# Stocking a 90cm tank



## Crossocheilus (2 Sep 2014)

I am thinking about the stocking for my upcoming tank, its 90 x 45 x 45cm. Here's the plan:

4 Sterba's Cory (in temp tank)
20 boraras brigittae ( open to suggestions for very small/peaceful/shoaling fish)
10 (How many?) Ottos
10 (How many?) Amano shrimp
Cherry shrimp

I would like to know:
How many ottos/Amanos?
What shoaling fish, I've also looked at ember tetras,  how do they fair in hard/alkali water?


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## ~firefly~ (2 Sep 2014)

Corydoras sterbai are beautiful but very shy. I have a group in my 120cm tank but I rarely see them. I wouldn't recommend keeping any corydoras species in groups lower than six or seven. My peppered cories are very gregarious though. Lovely things, but common. Sterbai get quite large so will look odd if you want things to be small. I'd consider a good sized group (10) of Panda cories. They stay small.

The rest of your stocking sounds good.


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## Crossocheilus (2 Sep 2014)

Yeah the other sterba's have died over time, tbh they seem happy enough but I agree a few more would help, I've had these individuals for a long time and so I'm quite fond of them. There size should be alright in my scape, and I don't mind if they hide away and occasionally glide out over the sandy area in search of food.

Oh I also considered pygmy cories of some sort instead of the sterba's but I read that they spend a lot of time up in the water column which I don't want


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## ~firefly~ (2 Sep 2014)

Ah sorry yes I overlooked the fact that you already had them.

Pygmies are delightful, although I've not kept them myself so can't comment on their swimming habits. Have you searched youtube for videos of them?


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## dw1305 (3 Sep 2014)

Hi all,





~firefly~ said:


> I'd consider a good sized group (10) of Panda cories. They stay small.


 I like Panda Cories as well, easy to keep, easy to breed (you get fry surviving with the adults) and attractive. 





Crossocheilus said:


> Oh I also considered pygmy cories of some sort instead of the sterba's but I read that they spend a lot of time up in the water column which I don't want


 _Corydoras habrosus_ acts just like a bigger _Corydoras_. Mine have never spawned, but other than that they have been very low maintenance.

I think happy _Corydoras pygmaeus_ are a bit like _Otocinclus, _that they only swim around all the time in a big shoal when they aren't happy (I know that _Otocinclus_ are much more active in the evening).

I've got a few _Corydoras pygmaeus_ left (they've bred over several generations, but I've ended up with all males, possibly because the female were bigger and I took the bigger fry to the LFS), and they've always mainly perched on a rock or flat leaf with occasional "group" swims. If I want them active I just add a few micro-worms, which will keep them actively swimming until there all gone. 

When I still had females, you would get more obvious mating activity with gravid females swimming up and down the glass etc with several males in tow.  

_Corydoras hastatus_ is slightly different, I've still got a breeding colony of these, and they spend most of their time in the plants and leaf litter, they are quite active, but they very rarely swim in open areas. I see them more frequently at the moment, which may mean there are more of them, but at one point I was down to 3 specimens, and I didn't see them at all for ~12 months and I'd assumed that they had died.

cheers Darrel


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## BigTom (3 Sep 2014)

Darrell I'm sure I'm not the first to ask but if you ever find yourself with an excess of hastatus please feel free to send some my way.

Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk


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## dw1305 (3 Sep 2014)

Hi all, 





BigTom said:


> Darrell I'm sure I'm not the first to ask


 I get an enquiry about once a month from all around the world (mainly via "PlanetCatfish"). 

If you are heading this way and can give me a bit of warning (there in the lab.) I'll sort some out for you. The most I've seen at any one time is 5, which makes me think that I probably have a reasonable amount. 

I've got a few spare _Apistogramma agassizii_ (sub-adult, both sexes) and male Splash Tetra, and when I sort those out I'll probably have a bit of a stock take. I'll try and post a shot of the male _agassizi_i, he is a bit of a looker.

cheers Darrel


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## Henry (3 Sep 2014)

Boraras briggittae aren't really schooling, and seem to like wandering around as a broken group. The best small, tight-schooling fish I've seen is Pethia gelius. They colour up beatifully, swim in a tight school, and aren't even slightly fussy as long as the water is clean. http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/pethia-gelius/

Don't be fooled by the washed out colouration in the pictures; they mature into really beautiful fish.


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## Crossocheilus (3 Sep 2014)

Thanks for the replies, if I didn't have the sterba's I would get some pygmy cories. Oh that's a real shame about the chili rasboras I want a proper shoaling fish like my supposedly copper harlequins which I think are in fact hengeli rasboras. 
What about ember tetras? Do they shoal and cope ok with hard water?


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## ~firefly~ (4 Sep 2014)

From what I've read about boraras brigittae they like the softest, most acidic end of the spectrum for water so if you have hard water I'd be reconsidering the choice of species anyway. I have very hard water and would love to keep boraras brigittae but haven't tried them as I know they are unlikely to thrive given that the shop keeps them in RO. I don't use RO water.

Have you considered Oryzias latipes or Pseudomugil?


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## parotet (4 Sep 2014)

Boraras urophtalmoides are also beautiful ones... I have a small group (6 or 7 more or less) that have been happy living for a year and a half in very hard water (KH15+, GH21+ and pH around 7.5). Dominant male is superb, quite interesting to observe, much more than some more popular fish that just go from one side of the tank to another which are nice at a first glance but sometimes boring. They are also cheap, not bad, this way you can really try a large group of 20 or more for just 25 euros/pounds. They won't school but they will behave very naturally in such a large tank for them.

Pseudomugil are also on my list. I was giving very good advice on this forum some months ago. P. furcatus are good jumpers so not suitable for an open tank, gertrudae are not. Awesome displays!

Jordi


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## mr. luke (4 Sep 2014)

I have a exclamation point rasboras in my hard water and they do great.
I also keep daisys ricefish with them and they also do great, daily spawning from both although no fry survive.
My tds is circa 500.


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## Crossocheilus (4 Sep 2014)

I've just googled boraras urophtalmoides and in the images and videos I've seen the colours aren't great, how have yours coloured up Parotet and Mr Luke? Are their whole bodies a coppery orange or just a little stripe? Would you guys be able to take some pictures of your fish?


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## mr. luke (5 Sep 2014)

I dont own a camera aside from my phone so my pictures would be smudges lol.
They look netter in person than photos imo.
They have a general orange hue with a fairly solid coppery line.


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## parotet (5 Sep 2014)

I got a camera but I haven't been able to take a good pictures of these little boys. The dominant male, or males if you have a large group, is coppery orange. The black greenish medium line  is quite shining depending on the position of the fish. Females,young and non dominant males have less saturated colours but still nice. IMO it is more or less like B. brigittae, not all the specimens in your tank will look as red as shown is some pictures on google.

Jordi


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## tim (5 Sep 2014)

One of mine not easy to photograph but as said lovely little fish


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## Crossocheilus (5 Sep 2014)

That's a great picture tim! I'm not entirely sold on these guys yet but I am seriously considering them. Thanks for all the replies,  I can tell that you guys love these fish.


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## mr. luke (5 Sep 2014)

I like them so much im picking up 25 more on monday.
Ill have 35 and the whole lot has cost me £35


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