group, either some lovely Pencilfish or a 10+ school of Hatchetfish. The danios are definitely going, and the scissortails could also go, but I would like to keep the remainder as they are doing well.

Hi Nobody, please see comments above. I think i need more help

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I know I stand out from the vast majority on here as regards temperature compatability, I'm a strong believer in keeping fish together that have a good all round match in ranges all the way through from low to high in profiles, rather than say for instance seeing Redline Torpedo barbs have been recorded in 25C waters and Sterba's Corydoras found in water as cool as 24C... I would not be comfortable in combining the two permanently at 24C as the lowest common temperature, simply because while the catfish will do well and ought to live expected lifaspans, the barbs have been recorded in 15C water and so this 24C will ramp up their metabolism enormously to the extent that they will do well to reach 5 years rather than 8 years.

I can see from your sig photo that you have a nicely heavy planted tank, despite having the Colombian Tetras, the faster growing species of which will no doubt be using nitrates and any ammonia they can "pinch" away from your filter bacteria colony. However, there is only so much these plants will use and a real worry for us fish keepers is that nitrate test kits are awfully inaccurate, opening up the possibility of "mysterious deaths" which may well be down to toxic (typically >300mg/l for many hobby fish apparently, but there are more sensitive exceptions) nitrate levels. I'm keeping an eye on this Seneye product, as I'd love to be able to get true nitrate figures for my tanks, especially given that the tap water I use is quoted as being ~40mg/l.

What "corys" do you have in there, by the way?

 

[Tonyb111111]

I know I stand out from the vast majority on here as regards temperature compatability, I'm a strong believer in keeping fish together that have a good all round match in ranges all the way through from low to high in profiles, rather than say for instance seeing Redline Torpedo barbs have been recorded in 25C waters and Sterba's Corydoras found in water as cool as 24C... I would not be comfortable in combining the two permanently at 24C as the lowest common temperature, simply because while the catfish will do well and ought to live expected lifaspans, the barbs have been recorded in 15C water and so this 24C will ramp up their metabolism enormously to the extent that they will do well to reach 5 years rather than 8 years.

I can see from your sig photo that you have a nicely heavy planted tank, despite having the Colombian Tetras, the faster growing species of which will no doubt be using nitrates and any ammonia they can "pinch" away from your filter bacteria colony. However, there is only so much these plants will use and a real worry for us fish keepers is that nitrate test kits are awfully inaccurate, opening up the possibility of "mysterious deaths" which may well be down to toxic (typically >300mg/l for many hobby fish apparently, but there are more sensitive exceptions) nitrate levels. I'm keeping an eye on this Seneye product, as I'd love to be able to get true nitrate figures for my tanks, especially given that the tap water I use is quoted as being ~40mg/l.

What "corys" do you have in there, by the way?

Thanks Nobody, it's funny you should ask about the corys. I have three each of three different types that shoal together nicely, the only problem is we can only positively identify one. If you look at this link you can see the pics and subsequent suggestions. I believe they are definitely long finned peppered, probably Melanistius and the last one is up for grabs, but possibly an agassizii. The more I write on this subject, the more I think I have over complicated my stocking.