Tank Vacancy

[jaywings19]

Well, I went on a one-week business trip and left the tank duties to my mom (big mistake). I ended up losing a couple of corys during my absence.

Take a look at the Eclipse 6 in my signature and you'll see who survived. I need some thoughts as to what fish I can get and how many without overstocking.

I was thinking about adding:

Corys - 1 or 2 (to replace the deceased)
Cherry Barb - 1 or 2

Would that be a good complement to my current stock? Overcrowding? Any other suggestions for stocking?

 

[platypus]

Excuse my ignorance, but is an Eclipse System 6, 6 gallons?

I wouldn't necessarily add any more fish for now if you've just lost some - unless you know the reason why they died and you're confident it's not going to affect your other fish. Is that the case?

Putting all that aside, I think corys are gorgeous, and definitely need to be kept in groups (in fact, 3 probably isn't enough), and I believe cherry barbs are peaceful

 

[jaywings19]

Excuse my ignorance, but is an Eclipse System 6, 6 gallons?

I wouldn't necessarily add any more fish for now if you've just lost some - unless you know the reason why they died and you're confident it's not going to affect your other fish. Is that the case?

Putting all that aside, I think corys are gorgeous, and definitely need to be kept in groups (in fact, 3 probably isn't enough), and I believe cherry barbs are peaceful

Yes, Eclipse 6 is a 6 gallon tank.

My mom overfed the tank and didn't clean enough... as a result there was a big ammonia spike. I spent 30 minutes on the phone long distance during a work conference walking my mom through doing a complete water test.

Anyway, I've been home for a week now and got the tank water stabilized once again.

I love the corys too... was going to get 2 of them... probably different types so I have various corys.

I wasn't sure if the cherry barbs need to be kept single, pairs, or groups... any thoughts?

I'm probably going to wait another week before adding any new fish... just trying to get ideas now.

 

[platypus]

You can read more about cherry barbs here.

It sounds from this as though they will be happy if you just get one or two - I have never kept them though so perhaps someone else can help? Given that your tank's quite small though, I think you might be better just sticking to the cories for now .

Sorry you lost some of your fish, it sounds very frustrating . Definitely a good idea to hang on before you get any, just to make sure your water's OK. Do you have a tester for nitrite as well as ammonia?

 

[jaywings19]

You can read more about cherry barbs here.

It sounds from this as though they will be happy if you just get one or two - I have never kept them though so perhaps someone else can help? Given that your tank's quite small though, I think you might be better just sticking to the cories for now .

Sorry you lost some of your fish, it sounds very frustrating . Definitely a good idea to hang on before you get any, just to make sure your water's OK. Do you have a tester for nitrite as well as ammonia?

Found this on another website: "The Cherry Barb should be kept alone in a small tank or in pairs in a larger tank. They can be kept in larger numbers if the vegetation is dense."

So I'm guessing my tank is suitable for 1 cherry barb. Which is fine by me.

I'm definitely waiting at least a week before adding stock.

Yes, I have a complete water testing kit (ammonia, nitrite, pH, hardness). That's what I had to talk my mom through doing via telephone.

I guess I'll add 2 corys and 1 cherry barb... that should just about do it for that tank.

This tank is keeping my appetite under control until I get my 46 (or possibly 72) gallon bow tank. Still haven't decided yet on size. I definitely have more than enough room for the 72 gallon tank and it's only $100 more. Should I go for it?

 

[Lithril]

ummmmmmmm, is that meant to be a trick question???

 

[jaywings19]

ummmmmmmm, is that meant to be a trick question???

Not trick... more like rhetorical.

 

[Lithril]

Was actually thinking that you could get the smaller one and then several others filling the space and keep a few species tanks

 

[jaywings19]

Was actually thinking that you could get the smaller one and then several others filling the space and keep a few species tanks

Yeah, I considered that too... just don't want to end up with so many tanks to maintain... and not enough power outlets. I'm thinking the 72 gallon bow tank would be a great community freshwater tank that would fit perfectly in the alcove.

Then, I was thinking about getting a smaller tank (30-50 gallon) for the adjacent wall when I'm ready to try my skills with marine fish. I'd really like to get a red/black volitan... they look great.