Time To Think About Stocking

[Hungrydoug]

Well the fishless cycle is bumbling along so it's time to start thinking about stocking, I know I've probably got another six weeks or so to decide but looking for some early advice.

So I'm thinking along these lines:

4 pygmy cories (am I right in thinking that three lines would be too big?)
4 harlequin rasbora
4 guppies

SWMBO would like some tetras but she's been told that it will be at least six months. I'd like to get a shrimp or some snails too, but that's not pressing the the moment.

Tank is a 65l Aqua One with a Fluval U2 filter.

 

[waterdrop]

Unfortunately the rasboras will get a little dominant at 4 as the get bigger and older and the little cories may not relax and go around together at only 4. I'm not sure what to do at 65L (and saving room for neons/cards probaby...) I suppose one small thing would be to drop the male guppies to 3 or 2 and raise the harlequins by at least one. One good thing is that pygmys and neons are both so small they are kind of below average in the inch guideline...

 

[Hungrydoug]

Thanks Waterdrop. Thinking about leaving space for the tetras, perhaps do 6 pygmy cories and either 6 guppies or 6 harlequin rasboras, then see how we get on from there?

 

[Assaye]

6 pygmy corys minimum, to help them feel safe and keep them healthy.

How about:

6 x pygmy cory
6 x harlequin rasbora
6 x small tetra
6 x cherry/ghost/etc shrimp

That's quite heavily stocked and you'll want to wait at least three months before adding shrimp and neon/cardinal tetras, IMO. Other tetras might be OK. I know there are some hardy ones out there.

The heavier the plant, the easier time your fish will have

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I rather like the stocking list Assaye gives there because the neon/cards (your wife hopes for?) will be partial to similar water as the rasboras (softer, more acid) (I forget what your tap water is) whereas the guppies would be wanting harder water. So dropping the guppies helps keep your overall stocking down while hopefully consolidating fish that like similar water. WD

 

[Hungrydoug]

Thanks chaps, I think a fair compromise will be 6 pygmy cories and 6 harlequin rasboras to start, then add the tetras (I prefer the cardinal to the neon) and shrimp at a later date.

Assaye: planning on having some real plants, but nothing too complicated since this is all new to me, java fern and moss probably.

Waterdrop: Water from the tap tests as a pH of 6.8 - 7 and is probably soft due to being in Scotland. Wife? Don't give her ideas

 

[waterdrop]

ok good, your harlequins and cards will love the scottish water and your wife will love the cards (probably more than you unless you're washing a particularly tall pile of dishes ) ...ah, making me think of a nice time I spent in a small industrial neighborhood near Stirling Castle once, I was quite impressed with the green of the hills and the "containment" of commercial sprawl.. so much better than our failures here in the USA where "strip malls" are allowed to be plopped down anywhere some jerk can buy the land...

 

[Assaye]

Thanks chaps, I think a fair compromise will be 6 pygmy cories and 6 harlequin rasboras to start, then add the tetras (I prefer the cardinal to the neon) and shrimp at a later date.

Assaye: planning on having some real plants, but nothing too complicated since this is all new to me, java fern and moss probably.

Waterdrop: Water from the tap tests as a pH of 6.8 - 7 and is probably soft due to being in Scotland. Wife? Don't give her ideas

Great starter plants are cryptocoryne species, java moss, java fern, anubias species, amazon swords, elodea densa, hornwort . . . just some ideas! Have a look at pictures and decide what you like. Java fern, java moss and anubias grow really well when tied to wood/rocks.

As I said, don't be afraid to get loads. They really do help with water quality!

Here are my 65 litre Aqua One tanks:

None of these are high tech. For the top tank I have literally just dumped the plants in to give the fish some cover. With the bottom one, I played around with ferts and CO2 but I've stopped doing both of those. As long as you get hardy plants, they should grow well. If you're worried about keeping them alive, just add some cheap all-in-one ferts from your LFS. Most of the time the fish will provide enough nutrients, though.

 

[Hungrydoug]

Not many green in hills in Britain just now I'm thinking about constructing a little cave/hiding place from slate and getting some black pebbles since I've got black substrate and backing on the tank so I should have plenty of places to tie plants to.

Nice pictures, that's the same tank I have so I know it's do-able.