What is wrong (with me)

[Beastije]

I know it is a weird title and maybe even a werider topic. I have had this particular tank for two years and I keep adding and adjusting and thinking about it, and I am just not liking it. I do not understand why, the community should work, the fish are ok, colors good, behavior sometimes interresting and I keep trying to fix it by adding more things in it, and it is still not IT.
Maybe someone elses perspective will be usefull
the tanks dimensions are 120x50x60 cm (lxwxh), I know it could use more plants, I am still experimenting with what holds and what doesnt, I have rotala rotundifolia ordered to fill in the empty spaces near the wood on the left side. Stocking is as follows:
4x bolivian ram (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus) since 02.2023
2x Pearl gourami (Trichopodus leeri) since 11.2023
7x Otos (Macrotocinclus affinis) since 05.2022
13x Corydoras sterbai half since 11.2022, half since 10.2021
6x hatchetfish (Carnegiella marthae) half since 12.2022, half since 10.2021
17x rummynose tetras (Hemigrammus bleheri) since 12.2022
15x ember tetras (Hyphessobrycon amandae) must be some weird stock, I started with around 50 purchased since 10.2021

I also have bamboo shrimps (over two years now), a six year old nerite snail 4 amanno shrimp for the past year or more

For the past year the tank wasnt what I expected. The embers were like a spit in the water, the sterbais spend most of the time hiding/sitting, not moving. The tank looked empty. I bought 20 rummynose, it got better but not by much. I bought 5 bolivian rams, they settled into stable 4, they spawn, they guard, they are super mellow, very much fun, they swim together as a group when not spawning. But the upper regions still look empty most of the time. Most recently I bought two pearl gourami, having experience with honey gouramis as adventurous fish all over the tank. Sadly Honey gouramis available here are not good, they import only the pale variants so I went with male/female pearl gourami instead. However they only hang out at the very top of the tank, the male on the right side near the filter intake/output, the female on the left side, with the hatchetfish. They occasionally hang together or chase each other, but they almost never venture out of the surface. Maybe they dont enjoy the tank and there is something I could do to make them better. They have been in the tank for alost two months now, I expect they are all settled in.
I made a video of this tank, and of my other asian stocked tank to compare (because that tank I quite enjoy). I fed right before the video and there is algae on the glass I havent noticed before starting filming ofcourse

Any advice or reality check will be much appreciated.

TANK IN QUESTION

ASIAN

 

[Ichthys]

Very surprised to see zero water movement. There’s a surface film, which prevents gaseous exchange, so the oxygen available to the fish might be limited. Do the Corys go to the top for air?

A filter outlet moving water across the surface will liven all of those fish up. For a 360L tank you should have something like a 2000lph turnover.
If the Pearl Gouramies are not a pair they won’t hang out together.

 

[Beastije]

Very surprised to see zero water movement. There’s a surface film, which prevents gaseous exchange, so the oxygen available to the fish might be limited. Do the Corys go to the top for air?

A filter outlet moving water across the surface will liven all of those fish up. For a 360L tank you should have something like a 2000lph turnover.
If the Pearl Gouramies are not a pair they won’t hang out together.

I think the surface film was only from the feeding, i don't usually see it. I purposely never had surface movement because of the hatchetfish, so it was always aimed mid water for the bamboo shrimp. It is an Eheim 2217 with a 1000lph but granted the pipes do need cleaning again. And the plant takes so much away from the current too.
I thought pearls are a shoaling fish and will interact with each other anyway, like honey gourami do.
I do have a 2213 here i could perhaps try to hook up and add to the tank but even the embers will have issues handling any sort of the current.
The sterbais will go to gulp air occasionally, they will also feed from the surface or from the plants on the surface

 

[Ichthys]

Shoaling fish need a shoal, and most will become unsociable and even aggressive towards each other if the numbers are too small.
Corys only go to the surface for air if there’s not enough oxygen in the water.
And you’d be surprised by the amount of current Ember Tetras can handle with ease.

 

[Colin_T]

The tank looks good and the fish appear healthy and it looks natural, but it's drab and boring. Don't take that the wrong way. The fish are happy and healthy and living a relaxed lifestyle, which is good for them. But the tank lacks colour. You have ember tetras but they are tiny and not hanging out in a big ball. The rummynose tetras are the same colour as the substrate and spread out all over the tank, which means they aren't stressed. The plants are green and I can't see the pearl gouramis.

If dwarf gouramis weren't riddled with diseases I would say add a few cobalt blue dwarf gouramis. If it wasn't a softwater South American theme and Melanotaenia praecox weren't infected with TB, you could add 10 of them. Unfortunately these fish are not what you want in the tank due to their health issues.

A group of black and or red phantom tetras or diamond or rosy tetras might add something. A group of ruby barbs might add some colour or some of the 5 or 6 banded barbs.

 

[Beastije]

The tank looks good and the fish appear healthy and it looks natural, but it's drab and boring. Don't take that the wrong way. The fish are happy and healthy and living a relaxed lifestyle, which is good for them. But the tank lacks colour. You have ember tetras but they are tiny and not hanging out in a big ball. The rummynose tetras are the same colour as the substrate and spread out all over the tank, which means they aren't stressed. The plants are green and I can't see the pearl gouramis.

If dwarf gouramis weren't riddled with diseases I would say add a few cobalt blue dwarf gouramis. If it wasn't a softwater South American theme and Melanotaenia praecox weren't infected with TB, you could add 10 of them. Unfortunately these fish are not what you want in the tank due to their health issues.

A group of black and or red phantom tetras or diamond or rosy tetras might add something. A group of ruby barbs might add some colour or some of the 5 or 6 banded barbs.

I did consider adding cherry barbs, since I broke my south american theme anyway. I am just afraid i keep throwing fish at the tank, i never had so many species in one. I am usually two or three species per tank kind of girl and this is new to me and sort of scary. The embers are dying out though so i though maybe the cherry barbs would be a nice replacement. Like 5 males 10 females? Not sure if the tank can handle more.
I am not liking tetras anymore i think. Ofcourse i haven't tried them all

 

[Naughts]

Cherry barbs are relatively small so could also get 'lost' in that big tank. Larger barbs or tetra with deep bodies could have more of an impact.
You could add 2 more red tiger lotus on the right hand side, one front, one back.

 

[Beastije]

I have been looking at some larger fish and boy, it is hard to pick. So many choices and conflicting info on which are compatible, not nippy and would work with the pearl gourami / bolivian rams. I wonder for example if congo tetras would work in my tank. Some sites say too nippy for pearls, some say super peaceful.
Gah, choices

 

[Colin_T]

Congo tetras are too active for the other fishes you have

 

[Beastije]

Congo tetras are too active for the other fishes you have

And too large i assume. Is there perhaps a website listing fish by their activity levels? Could be useful for occasions

 

[Alice B]

I know it is a weird title and maybe even a werider topic. I have had this particular tank for two years and I keep adding and adjusting and thinking about it, and I am just not liking it. I do not understand why, the community should work, the fish are ok, colors good, behavior sometimes interresting and I keep trying to fix it by adding more things in it, and it is still not IT.
Maybe someone elses perspective will be usefull
the tanks dimensions are 120x50x60 cm (lxwxh), I know it could use more plants, I am still experimenting with what holds and what doesnt, I have rotala rotundifolia ordered to fill in the empty spaces near the wood on the left side. Stocking is as follows:
4x bolivian ram (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus) since 02.2023
2x Pearl gourami (Trichopodus leeri) since 11.2023
7x Otos (Macrotocinclus affinis) since 05.2022
13x Corydoras sterbai half since 11.2022, half since 10.2021
6x hatchetfish (Carnegiella marthae) half since 12.2022, half since 10.2021
17x rummynose tetras (Hemigrammus bleheri) since 12.2022
15x ember tetras (Hyphessobrycon amandae) must be some weird stock, I started with around 50 purchased since 10.2021

I also have bamboo shrimps (over two years now), a six year old nerite snail 4 amanno shrimp for the past year or more

For the past year the tank wasnt what I expected. The embers were like a spit in the water, the sterbais spend most of the time hiding/sitting, not moving. The tank looked empty. I bought 20 rummynose, it got better but not by much. I bought 5 bolivian rams, they settled into stable 4, they spawn, they guard, they are super mellow, very much fun, they swim together as a group when not spawning. But the upper regions still look empty most of the time. Most recently I bought two pearl gourami, having experience with honey gouramis as adventurous fish all over the tank. Sadly Honey gouramis available here are not good, they import only the pale variants so I went with male/female pearl gourami instead. However they only hang out at the very top of the tank, the male on the right side near the filter intake/output, the female on the left side, with the hatchetfish. They occasionally hang together or chase each other, but they almost never venture out of the surface. Maybe they dont enjoy the tank and there is something I could do to make them better. They have been in the tank for alost two months now, I expect they are all settled in.
I made a video of this tank, and of my other asian stocked tank to compare (because that tank I quite enjoy). I fed right before the video and there is algae on the glass I havent noticed before starting filming ofcourse

Any advice or reality check will be much appreciated.

TANK IN QUESTION

ASIAN

Maybe you have too much time to focus on it? Expectations are hard to match sometimes. Looks like a nice tank to me.

 

[PygmyPepperJulli]

Maybe it's the way you've scaped, rather than the tank itself? Not me saying it's bad, just that's it's different to the other one and maybe you prefer that one. For example, you may not see your surface dwellers much because of all those leaves (java fern? Crypts) on the right hand side that may block their swimming area.

 

[Beastije]

Maybe you have too much time to focus on it? Expectations are hard to match sometimes. Looks like a nice tank to me.

I so do, I work from home and this tank is right in front of the couch too, so I spend a lot of time looking into it, doing the stretching in front of it,... it is the largest tank I have

Maybe it's the way you've scaped, rather than the tank itself?

I did change the scape a bit back few months and took out most of the wood and didnt find the replacement yet, so could be it too

I think I will add more pearl gourami, I expect they may not be so shy after that and be more in the mid levels other than just the surface. Maybe more of the rummynose too, like extra 10 to make a really big school. Will see

 

[Alice B]

you must have healthy fish there. If I get a tank all healthy I stop buying because healthy fish are apparently quite rare in North Texas, USA.

 

[Beastije]

Back to thinking about this tank I didnt buy anything new except plants and am still musing.
I dont think I like any tetras. I considered the black neons, but they seem to be about as not active as the embers and I really do not like the embers. All the other tetras are either nippy or not sure, and I wouldnt want to affect the pearl gouramis/hatchetfish in any way. Since I already broke the biotope, I started looking elsewhere.
Rasboras, danios. not barbs, sadly the nippy/scary applies to the barbs too.
I already had zebra danios and harlequin/lambchop rasboras, so not looking into those at all. CPD is I think a tad small for a tank of this size but might be interresting

What about brilliant rasbora (Rasbora Einthovenii) or pearl danios ( Danio albolineatus) or leopard. Or some rainbowfish, not the large ones, those look weird, and not the pseudomugil ones, I have them, they dont like the depth. But maybe the Iriatherina werneri?

I dont know. I already had a lot of fish, I have a lot of fish and somehow, I want more fish....