Can I get more fish?

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cobriaclord

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jan 10, 2013
Messages
67
I have a 37 gallon tank with a 50 gallon Aqueon filter and medium planting.

In my tank I have:
6 green cory cat
6 white cloud minnows
5 neon tetras
3 Neon swordtails (1 male, two females)

The tank doesn't seem as full as I would like. Am I maxed out or can I get some more?
 
Yep you could add a few more. Good Luck deciding! There are so many choices.
 
Thank you guys.

I was thinking of returning my white cloud minnows and getting a whole school of neon tetras, like adding 10ish.

My problem is that my neon tetras dont school closely at all. Most of the time, half of them are hiding in my plants.

I know that fish normally school tighter in a bigger tank but I want to make sure the fish in my tank are clearly on display despite the presence of plants. How can I ensure this?

I was also thinking of getting an electric blue ram. Would that be ok? Also, are there any bright bright red fish I could get? (Preferably single fish or really small school fish)

Another problem I have been having with my tank is brown algae build up. My tank is about two months old, I have been doing water changes and rinsing the filter during water changes (in the old tank water) and it has been improving. Any other suggestions? Should I get an oto?
 
Rosy tetra are nice but can be abit bossy. Serpae tetra also are a deeper red and seem to be more passive. Have a look.
 
Otos love that brown algae, they don't add much to your bioload, and they are pretty fun to watch.

I think the thing your tank needs is one or two larger fish to focus on. The idea of a Ram pair is pretty great IMO.
 
Otos love that brown algae, they don't add much to your bioload, and they are pretty fun to watch.

I think the thing your tank needs is one or two larger fish to focus on. The idea of a Ram pair is pretty great IMO.

So how does this look for stocking:
15 neon tetras (or 7 neons and 7 other similarly sized tetra: I prefer a fish that is going to be colorful, school, and not hide)
6 green cory cats
3 neon swordtails
2 german blue rams (1?) (2 Bolivian Rams?) Dwarf Cichlids?
1 oto? (or 2 or 3? I know they are social but don't need to be)

Could it be that the white cloud minnows are biting at my neons?

For the otos, can I supplement their diet with algae wafers?

What different types of food would I need to keep all these fish happy and healthy? I have algae wafers and tetra flakes. Would I get cichlid pellets?
Any recommended brands?

Does Flourish Excel contain any nitrates?
 
So how does this look for stocking:
15 neon tetras (or 7 neons and 7 other similarly sized tetra: I prefer a fish that is going to be colorful, school, and not hide)
6 green cory cats
3 neon swordtails
2 german blue rams (1?) (2 Bolivian Rams?) Dwarf Cichlids?
1 oto? (or 2 or 3? I know they are social but don't need to be)

Could it be that the white cloud minnows are biting at my neons?

For the otos, can I supplement their diet with algae wafers?

What different types of food would I need to keep all these fish happy and healthy? I have algae wafers and tetra flakes. Would I get cichlid pellets?
Any recommended brands?

Does Flourish Excel contain any nitrates?

If you want tighter schools I would suggest getting either a smaller school of rummy nose tetras or harlequin rasboras. The rummy nose also have the red you were interested in. I would suggest 2 Ottos just because they usually don't accept algae tabs so you don't want them to starve once the diatoms (brown algae) is gone. I used to feed my German blue rams sinking shrimp pellets and they loved them as well as frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms.
 
Remember that Swordtails can get upwards of 5+ inches as they mature especially the males. Also German Blue Rams really need to be added to a mature tank that is at least 6 months old. They are very sensitive to nitrates. Bolivians while not as colorful are a hardier choice and can be added sooner.

Neons are not always good about schooling and I doubt the WCCM's are nipping at them. I have 12 long fin WCCM's in my 220g and the only nipping and chasing is amongst themselves, usually males displaying for females.

Most oto's won't eat prepared foods but do eat diatoms, green dust algae, and biofilm which is found everytwhere in an aquarium so they generally have enough food to eat. On rare occassion I will see one of my oto's on the zucchini slices I feed my pleco's and whiptail cats.

There is no nitrates in Excel. It is a liquid carbon that contains no nutrients.

The diatoms in your tank will slowly go away as the excess silicates found in new tanks is slowly used up by them. Another choice besides Oto's are nerite snails.
 
Thanks, I appreciate the suggestions. I have attached a picture of my tank. Any suggestions on how to improve it would be much appreciated.
 

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Looks good but I would switch out the substrate and do play sand and have either a black or dark blue background.
 
Play sand? I was thinking of doing a darker gravel... The task of changing the substrate seems overwhelming though!
 
Play sand? I was thinking of doing a darker gravel... The task of changing the substrate seems overwhelming though!

No it's really easy. My favorite substrates are black gravel, black sand, and play sand.
 
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