Stocking Help??

[rileymc]

Hey all! I'm brand new to this forum and I'm so excited to get started!!

I have a few stocking questions. I currently own three 20 gallon aqauriums (one long, two high) and one 5.5 fry raising aquarium. It is very likely that I will buy a Marineland 55 gallon aquarium in a few months or so once I get the funds.

Right now, in my 20 gallon long, I have ten skirted tetras (Glofish tetras). Aqadvisor says I'm only 52% stocked. I am looking to add more variety, color, and activity to the aquarium. What all should I put in it, and how many of each? I am not very picky at all.

Also, when I do get the 55 gallon, what should I put in it? I am really interested in livebearers especially. Color, variety, and activity would be really nice for this one. What and how many of each should I put in?

Thank you all for the help, I really appreciate it!!

Riley

 

[nirbhao]

In terms of active, colorful live bearers, you're not going to get anything better than guppies.

I'm a zero percent expert in tetras. I'll leave that for people more knowledge in that area.

 

[rileymc]

In terms of active, colorful live bearers, you're not going to get anything better than guppies.

I'm a zero percent expert in tetras. I'll leave that for people more knowledge in that area.

True, I was thinking about maybe some neon tetras or something similar. I might save those for my 20 long with skirted tetras though.

Thanks for your input!

 

[AnimalKrazed]

Do you have any specific colour preferences when it comes to the fish that you want to put in? I have always found it more pleasing if I focus on a theme per tank. I think the idea of neons with your skirted tetras sounds pleasing as well. Maybe cardinals might be better though, since they are a little more robust and a touch bigger.

In terms of liverbearers, guppies and swordtails are personal favourites of mine. Both of them come in a variety of colours and are different enough from one another that you can probably find enough colour morphs or strains that you like to stock all three of your 20 gallon tanks. Plus, they are common enough that you should be able to find some at any of you LFS's. I think that the ratio of male to female is supposed to be something like one male for every three females for livebearers.

If you want some variation beyond livebearers, I am of the opinion that you can never go wrong with a couple of dwarf gouramis. Dwarf gouramis are generally very passive fish that are somewhat active and bring a nice block of colour to the tank in a way that differentiates them from the often multi-coloured patterns of guppies and swordtails. The males can be aggressive to one another, if they don't have either; females (ratio similar to livebearers) of their own kind to focus on wooing and/or enough space for all males have room to establish their own terfs.

In terms of breeding livebearers, I would probably advise you to keep one of each colour morph you want per tank unless you want to risk/try a mix and match to see what happens. You can't predict what female a male is going to breed so if you have multiple colour morphs in a single tank be ready for some unexpected matches. Also, maybe grab a few breeder boxes so that you don't have to have multiple batches of fry within one tank. That way you won't have to tell your LFS that they are a miscellaneous batch and can get more credit/money by being able to tell them exactly what you are giving them.