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Hi all,

I need help stocking my 23g (30"x12"x15" ) planted tank. Here's a pic of it from a couple of weeks ago: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/witje/Fish/tank3_wk1.jpg
Right now I have one small SAE, 2 Otos, and 6 ghost shrimps.
I will definitely be putting in at least 6 moderate-sized corydoras (LFS is holding 3 c. Caudimaculatus for me, plus I might get 3-4 c. Panda).
I'm thinking of adding:
- one pair of Bolivian Rams or German Rams (leaning towards Bolivians)
- 3 Golden Pencilfish (n. beckfordi)
- 4 cardinal tetras OR 3 flame tetras

So the final stocking list at the moment looks like:
- one SAE
- 2 Otos
- 6 Corydoras
- 2 Rams
- 3 Pencilfish
- 3-4 Tetras
(+ 6 shrimps)

Is this overstocked? I know the tetras should be kept in a larger school, but IME the supposedly schooling fishes (tetras, rasboras) rarely if ever school in my tanks (I guess nothing to scare them). I'd appreciate any feedback and/or changes to the above list.

Thanks & cheers!



Last edited by upikabu at 14-Aug-2005 09:24

-P

It looks slightly overstocked. I'd get rid of the Tetras since they wont school anyways. You might want to get rid of the SAE depending on how big it is. I'd focus more on the two rams and the corys.

well...ok...i think u can dump the sae since u have ur ottos there..u may want to add one more...then, the pencilfish....its a shoaling fish..u may want to increase this as well..6 cories is gud...if u goin to put tetras...u need at least 6 in there...but..that will overstock u...u may choose a centerpiece instead. with regards to shrimps??? what kind...might be eaten by ur characins if its small like the red cherries.

upikabu,

No1 – your tank looks very nice

Now, to your stocking list. Basically I think it looks ok, although I would make some adjustments.

I think you should either up the group of tetras (they will school, maybe loosely, but they will) and remove the Pencilfish or vice versa.

Further, I would up the number of Otos and remove the SAE.

Last but not least, I cannot really identify it, but is that an Ebo Jaeger heater in the back? Doesn’t it have this line on it that says “Do not submerse above this line”? If so, I would suggest you follow this instruction. You can always hide it behind the Cabomba (I guess) on the right hand side.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Chuck the SAE and chuck the pencil fish.

This is what I would go with...

10 Cardinal Tetras
6 Cory's
2 Bolivian Rams
3 ottos

Forget the SAE & the Otto's & get more Tetra's.


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Thanks a lot for the suggestions!
I've been thinking about returning the SAE (1.5" currently) since it seems quite useless so far in terms of eating algae (the ottos are doing a much better job). All it does it fly up and down the front of the tank. Maybe it's expecting food from me since it came from a no algae tank in the LFS? (I'm not feeding it ATM.) Unfortunately it was quite expensive (AU$15).

The shrimps are ghost/glass shrimps, and they're about 2cm. Will these be eaten by the Rams?

I put the tetras & pencilfish in there b/c I thought Rams need dither fish of some sort (not really sure why). I've kept quite a few tetras (albeit no cardinals) and I'm a bit bored of their lack of personality (at least in comparison to corys and cichlids). Do people find pencilfishes more "interesting" in their behavior?

Ingo - yes, it's a Jaeger heater. I have this brand heater in all my 3 tanks and they're all submerged and I haven't had any problems yet. From my previous research on heaters months ago, I read that they removed the submersible label on the box/instructions when the company was bought by Eheim, but the LFS's I've talked to and the people in fish forums said that they still function the same and should be ok to submerse. I don't recall seeing anything in the heater NOT to submerse it, but I'll check it tonight when I get home. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks again!


-P

Ingo - I checked my heaters last night and all of them have a "fully submersible" label on top (right above the glass part). Maybe the newer Jaeger models are not fully submersible?

Cheers.

-P

The rams may eat the shrimp, if you buy them when they're large enough to do so. They do have small mouths, but the shrimp could be regarded as competition and be gobbled up or at least killed. Be wary of that.

Pencilfish aren't really active or anything, but they can be somewhat interesting to watch. They establish little pecking orders like tetras usually do, and pencils will also pick algae from your plants and decorations. If you think that's funny or whatever, then maybe you will like them more than tetras. They still won't compete with the cories or rams, though.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I'm rethinking the Bolivian Rams now, at least having a pair of them. Some people on another forum mentioned their Bolivians constantly harassing their cories. I don't want to have anything that jeapordizes the corys' happiness.
Would it be ok to have 2 male Bolivians, or just 1 male Bolivian with maybe another "display" fish (perhaps a male German Ram)? Another option I thought about is a pair of keyholes, but they might get too big for that size tank. Any other small, peaceful cichlids I should consider? Apistogrammas are hard to come by here in Australia.

Thanks!

-P

Regarding what the other folks said on the rams...

I have a Bolivian ram (female), and she rarely ever bothers my cories. The only time she bugs them is when the lights have been off for a while and she is only partly aware of the surroundings; when I drop in food for my pleco, the cories swarm it and the ram doesn't want that. She likes her rest, so she either nips their flanks to get them to swim off, or knocks them over with her head. The catfish don't seem to be bothered by this.

I will say that a breeding pair of rams could be trouble for Corydoras, but even still the rams wouldn't do too much damage. They guard their spawning site (and later, the free-swimming fry), but in most cases leave the intruders alone once they've left the immediate area around the babies. If your tank is thirty inches by twelve, that will provide enough bottom space so that the cories have room away from any rams. If you are still concerned about the welfare of the catfish, maybe try two female Bolivian rams?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Thanks sirbooks, that helps a lot.

-P

I say mabey

2-rams
6-cories
4-yoyo loaches
4-chocolate gouramis
1-fire red gourami

Well, I finally got my first-ever cichlids today for this tank: 2 male Bolivian Rams.
They seem to go together everywhere and don't really quarrel (yet).

I also saw one really nice-looking male Black Phantom Tetra at the LFS today. He had this purple hue on his body that's just striking. Are they ok to keep just as a pair (male & female)? If so, I might go with this list instead:
Currently in:
- one SAE (will go when it's bigger)
- 2 Otos
- 2 male Bolivian Rams
- 6 Ghost shrimps
Potential tankmates:
- 2 Black Phantom Tetras (pair)
- 4 dwarf Pencilfish (nannostomus marginatus)
- 6 medium-sized corydoras

What do you think?



Last edited by upikabu at 19-Aug-2005 07:40

-P

Black phantoms school, so you'd need several more of them to keep them happy. Six is considered a base minimum number for schooling fish, and that can be applied here.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."