33g stocking

[Nicole29]

I'm going to have an empty 33g soon and I just wanted to think up a stocking scheme in advance.

I would really like to have some glass catfish, so I was thinking an Asian community would be appropriate. Does anyone have any suggestions for tankmates and stocking numbers?? Thanks

 

[hc8719]

i think 4+ glass cats would be good, mine are really tight schoolers. neons complement them nicely. dojos or kuhlis would work well too. perhaps a smaller species of pleco like a bristlenose or rubber pleco. my cherry barbs are always chasing the glass cats around, stay away from barbs in general imo.

my moonlights and kissing gouramis work well with my glass cats, (probably because glass cats are too blind to interfere with their eating) but they get too big for a 33 gal, and i hear dwarfs are kinda mean. angels are a possibility, as well as the hordes of overly common fish, guppies, platies, mollies...

a few ghost shrimp also.

these are just some of the species i have with glass cats, that i know will work well.

if you've never had glass cats before, make sure they get their share, they are almost blind, and food has to fall right infront of them in order for them to see it

hope this helps

 

[sith j]

i like congo tetras, and some cories

 

[JustOneMore20]

An Asian community would be great!

How about:
4-6 glass cats
8 harlequin rasboras
6-8 smaller, peaceful barbs (gold, checkered, cherry, or black ruby)
4 kuhli loaches
1 gourami (dwarf, blue, gold, honey)

That would be a nice tank IMO.

Neons aren't Asian and I don't think plecos are either. And not all barbs are aggressive. My 3 Cherry barbs don't bother anyone. I would stay away from tiger barbs though.

 

[Gena575]

What about a huge school of these guys?? You can find them on www.franksaquarium.com under the nano-fish, but I've heard some say they found them locally too.

Barring you getting my dream fish (hey, I like to live vicariously!), what about some harlequin rasboras? Very pretty fish, very very peaceful, hardy and active mid-level schoolers. Hmm, maybe not as they would take the same level of the tank. Hatchets? OOOH what about halfbeaks? They are surface dwellers, stay small and are cute as can be!

This site gives some good information on Asian biotopes
http://www.freshwateraquariumplants.com/asiabiotope/asia.html

 

[SHIFT_Unique]

tiger barbs have been givin the name of a fin nipper, because of peoples misundertanding of them.

tiger barbs MUST be in a school of 8 or more. or you will see fin nipping. they will stick to them selves and make a pecking order within the bunch and be too occupied with the group and always battling for head honcho, to mess with your other fish.

they will be just fine in large schools (8+)

 

[JustOneMore20]

I said avoid tiger barbs not because of nipping, but because they are very active and may stress out slower moving fish. Also they are very voracious eaters and with the glass cats being slower to get food...they would have a hard time feeding with tiger barbs in the tank IMO.

I have never kept either though, I was just going by info provided above on the cats.

Those are some cute fish Gena!

So Nicole...like any of the suggestions we have made?

 

[maxwell1295]

My Asian community consists of Honey Gouramis, Cherry Barbs, Zebra Danios, Female Bettas, and Kuhli Loaches.

 

[SHIFT_Unique]

i wouldnt be happy with that selection, i like the coloration of platys, swordtails, and mollies

ordering blue platys at petco for me. i love working for a pet store, 20% discount and you can order fish you dont normally sell

 

[Nicole29]

An Asian community would be great!

How about:
4-6 glass cats
8 harlequin rasboras
6-8 smaller, peaceful barbs (gold, checkered, cherry, or black ruby)
4 kuhli loaches
1 gourami (dwarf, blue, gold, honey)

That would be a nice tank IMO.

I really like this selection of fish..but I'm afraid the glass cats would be very shy with all those middle swimmers, do you think this would work??

-8 Glass cats
-6 Harlequin rasboras
-6 smaller, peaceful barbs
-4 Kuhli loaches
-1 gourami

Thanks for all the suggestions by the way...keep them coming if you have more

 

[hc8719]

I really like this selection of fish..but I'm afraid the glass cats would be very shy with all those middle swimmers, do you think this would work??

-8 Glass cats
-6 Harlequin rasboras
-6 smaller, peaceful barbs
-4 Kuhli loaches
-1 gourami

8 glass cats might be too much, as they grow 3" each, and theres always the chance you might get some african glass cats, who are very similar, but grow 6"

im assuming rasboras are peaceful like tetras so those may be ok. do you have a smaller type of barb in mind? i dunno how maxwell's cherries mix with his glass cats, but ive been seeing mine chase around the cats lately, cherries, like most barbs are slightly semi aggressive by nature as well.

and the thing with kuhli loaches, you may never see them, as they hide constantly, the only time they come out during the day is if they stick half their body out, from underneath a rock to grab a flake, and then retreat. although once in awhile, during dusk, they may also be seen chasing each other, swimming erractically, hiting every fish in their way, like idiots.

if i could redo my tank, i would have put in the extra dollar and bought dojo loaches, who become very hand tame, and are kinda lazy (its also argued that they like colderwater). kuhlis are decent enought though.

i think 10 or so ghost shrimp would complement your glass cats as well

 

[JustOneMore20]

I think if you want to go with 8 glass cats, then I would just do one other schooling fish. If you like the harlequin rasboras, then you could go with:

8 glass cats
8-10 harlequin rasboras
4-6 kuhli loaches
1 gourami

There is a way to distinguish between the african glass cats and the asian ones. They african ones have a black spinal cord while the asians have a clear spinal cord.

I would even go as far as to plant the tank with Asian plants. There are tons of Asian plants that don't require alot of light. Plants would give the glass cats some cover so they would feel more secure.

 

[Nicole29]

ok thanks for the suggestions once again

right now I have 4 small crypts but are there any Asian plants that are taller that I can use as well. It will be a low (maybe medium) light tank once it's set up.

 

[hc8719]

umm, like bamboo?

 

[Gena575]

Java fern is Asian. That is all off the top of my head, but plantgeek.net has listings of plants by region.

 

[JustOneMore20]

For lower light Hygrophila is Asian, Wisteria (a type of Hygro), and any Crypts (Retrospiralis and Balansae are two that grow pretty tall).

Rotala rotundifolia will grow in medium light as well as Aponogeton crispus. Ambulia might grow in medium light, if its around 2 watts per gallon. It will grow in lower light than that, but may not look as great.

Hygro polysperma should grow well in lower light, if you can find some. And like mentioned above Java fern is low light and Asian, but doesn't grow really tall.

 

[Nicole29]

will most of these plants do ok in just aquarium gravel?
Would I need to add anything else to help/promote growth?

 

[rich311k]

Most plants will do ok in regular gravel. You can use root tabs as needed.

 

[hc8719]

alot of plants too, (like ancharius) just float at the top

 

[JustOneMore20]

alot of plants too, (like ancharius) just float at the top

Yes, but she is looking for Asian plants and Anacharis is not Asian....its South American. Also, Anacharis can be rooted in the substrate. That is how I plant mine and it grows nicely. Its a versatile plant.

Nicole, regular gravel will do fine. I would get a small gravel if possible, about 3mm in size. I have regular gravel in my 29g and it grows plants nicely. I would use some fertilizers though, especially if you end up with medium light. The Seachem Flourish line works great, especially if you are only fertilizing once a week at most. I would recommend Excel and Flourish at minimum. You may want to use root tabs, like rich suggested, especially with crypts because they are heavy rooters.

This tank will be awesome if you go with the Asian theme. I wanted to do an Asian theme in a 38g I'm planning, but I like tetras too much....and cories. So I'm just doing a regular community.

Don't forget to update us as you go....and show some pictures when you get it set up. We like pictures....