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Fish stocking advice needed

Wulfen

Member
Joined
18 Jul 2018
Messages
174
Location
UK
Hi all.
What sort of stocking levels should I be considering for the system below?
Edit. I am now getting the Aquascaper 900
List Below:
Evolution Aqua The Aquascaper 900 Tank L90cm x W50cm x H45cm (186ltr)
Twinstar LED Aquarium Light 900S
Oase 600 thermo
Aquarium CO2 Kit Pro-SE Complete System
I was thinking about a pair of Apistogramma cacatuoides triple red. Some panda cory and a shoal of either green neon tetras or similar very small shoaling fish.
How many fish will I be able to stock?
Cheers
 
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Sounds like a nice stock selection. I've got a signature 600 which is slightly larger 60x45x45cm (about 120l ) and in that I found 20 or so neon sized fish plus a half dozen cories was fine, so I think you could get a similar amount perhaps starting plan of with 6 panda, 10-15 neons and then your apistogramma pair (or possibly trio) eventually. You might be able to nudge the neons up a little once the tank matures but don't forget you might need some algae eaters at some stage.
 
Sounds like a nice stock selection. I've got a signature 600 which is slightly larger 60x45x45cm (about 120l ) and in that I found 20 or so neon sized fish plus a half dozen cories was fine, so I think you could get a similar amount perhaps starting plan of with 6 panda, 10-15 neons and then your Apistogramma pair (or possibly trio) eventually. You might be able to nudge the neons up a little once the tank matures but don't forget you might need some algae eaters at some stage.
Many thanks, Mort. The panda cory and Apistogramma have always been some of my favorite fish. I also like the Apistogramma panduro, though I have never seen these in the flesh.
The green neons are not set in stone, though I do love them. I was also looking at Scarlet badis, fork tail blue eyed rainbows, red neon rainbows, and Celestial Pearl Danio as possible alternatives to the tetras though I'm not that familiar with these fish and whether they soal like neons?
 
The rainbows and danios will spread out more in a tank than the neons. Unfortunately many fish have less compact groupings in the safety and confines of our tanks but green neons are one of the better species. They will fit with the apisto's and cories water wise perfectly but all the others apart from the forktail blues like acidic water or neutral to acidic in the case of the red neon rainbows and cpd's.
 
The rainbows and danios will spread out more in a tank than the neons. Unfortunately many fish have less compact groupings in the safety and confines of our tanks but green neons are one of the better species. They will fit with the apisto's and cories water wise perfectly but all the others apart from the forktail blues like acidic water or neutral to acidic in the case of the red neon rainbows and cpd's.
Many thanks mort. I will stick with the neons. Makes sense to have fish that require the same water chemistry.
 
These pencilfish are interesting (if available)
N eques

For Apistogramma species, I’d do some research on Apistogramma.com
Just place “panduro” etc into the search box & choose “title” as a search limit ... else you’ll get every post from anyone that links fish they’ve bred/kept in your search results - which can net you some interesting reading but is not very efficient ;)

Care needs to be taken so that the Apisto’s obtain sufficient food ... I tried keeping the green neon horde with S vaillanti & finally moved them to another tank with S osphromenoides (which are far faster eaters)

If you source tank bred fish, they may already be completely acclimated & breeding in harder more alkaline water
(eg, there are some major discus breeders producing in hard alkaline water) - some of the dwarf cichlids (& apistogramma species) are far more tolerant of harder, alkaline water than others

If you lack a quarantine tank, I’d tend to add all of one species in one go, eg, 20 green neons from one shop rather than 2 lots of 10 - even if not “diseased”, fish may have very different “normal flora” & one group or both, may end up indisposed
Always watch fish for awhile (at shop) to ensure they’re active & normal respiration, no body blemishes, straight back, convex belly, clear fins etc
Choosing small juvenile fish also allows more numbers to be added in one go, without overloading bioload - active fast growing plants are quite effective at subsidizing fish additions; more frequent water changes will also limit any bio-challenges

Do a water change just prior to adding new fish, follow up with more frequent water changes - the best “medicine” for indisposed fish is loads of clean water
(Though if you see any ich spots that’s like a national disaster & calls for immediate intervention :eek: :nurse: )

Remember when adding shop fish to a planted aquarium, keep lights low, CO2 lower for a couple days - most fish need to adapt to the relatively higher CO2 levels ...
If you run very high flow, fish especially from quiet waters, may struggle
Seriously Fish is an excelllent resource as natural habitat information is often included

Note the best way to “pair apisto’s” (assuming they are pair bonding rather than just fleeting partners) is beginning with a group of juveniles (but this can be difficult to source, contact any local clubs, breed associations)

There are a couple ukaps planted tank journals with awesome A bitaeniata Shishita

Martin & TomC apisto site is fanatastic
 
These pencilfish are interesting (if available)
N eques

For Apistogramma species, I’d do some research on Apistogramma.com
Just place “panduro” etc into the search box & choose “title” as a search limit ... else you’ll get every post from anyone that links fish they’ve bred/kept in your search results - which can net you some interesting reading but is not very efficient ;)

Care needs to be taken so that the Apisto’s obtain sufficient food ... I tried keeping the green neon horde with S vaillanti & finally moved them to another tank with S osphromenoides (which are far faster eaters)

If you source tank bred fish, they may already be completely acclimated & breeding in harder more alkaline water
(eg, there are some major discus breeders producing in hard alkaline water) - some of the dwarf cichlids (& apistogramma species) are far more tolerant of harder, alkaline water than others

If you lack a quarantine tank, I’d tend to add all of one species in one go, eg, 20 green neons from one shop rather than 2 lots of 10 - even if not “diseased”, fish may have very different “normal flora” & one group or both, may end up indisposed
Always watch fish for awhile (at shop) to ensure they’re active & normal respiration, no body blemishes, straight back, convex belly, clear fins etc
Choosing small juvenile fish also allows more numbers to be added in one go, without overloading bioload - active fast growing plants are quite effective at subsidizing fish additions; more frequent water changes will also limit any bio-challenges

Do a water change just prior to adding new fish, follow up with more frequent water changes - the best “medicine” for indisposed fish is loads of clean water
(Though if you see any ich spots that’s like a national disaster & calls for immediate intervention :eek: :nurse: )

Remember when adding shop fish to a planted aquarium, keep lights low, CO2 lower for a couple days - most fish need to adapt to the relatively higher CO2 levels ...
If you run very high flow, fish especially from quiet waters, may struggle
Seriously Fish is an excelllent resource as natural habitat information is often included

Note the best way to “pair apisto’s” (assuming they are pair bonding rather than just fleeting partners) is beginning with a group of juveniles (but this can be difficult to source, contact any local clubs, breed associations)

There are a couple ukaps planted tank journals with awesome A bitaeniata Shishita

Martin & TomC apisto site is fanatastic
Many thanks for the in-depth reply. I will look forward to reading the resources you mention.
 
Wulfun
http://www.aqadvisor.com/

This is a program I have recommended for some time. Use it as a guide.

Remember when adding stock to a new set up always add them slowly by that I mean not all at the same time.

Keith:wave::wave:
 
Wulfun
http://www.aqadvisor.com/

This is a program I have recommended for some time. Use it as a guide.

Remember when adding stock to a new set up always add them slowly by that I mean not all at the same time.

Keith:wave::wave:
Hi Keith. It does not have the filter I will be using Biomaster thermo 350 1100 l/h or roughly 290 g/h. do I just put 290 next to Filter: User-defined?
 
If you want fish that will stick together, I recommend celestial pearl danios/galaxy rasbora. They are very small but the males put on a beautiful display. I found that dwarf rainbowfish would cling together, again it was the males showing off to each other (the females weren't bothered). They are called "children of the morning sun" for good reason.
Male black ruby barbs will put on a good display too but you need a bigger tank than mine (50 litres) so they can get away from each other. I only have one male now after the carnage ... I wouldn't have them again but the male and two females I have now are getting on fine.
 
Wulfun
http://www.aqadvisor.com/

This is a program I have recommended for some time. Use it as a guide.

Remember when adding stock to a new set up always add them slowly by that I mean not all at the same time.

Keith:wave::wave:
Hi Keith
Below is a link to my fish list from AqAdvisor. Have I filled it in properly?
If possible I would like to add some Pygmy Hatchetfish. They are not listed on AqAdvisor so was unable to add them to the list.
Cheers
http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor....AqSpeciesWindowSize=short&AqSearchMode=simple
 
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Wulfen

You have plenty of aquarium filtration capacity.
Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 555%.
Question11.png

Recommended water change schedule: 35% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 88%. [Generate Image]
Question11.png


I would prefer Green Neon Tetras as they look excellent in a well planted tank compared to the standard Neons.

Keith:wave::wave:
hqdefault.jpg
 
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