What Do You Think Of This Stock?

[boshk]

I'm just making a list/plan of what I want in my new 33G tank after its cycled. So far, basic I know, still doing a lot of research, its

4x Bronze Cory
6 neon tetra
2 guppies
5 Celestial Pearl Danio
1 platy
1 Molly

Haven't decided on which kind yet for the guppies, platy and molly.

Are the single Platy, Molly okay or better as 2?
Tank will have 2 big driftwood, lava rock and stones (not much)
substrate mix of Aqua soil on 1 side for the plants, gravel or sand other side.

Only a few plants, most likely:
java fern
Amazon swords
1 floating plant
maybe baby dwarf

 

[the_lock_man]

Cories and CPDs are both shoaling species, so would benefit from greater numbers, absolute minimum of 6, but preferably more.
 
Guppies aren't a shoaling species, as such, but they are very very boisterous. With just two of them in the tank, one will dominate the other, and he will end up with ripped fins, and probably be bullied to death. Therefore, I normally recommend a minimum of 5 of them, so that the bullying is spread out amongst all the fish, and the one at the bottom of the pecking order gets a little respite.
 
Therefore, I would drop out the platy and the molly - both are OK in singles, but do prefer some company.
 
What I would also do is to scrub the bronze cories, and find some Salt & Pepper Cories, c.habrosus. These are much smaller fish, and would therefore allow you to increase the neon and CPD shoals.

 

[Byron]

I would not recommend Celestial Pearl Danio (Celestichthys margaritatus) in community tanks; this beauty is best on their own.  And the group should be much larger, SF recommends 20+ in a heavily planted tank.  Males are continually sparring (asssuming they are healthy and "happy" in their surroundings) and the larger number will reduce fin nipping damage.  They should not be kept with larger competitive species--guppies, platy, molly are certainly not advisable.
 
I agree to increase the numbers for any tetra and corys.  No mention is made of water parameters (specifically the hardness) but mollies must have moderately hard to hard water, whereas tetras would prefer softer.  Depending what you have, one of these may have difficulty.
 
Byron.

 

[boshk]

Cories and CPDs are both shoaling species, so would benefit from greater numbers, absolute minimum of 6, but preferably more.
 
Guppies aren't a shoaling species, as such, but they are very very boisterous. With just two of them in the tank, one will dominate the other, and he will end up with ripped fins, and probably be bullied to death. Therefore, I normally recommend a minimum of 5 of them, so that the bullying is spread out amongst all the fish, and the one at the bottom of the pecking order gets a little respite.
 
Therefore, I would drop out the platy and the molly - both are OK in singles, but do prefer some company.
 
What I would also do is to scrub the bronze cories, and find some Salt & Pepper Cories, c.habrosus. These are much smaller fish, and would therefore allow you to increase the neon and CPD shoals.

thanks. I'll look into it more. Guppies bully hey, are my neons going to have problems with them then?
 
water is going to be soft, without anything in the tank, the GH and KH are only 4ish.

 

[Byron]

water is going to be soft, without anything in the tank, the GH and KH are only 4ish.
 

 
Stay with soft water fish.  Mollies definitely will have serious issues in water this soft, platy too.  Guppies are livebearers and thus technically moderately hard water, but this fish is so "changed" by generations of commercial inbreeding that they seem to manage in anything.  Ironically, this inbreeding has seriously weakened the fish.
 
Byron.

 

[boshk]

 

water is going to be soft, without anything in the tank, the GH and KH are only 4ish.
 

 
Stay with soft water fish.  Mollies definitely will have serious issues in water this soft, platy too.  Guppies are livebearers and thus technically moderately hard water, but this fish is so "changed" by generations of commercial inbreeding that they seem to manage in anything.  Ironically, this inbreeding has seriously weakened the fish.
 
Byron.
 

Alright, scrub the molly plans.
 
And as to introducing the fish to the tank? QT each type before introducing into main tank?

 

[Byron]

Yes, once the tank is up and running with fish, any additions should be quarantined for a few weeks if at all possible.  And with shoaling fish (those requiring a group), it is generally better to introduce all of them at once.
 
Byron.

 

[boshk]

So, my latest is.....QT tank 26L (9G) cycled and stocked as a temporary tank because I put myself through more grief with my main cycled tank....which is now re-cycling now due to the soil.
 
4 neon tetra
8 cardinal tetra....(or could be neon)
10 Harlequin Rasbora 
 
When the main tank cycled...
 
I was thinking
5 salt pepper cories 
1 Dwarf gourami
2 Guppies (male)
4 otocinclus (for algae)
 
that would still be within the 1 inch fish per gallon (34 fish at 1 inch per fish)
my neon are tiny, so are the rasbora.
 
thoughts?
 
and the Otocinclus, is it true, don't buy them unless I have algae problem? doesn't all tank get some form of algae ?

 

[Jeremy180]

A word of caution on the inch per gallon rule:
When using it, you should factor in the fish's adult size, not the size you purchased them at.
For example, Your harleys have an adult size of 2", 1.5" For your Cardinals, and 1.25" for neons
Also, once you get past fish with an adult size of 2", it pretty much breaks down.
 
As for your ottos, IME they are fairly delicate fish, and don't eat all types of algae, either.

 

[Byron]

The "inch per gallon" so-called "rule" has other problems too.  It is obviously only referencing the ratio of body mass to water volume.  There are several other even more important factors to consider when it comes to the number of fish in a given tank.
 
We have already touched on a couple of these, but I will give the list so it is complete.  The water parameters, aquascape, filter flow, live plants, and fish species all impact the stocking.  The last item, fish species, has several components: the number needed for the species (shoaling fish need certain numbers), the size of the individual fish, the temperament, their behaviours (active swimmers, sedate fish), the water parameter preferences, and environmental preferences--does this particular fish need wood, or rock, or sand, or plants, or water current/no water current, or dim light, or...--and so forth.  This is why the online calculators do not always meet the mark; the specific factors are difficult if not impossible to programme into such a calculator; it takes human thinking.

  As a simple example from my own fish room, one of my tanks is a 29g, and it has 63 fish, whose total adult lengths would be about 102 inches.  Yet this aquarium is not overstocked by any degree, simply because of the total compatibility of all species (regarding water parameters, environment, activity level, plus temperament).  But if I were to stock this same tank with say Tiger Barbs, I would have 12-15 of only this one species and that would be it for this tank, because of their specific traits.
 
Turning to your list, boshk.  I would leave out the guppies, primarily due to differing water parameters, but also this is not the healthiest of fish these days.  Similarly for the dwarf gourami (Trichogaster lalius), this is a risk.  The Honey Gourami (Trichogaster chuna) would be a better choice if you want a similarly-sized gourami.
 
The salt and pepper cory...is this Corydoras habrosus, or Corydoras paleatus?  The latter is often commonly called the pepper cory, the former the salt and pepper (in NA anyway), but they are two very different corys with differing needs.  Scientific names are always more reliable so everyone knows exactly which species is being mentioned.
 
On the algae/otocinclus question...otocinclus should only be introduced to an established (mature) aquarium, with a reasonable biofilm on the surfaces where algae will grow.  This fish is wild caught, and often nearly-starved when purchased, so it needs a "natural" tank or it may completely starve.  It will learn to accept prepared foods like sinking algae foods, but not always at first.  Also, it only eats common green or brown (diatoms) algae, it will not touch the more problematic algae, just so you know.
 
Byron.