Stocking Order

[RobynR]

My tank is a 30-gallon hex, 24" tall, 18" in diameter, 20" at the widest point. The tank is cycled. Very fine gravel substrate (just bigger than what I would call course sand), a couple of pieces of driftwood, one aponogeton, and plans for some Java fern at some point.

My stocking plan is:
5 Corydoras Trilineatus (added last Saturday)
6-9 Cardinal Tetras
1 German Blue Ram
6 Marbled Hatchetfish

Tank parameters have stayed stable since I added the corys -- I tested every 12 hours the first few days, and every 24 for the rest of the week. No water changes until yesterday, one week after adding the fish. I have three questions.

1. Could I consider including a bristlenose pleco in my stocking list or would that be pushing it too much?

2. Would 4-5 otocinclus be any better or worse than a BN, if either would work in the tank? I had a couple in college not knowing they were schooling fish, and they did really well.

3. With or without the additon of a BN or otos to my stocking list, what would be the best type of fish for me to add next? They're all reputed to be very sensitive, so I'm not sure which will be least stressed by a new tank. My LFS is a good one with very health-looking fish and knowledgeable, honest employees, so I'm not afraid of getting stressed or unhealthy fish from them -- just which fish are naturally most likely to do well.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[waterdrop]

Are the marbles considered as sensitive as the GBRs and cards? Just curious about any info you've collected to that effect. I would have thought they might be the lesser among the sensitives and could therefor be considered for the next introductions...

~~waterdrop~~
ps. my understanding about otos would be that it would matter whether you had enough of the specific types of algae that they like to eat -- that many of the problems reported with them come down to them starving because of lack of their limited diet preferences...

 

[meguro]

Blue rams require a temperature of around 28C or higher, this will be too harsh for your catfish. Since you already have the catfish I would change the blue ram to a bolivian ram which don't require as high temperatures, 25.5-26C being fine.

edit: you could add the bolivian ram whenever

 

[kbod]

my friend has similar size tank and fish he added in this order

black neons
hatchets
bolivian ram
corys
cardinals
otos

although he had done a fishless cycle the corys ,cardinals and otos took a long before he added these ,as most of these fish on list need a mature set up but he was told corys ,cardinals and otos were more than likely not to make it ...otos need really to be last as like waterdrop says its the algae they need s many new ones die of starvation even with algae tabs...i let my algae build up never cleaned glass on back n sides of tank so had plenty to eat ...
my male bristlenose doesnt even look like he eats algae..prefers his cucumber n potatoe..told female bn are better algae eaters..

seems you have to start somewhere so as your corys are in if your sticking with same choices imo id go with hatchets...as his tank is running fine for ages now and had no probs .... oh be aware though hatchets do jump ..as another friend lost loads when had a lidless tank ..even when they got tank with lid if startled theyd jump or looking for food ..have that net ready when changing water lol xx kaz x

 

[kbod]

forgot to add i would add a piece of smooth rock/stone as algae will build up on that also ..my corys n otos n bn love sitting on the rock n cleaning it ...

 

[waterdrop]

Totally agree - hatchets will jump!

 

[RobynR]

Thanks for the heads-up on the blue ram -- maybe I was getting confused. I'll go back and do my research on a Bolivian.

I do have a glass cover for the sake of the hatchets, and a piece of tulle to cover the opening in the back where the filter hangs on. It looks pretty fish-tight to me, but I'll keep a close eye on things once I add the hatchets.

As far as feeding otos, I do have a fair bit of the brown algae (diatoms, I think?) on the glass in my tank and haven't cleaned it off recently since I'm not sure about getting algae eaters. The otos I had in college seemed to do really well with fresh veggies like zucchini in addition to whatever algae they found. Would that work or is it not ideal? Is the general conclusion that otos will do better about eating algae than a BN would? I could wait to add an algae eater until last and see what the algae situation looks like over time. I've also heard that you can cultivate algae on rocks by leaving the rocks in a container of water where it'll get some sunlight -- would that be a viable option for otos or a BN? I could try it out and see how much algae I get before I got an algae eater.

WD, as far as which of the species is considered most sensitive, I'm having a hard time being certain. Most resources I've found are focused on the individual species and always suggest I add that species last... too bad they can't all be last. I guess I have unfortunate taste in fish, but I'm really happy with this stocking plan. If I'm going with a Bolivian ram instead of German blue, I seem to have heard/read that they're hardier, so that may be my best bet. As for the cardinals, I've heard that they're more sensitive than neons, that they're hardier than neons, that they always die off in new tanks, that they're great additions for new tanks, etc. There's a lot of contradiction out there and I have trouble knowing which sources to believe. I'm sure part of it depends on the condition they're in at the store, and at least there I have an advantage in a really good LFS with healthy fish and honest employees.

 

[waterdrop]

WD, as far as which of the species is considered most sensitive, I'm having a hard time being certain. Most resources I've found are focused on the individual species and always suggest I add that species last... too bad they can't all be last. I guess I have unfortunate taste in fish, but I'm really happy with this stocking plan. If I'm going with a Bolivian ram instead of German blue, I seem to have heard/read that they're hardier, so that may be my best bet. As for the cardinals, I've heard that they're more sensitive than neons, that they're hardier than neons, that they always die off in new tanks, that they're great additions for new tanks, etc. There's a lot of contradiction out there and I have trouble knowing which sources to believe. I'm sure part of it depends on the condition they're in at the store, and at least there I have an advantage in a really good LFS with healthy fish and honest employees.

Even if the Bolivian is less sensitive than the GBR, I'd still be surprised if it wouldn't be better to add after the hatchets. Part of it would be the value of the fish. I'd expect the Boliians to be much more expensive than the hatchets, but I guess I could be wrong. One thing for sure though, I've had lots of cards and neons over the years and I'm pretty convinced now that the 4 to 6 month wait after the tank is new is worth it. There comes a day out there somewhere around 6 months when a tank (seemingly all of a sudden sometimes, oddly) in my opinion seems to "go clear" and has a different feel to it somehow. I equate that with the ideal time for these little tetras, but just waiting the time seems to be a good enough insurance. I've got a little flock of neons currently and love them, as usual. So for me it would be... fitting of full covering of the whole tank, including heater slots etc., introduction of hatchets, wait, introduction of Bolivian rams, wait (to 6 mo.), introduction of neons. BN anytime.. otos later, perhaps with neons or when there's plenty of extra algae (sounds like you're on top of that already anyway.) Sounds like a great tank!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Jeremy180]

Imo the reputation cardinals and neons get for being delicate comes from two main scenarios:
People buying neoons that have "neon tetra disease"
People trying to keep them in ph thats too high.