Yet Another Community Fish Recommendation Thread...

[IndySE]

Hello,
 
I currently have a Roma 200 tank with Fluval U3 and U4 filters with the following band of misfits:
 
 
5 x White Cloud Mountain Minnow
3 x Zebra Danio  
1 x Yellow Zebra Danio
2 x Scissortail Rasbora
1 x Neon Tetra (getting returned to LFS shortly)
2 x Columbian Tetra
1 x Glass Catfish
1 x Boesmani Rainbow
2 x Red Platy
3 x High Fin Platy
1 x Molly (getting returned to LFS shortly)
5 x Harlequin
2 x Denisoni Barb
2 x Silver Shark
2 x Pleco
 
 
I'm looking for some not-so-common fish that I can add in to the tank, I'm currently looking at German Rams and maybe some Odessa Barbs as I love the way they look but need to check their suitability.
 
Any ideas?
 
Cheers,
Indy

 

[Fizzy77]

You need to bump up the amount of danios ,Tetras and  Glass Catfish you have as they all need a shoal of 6 or more, I would research the others as you may need to bump those up aswell.
 
If you have 2 x common plecs then they can get up to and over 1 foot in length and Bala/Silver Sharks get pretty big aswell! I would say you pretty well stocked if not over stocked.

 

[IndySE]

Hi,
 
The sizes of the Plecos and Silver Sharks are something I was made aware of when I got them, the LFS is pretty good at taking fish in as they have pretty big tanks so when they get a bit unmanageable I can take them back, hopefully not for a good couple of years at least!
 
I am planning on either taking back the individual fishes or bumping numbers up, my original plan was to get in as many species of fish as I reasonably could but after seeing the harlequins swim in their gang the idea of more shoals is pretty tempting and probably a better solution too.
 
Upside down catfish is another one I saw at the shop on the weekend, may investigate them a bit more.
 
Thanks for the advice,
Indy

 

[Sickbound]

It sounds like you need to do a little bit of your own research. Most of your fish are either going to get too big, or you need to have 6 or more of them for them to be happy.
Why don't you read an article about each of your fish that you already have before adding any more species to your tank. 

 

[Wills]

I agree with above - its not a great mix of fish you have at the moment. - I appreciate what your saying about the fish stores taking in the fish back when they get to a certain size but its not uncommon for shops with this policy to become over run with big fish like these Bala Sharks and Common Plecos are some of the most common fish in the hobby and many people will be buying them from this shop on the same premise - all I am concerned about is what happens when they are full and they cant take your fish?
 
I think your initial plan of getting as many species of fish as possible was not the best and the current numbers reflect this you have a lot of schooling fish in low numbers right now which is never a good thing. The reason people recommend a minimum of 6-10 fish per school of each species is because in the wild the school is in its hundreds if not thousands in some species and times of year.
 
You also have a broad mix of temperature tolerences of the fish you keep which when kept either too cold or too warm it can knock years off their life span.
 
If it were my tank I would take advantage of the stores offer to take fish back off you. I think my stock would be like this
 
 
10 x Zebra Danio (is the Yellow Zebra Danio the gold morph or is a different species?) or  10 x Harlequin
8 x Scissortail Rasbora
8 x Columbian Tetra  or  8 x Glass Catfish  or  6 x Denisoni Barb  (though not 100% the Barbs are the best choice for the tank)
5x Platy (2 red, 3 high fin)
 
I know it may seem drastic but the bigger schools will look much much better and much more natural you will also see your fish become more confident, I bet right now some are a little skittish when people around the tank?
 
I'll explain why I would remove the other fish as well
 
5 x White Cloud Mountain Minnow  -  temperate fish that need lower temperatures than the rest of the fish in this tank currently
1 x Boesmani Rainbow  -  big fish and in a large school would take a large chunk out of your stocking list as they are quite a chunky fish when adult. I also think they need a slightly bigger tank than a 200 liter
2 x Silver Shark  -  As I mentioned above a common giant in home aquariums not always the best idea to keep them with the intention of rehoming as it can stunt fish which causes them pain and to become deformed. In some situations you can become stuck with them as well which is not a good situation for either of you.
2 x Pleco - same as Silver Sharks
 
As for adding more fish I would focus on getting your current schools upto the kind of numbers I mentioned above.But off your plans from above I would skip the German Rams as they are quite delicate Bolivian Rams are much better or there are plenty of other dwarf cichlids that would work like Apistos and Laetacaras. The Oddessa Barbs would work but I would consider them an alternative to the Sissortail Rasboras rather than an addition to the tank. I think the Upside Down Catfish would work as well in a trio but make sure you get the Synodontis Nigrventis rather than the larger species like S.Eupterous.
 
Hope that helps.
Wills

 

[IndySE]

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I may have got a bit too carried away with my Noah's Ark approach to having variety.
 
I'll have a think about what to do and will let you know what I have ended up with
 
Cheers,
Indy

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Indy.
 
It happens to lots of people, and its easy to get carried away.  You'll be shocked at exactly how great larger shoals of less types of fish will actually look in your tank... far superior, if you ask me.
 
[media]https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yhoZ9pzAgg[/media]
Here's a tank...
 
 
[media]https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzKa7d-Ha7Q[/media]
Here's nature...