Stocking a 60 Gallon

[Stewy]

Hey guys,

So here is the deal. I am currently in the process of trying to determine how to stock my 60 gallon tropical tank to make it fun and appealing. I am having some issues with determining which way to go so I thought that I would ask you all for some input. My tank currently looks like this…

2 x Bristlenose Pleco (Ancistrus sp.)
3 x Black Neon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi)
2 x Dalmatian Molly (Poecilia latipinna hybrid)
2 x Swordtail [Female] (Xiphophorus hellerii)
1 x Swordtail [Male] (Xiphophorus hellerii)

Now, I am thinking that I am going to donate the Mollies and the Swords to a buddy of mine but the Neon’s and the Plec’s are there to stay. So I have a ton of room to work with. I really want the most bang for my space so I am looking for a lot of swimmers with two or three center piece fish. Right not I am leaning towards Pearl Gourami’s or Boesemani Rainbows. As far as the rest of the tank, I am open to some suggestions. I am fond of Rummynose Tetra’s, Tiger Barb’s and I am leaning towards throwing some Cherry Shrimp in there. I am afraid that the Tigers are going to be too aggressive for the Gourami’s though.

So…with what I am looking at, how would you stock my tank? I have attached a picture so that you can see the theme. My son is big into pirates…argh!

 

[Legit Fish]

i personally think that the tiger barbs will kill the cherry shrimps and if you get a pearl gourami or any fish that gets bigger is going to eat the cherries but maybe not all

 

[Legit Fish]

im thinking you should add more neon black tetras, go with rummy nose(group of 6) if you want them, dwarf gourami(honey, coral red, sparkling is what i would go with), not tiger barbs but instead of that get pentazona barbs( less aggressive and peaceful... group of 6), beckford pencilfish( or coral red which ever is better for you... group of 8), and last would be a angelfish or two.

in my opinion i like nano fish. i dont know why i just do. but if i would do it then i would get that to be heavily planted with a group of 20 chilli rasboras, 10 scarlet badis, a bunch of yellow neon shrimps, 5 sparkling gouramis, 10 pygmy cories, 5 galaxy rasboras, 5 world class rrea guppies, and 3 bn plecos(ancistrus sp)

 

[Legit Fish]

oh also if you plan to keep keep bigger fish than that is not a good tank for cherry shrimp. they will be spotted easily because of their bright color

 

[Stewy]

Thanks for the input. I also saw some Candy Cane Tetras and some Pearl Danios today that I am considering. Any advice or experience?

 

[Sillyfishies]

Thanks for the input. I also saw some Candy Cane Tetras and some Pearl Danios today that I am considering. Any advice or experience?

Pearl danios would work. I'd up the neons and if you want to get nano fish

8 neons
12 pearl danios
9 scarlet badis (3 m, 6 f)
12 dwarf cories
10 otos
12 chili rasboras
6 sparkling gourami
X dwarf shrimp
2 plecos

 

[Bichir Bro]

Tiger barbs and pearl gouramis are usually perfectly fine. The bigger the school of tigers the calmer they will usually be. I have a pearl in with 10 tigers and they never go near each other. However I've found some schools of tigers can be nice and friendly, some can be aggressive, my friend had 12 in with lots of other stuff and he always said they chases and pestered other fish. Mine however just stay together and look good. Now what id stock it with is:
12x harlequin rasboras
8x peacock Gudgeons
12x long finned serpae tetras
3x pearl gourami {one male and two females}
12x penguin ~or~ emperor tetras
12x chili rasboras
Maybe some other small fish but that's what I'd personally do with it.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Tiger barbs and pearl gouramis are usually perfectly fine. The bigger the school of tigers the calmer they will usually be. I have a pearl in with 10 tigers and they never go near each other. However I've found some schools of tigers can be nice and friendly, some can be aggressive, my friend had 12 in with lots of other stuff and he always said they chases and pestered other fish. Mine however just stay together and look good. Now what id stock it with is:
12x harlequin rasboras
8x peacock Gudgeons
12x long finned serpae tetras
3x pearl gourami {one male and two females}
12x penguin ~or~ emperor tetras
12x chili rasboras
Maybe some other small fish but that's what I'd personally do with it.

The poor chili rasboras and gudgeons in that tank

 

[Bichir Bro]

Oh lol yeah it's a 60 though. To them that's like giant but still everytime a pearl came around they'd have a heart attack

 

[Fishlover3578]

I have dwarf gourami and they won't even touch my guppy fry

 

[Legit Fish]

candy canes are beautiful i would switch that with the galaxy rasboras and put 7 candy canes

 

[severum mama]

You will never see either chili rasboras or cpds in that size tank, especially if you keep them in a community with larger fish. On the rare occasions they pop up, you'll see fewer and fewer until they have finally died from stress, food competition, or bullying from larger fish.

I'm on mobile, but I thought I saw suggestions for pearl danios, emperor tetras, and rosy tetras. These are not compatible with nano fish.

 

[Bichir Bro]

It was just a suggestion.....

 

[Legit Fish]

well i have them with bigger fish like the coral red gouramis with no problem with chillis, bleeding hearts, scarlet badis, panda loaches, pygmy cories, and some shrimp. no problem in a 40 gallon which i set up like a month ago with no deaths and everybody is eating. and since were nano fish not compatible with pearl danios emperor tetras etc ?

 

[severum mama]

well i have them with bigger fish like the coral red gouramis with no problem with chillis, bleeding hearts, scarlet badis, panda loaches, pygmy cories, and some shrimp. no problem in a 40 gallon which i set up like a month ago with no deaths and everybody is eating. and since were nano fish not compatible with pearl danios emperor tetras etc ?

Ok, you've had your tank set up for a month with an inappropriate stock list. That is in no way indicative of long term success. It will take the nano fish some time to die off from the stress and slow starvation. It took a few months for me and I kept them with calmer fish like Pseudomugil gertrudae, cardinal tetra, and rummynose tetra. My tank was 45 gallons, heavily planted.

Emperor tetras (and bleeding hearts) get MUCH larger than what you normally see in the pet store, and both become a lot more belligerent with age and size. Neither of those are compatible with tiny, timid fish. Pearl danios are super active and can be nippy. Again, not a good mix.

 

[Legit Fish]

ok ill believe it when i see it but for the person who started this forum good luck with your fish

 

[Stewy]

I appreciate all of the input from everyone and views of individuals vary. This is the reason that I asked for input from the forum. I am leaning towards candy cane tetras and rummy nose tetras to accent pearl gouramis. Does anyone have experience with candy canes as far as schooling and identifying sex? I still have room so the other breeds mentioned are still possibly in the running. With these three breeds being set, what would accent them the best?

 

[severum mama]

I have a decent bit of experience with keeping candy cane tetra/rosy tetra/HY511. They can occasionally be nippy, but aren't going to be nearly as bad as serpae, emperor, etc. Pearl gouramis are big enough to hold their own with this tetra. As with most tetras, the females are larger and fuller-bodied. Rummynose tetras are quite peaceful, yet large enough that they won't be harrassed by the other fish in the tank. I think you are off to a good start with this list. I'd suggest some relatively peaceful loaches like yo yos or zebras, or some corydoras to go along with them.