FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Okay! So these are my three tanks:
Jebo 338 - 40 litres
3ft - 230ish litres
5ft - 310ish litres

Now the fish I currently have in the Jebo are:
1 leopard danio (female)
1 zebra danio (male)
3 white cloud minnows (1 male, 2 female)
3 black widow tetras
1 small bristlenose catfish

And the fish I currently have in the 3ft are:
9 Harlequin Rasboras
1 Siamese Algae Eater
3 Bronze Cories (2 males, 1 female)
2 bristlenose catfish (male and female)
+20 tiny baby bristlenoses catfish

And I am getting the 5ft tank soonish... Then I am planning to seriously shuffle up my current arrangements and get new fish. But I'm not completely sure what I will get... So I'm hopeful that you can provide some species recommendations and also point out any combinations you think may be unsuccessful (species incompatibility)... And any overstocking problems!

So, the Jebo:
10 hastatus cories
1-5 tiny bristlenoses (to be moved out once they grow up)

3ft:
3 black widow tetras
10 bronze cories (or perhaps other cories...)
2 smallish bristlenose catfish
12 guppies (3 males, 9 females)
5ish other types of tetras? Like bulky ones? Suggestions?

5ft:
2 bristlenose catfish
all of the baby bristlenoses (except those in Jebo)
1 leopard danio
1 zebra danio
10 white cloud minnows
9 harlequin rasboras
2 blue rams or 2 bolivian rams - can't decide! Suggestions?
2 other cichlids - I've seen them at the store and I think they were some kind of Julie. I will try to find out the name today.
10ish something else? Small, moving fish?

I don't know if I'm overstocking... But I'm welcome to suggestions.
My two adult bristlenoses breed - so I'm certain I can keep small ones cycling through my smaller tanks and moving them out as they grow too old...
Thanks.

EDIT: One extra question. You can see what I currently have in my Jebo and what I plan to put in - do you think that their bioloads conincide? So that I could get all 10 hastatus cories and put them in at once with no cycling problem?

Last edited by Leema_ at 17-Sep-2005 18:09

You can see what I currently have in my Jebo and what I plan to put in - do you think that their bioloads conincide? So that I could get all 10 hastatus cories and put them in at once with no cycling problem?

If your existing tank is already cycled, getting 10 c. Hastatus to replace the fishes you mentioned shouldn't be a problem bioload-wise. They are very tiny.

-P

For the 3ft tank, lemon tetras or white fin ornate tetras would make a nice contrast to the black widow tetras.

For the 5ft tank, I wouldn't mix white clouds with Rams. White clouds prefer much lower temps (18-22C) than the Rams (26C+).

Welcome to FP, BTW!

-P

Corydoras, Tetra's & Danios like to stay in schools of at least 6. As for Tetra's, i suggest Lemon & Rummynose, as they are quite nice & school alot.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

upikabu - that is exactly what I wanted to know. Thank-you. I hear that Hastatus prefer to be moved in groups that a couple at a time, so hopefully by putting 10 in there at once they will not die! (It is cycled.)

By 'white fin ornate tetras' do you mean (what I atleast call) 'white black widow tetras'? I do like Lemon Tetras - I had just forgotten them. They're a good suggestion.
I was also thinking about 3 or so blind cave tetras... But the thought escaped me when I made the original post.

Well, the story behind the danios and minnows is kind of long... When I bought my big fat female cory, the zebra got into the bag. And apparently it was 'too hard' to get him out, so he was left in there... As friends, I got him a leopard and a minnow (I don't know why I thought the minnow would fit in... That belongs in the 'silly' thread, hey?)... and soon enough the danios were picking on the minnow, so I got the minnow some friends. And now everyone's happy, but not in schools of six. Really, the reason that I have not got them in schools of six is because I didn't want any in the first place!
However, I really do like the minnows (they're the dark variety, not those white ones), hence why I have them in the 'planned' big school in the 5ft. At the moment I think they are living at 26 C... At least 24 C... And they don't seem to mind at all. I've been told that cold water fish can live at tropical temperatures, just not the other way around? But they've been living at this temperature for a year now, so I don't think that it would be a problem? Do you still see an issue with temperature with the rams and minnows?

I think I'm pretty set with Lemons now. I had forgotten about them, but your posts have reminded me and I'm like "Yeah!". Also the blind caves (not many, seeing as they don't school and they kind of scare me a little) and I think that's my 3ft finished off.
3 black widow tetras
10 bronze cories (or perhaps other cories... still pondering)
2 smallish bristlenose catfish
12 guppies (3 males, 9 females)
5 lemon tetras
2/3 blind cave tetras
Does that sound okay or a bit cramped?

For the 'other' fish in the 5ft I was thinking about something like Congo Tetras (obviously, not 10 of them [too big, wouldn't they be?]). Would they be a bit too 'gentle' for coexisting with danios, rams and potentially julies?

By the way, I didn't find out that name of the Julie... Unfortunately. (I forgot. Haha.) But it was black and white (or close to black, might have been brown) and it had blue fin-tips. That's probably describing a lot of julies, and I looked through the pictures on the site but I don't quite remember enough to identify it.

And would julies and rams be okay?

As for the suggestion of Rummynoses... I don't know. They're like neons and cardinals to me - they never really appealed for some reason.

Thanks for the welcome to the FP forums.
I was here before but no longer use the e-mail (it's died) so couldn't get into my account.
Hence, why I'm 'Leema_'.

No, white fin ornate tetras are different than the white widow tetras. They're a cousin of the Rosy Tetras, but have more beautiful fins IMO. Here's a pic:
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Hyphessobrycon_bentosi.php
I see them quite often in the Brisbane area (mostly bred in SE Asia), so I reckon they're quite common in other parts of the country as well. They're also hardy. Will make a nice contrast to your black widows I think (they get to about the same size). The blind cave tetras are a bit too creepy-looking for me (and they get pretty big, 9cm I think).

How about putting the guppies in the 5ft and white clouds in the 3ft instead? That way you can keep the 3ft at 24-25C and the 5ft in higher temps (27-28C) that the Rams like. That will also give you more space when the guppies proliferate.

So for your 3ft:
3 black widow tetras (middle layer)
5 lemon tetras (middle layer)
3 white fin ornate tetras (middle layer)
5-6 white clouds (top layer)
2 BN (non specific)
9 corys (10 albinos or 3 albinos & 6 others, I like c. Trilineatus, c. Panda, etc.) (bottom layer)

And your 5ft:
2 danios (top)
12 guppies (top)
9 harlequins (middle)
2 Rams (I prefer Bolivians as they're hardier) (bottom)
2 cichlids (don't know anything about Julies, but don't Africans normally like higher pHs than your normal tropicals? A harem of Apistogrammas or a couple of Keyhole Cichlids would be some other options) (bottom)
BN's
Other middle-dweller suggestions: dwarf neon (praecox) rainbowfishes, cherry barbs

Oh and regarding the c. Hastatus, yes they should be in a group (larger the better), but they are sensitive fish (like other dwarf corys) nonetheless. I got my group of 11 a few months ago, and they were fine for a month, then within the span of a week 3 of them died for some unknown reason (just found one stuck in the filter intake 3 days in a row). The remaining 8 have been ok for the last 2 months (I've also put a sponge prefilter over the filter intake since the loss, not sure if this helped or not). I've heard this kind of unexplained death happened with a few other Hastatus keepers.

HTH and good luck!

Last edited by upikabu at 20-Sep-2005 06:38

-P

I do not think I've ever seen 'white ornate fin tetra' on any tanks around here (South Australia). But I may have seen rosy barbs and just mistaken them for them. So I will try to see if I can find them, now!

The 3ft tank is going in the study and the 5ft in the lounge. the reason I would like the guppies in the study is because I think they'd be a very fun fish to glance over at. While in the 5ft, I was hoping to have the focus on chunkier fish with small schooling fish to fill in the gaps.

Though I don't mind putting the white clouds in with the guppies, I don't think I'd get any more of them. I think small fish 'clash' with guppies, somehow.
Also, I can take guppy babies back for store credit at a shop around here - which I will do if too many survive predation.

I also forgot two fish that I currently have... I feel like a very bad fish mum, but. I forgot my Siamese Algae Eater (which I determined is 'false') and a Sailfin Molly boy.

So this is my current thoughts for species:

3ft:
12 guppies
1 sailfin molly
3 white clouds
3 blind cave tetras
3 black widow tetras
5 white fin ornate tetras/lemon tetras
2 bristlenoses
10 corydoras


I had forgotten Cherry Barbs! I love 'em, but never owned them. I also looked up Apistogrammas on this site... These are the possibilities I'm thinking of now:
Apistogramma viejita
Apistogramma borellii "Umbrella cichlid"
Apistogramma cacatuoides "Cuckoo Dwarf Cichlid"
The only one of these I'm sure I've seen before is the cuckoo... And that one grows the largest.
for each of these fish's profiles on this site, it says that one male can be kept with several females - is this a recommendation or a possibility?
Looked up keyholes but think they're ugly.


5ft:
2 danios
9 harlequins
10 school of something - hockeystick tetras, congo tetras (5), scissortails
5 cherry barbs
2 Bolivian Rams
2-4 Apistogrammas
3 siamese algae eaters
bristlenoses


How about something like these two? As always, welcome to suggestions.
It's a bit like ping pong, eh?

Thank-you very much for your help.
So exciting!

Last edited by Leema_ at 20-Sep-2005 17:49

Apistogrammas are not very popular in Australia for some reason, that's why you don't see a good selection of them at the LFS (usually only the cactuoides as you said, and not very good quality ones either). The LFS's I've spoken to said they're expensive to import and too sensitive. But I know one importer in Sydney (SLS) who's starting to import really good varieties of them, so hopefully they'll be more common here in the future. The common recommendation for an Apistogramma group is a harem, one male and 3 females.

Looked up keyholes but think they're ugly.

My wife thinks so too. But I've seen juvenile ones at the LFS and they're cute IMO. They're definitely one of the most peaceful cichlids though, so good larger fish for a community tank.

For the 5ft school, how about Ember tetras? They don't look in pictures, but I've seen a live big school of them against dark background and they look awesome. Emperor tetras or black neons are also nice, but you said you don't like neon-like things. Diamond tetras are supposed to be nice too, but I've never seen them in person.

Have fun picking fish!


Last edited by upikabu at 20-Sep-2005 19:58

-P