Stocking for a 280 litre tank

[Tooombsy]

Hi guys

I’ve been wanting to set my autistic son a fish tank up and have been waiting to find a cheap acrylic one as it’s more child friendly.

I have managed to get a large one for free, it’s a Cleair tank bow front and back. Internal dimensions are 118cm length, 75cm high and average of 32cm depth. I have previous experience with tropical tanks but plan on doing this as cold water as its keeps the bills down a bit (and the mrs happier) without heating.

What sort of stocking would suit this kind of tank? I want something colourful for him but I know that goldfish grow too big to be in there for life.

Any help with stocking for a friendly colourful community tank would be much appreciated.

Kind regards
Adam

 

[Naughts]

Can you find out the GH (General Hardness) of your source water. They are often recorded as part of the water quality report on the water providers website. There are smaller 'temperate' water fish that would suit this set up if the GH meets their requirements.

 

[Tooombsy]

Can you find out the GH (General Hardness) of your source water. They are often recorded as part of the water quality report on the water providers website. There are smaller 'temperate' water fish that would suit this set up if the GH meets their requirements.

Hi Naughts

Thanks for your reply. I have found this for my postcode.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Hello glowlight danios are very colourful and can live in cooler water...they'll be fine in your water too

 

[Naughts]

Hi Naughts

Thanks for your reply. I have found this for my postcode.

Great. The number you need for fishkeeping is 11.87 German Degrees Hardness which converts to 212 ppm (parts per million). In words we might refer to this water as moderate, or slightly hard.

A great research website is https://www.seriouslyfish.com which will show you the temperature range, hardness range, minimum tank size...and so on.

You could look up the colourful guppy or platy (male only as they reproduce rapidly), white cloud mountain minnow, or the active zebra danio or pearl danio.

With platies, you may need a heater during winter if the room temperature drops at night. An adjustable heater can be set for around 20°c/68°f and would only kick in when the temperature drops below that.

Be discerning about where you shop for fish, its much more enjoyable if you can get healthy fish from the start.

 

[Tooombsy]

Great. The number you need for fishkeeping is 11.87 German Degrees Hardness which converts to 212 ppm (parts per million). In words we might refer to this water as moderate, or slightly hard.

A great research website is https://www.seriouslyfish.com which will show you the temperature range, hardness range, minimum tank size...and so on.

You could look up the colourful guppy or platy (male only as they reproduce rapidly), white cloud mountain minnow, or the active zebra danio or pearl danio.

With platies, you may need a heater during winter if the room temperature drops at night. An adjustable heater can be set for around 20°c/68°f and would only kick in when the temperature drops below that.

Be discerning about where you shop for fish, its much more enjoyable if you can get healthy fish from the start.

Thanks again for the reply. I will check the site out for more information

I hadn’t given any thought to livebearers, I had guppies many years back. Started with 6, ended up with hundreds. I also had bristlenose plecos which bred prolifically.

I will do a bit of research and hopefully decide on stocking soon. I’m planning to polish the scratches out of the aquarium and custom build a stand that’s fixed to the wall and encases the tank to keep it child friendly, so I won’t be starting the cycling process for another week or two.