Schools

[RossyBoy]

In a 100litre setup, i was looking to put perhaps 2 schools of fish perhaps tetras + guppies, alongside a few other fish.

What's a good amount for each school of fish if there is to be 2 schools of different types?

 

[Zagz]

For 100l set up I would not recommend 2 schools and guppies with other fish. That would be overstocking the tank. Not to mention that your guppies unless all male will breed and then you will have tons of fry to contend with. You could go with a school of 10 tetras, such as black neons, neons, or cardinals, or lemon tetras, with some cory cats for bottom feeders. You could add in some other fish like rasboras. I would have a small school of cories, some rasboras and a school of tetras if it were me. Lots of color with interesting behaviours.

What filtration will you have for your tank? Filtration will also play a huge part in how much stock to have. How often will you be doing water changes and how much? Are you planning on doing a fishless cycle first or is the tank cycled? On average with lower filtration and weekly pwc's you could average about 26" of adult sized fish that you have mentioned.

 

[RossyBoy]

right well, the tank is actually 120litres sorry bout that, it's one of the Jewel Tanks which has the quad filtration sysyem built internally?

And i can do water changes as needs be, by that i mean whatever you guys tell me lol

 

[HitTheRoadJack]

I would have a fairly small school of fish (tetras) and maybe some guppies, but they reproduce like no tomorrow once settled in, so you'll have to take that into account. Good Luck :]

 

[DanD]

Love serpae tetra - I have a small school of 8 in a 55g, and they give a good contrasxt against the green of the plants

 

[RossyBoy]

I'm just thinkin stuff tropical now lol from what people have told me it's a hell of a lot of hassle.

And i can still get coldwater schooling fish too, which is what i mainly want.

I just don't want the poor lil fishies die in the process of me learning lol!

 

[rich311k]

Only real big difference between cold water and tropical fish keeping is adding a heater to maintain the temperatures. You still need a heater for cold water to maintain a minimum temperature anyway. You will have to change water, clean algae etc. no matter which setup you choose.

I think a school of rasboras or tetras and a school of corys for the bottom makes a very nice tank. You could fit a gourami or an angel in the mix as well.

If you go cold water you could look at minnows, I believe danios do ok in colder water as well.

That tank is around 30 gallons so you have a decent size to work with especially since you seem to want smaller fish.

 

[Jchillin]

I agree with a school of tetras. I give pause to mixing tropicals and cold water species in the same tank however, it just makes the tropicals a bit angry. A 30g could fit a nice school of rummy noses, I would go with 8 of them (I have six in my 30g).

 

[RossyBoy]

ok then so just out of interest...

How many schooling fish would fit comfortably by themselves in a 30litre tank?

 

[Billsgate]

Well if u really only keep the schooling fish, it still depends on the species' own size. But for example Neon or Cardinal tetras, I would say 12 - MAYBE 15 if it were just them. I think that having a species only tank would decrease schooling behaviour since there would be no threat or reason to stick together all the time. I'm not that at experienced with schooling fish though, so maybe someone else can give you more advice on this point.

Are you planning on planting the tank? Any other ideas for stocking other then schooling fish? You could keep a pair of docile dwarf cichlids like Keyholes or GBR together with a school of 5-7 small tetras (like cardinals) quite easily. Allot depends on swimming space, planting, and parameters. If your tank is full of plants (like mine most of the time ) And there is no larger swimming space, i doubt schooling behaviour will show).

Good luck!