(1) 2 »
I<3Dyson I<3Dyson
  • Just popping in
  • Just popping in
  • Joined: 19/9/2012 19:39
  • From Lancashire
  • Group: Registered Users Basic Membership
  • Posts: 11
  • Posted on: 19/9/2012 22:23
opinions on the community #1
Hi there,

We get our tank tomorrow and i thought i'd post a list of the fish we are looking at putting together in the community so i can get my feelers out and get some opinions. I've also provided the quantity of each :) our tank is a 3.3ft tank 250 litre from all pond solutions, i believe it is a well liked brand of tank :)

Opinions appreciated xxxxx

1 siamese fighting fish
6 peppered cory's
6 kyathait danios
1 plec
6 pintail platies
2 swordtails
2 goldring butterfly suckers
2 american flag fish
2 opaline gourami's
6 big scale rasboras
6 black widow tetras
2 pineapple swords
3 kitty tetras
2 kribs
2 algae shrimp
3 clown loach.
Violet Violet
  • Tropical Adviser
  • Tropical  Adviser
  • Joined: 22/11/2008 17:42
  • From West Yorkshire
  • Group: Registered Users Caresheets FK Supporter Advisers Deep End
  • Posts: 7186
  • Posted on: 19/9/2012 22:31
Re: opinions on the community #2
Hi

That's quite a lot of stock for a new tank

You may wish to consider scaling this back quite a bit but if you can post pH (needs to be tested after 24 hours left standing) and GH (can be tested for immeditately), we should be able to suggest some suitable stocking and numbers for you.

Not all fish like the same kind of water and the water parameters change from post code to post code depending on where your water comes from.

Most of us here use these two kits, for testing:

API Freshwater Master Test Kit:http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fro ... nkw=api+freshwater+master

API GH/KH Test Kit:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fro ... m570.l2736&_nkw=api+gh+kh

Your local water board website should give you an inkling in the meantime. They usually have a bit on water quality where you can type in your post code. pH is usually averaged over 6 months or so but the GH reading would be useful.

The tank will need to be fishlessly cycled (using liquid ammonia for 4-6 weeks), the pretend fish of course to allow the filter bacteria to grow first before being safe to add fish. You have plenty of time to research the type of fish you eventually would like

Good linky here, ammonia calculator right at the bottom, scroll down:
http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles ... hless-cycling-article.htm
Please fill in your personal profile if you are posti
I<3Dyson I<3Dyson
  • Just popping in
  • Just popping in
  • Joined: 19/9/2012 19:39
  • From Lancashire
  • Group: Registered Users Basic Membership
  • Posts: 11
  • Posted on: 19/9/2012 22:36
Re: opinions on the community #3
Hiya :) i know what you mean lol, we're not looking at getting them all, only the friendly ones. I'll test the water and post the the results :) in the meantime any community friendly fish suggestions will be greatly received :) xxx
Fizz Fizz
  • Home away from home
  • Home away from home
  • Joined: 12/2/2006 19:19
  • From Hertfordshire
  • Group: Registered Users FK Supporter Deep End
  • Posts: 700
  • Posted on: 19/9/2012 22:44
Re: opinions on the community #4
Hiya I<3Dyson,

Don't get the clown loaches - seriously. Lovely lovely fish, but need really precise water conditions and a Mahoosive tank. They get BIG! My lovely bunch have been re-homed to someone who is able to move them into a 6ft tank eventually, something I couldn't do (I had a 4ft tank) and couldn't manage with my current home circumstances.

Fish-keeping is ace - just be very careful and choosy about the kinds of fish you take on. And ask on here for as much advice as you need - everyone is really lovely

Fizz
Violet Violet
  • Tropical Adviser
  • Tropical  Adviser
  • Joined: 22/11/2008 17:42
  • From West Yorkshire
  • Group: Registered Users Caresheets FK Supporter Advisers Deep End
  • Posts: 7186
  • Posted on: 19/9/2012 22:51
Re: opinions on the community #5
Without the pH and GH readings of your water it's a bit difficult to comment but the ones you can scratch out would be:

Male betta - not a community fish - should ideally be house alone due to fin nipping issues (him or other fish!). Best suited to a 45 litre (min) species only tank.

Flag fish - not community given posts here - grumpy and belligerent with other fish at the best. i fear you would not have a happy set up.

Common plec - far too big, these are monsters too. Fishlady here is upping to a 6 foot tank for her's soon I believe.

Clown loach - shoaling so 6 needed min, these get huge, 500 litre tanks min

There are also water temps to take into account of course. Fire away with some readings and the folk here can suggest what's suitable.
Please fill in your personal profile if you are posti
DaveGodfrey DaveGodfrey
  • Temperate Adviser
  • Temperate Adviser
  • Joined: 10/5/2010 0:02
  • From London
  • Group: Registered Users Deep End Advisers
  • Posts: 528
  • Posted on: 19/9/2012 22:53
Re: opinions on the community #6
What is the pH and hardness of your water?

Your fish are largely incompatible I'm afraid.

Siamese Fighters are solitary and generally not community fish. They're aggressive and do not mix with gouramis- or indeed any fish that they view as being either similar to themselves (long tails) or compete for similar parts of the tank (gouramis).

Tetras all need to be in shoals of 6 or more, and generally the bigger the better. Rasboras and danios are the same. Corydoras are also shoaling fish and need sand as a substrate or their barbels get abraded leaving them open to potentially fatal infections.

Gouramis, Clown Loaches, Corydoras, Kribensis, rasboras, the particular danios and tetras all like soft acidic water and temperatures around 24-26 degrees. SFFs also like it soft and acidic, but rather warmer.

Clown Loaches get far to big for your tank. They are also shoaling fish and get to a foot long or so. You'll need a tank about 6' long or more for them. Depending on the "plec" they get very big too- Common Plecs grow to 18" or so, but there are lots of different species and exactly how large they grow, and what food and other conditions they require depends on the species.

Goldring Butterfly Suckers are a type of Hillstream loach. These need unheated tanks with lots of flow and a supply of algae covered pebbles to feed them. They aren't compatible with the other fish you've chosen for this reason (Gouramis and SFFs, as well as being tropical like tanks with lots of vegetation and relatively little current).

American Flag Fish are aggressive, fin-nipping bullies, especially the males. They like densely planted tanks, hard, alkaline water, and need to be kept with fish that are either robust or fast enough to avoid attention. I wouldn't keep them in tanks with SFFs and Gouramis even if they did like the same conditions. A 240L tank would be ideal for a male and a group of females (if planted densely you could probably have more than one male). However they also don't need heated tanks (although they can be kept in tropical tanks).

A good rule of thumb for stocking is 1cm/2L which would give you space for about 120cm of stock, although you can go over this if your maintenance is good. Once you know what your water parameters are you can narrow down your stock somewhat, but the best advice I can give is to choose a species or two that you like the most and build your tank and community around their needs.
Loaches, Barbs, Minnows & Shrimp! Oh My!
great_kahn great_kahn
  • Home away from home
  • Home away from home
  • Joined: 23/7/2012 0:47
  • From Leicestershire
  • Group: Registered Users Basic Membership
  • Posts: 266
  • Posted on: 19/9/2012 22:55
Re: opinions on the community #7
Be careful what plec you get, are one was well over 12" when we gave him up. They can also become aggresive and territorial.

The siamese fighters are also not ideal community fish, they are slow and would ideally need to be hand fed to avoid being out competed, they also dont like strong currents.

Im a big fan of angel fish myself, real characters.
I<3Dyson I<3Dyson
  • Just popping in
  • Just popping in
  • Joined: 19/9/2012 19:39
  • From Lancashire
  • Group: Registered Users Basic Membership
  • Posts: 11
  • Posted on: 20/9/2012 6:39
Re: opinions on the community #8
Hi Everyone, Thanks for your responses, alot to think about there :) my partner said we have soft water? does that help? doing a GH test tonight and the PH test tomorrow. :) i'll post the results or i'll get my partner to advise you all, he has a log in himself anyway :)

Thank you everyone, please keep them coming :)

xxxx
I<3Dyson I<3Dyson
  • Just popping in
  • Just popping in
  • Joined: 19/9/2012 19:39
  • From Lancashire
  • Group: Registered Users Basic Membership
  • Posts: 11
  • Posted on: 23/9/2012 17:01
Re: opinions on the community #9
Hi everyone, the results are in :)

Ammonia - 0 to 0.5
PH - 6.4
KH - 50
GH - 125
Nitrate - 10
Nitrite - 0

:) let me know what you think :) xxx
DaveGodfrey DaveGodfrey
  • Temperate Adviser
  • Temperate Adviser
  • Joined: 10/5/2010 0:02
  • From London
  • Group: Registered Users Deep End Advisers
  • Posts: 528
  • Posted on: 23/9/2012 17:30
Re: opinions on the community #10
Is that the pH after the water's been left to stand for 24 hours?

If so your water would suit gouramis, tetras, loaches (there are several suitable for smaller tanks- which one you get would depend on the size of your tank), corydoras catfish, lots of "plecs", rasboras, and South American Cichlids. It will not be suited to most livebearers (apart from a couple of unusual, and rarely seen ones), the AFFs, or Rift Lake Cichlids (although these aren't fish you would keep in a general community anyway).

So you have lots of choice there, and a whole range of potential communities to build. I'm a big fan of biotopes, so you could have a nice Amazon-themed tank with tetras and Corydoras catfish, and a small "plec", or a Asian one with Loaches, barbs/rasboras and gouramis.

I would recommend having one shoal of mid-upper water swimmers (danios/rasboras/barbs/tetras), one of bottom dwellers (loaches/corydoras), and a centrepiece fish (gourami trio/cichlid pair). I think one larger shoal looks much nicer than two smaller shoals.
Loaches, Barbs, Minnows & Shrimp! Oh My!