Stocking for a 200l.

[Vorka]

Hello all we currently have a 200l tank which measures 100cm x 40cm x 50cm (L x W x H).

We have just about finished stocking the tank now and all the water conditions are stable with 0's apart from Ammonia which never seems to get below 0.25~ on the API Scale, could be my eyes or the light though eitherway the fish we have accumulated look healthy and have settled in so far.

We have got all together; 1x Bristlenose Pleco1x Bolivian Ram, 10x Panda Cory, 12x Harelquin Rasboras and 25x Neon Tetra. I was wondering if despite all that there is room for anymore fish or is the tank just about done? I have looked on AqAdvisor and it has come up as 83% stock but I thought I had better check with experienced people rather than just on the basis of a generic calculator ( even though I hear its accurate in some cases ). Specifically we would be looking at more Corys as a pose to Tetra/Boras.

I dont think any shrimp would be suited to the tank if it has rams etc in, I could be wrong though.

Thanks!

 

[Byron]

All else being equal, there is space for more fish. Cories would be OK, you could have a different species or more of the panda, up to you; if just one different species, I would aim for 6-9, but you could also do two different additional species with minimum five of each. Lots of chunks of wood wold benefit these.

I have never had shrimp, but I understand there are some that are less likely to be eaten. Almost all the fish we commonly keep eat crustaceans as a component of their natural diet.

 

[Vorka]

All else being equal, there is space for more fish. Cories would be OK, you could have a different species or more of the panda, up to you; if just one different species, I would aim for 6-9, but you could also do two different additional species with minimum five of each. Lots of chunks of wood wold benefit these.

I have never had shrimp, but I understand there are some that are less likely to be eaten. Almost all the fish we commonly keep eat crustaceans as a component of their natural diet.

Thanks for the quick reply! Would the Pandas suffer at all from having another type of Cory or would they benefit from having more of the same? How many more would you say the tank can handle until its at a safe limit? If we did switch to a different cory would there be room for another 10? Thanks for the help again!

 

[Byron]

Cories live in shoals of hundreds of the species, and in most cases species live separate from each other (with exceptions, there are almost always exceptions). But my experience over a couple decades has been that they seem to be content so lopng as there are lots of them, whatever species. Having said that, with 50 cories in my 70g, representing 12 species, I find that the pandas are together more than any other species, so from this I would conclude that they seem to prefer their own species more than some other species. With a group of 10, you do not need to worry about more pandas; my group is 7, three being fry that appeared in the canister filter and I rescued.

So to your first question, no, the panda cories will not "suffer" from there being other species. Subject to the limitations of an aquarium, as far as cories are concerned, you can never have too many.

Another 10 cories, totaling 20, would not be a problem; another 20 totaling 30 would not be a problem from the perspective of the cories...provided you have hiding spots like chunks of wood everywhere, and the upper fish are not too many for the tank, no problems wiith 30-40 cories in this tank. I have 50 in my 70g which has just a bit more of a footprint.

 

[Vorka]

Cories live in shoals of hundreds of the species, and in most cases species live separate from each other (with exceptions, there are almost always exceptions). But my experience over a couple decades has been that they seem to be content so lopng as there are lots of them, whatever species. Having said that, with 50 cories in my 70g, representing 12 species, I find that the pandas are together more than any other species, so from this I would conclude that they seem to prefer their own species more than some other species. With a group of 10, you do not need to worry about more pandas; my group is 7, three being fry that appeared in the canister filter and I rescued.

So to your first question, no, the panda cories will not "suffer" from there being other species. Subject to the limitations of an aquarium, as far as cories are concerned, you can never have too many.

Another 10 cories, totaling 20, would not be a problem; another 20 totaling 30 would not be a problem from the perspective of the cories...provided you have hiding spots like chunks of wood everywhere, and the upper fish are not too many for the tank, no problems wiith 30-40 cories in this tank. I have 50 in my 70g which has just a bit more of a footprint.

Thats alot of Cories! Ive taken a picture of my tank and ill try to upload it as a reference for how many hiding spots we have.
Our neons seem to rarely leave the lower parts of the tank too they seem to happily plod along with the cories or not far from.

If we decided against the route of cories and stuck with 10 how many fish would we be looking at elsewhere in the tank and would there be any other kinds of fish we could still add? Im guessing another ram would be a bad idea due to aggression around breeding times and areas.

Sorry if these are stupid questions by the way.

 

[Vorka]

The first pic was too large.

 

[Byron]

I would recommend a few chunks of real wood, purchased in a fish store. Malaysian Driftwood is about the best, as it is dark brown, heavy so it sinks without waiting for water-logging, some chunks have tunnels and crevices (ideal), and not too bad on tannin. Real wood has benefits for all soft water fish, as well as providing more surfaces for cories to browse, and hiding spots. You could put three or more chunks in with the present aquascape quite easily. [Looks lovely.]

Im guessing another ram would be a bad idea due to aggression around breeding times and areas.

Don't get another ram. The Bolivian Ram seems to live in isolation in its habitat except when spawning so it does well as a single individual. But more problematic is the fact that like many cichlids, they must select their mates, they will not accept any fish. A bonded pair would not be too problematical, as they are good parents and aside from pushing cories out of their way, not aggressive as such. But you're better off with the individual you have.

If we decided against the route of cories and stuck with 10 how many fish would we be looking at elsewhere in the tank and would there be any other kinds of fish we could still add?

Yes. You have quiet sedate fish, meaning not active swimmers, so you want to stay with that. Nothing stresses out sedate fish like a group of active swimmers (barbs and danios for example) charging around. The Bolivian Ram would not be pleased. The other thing would be to consider the level these species prefer. As you mention, neons tend to be lower half/third. The Harlequin tend to be middle level. You could consider some hatchetfish for the upper level, or maybe some pencilfish (depends upon species). There are some tetras that prefer the upper third.

 

[Vorka]

I would recommend a few chunks of real wood, purchased in a fish store. Malaysian Driftwood is about the best, as it is dark brown, heavy so it sinks without waiting for water-logging, some chunks have tunnels and crevices (ideal), and not too bad on tannin. Real wood has benefits for all soft water fish, as well as providing more surfaces for cories to browse, and hiding spots. You could put three or more chunks in with the present aquascape quite easily. [Looks lovely.]



Don't get another ram. The Bolivian Ram seems to live in isolation in its habitat except when spawning so it does well as a single individual. But more problematic is the fact that like many cichlids, they must select their mates, they will not accept any fish. A bonded pair would not be too problematical, as they are good parents and aside from pushing cories out of their way, not aggressive as such. But you're better off with the individual you have.



Yes. You have quiet sedate fish, meaning not active swimmers, so you want to stay with that. Nothing stresses out sedate fish like a group of active swimmers (barbs and danios for example) charging around. The Bolivian Ram would not be pleased. The other thing would be to consider the level these species prefer. As you mention, neons tend to be lower half/third. The Harlequin tend to be middle level. You could consider some hatchetfish for the upper level, or maybe some pencilfish (depends upon species). There are some tetras that prefer the upper third.

Thanks for the detailed replies by the way!

Yeah I didnt think another Ram would work out, the one we have seems to be really coming into his own though even if it is super early for him. We added him about 5 hours ago and now he has gained some colors back and is out in the open the majority of the time alongside a few Cories and seems to enjoy swimming alongside Rasboras from time to time!

I would like to add new bits of wood to go alongside the bit we have in at the minute, we only have a small amount though as seen on the picture and we have tried attaching a bit of moss in hopes of it anchoring and spreading alongside the floating plants at the top spreading like wildfire ( makes a good light block though and brings the fish out of their shells when they see the green hue ).

We had a list of all the fish we wanted to put in the tank and we have them all now, now there is room we are back to square one! I would love to get some fish that would stay in the top half to balance the tank out. I think realistically we would get another 10 Cories and leave the bottom half of the tank alone then as far as fish go. If we did go for a 20 Panda, 25 Neon, 12 Rasbora, 1BN and 1 Ram would we have room for some top dwellers? I wouldnt want to stock the tank to the point where it makes anyone suffer but if we could squeeze a few happily in the top It would really do wonders for the tank to look at!

If you wouldnt mind what species would you suggest to go with the following for top swimmers providing there was room with the added Cories? If not without them?

A quick google and the misses said no to hatchets and we found a list of others and a few names popped up. One fish being a forktail rainbow fish, would these be compatible?

Thanks again.

 

[Byron]

I'd like to know your water parameters for the source water (GH, pH and KH) before getting too far into recommending fish species. Some might be wild caught and more fussy.

Is the Forktail Rainbowfish this species:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/Pseudomugil-furcatus

 

[NickAu]

General rule with omnivores and carnivores, if it fits in the fishes mouth it will most likely be eaten.

1x Bristlenose Pleco

Some will eat shrimp some wont,

I dont think any shrimp would be suited to the tank if it has rams etc in,

Rams eat shrimp.

Harelquin Rasboras

Will happily hunt baby shrimp but as long as you provide lots of hiding spaces it should be fine.


I have Kuhli Loaches and I often see them stalking baby Red Cherry Shrimp.

 

[Vorka]

I'd like to know your water parameters for the source water (GH, pH and KH) before getting too far into recommending fish species. Some might be wild caught and more fussy.

Is the Forktail Rainbowfish this species:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/Pseudomugil-furcatus

Yeah those were the ones the local shop had in.

The Gh etc of the tank according to the strips is somewhere between 0 and 30 GH, 0 and 40 KH and between 6.5 and 7ph.

The water provider is classed as
Water hardness type: Moderately soft

Water hardness average: 30mg/l calcium(UK measurement)

If that helps!

 

[Vorka]

General rule with omnivores and carnivores, if it fits in the fishes mouth it will most likely be eaten.



Some will eat shrimp some wont,

Rams eat shrimp.


Will happily hunt baby shrimp but as long as you provide lots of hiding spaces it should be fine.


I have Kuhli Loaches and I often see them stalking baby Red Cherry Shrimp.

Ill avoid the shrimp then! It seems the tanks full of shrimpists! Thanks for the info

 

[Byron]

Yeah those were the ones the local shop had in.

The Gh etc of the tank according to the strips is somewhere between 0 and 30 GH, 0 and 40 KH and between 6.5 and 7ph.

The water provider is classed as
Water hardness type: Moderately soft

Water hardness average: 30mg/l calcium(UK measurement)

If that helps!

We need essjay to convert the 30 mg/l calcium into the GH number. The UK uses this calcium which unit I'm not familiar with and don't want to lead you astray.

 

[Essjay]

30 mg/l calcium = 4.2 dH and 75 ppm.


Just a tiny bit lower than mine (which is 34 mg/l calcium)

 

[Byron]

Excellent. You have the ideal GH (this is soft water) and pH for the fish you now have. But this is not ideal for the Pseudomugil furcatus (Forktail Rainbowfish) you asked about previously, which as it mentions in the link needs harder water with a basic pH. Stay with soft water species.