Stocking Ideas For A 130 Gallon (~500l)?

[mr130gallon]

i have a 130 gallon aquarium 48"x26"x24"
eheim 2217 filter (264 G.P.H.) for use up to 159 gallons
two jager 250 watt heaters
Aquarium Systems Maxi-Jet 1200 Power Head 295 G.P.H.
two Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light-48"

currently i have it stocked a bit, as you can read in my signature, but i might want to restock it as one of the harlequin rasboras have ich, i treated the fish and the tank, but some of the fish may end up dying, i was thinking about having some bigger fish, i would like to keep the pictus cat, the bristlenose plecs and the siamese algae eater i have.

any ideas?

forgot to add, it has quite a bit of water movement, my betta splendens usually moves sideways when he wants to rest and the plants all move around quite a bit.

 

[Truck]

you must get rid of the crab...theyre brackish

 

[mr130gallon]

will he just die, ive had him since the begginning, ~20 days, and he seems to be doing incredible, he moves around and eats, and if i must still get rid of him, where can i?

 

[Truck]

will he just die, ive had him since the begginning, ~20 days, and he seems to be doing incredible, he moves around and eats, and if i must still get rid of him, where can i?

they need access to air, and land, it will most probably waste away

 

[mr130gallon]

ok, then what should i do with it? just bring it back or what?

 

[Truck]

give it to someone with a brackish tank with access to land

 

[indigoj]

I think you should return the crab and wait and see what happens before planning new stock.

How long has the tank been set up? (I ask as you say the crab has been with you from the beginning - 20days) How did you cycle it if it is onlt set up 20 days?

 

[Sean W.]

Get an Oscar

 

[Wills]

I dont understand your stocking at all not what I would have put in there at all, but still personal choice Just a few comments about your stocking though

Pictus Catfish - nice for tank not sure if they like to be in groups or not though
4 Harlequin Rasboras, - if they survive the ich boost the school
4 Zebra Danios, - again boost the school
4 Rosy Barbs, same as above
2 Bristlenose Catfish, - nice choice!
1 Siamese Fighting Fish, - not suitable for big tanks like that will really limit your options would be better returning it or getting a small tank as well just for him
1 Ticto Barb, - needs a school
1 Red Clawed Crab - agreed on re homing this

The schooling fish I highlighted would love bigger numbers - maybe topping each to 8 -12 each
I think if it was me I would take out the schools apart from one if it was me probs the harliquins, def keep the BNs and the catfish - the algae eater is good as well. But that leaves you with a lot of options for center pieces.

Which really leaves the question what type of fish do you like? Cichlids, gouramis, odd balls, snakeheads, if cichlids South America, Central America, Dwarf Pike or African like kribs, jewels or butterfly? Flick through a gallery online or through some books or mention anything nice you have seen in your LFS

Also just to check is this tank cycled?

 

[mr130gallon]

well, i have a friend whos had a few FW tanks a and a marine tank, and he told me the what i should do is put the water in, maybe some plants, because they help the cycle or something, and a few starter fish, like zebra danios. i did that and have done water changes and so far no fish have died, i have a book called 'the encyclopedia of aquarium and poindfish' by david alderton which has a chart labeled 'new tank syndrome' (i posted it so you can see it too).

according to the chart i am past the ammonia stage, but am in the area where the nitrite is on the rise, though it should be over on the 15th of september.

as to why i have more fish than just the danios, well, i wanted a betta because their ability to breathe air when water is toxic should make him able to live, i have the Bristlnose plecs because i dont want an algae problem. (ill be getting 2 more when the water is safer) i got the harlequins when my sister dropped in a LFS and saw them and really liked them, the barbs my mom picked up instead of bristlenose plecs once because the LFS person said i shouldnt get one at the time, and she didnt want to come home empty handed. the flying fox i have is there because he does an insanley good job of cleaning the plants. and i have the pictus cat because i saw one and fell in "love" immediatly.

green is ammonia, yellow is nitrite, red is nitrate

Get an Oscar

i was thinking of that

I dont understand your stocking at all not what I would have put in there at all, but still personal choice Just a few comments about your stocking though

Pictus Catfish - nice for tank not sure if they like to be in groups or not though
4 Harlequin Rasboras, - if they survive the ich boost the school
4 Zebra Danios, - again boost the school
4 Rosy Barbs, same as above
2 Bristlenose Catfish, - nice choice!
1 Siamese Fighting Fish, - not suitable for big tanks like that will really limit your options would be better returning it or getting a small tank as well just for him
1 Ticto Barb, - needs a school
1 Red Clawed Crab - agreed on re homing this

The schooling fish I highlighted would love bigger numbers - maybe topping each to 8 -12 each
I think if it was me I would take out the schools apart from one if it was me probs the harliquins, def keep the BNs and the catfish - the algae eater is good as well. But that leaves you with a lot of options for center pieces.

Which really leaves the question what type of fish do you like? Cichlids, gouramis, odd balls, snakeheads, if cichlids South America, Central America, Dwarf Pike or African like kribs, jewels or butterfly? Flick through a gallery online or through some books or mention anything nice you have seen in your LFS

Also just to check is this tank cycled?

what ive read the pictus can do fine alone, the ticto schools with the rosys, but i may return them because theyre big and i sorta want a neon tetra school. i like cichlids and gouramis, though having big fish really seems awsome to me

 

[indigoj]

Oh dear....

Have a read of some of the stickies in the beginners section and start doing at least 50% DAILY water changes now. Your fish are really suffering.

Bristlenose are not just algae eaters - they need proper care and diet.

Do NOT under any circumstances add an Oscar to that stock! It would be murder.

 

[Wills]

yeah afraid your in a fish in cycle in the beginner section there are pinned posts that explain what will happen - please dont add any more fish untill the cycle is over it will damage them possibly kill them. While an oscar could potentially go in that tank it would just annihilate the other inhabitants. I think the best thing to do now is get the tank cycled see what your left with and then start reading about what you want then people can help

 

[mr130gallon]

i knew not to add an oscar to my current tank lol, but do you mean not to add fish till the 15th of sept, when acording to my book the nitrite should be done?

 

[mr130gallon]

the problem with 50% changes is that its a 65 gallon change, and i have chlorinated tap water

 

[Wills]

the nitrite being in the tank is a bad thing and all the fish are at risk of death now it is the cause of the whitespot, usually this forum and the people on it recommend a fishless cycle by using bottled ammonia to grow your bacteria and avoid fish stress disease and stress - this way we can add fish when this is done and from day one usually 0 disease 0 pollutants in tank lots of happy fish and people due to easy process but your whitespot issue could be a pain in the neck for you, if the rasboras die from it but no other fish seem affected the disease is still in the tank waiting for a fish to get stressed so it can latch on and start over again.

regardless of when your book says the cycle should be over - although the date does seem realistic - you still need to do daily water changes so that the fish in the tank now do not suffer any more, its your tank and fish so its your responsibility

*edit - no matter how big they are its something that needs to be considered when the tank is bought - with the choline in the water you need to buy a dechlorinator like API stress coat