Stocking Help!

[[email protected]]

hi everyone - im new to this hobby but i love it.

i have two tanks - a 6 gal (25 liters) and a 48 gal (185 liters)

the 6gal has small gravel and an internal filter (penn plax cascade 300) a heater and a small light

the 48 gal has sand and 3 planted plants and an external filter (fluval 305) two heaters and a light (2x 40W)

both are fully cycled tanks with good water quality and happy fish.

i just want to know how i should divide up all my fish into both tanks......

i have most of them, some are on hold at my LFS (all could be returned though)

they are

20 ghost shrimp (1.5? cm each)
5 kuhli loaches (5cm each)
4 clown loaches (4cm each)
2 bala (silver) sharks (7cm each)
25 neon tetras (3cm each)
2 angel fish (5cm each)
2 spiney eels (10cm each)
10 zebra dannios (2-3cm each)
4 gouramis (2 blue and 2 gold) (4cm each)
1 sucking catfish (4 cm)


i do 30-45% water changes every 3 weeks on both at the latest and i havent had any problems - i just want to know what people think and i also dont know which fish are compatible etc

also do i need another tank??? i am happy to get one (my gf mightn't be though

thanks

 

[tenohfive]

***********DON'T BUY ANYTHING YET*********

I'm sorry if I seem like I'm being difficult, but theres alot of potential problems here:

Very few of those fish are small enough to go in the 6G - maybe the tetra's and the sucking catfish (I'm assuming this is an Otocinclus.) But I'm pretty sure 25 tetra's in a tank that size would be massively overstocking it, and the tetra's can't go in the 48G because your angels will polish them off - if not straight away, when they grow big enough to eat them they'll turn on them.

Clown loaches are a very very active and semi-aggressive fish - I've not kept them myself as they'd scare the life out of most of the more sedate fish (gourami's, bala's, angels etc) although I could be wrong - someone with practical experience of keeping them should post up soon. Personally I'd ditch them.

The zebra's will need to go in the big tank, they need alot of swimming room so the 6G isn't an option.

Bala sharks need to be kept in a minimum of 3, and the smallest tank size I've seen recommended for them is 75G - and that would be a wide 75G tank so they have plenty of room. I would only get them for this setup if your LFS will take them back when they outgrow the tank. Again, they're quite skittish so will want peaceful tank mates.

The kuhli's I know nothing about, judging by their size they'll have to go in the 48G. And I've not got a clue about the shrimp or eels, someone will post up though.


Post up a list of what you've bought already and people on here will give you a hand sorting out a decent stocking list - and whatever you do, DO NOT TRUST THE ADVICE GIVEN BY YOUR FISH SHOP - GET IT CHECKED OUT HERE FIRST.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Hi there Charlie,

I’m afraid some of the fish aren’t suitable for either of your tanks, I’ll run through the list to identify which could go where to start off with

20 ghost shrimp (1.5? cm each) – suitable for both tanks
5 kuhli loaches (5cm each) – suitable for the 48g tank
4 clown loaches (4cm each) – too big for either tank (200gal minimum tank size)
2 bala (silver) sharks (7cm each) – too big for either tank (approx 150gal min tank size)
25 neon tetras (3cm each) – suitable for either tank
2 angel fish (5cm each) – suitable for large tank providing it is 18” tall or more
2 spiney eels (10cm each) – too big for either tank, unsure on tank size
10 zebra dannios (2-3cm each) – suitable for 48g tank
4 gouramis (2 blue and 2 gold) (4cm each) – suitable for 48g tank
1 sucking catfish (4 cm) – depends totally on species….. if they are ottos then suitable for either, gibbiceps plecs also go by this name though and reach 24” so are clearly not suitable for either tank! Clarify the species please

Out of the fish you have I would suggest the following

6gal

5 neons
3 shrimp

48 gal

5 khuli loaches
2 angels
10 danios
4 gouramis

You’d then still have room for some more fish in the 48 gal, it’s around two thirds full with those fish

If you got a considerably larger tank (in the region of 200 gallons you could then keep the clowns, bala sharks and probably the catfish, possibly the eels although I would advise further research on compatibility.

 

[[email protected]]

***********DON'T BUY ANYTHING YET*********

I'm sorry if I seem like I'm being difficult, but theres alot of potential problems here:

Very few of those fish are small enough to go in the 6G - maybe the tetra's and the sucking catfish (I'm assuming this is an Otocinclus.) But I'm pretty sure 25 tetra's in a tank that size would be massively overstocking it, and the tetra's can't go in the 48G because your angels will polish them off - if not straight away, when they grow big enough to eat them they'll turn on them.

Clown loaches are a very very active and semi-aggressive fish - I've not kept them myself as they'd scare the life out of most of the more sedate fish (gourami's, bala's, angels etc) although I could be wrong - someone with practical experience of keeping them should post up soon. Personally I'd ditch them.

The zebra's will need to go in the big tank, they need alot of swimming room so the 6G isn't an option.

Bala sharks need to be kept in a minimum of 3, and the smallest tank size I've seen recommended for them is 75G - and that would be a wide 75G tank so they have plenty of room. I would only get them for this setup if your LFS will take them back when they outgrow the tank. Again, they're quite skittish so will want peaceful tank mates.

The kuhli's I know nothing about, judging by their size they'll have to go in the 48G. And I've not got a clue about the shrimp or eels, someone will post up though.


Post up a list of what you've bought already and people on here will give you a hand sorting out a decent stocking list - and whatever you do, DO NOT TRUST THE ADVICE GIVEN BY YOUR FISH SHOP - GET IT CHECKED OUT HERE FIRST.

yea i agree with checking it out here first!

my LFS will take anything back for store credit - im probably taking most of the neons and the gouramis back at this stage (im not liking the grouamis much)

i definatley want the clown loaches and the angels and the LFS said i can take the sharks back when they get bigger

at this stage i own:
2 sharks
25 neon tetras
2 angelfish
4 gouramis

ill be getting the eels and the kuhli loaches and the ghost shrimp at some stage i was thinking about the dannios but i am definatley gettin the 4 clown loaches

maybe i should just sell what i have (keep the 6 gal as a sump) and buy a 500 litre setup

1 sucking catfish (4 cm) – depends totally on species….. if they are ottos then suitable for either, gibbiceps plecs also go by this name though and reach 24” so are clearly not suitable for either tank! Clarify the species please

its

thats it!
just a basic one
definatley not a pleco

 

[tenohfive]

Read Miss W's post, she knows alot more than me and has given some good advice.

As for a 500L tank...if you can, do. Just check your stocking lists on here before you buy it, rather than spend all that money and find the fish you wanted for it won't go together.

Edit - that catfish is an oto, he'll be fine in either. Great little fish - some people insist they should be kept in groups of 4, personally when I did have a group of 4 they ignored each other, and I now have 1 alone in my community tank and he's quite happy.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

if you are determined to keep the balas and clowns then you will need something in that region.

both fish can reach 16" or there abouts and bala's are very skittish so they need a lot of space.

the angels will eat the neons, it's their natural food in the wild so that's nto a good combination.

 

[[email protected]]

wow thanks everyone - im impressed at how quickly these replies have come

a sentiment to how good this new hobby of mine really is

i love it!

i think im gonna either let the clowns and balas and angels stay in the 48 gal for a little while - then just buy a bigger tank... i was gonna get one eventually

as for the neons and the dannios and some of the other smaller ones... ill drastically reduce the number of fish in the group (ill just not buy the 10 dannios) and take some of the neons back for store credit...

i think ill split the shrimp and the kuhli loaches across both tanks?

and keep the eels in the 48 gal til i get the bigger one

ill take the gouramis back aswell...

how does that sound???

 

[Miss Wiggle]

if you want to keep either the clowns or balas in the 48 then go for the clwons, they grow significantly slower than the balas so you are much less likley to stunt them by leaving them in there too long.

You want to keep all the khuli’s together; they need to be in a group.

You’re still proposing to keep some neons and angels together then? I’ve said it before but one more time, the angels are highly likely to eat the neons, I would not advise keeping them together, if you’re dead set on the neons you could swap them for the slightly larger cardinal tetras, still risky but not quite as risky.

Do make sure you research the eels, I have a sneaky suspicion that they will end up eating the shrimp and smaller fish.

If you have a look at the link in my sig ‘guide to stocking lists’ this explains how to work out which fish are compatible and how many fish you can have in a tank.

 

[Blade118]

wow thanks everyone - im impressed at how quickly these replies have come

a sentiment to how good this new hobby of mine really is

i love it!

i think im gonna either let the clowns and balas and angels stay in the 48 gal for a little while - then just buy a bigger tank... i was gonna get one eventually

as for the neons and the dannios and some of the other smaller ones... ill drastically reduce the number of fish in the group (ill just not buy the 10 dannios) and take some of the neons back for store credit...

i think ill split the shrimp and the kuhli loaches across both tanks?

and keep the eels in the 48 gal til i get the bigger one

ill take the gouramis back aswell...

how does that sound???

the kuhli loaches should go in your bigger tank imo!

 

[[email protected]]

yea i think i will put the 4 clown loaches - one of the sharks and the two angels in the bigger tank.

ill take back the other shark and the four gouramis for store credit as well as most of the neons

then ill put the neons and the dannios in the smaller tank and the kuhli loaches and the 2 eels in the big tank

ill be getting a bigger tank soon anyways - this will only be for a couple of months

thanks to everyone for their help