What Fish Would Look Good With These - 125 Litre Tank?

[wilchil64]

Hi,

I have a 125 litre Fluval tank, approx. 80 cm x 50 cm.

We currently have 6 leopard danios, 6 male guppys, 3 rosy barbs, 2 shrimps and 1 ancistris (gold).

They all get on fine and I'm aware I can't add many more fish.

However, I'm still looking for something for the mid to bottom area, as they all (apart from the shrimps and ancistris) seem to be mid to top swimmers. Also they are all small apart from the barbs and I would like something to "balance" the appearance of the community, that will fit in well in a community tank, and preferably not yellow/orange colours, ideally I'd now like to add a blue fish.

Obviously a Siamese fighting fish is not a good idea, not sure the tank is high enough for angelfish. I'm considering so far

Kribensis
Clown loaches
Dwarf gourami
otocinclus
leopard catfish

Still looking on the net for inspiration, but thought I'd ask for advice here if that's ok. I know some of these are bottom dwellers and most are not striking colours ...

Many thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

nannacara anomala

they're not blue the whole time but this is a pic of the males in breeding colours, and they spawn pretty readily without much work so they're in these colourings a fair amount of the time

i would steer clear of the DG's as they are very disease prone

german blue rams would be another choice

kribs would have been another of my obvious suggestions.

blue phantom plec would be a more colourful bottom feeder, not 100% sure if they're suitable for your tank so do some research, just a possibility.

 

[wilchil64]

nannacara anomala

they're not blue the whole time but this is a pic of the males in breeding colours, and they spawn pretty readily without much work so they're in these colourings a fair amount of the time

i would steer clear of the DG's as they are very disease prone

german blue rams would be another choice

kribs would have been another of my obvious suggestions.

blue phantom plec would be a more colourful bottom feeder, not 100% sure if they're suitable for your tank so do some research, just a possibility.

Thanks Miss Wiggle, I like the look of the german blue rams and the blue phantom plec, having looked around the plec doesn't get as big as some, is that right?

Also like the turquoise rainbows ... what do you think? not very big though.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

do you mean melatonia praecox? They're one of my other favourite fish, i thought about saying them yesterday but they're more mid-top swimmers so didn't say them. also they need a shoal so it's not a feature fish as such.

yeah i'm not a big plec expert, i'd advise you to put a post up in the plecs forum to find out if they would be suitable. be warned they're quite pricey as well, can be around £40 for a single fish.

 

[wilchil64]

do you mean melatonia praecox? They're one of my other favourite fish, i thought about saying them yesterday but they're more mid-top swimmers so didn't say them. also they need a shoal so it's not a feature fish as such.

yeah i'm not a big plec expert, i'd advise you to put a post up in the plecs forum to find out if they would be suitable. be warned they're quite pricey as well, can be around £40 for a single fish.

Ah, yes, I didn't see that they were mid-top swimmers - we really have enough near the top, need to balance it out.

Didn't realise the blue phantom plec was that expensive! might have to forego that one ... and my husband had set his heart on one! Will have a look at the other small catfish.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

unfortunately most of the fancy plecs cost somewhere around that price obviously will vary due to size of fish etc but that's the rough budget to allow for a nice fancy plec.

the zebras can be upward of £100 for a single fish!

 

[wilchil64]

My husband has now decided he'd like to add an angelfish, 6 purple emperor tetras and a small plec/catfish. He hopes that as the emperor tetras aren't as small as neon tetras and if we get a small angelfish, they should live in harmony.

So, my question is: is it ok to keep one angelfish, or should they be kept in a group and are they likely to eat our leopard danios, guppys and emperor tetras?

Thanks. I've spent all yesterday searching the web for info but got so much conflicting information regarding this, my head is spinning!

unfortunately most of the fancy plecs cost somewhere around that price obviously will vary due to size of fish etc but that's the rough budget to allow for a nice fancy plec.

the zebras can be upward of £100 for a single fish!

Definitely not zebras then!

I might just add another gold ancistrus - the one we have is lovely.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

no it's fine to keep a single anelsifh, remember though the tank needs to be 18" tall and at least 30 gallons.

the tank would be overstocked if you added an angel, shoal of emporers and another ancisturus.

i think the angel and tetras would be ok but the second plec is taking the stocking over the limit

that is fairly academic though as i dont think the fluval 125 is tall enough for an angelfish.

 

[wilchil64]

no it's fine to keep a single anelsifh, remember though the tank needs to be 18" tall and at least 30 gallons.

the tank would be overstocked if you added an angel, shoal of emporers and another ancisturus.

i think the angel and tetras would be ok but the second plec is taking the stocking over the limit

that is fairly academic though as i dont think the fluval 125 is tall enough for an angelfish.

Hmmm, tank is 18 inches tall and I think holds 29 UK gallons, 33 US gallons?

I'm ok leaving out the other plec.

Just wondering, is there a type of angelfish that doesn't grow quite as big?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Corleone]

Just wondering, is there a type of angelfish that doesn't grow quite as big?

Pterophyllum leopoldi, sold under common names teardrop, dwarf, or long-nosed angelfish.

Good luck finding them, and if you thought that plec was expensive...

There's also a third species, altum, which is more common and less expensive than leopoldi, but their bigger than common angelfish, and need a tank at least 24 inches tall.

 

[oakes]

If you have a preference for blue how about a blue dwarf gourami instead of the angel.
They are peaceful and do make quite a showy feature.

btw the Turquoise Rainbow is Melanotaenia lacustris which is quite a large (for your tank) schooling fish, the Praecox is the dwarf rainbow which would be more suitable but still a schooling fish.

 

[Corleone]

The dwarf gourami weakness to disease is a bit puffed up, IMO. They're one of those fish that just has a habit of dropping dead a few days after you get them, but when you get a good one, you're in good shape. Quarantine is always important for any fish, but doubly so for fish like dwarf gouramis.

 

[OldMan47]

For bottom and middle action, I like the corydoras. They do best in shoals of 6 or more and will really enliven the bottom 1/3 of a tank. Depending on what you like they come mostly in silvers or grays with spots or lines of black to dark grey. There are a few like orange lasers that are more striking and colorful but all seem to exhibit the same busy movement if you have a large enough group for them to feel safe. I am personally a fan of the dwarf sized cories but all of them make a nice active bottom to a tank.

 

[wilchil64]

The dwarf gourami weakness to disease is a bit puffed up, IMO. They're one of those fish that just has a habit of dropping dead a few days after you get them, but when you get a good one, you're in good shape. Quarantine is always important for any fish, but doubly so for fish like dwarf gouramis.

Thanks everyone for the advice, I'll keep looking.