Stocking Ideas for a 45gal Upgrade?

[Kitling]

I upgraded to a new 45g tank! I'm still in the process of slowly moving fish from the old tank to the new one, and in the meantime I'm thinking about what I'm going to add. My current stock is kind of haphazard so I'm looking for some advice.

Currently Have:

- 10 neon tetras. Add more or is this good?

- 3 black skirt tetras. School is too small, but honestly I bought them on a whim and don't want more.

- 2 peppered corys. I had 4 more, but they eventually died. I am not sure why. My water params seem fine and my floor is all sand. Even though cories are beginner fish, I seem to suck with them. Should I add more to the school or give up on them?

- 1 BN Pleco. My favorite fish. I like bottom-feeders a lot. Is is possible to add another pleco or even a loach to this 45g tank? I doubt it, but figure I'd ask.

I'm planning on adding a gourami. Not sure what kind, though. Someone suggested a honey/sunset gourami, since they are larger and hardier than dwarf gouramis.

Plants: I currently have no live plants, but I do want to add some. I have a hood with a fluorescent light... but I have no idea which types of plants it would support. I have a bottle of flourish excel organic carbon and can buy root tabs. No co2 system. What can I buy? My tank is tall, so maybe some tall-growing plants? Also, I know gouramis enjoy plants that float on the surface, so maybe something like that?

 

[sinibotia]

For a 45 gallon, you could do 5 zebra loaches or 5 kuhli loaches! Or you could add another bristlenose pleco if you wanted. With that, plus a few corydoras and tetras to round out your schools, you'd be fully stocked.

 

[LayzorBeams]

I upgraded to a new 45g tank! I'm still in the process of slowly moving fish from the old tank to the new one, and in the meantime I'm thinking about what I'm going to add. My current stock is kind of haphazard so I'm looking for some advice.



Currently Have:



- 10 neon tetras. Add more or is this good?



- 3 black skirt tetras. School is too small, but honestly I bought them on a whim and don't want more.



- 2 peppered corys. I had 4 more, but they eventually died. I am not sure why. My water params seem fine and my floor is all sand. Even though cories are beginner fish, I seem to suck with them. Should I add more to the school or give up on them?



- 1 BN Pleco. My favorite fish. I like bottom-feeders a lot. Is is possible to add another pleco or even a loach to this 45g tank? I doubt it, but figure I'd ask.



I'm planning on adding a gourami. Not sure what kind, though. Someone suggested a honey/sunset gourami, since they are larger and hardier than dwarf gouramis.



Plants: I currently have no live plants, but I do want to add some. I have a hood with a fluorescent light... but I have no idea which types of plants it would support. I have a bottle of flourish excel organic carbon and can buy root tabs. No co2 system. What can I buy? My tank is tall, so maybe some tall-growing plants? Also, I know gouramis enjoy plants that float on the surface, so maybe something like that?

Im not any good with plants. Im about as into green things as a colorblind Vikings fan (screw you, Packers!) and i can barely keep Java moss alive.

Gouramis- lots of varieties here! These are some cool fish! I would go with a Pearl Gourami, especially a male. They have colors to rival any other freshwater fish, and they are very graceful. Wonderful fish. Honey/Sunset Gouramis are a color variation of the dwarf? Not too sure on that, if thats a different fish then it isnt known by me.

Loaches- Sinibotia has already posted... But they need groups of 5+. they are fun little guys, and they do a great job of cleaning up. Khulis are probably the most friendly, and the most playful. I would say get some of these.

As for your Tetras- see if you can sell the Black Skirts to someone, like your LFS. They dont really seem to fit in to the colorful, peaceful style that your tank has. Maybe add a few more Neons. I personally would switch the out for a dozen Silvertip Tetras, but thats your decision not mine.

A- if you want to get more, you can. Might have better luck. But you could sell them, which would leave a bit of room for more Loaches and you wouldnt have to worry about the Cories not being in a school.

Pleco- you could add another, as ling as you only have 1 male. Ive heard they can be territorial. I don't know firsthand, though.

With the suggestions i made, this would be my list, but the choice is up to you!

1x Male Pearl Gourami
8x Khuli Loach
2x BN Pleco
15x Neon (or Silvertip) Tetra

There are other fish you could put with these.


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[henningc]

Get rid of the skirt tetras, get another pleco but make distinct territories, get 6-8 penguin tetras and 6 kuhli.

 

[Kitling]

Thanks for the detailed response

Gourami - Sorry, I didn't mean that Honey Gouramis were a color variation of the Dwarf! I'm just looking for a non-dwarf gourami in general. The Pearl Gourami looks fantastic. I really hope my LFS will get those in. I definitely want to add 1 gourami of some kind to this tank.

Loaches - I am very tempted to get the kuhlis... I forgot to mention that I also have Assassin snails in my tank... will the kuhlies eat those guys? :s

Tetras - Sadly my LFS doesn't buy back fish, but they say they will take them in. I'd like to keep my neons, but maybe mix them with other small tetras. I guess you can't mix neons and silvertips, right? I googled them and it says, "Silvertip tetras are slightly more aggressive than other comparable smaller tetras, observed occasionally to nip other similarly sized tetras". Maybe I'll mix with the penguin tetras.

Cory - I think I will keep these guys and bring the school to 5. I'll see how they do this time. Most of the cories I had in the past were from Petco/Petsmart and they might not have been in very good health from the start. The two living ones right now are from my LFS.

BN Pleco - I miiiight add another one. Not sure. I'd like 1 male so I can see the bristles.

Still looking for suggestions. I think that honestly I want to pick between the cories OR kuhlis because my floor might be too crowded with all of them together in this size tank. And they might be happier with a larger school of their own species. Here is my theoretical setup so far from AqAdvisor:

Equipments:

Tank (LxDxH): 36 x 12 x 23 inch (43.0gUS)
Filters: Marineland Penguin 350B


Selected species: [Edit Species]

5 x Peppered Cory (Corydoras paleatus)
15 x Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi)
2 x Bristlenose Pleco (Ancistrus sp.)
1 x Honey Gourami (Trichogaster chuna)
5 x Kuhli Loach (Pangio kuhlii)


Recommendations/Warnings/Suggestions/Notes:

Note: Bristlenose Pleco needs driftwood.

Recommended temperature range: 75.2 - 80.6 F. [Display in Celsius]
Recommended pH range: 6 - 7.5.
Recommended hardness range: 5 - 15 dH.

Your aquarium filtration capacity is satisfactory.

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 111%.
Recommended water change schedule: 28% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 108%.

 

[sinibotia]

Kuhlis shouldn't eat your snails! And I've kept kuhlis and cories together in a smaller tank than yours, without issue. Your plan sounds good to me!

 

[ScotJudd]

From my experience I would not mix silver tips with neons, I found them far too active for the neons and they also upset what was a peaceful community tank. However, a silver tip shoal (minus other tetras) would look good and interesting.
I personally wouldn't add another BN. You might strike lucky but may also be starting a war. Two BN would also be quite a heavy bio load in a 45g tank. I love my BN but he does produce a lot of waste.


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