Chasing Sanity Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 It's been a long time since I've been here! Just getting back into fish keeping (got distracted by chickens) and in my new tank (64.5cm wide x 35 deep x 38 high) and this is my stocking plan guppies or platies (not sure which yet depends on the others) pearl danios checker barbs glass shrimp how many of each could i have? Will they be ok together? The danios, barbs and shrimp are must have, so i don't know whether to get another schooling fish or to get a more 'centre piece' fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 The glass shrimp could become food for the fish..... Danios and barbs together in a fair size group (8 - 12) should be ok but the barbs will probably terrorise the guppies or platies if you get them as well.... barbs and danios tend to behave better in groups rather than small numbers (and look good in groups too).... For a 2ft tank I would probably just go with the danios and barbs - about 10 of each - with a decent HOB filter perhaps.... you'll certainly get plenty of movement and colour from them... there's a lot of other barbs you could mix in with the group to give some colour - albino tiger barbs, moss green's, etc..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasing Sanity Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 danios and barbs sound good, if i got 10 of each could i still fit something in the bottom? i love the shrimp but would hate to see them get eaten, so maybe a small school of corys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Cory's are a good idea for a clean up crew.... 8 danios, 8 barbs and 5 cory's (cory's love being in groups of 4 or 5) would be about capacity for your size tank.... you could stretch to 10 each of the danios and barbs if you make sure to over filter the water for the size tank.... something like a 500 - 600l/hr filter would do the job nicely (would be lots less flow per hour with filter media in the filter) so you can turn over the water at least 3-4 times per hour roughly.... a HOB filter won't make too much water flow and is very easy to clean and maintain..... If you want shrimp you could still have them with some moss in a nano type tank or bowl.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasing Sanity Posted September 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 I'm looking at getting a canister filter which for for tanks up to 200l (600 litres per hour) so overstocking might be the solution i'm looking for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 With that sort of filtration you shouldn't have any probs at all!!! Don't forget the dangers of adding all those fish at once - could cause a big spike in ammonia..... probably best to add one group at a time over a few weeks to let the bacteria build up .... just monitor and do extra water changes (and have toxivec or prime or similar on hand) if you just have to have all of them at once though Don't forget the pics when you have the tank set up and the fish in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasing Sanity Posted September 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 hopefully this is my last question! What is the different between 2 stage filtration and 3 stage with canister filters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Usually they refer to the number of trays within the canister.... 1. mechanical filtration... 2. biological filtration.... 3 chemical filtration.... In other words you can put sponges in to take out debris.... bioballs or ceramic rings with huge surface areas to grow beneficial bacteria.... carbon, zeolite or other absorbants to take out chemicals such as ammonia, medications, copper, etc.... The trays in a canister are usually deep enough that if you have only 2 you can lay a thinner sponge at the bottom and the top and still put in some of the other things... 3 or 4 trays just means they are all nicely separated.... Unless you have a particularly dirty tank or one that produces lots of debris such as decaying plants and lots of fish poo just a decent sponge will take most of this out and also give you a lot of bio filtration due to the surface area in the sponge.... carbon is used by some as a chemical filter but remember it only lasts a month or so and then starts putting nasties back into your water so it needs to be changed out regularly.... its not an absolute necessity.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasing Sanity Posted September 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 Ok, so the end decision is 10-15 various danios (pearl, leopard, zebra and gold zebra) 5 corys I really love sparkling gouramis too, and they only stay small according to the info on bayfish, so maybe a pair of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 28, 2010 Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 With the canister filter you're planning on using you could go 5 each of the pearl, leopard, zebra and gold zebra danios plus the 5 corys.... or maybe 4 of each danio and a pair of sparkling gouramis..... Don't forget to check out the longfin versions of the danios... they are really nice fish compared to the short finned ones.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasing Sanity Posted September 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 ordered my filter and siliconed my air line in today! Went rock hunting at the beach yesterday and got a bucketfull of awesome rocks. So i'm on the way to fishies! I love the long finned danios, are they fin nippers? I'm getting my fish from livefish and think i'll get just get 20 assorted danios. Choosing is too hard!! Plus my 5 cories and I'm set. Just gotta pay my rego and by then my tank will be sorted and cycled so i can get fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 28, 2010 Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 Danios can be a bit nippy but in a group like your're talking about they should be fine - larger groups ensure that one fish isn't copping all the nips... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasing Sanity Posted September 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 I've been wondering if i could get 2 bristlenoses instead of the cories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 30, 2010 Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 can't see why not .. bristlenoses are good as a cleanup crew and don't really hurt any other fish.... I have a bristlenose in my guppy fry tank along with 3 cory julii and they get along just fine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasing Sanity Posted October 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 (edited) My tank is up and running! Hurrah! Just needs some driftwood and fish. I also remembered don't take pics in front of your fish tank if you're only wearing a sports bra! Full tank (under the rocks on the right hides a flexi bubble wall. Just not turned on) Bristle-nose cave After all this discussion with Wayne, I've decided to fill it with platies, because I just love them :) Edited October 7, 2010 by Chasing Sanity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 Looks good! Nice little cave for someone to hide in too! Platies will give you a fair bit of colour .... and plenty of babies..... live bearers always seem friendly fish too.... always happy to see food you each day :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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