Stocking 125gallon

[Teagteag]

125Gallon Tank
Fluval x5 canister filter


13 x Cardinal Tetra

9 x Zebra Danio -have 6 now

3 x German Blue Ram

4 x Clown Loach

5 x Hatchet Fish

2 x rubber lipped Pleco- have now

6 x Cory Catfish

3 x Dwarf Gourami -have

4 x Boeseman's Rainbowfish

3 x Blue Gourami- have

Is this fully stocked or can I add more. Wanting suggestions on "bigger"
Community fish (5-6")

 

[Magic mike]

Those clown loaches get real big.

 

[toddnbecka]

I'm not sure how well 6 gouramis will work out in the long run, but any schooling fish should be kept in odd numbers (5 or 7, not 4 or 6.) I'd drop the hatchets from the stocklist and go with silver dollars instead, particularly since you want "bigger" community fish. I have 10 in my 220,the largest is almost the size of a CD now. They do eat live plants, all mine are plastic. Same with Colombian tetras. Great red/blue colors, much easier than cardinals to see in a large tank, but they're also plant eaters.
Clown loaches will eventually grow to over 12" if they live long enough, but it takes years. Their colors also fade out quite a lot as they grow. I prefer the angelicus aka Burmese border loaches; they max out at less than half the size of clowns and their patterns become more attractive as they grow.
Another large "community" fish you might consider is a Synodontis catfish, though not the decorus. That particular species also grows to about 11-12", and unlike most larger Syno's they're a social fish. The S. eupterus, S. angelicus, or most of the random "lace" cats are fine by themselves.

 

[bettaowner]

I Would not go with the clown loaches or blue gouramis. A pair of rams might be a better option than three.

 

[Mebbid]

I agree that the gouramis might be an issue down the road when they grow up. They can end up killing each other.

I also agree with only a pair of gbr.

On the topic of larger community fish, the problem with that is larger community fish tend to eat your smaller ones like the tetras.

Instead of going crazy with a ton of small schools like you're going how about going with larger schools? Most people pick about 3 different schools of fish and get large numbers, a large school of fish is always more impressive than tiny ones.

What I would do personally for schooling fish:
30 cardinal tetras
12 assorted rainbows (boesemani, praecox, and turquoise)
20 Cory cats

From there I would look into filling with a few different centerpiece fish such as angels and gbrs. The clown loaches get huge and all by themselves would completely stock that tank.

 

[Teagteag]

Thanks for the advice. I am probably going to use the silver dollar fish instead of hatchets. Still researching the loaches. My husband really likes the clowns. Now if I could just get the tank to cycle.

Have not had a ammonia increase even after 2 weeks. Trying to be patient.

 

[mikem691]

I'm going to disagree with everyone on the clown loaches. I think you will be fine with 4 in a 125 as long as this is a standard 72" x 18" foot print and good filtration with a min of 50% weekly water change. I had clown loaches in a 75 and they were one of the most entertaining fish I ever had. They are super slow growers.

 

[toddnbecka]

Any social/schooling fish really should be kept in groups of 5 or more. If you know anyone with an established setup a small bit of their filter media would get you going immediately.