Will this stocking combo work?

[AaronBurr]

Hey All,

After much research I'm working on final stock combo for my recently acquired second hand 55 gallon.

Existing fish in tank:
5 skirt tetras
5 black neon tetras
3 fancy male guppies

New Additions:
3 dwarf gourmi
4 black molly
4 swordtail wags
1 pictus catfish

I'm not sure what algae eater is best to go with the catfish. Snails maybe?

Any thoughts on this combo? Does anything jump out as a super problematic?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Toad]

Nix the pictus. They do better in groups, are super busy swimmers and will eat whatever they fit in their mouth, or think they can.

 

[AaronBurr]

Nix the pictus. They do better in groups, are super busy swimmers and will eat whatever they fit in their mouth, or think they can.

Would corys be a better option? Maybe two or three?

Edit: I like the whiskers of the pictus. I'd there a better catfish that has those?

 

[Toad]

Not that I know of offhand :/ I had a pictus before because they looked so cool, it didn't end well

 

[Scottishscales]

I have a cory cats and they're pretty good bottom feeders but not so much on the algae front at least in my tank. They work best in groups of 6.

I also have a bristlenose pleco that won't get bigger than 2-3" which is good for a tank your size. But you just have to be sure that your filtration can handle the bio load of an algae eater like a bristlenose.

 

[AaronBurr]

I have a cory cats and they're pretty good bottom feeders but not so much on the algae front at least in my tank. They work best in groups of 6.

I also have a bristlenose pleco that won't get bigger than 2-3" which is good for a tank your size. But you just have to be sure that your filtration can handle the bio load of an algae eater like a bristlenose.

That's good to know about the corys. And The bristlenose are very interesting looking, but not quite the style for me. Thanks though!

 

[abw0004]

3 Dwarf Gouramis will fight. Only way to have multiple Dwarf Gouramis is if you have 1 male, and 3 females. Females are incredibly hard to find however. I would recommend to get maybe just one, and beef up your tetra colonies. Would look amazing with groups of 10 in each variation

 

[AaronBurr]

3 Dwarf Gouramis will fight. Only way to have multiple Dwarf Gouramis is if you have 1 male, and 3 females. Females are incredibly hard to find however. I would recommend to get maybe just one, and beef up your tetra colonies. Would look amazing with groups of 10 in each variation

Thanks for the reply. I had heard you could do multiple dwarf gourmais as long as the tank was large enough and planted enough for them to establish their own territories?

 

[abw0004]

It certainly helps, but 3 males you are asking for a fight club. And they are top swimmers so you would need plants that go all the way to the top. I have one DG kill another and I vowed never to do that again. I also did not see you had fancy guppies. DG's will fight with your guppies because of the tails. Anything with a flowing tail they do not like.

 

[AaronBurr]

Hmm i really want some larger fish but it sounds like most of the larger fish I want (Gouramis, angels, catfish) will all eat my smaller guys. Is there a more peaceful larger fish I can add in?

 

[abw0004]

You could try a Honey Gourami. The problem is you are trying to put a lot of different types of fish in your tank, when you need to fill out the groups you have. You are wanting 7 different types of fish, so naturally some will not get along. I would beef up the groups you have now.

 

[AaronBurr]

You could try a Honey Gourami. The problem is you are trying to put a lot of different types of fish in your tank, when you need to fill out the groups you have. You are wanting 7 different types of fish, so naturally some will not get along. I would beef up the groups you have now.

Yeah..... I have no interest in the Tetras. They were left over from the previous owner. But I have no way to re-home them and I'd feel bad about just killing them. So I figured I would wait them out and try to stock it with other things I wanted more long term.

I could drop the gourmi and up the swordtail and mollys. And replace the pictus for a few corys. I'm not sure what numbers would work out well there.

Or could I do a larger group of guppies and 1 dwarf gourmi? I know guppies don't school, but they do tend to stick close to eachother. (or am I just asking for trouble if I head down this route?)

Edit: also I'm not sure about how quickly to add fish to my tank? I was thinking one type ever 5 days or so?

 

[abw0004]

Yeah, don't kill them. That is very irresponsible and if you do that you should not be in the hobby, ever. And people like me (and pretty much the whole forum) will go out of our way to not help you in the future.

I would take them to your LFS and they will gladly take them. DG's will still go after your guppies, and fancy guppies have a hard time swimming away as it is with their unnaturally long tails. If you want a guppy tank, do a guppy tank. Don't try to mix semi-agressive fish with peaceful fish, which is what your tank is currently.

 

[AaronBurr]

Hmm I have an empty 10g I could set up for the neon tetra and guppies. That might simplify the 55g. Then the only existing fish would be the skirt tetras... could I do the pictus or gourmi then?

*ponders* this could really Change how I can stock

 

[AaronBurr]

Okay so if the only requirements for the 55 g are it must accommodate

5 skirt tetras
1 dwarf Gourami
1 pictus catfish (possible corys?)

I can bump up the skirt tetra numbers. Is there one other species that will make a good tank mate? Maybe swordtails, or/and black molly?

 

[AaronBurr]

Okay I tried to do a bit of googling and I think this will work.

5 skirt tetras
5 swordtails
5 black mollys
1 dwarf gourami
a few pictus catfish (Still not sure about this one, might go with Corys)

Does anyone have any comments?

 

[abw0004]

That should work.

 

[AaronBurr]

That should work.

Thanks for your help and your patience! I'm super excited ^__^ It'll take a bit to get the 10g up and cycled. But when I get everything stocked I'll post pics!