Stocking Help for 90 Gallon

[petunia100]

I have been helping my dad set up a 90 gallon tank in his office. We've been stocking it very slowly as any fish let alone healthy fish are hard to come by in their area. Their tank has been running for over a year, and has live plants. My dad does ~40% water changes every two weeks. I don't know the exact water perameters but I know that they are good and the tank cycled. They have some of the hugest, healthiest fish, but they have very small numbers of each species. We are looking to get bigger groups of the same fish and I would really like to know what size schools you would suggest for the size of tank and they type of fish.

Julii corys (Right now they have two and I know they need to be in bigger schools we've been looking for them, one of them I don't even think is a julii but they stick together)

Harliquin Rasboras

Black Phantom Tetras

Siamese Algae eaters

Diamond Tetras

Turquoise Rainbows

Boesmani Rainbows

Regal Rainbowfish (Sold to us as "Red Rainbowfish, but I believe is Melanotaenia trifasciata)

Angelfish

My mom would really like to add cardinal tetras, but I don't know with the angels (I already said no neon tetras)

If you would suggest adding another type of rainbowfish I'd be all for that, any suggestions?

Mostly I"m looking for help on group sizes. I've attached a couple of pics for you to see the fish they have.

 

[hc8719]

while its true cardinals and neons are angels natural prey, if the angel is small enough to not swallow a neon or a cardinal, you can do it. most fish (not oscars or ropefish) will not eat tank mates they grew up with. in other words, the angels wont recognize the neons/cardinals as prey.

ive kept 2 angels with neons, (although the angels were too small, they never harassed the neons)

glass cats are a cool addition, a BGK, some sort of gourami (doesnt have to be the aggressive dwarfs, kissers, moonlights, and pearls are good)

really i could name any fish, hundreds of them that would be compatible, but the choice is yours, scout out the lfs, petsmart, petco, petlland for fish

 

[lyquidphyre]

I think you, like you said, should up your school of cories to at least 5 (maybe 7), when you can find them in your area.
I'm not sure what your sizes are now but-

If you wanted to, you could up all of your tetras to a school of 7-10 each
then 3-4 SAE's

How big is your angelfish? If it's small enough (small to medium in size), you could introduce more (if they are almost the same size as the angelfish you have in there now). If the angelfish is really big, I would be careful adding anymore.

Another nice addition would be to add some cherry or golden barbs. They don't need to be in schools (but looks nice if there are a few in the tank). They are the more docile of the barbs and would leave your other fish alone.

You could add German Blue Rams or a Bolivian Rams to that mix as well.

 

[petunia100]

How would this be for a final stocking list?

7 cories (Currently have two)
4 SAE (Currently have 4 small, could add two more large ones for a total of six)
10 Harliquin Rasboras (Currently have 5)
10 Diamond Tetras (Currently have 5)
10 Black Phantom Tetras (Currently have 4
3 Angel Fish (Currently have 3, about 3 in)
4-6 Boesmani Rainbows (Currenlty have 4)
4-6 Turq Rainboes (Currently have 4)
4-6 Regal Rainbows (Currently have 1)
2 Keyhole Cichlids
5-7 GBR (2-3 male 3-4 female)

Would this be overstocked? It seems like a lot, but I've never worked in a tank this big. They have an eheim filter, don't remember which one but a canister rated for greater than 90 gal. I want to keep it understocked enough that if a waterchange happens every two weeks it's not going to be a big problem. They could also add another filter if it would help. The keyhole and GBR would be from my 55 gallon, I'm going to have to tear it down when I move later in the year.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Hmm.. that might be overstocked, heh (but then again, anything is possible with proper care and water changes)

If I were you, this would be my final list-

5 cories
4 SAE's
8 Harliquins
8 diamonds
8 Black Phantoms
3 angels
4 turq rainbows
4 boesmani
2 regals
2 keyholes
4 GBR (paired up)

Thats still is on the full side, but not superbly overstocked, either.. And, if you add them gradually, you can keep an eye on your parameters. You can be flexible with your tetras. Try 8 each for now, and once you completly stock your tank and the water parameters are okay, you could add one or two at a time (watching your parameters) if you decide to up your tetra school. I know with my 75gal, I felt like I had too many little fish.. so you might be content with 8 each

 

[petunia100]

I think that's what we'll aim for.

We'll try to build up the tetra schools and then add the few rainbows that are needed. With the GBR would it be better to have all males? I don't know how to get a pair without having to add lots and then remove those that don't pair? Or is it okay if there are extra unpaired females. All I have now is two males. The keyholes and GBR would be added to the 90 last.

Thanks!!

 

[lyquidphyre]

I was hoping someone would come in and give their opinions, but I don't want to leave you hanging =o)

I honestly don't remember if it's good to have all male GBRs, but for some reason I keep thinking "no, thats probably not a good idea" hehe. There are a few ways to bring home pairs of GBR w/o having to add and remove some. You could either buy them online (www.aquabid.com) as a pair (lots of listings have GBR in mating pairs), or if you go to your LFS you might be able to find them already in a pair (if they are old enough) but that depends on your lfs.

If you have two males, the next time you go to your LFS (if they are smart enough) can give you two females when asked.. but like I said.. they need to have the ability to tell them apart which can be difficult.

If I were you, I would add the GBR's before the other fish. They have a tendency to be difficult when acclimating to a new take (I wouldn't worry about the ones you have, just the new ones). If you add your GRB's sooner your water is more stable/less bioload and they might be able to adjust better than if your bioload is kinda high or there are a lot of fish to stress them out.

I hope all that helps!

 

[petunia100]

I think I will go look for some females and add them to my tank now. That way if there is a problem and one is getting picked on I will have an easier time returning it to the lfs. I'm pretty sure I know how to tell the sexes apart, based on fin length and the "pink belly" if I remember, with females having the pink belly and shorter dorsal fins. I'm pretty sure I saw a nice batch at the lfs that had some obvious females. I'll go check it out. If I put them in my 55 now, they'll be in my tank for a couple of months before they get moved, and I can keep an eye on them. Two females with the two males would be better than three females with the two males? For some reason I remember that having more females helped spread out any agression/overeagerness by the males, but maybe that was only before they are paired?

Thanks for your advice!

 

[lyquidphyre]

I honestly can't give you answer because Im not positive. You could very well be right, and that does make sense.. it does help spread out any agression but I know there are some fish that pair and outsiders get picked on- but I just can't give you a good answer =o)

*goes to google*
hm.. that didn't help much. Ha! From what I gathered, I would do what you planned on doing- get 3 females and see who pairscheck for any aggression and go from there.

 

[JustOneMore20]

The stocking list that lyquidphyre suggested is a little better than your original plan. I'd up the cories to 6 (for an even number) and have 4 each of the rainbows. Also stick with the tetras you have now...don't add another school. I think the tank will be at the stocking limit, if not close to being overstocked, with that second stocking list.

And that cory in question is a Sodalis cory....Corydoras sodalis. I have 5 in my tank...they get bigger than Juliis...about 2.5 inches. I'd try to find more of them and the Juliis (or false juliis) if you can. Go for 3-4 of each type (might make your cory number go up to 8). They'll be alot happier with others of their own kind. I have Sodalis cories and false Juliis (corydoras trilineatus) and they don't really hang out, except in their own types.

I hope one of the experts will come look at this thread because I get the feeling that the tank will still be overstocked with that second stocking. I'm not good at stocking bigger tanks either, so I'm not sure. Thats got to be one chaotic looking tank with all the different schools of fish! I bet its colorful though!

 

[petunia100]

Colorful is okay, most of those comming to my dad's office are elderly and they like being able to see the fish! It makes waiting easier. But I don't want the tank to be overstocked, I would like the fish to be happy and maintence to be as easy as possible, I don't want my dad to have to be doing water changes ever day or two. Thanks for the info about the cory. Their lfs just label everything that has spots julii, I was a little suspect when my mom was impressed by how big they were getting. My julii's never got that large. If there is more input let me know, this tank will definately be stocked fairly slowly, it's taken a year to get what they have. Also if anyone has advice about ordering fish online, good companies or all that, I would appreciate it. They live in Michigan, has anyone from colder areas ordered fish in the fall/winter. I"m a little concerned about trying it without some advice.

Thanks!

 

[JustOneMore20]

I know what you mean about the cories. Most of the LFS in my area just label them "spotted cories". I had to post a picture of mine on another website to get it IDed.

Here are a couple pictures of mine:

Yours looks slightly different when I look at my picture...but it looks more like a sodalis than a julii IMO.

If you want easier maintenance, its better to keep it understocked. That way if he misses a water change one week for some reason, there nitrAtes won't skyrocket.
The biggest tank I've stocked is a 55g, so I'm not quite sure about a tank that big. I know there are some people on here with 125g tanks, so they may be more helpful in stocking yours. Maybe they will see this thread....

I live in the south, so not worried about cold and I haven't ordered online...but I do know a few sites you can check out:
Aquariumfish.net
Fish2U.com
LiveAquaria.com
Aquabid.com

I would check Aquabid first. It is an auction site much like Ebay, but only aquatics. You are more likely to find a deal there and some people have low shipping costs....especially if you order from someone that lives near you (or your parents). The other sites are pretty good, or so I've heard, but shipping can be expensive, depending on where they are located.

 

[lyquidphyre]

I wasn't aware that that type of cory got that large! I must have been thinking it was a different variety.

based upon what you just said, you could probably get away with having 5 of each type of tetra, but when you are finished stocking and you decide you would like more tetras (and you havn't had any problems maintaining the tank) you could add in a few more.

But, with the live plants, weekly maintanence and some TLC I really think you might be able to swing the stocking list I suggested above.

This is how I est. the bioload for my list (in case you are wondering):

5 cories- 10in
4 SAE's- 16in
8 Harliquins- 8in
8 diamonds- 8in
8 Black Phantoms- 8in
3 angels- 12in
4 turq rainbows- 16in
4 boesmani - 16in
2 regals- 8in
2 keyholes- 8in
4 GBR (paired up)- 12in

total- 122 in. of fish when fully grown, all a little over estimated because some fish don't get that large, and others I just rounded up, and some just don't have that much bioload. I personally think it's managable. Also, since you already have a majority of the fish, it's difficult to say "Only have two rainbows" or "get rid of 2 of your SAEs" or something. But having live plants really does make a difference on your stocking abilities, in my opinion.

But like said, just add what you really want first and check your parameters, and then go from there =o)