Stocking a 36 Gal?

[Wild]

Could someone help me out with stocking my 36 Gallon Bowfront?( with all factory filter, lights ect) I'd like to have a balanced, peacful community tank.(doesn't everyone?) But i'm not sure how to go about making it happen.


So far i'd like to get these for sure-
x1 Angelfish; i was told a pair would get to large, and to aggressive to try in a community tank
x1 Dwarf Gourami; Should i add a female as well? Will it make a difference if i just keep him alone?

And this is where i need the help..
-1 Pitbull Pleco or other 'suckerfish'; (to make my dad happy =/) I heard these guys like to school, is that true? Or will they school with other bottom feeders?

-There isn't room for a Cockatoo Apisto or Bolivian ram pair is there?

-I really like loaches but they all get to big for my tank right? Is there any dwarf variates?

-Is a group of cory cats possible?

-Is there any Rainbow fish species that can be kept in pairs or singly? I don't have room to school 7 of any kind of rainbows do i?

-Are Black Ruby Barbs or Cherry barbs a possible small schooling fish? They aren't fin-nippers are they?



As you can see, i'm really all over the place. I was hoping someone could help set me straight here or at least point me in the right direction and give me a push?

 

[Fishnova]

If angels pair up, yeah I read a lot that they get aggressive.

Dwarf gouramis are better off on their own, it depends on the individual gourami's personality if you can keep two in the same tank. I would imagine if it were male/female the female/male will get aggressive when protecting eggs, if they mate.

I know kuhli loaches get to 3" and are bottom dwellers that scavenger around most of the time. (Totally getting some kuhli loaches!!) They like the presence of their own kind though, the more kuhlis, the better! Coarse, these are the only loaches that come to mind...

I think you would have to choose between cories, or loaches(if you choose kuhli loaches)... If you want to home the pair of rams/apisto ! Maybe with amazing filtration, and dense amount of plants you can get away with it, but I am not sure!

Bristle nose plecos reach 6" and are fine by themselves, the pitbull pleco is the one that prefer others of its kind.

Cherry barbs are great for community aquariums, they like to be in schools. Black ruby barbs are also great community fish, you might encounter the occasional nip with these guys, but that's if you get aggressive specimens.

I don't know rainbow fish.

Hope this helps!

 

[Wild]

Okay so i think i'll stick to 1 angel then =)

I'm still thinking about a Gourami pair, just because of their amazing bubble nests. If it isn't a good idea though, someone please tell me!

And then i'd have room for Cories OR loaches, if i get a pair of rams/apistos?
That wouldn't be to many fish down down there?

Has anyone kept a Pitbull pleco alone? i like them better than the BN, but i don't think i'd be able to have room for 3 of them..

Okay great to hear that the barns i like arn't to agressive =)

Thanks!

 

[Wild]

Does this sound possible?

x1 Angelfish
x1 Dwarf Gourami
x2 Rams(Golden, Bolivian or Blue)
x4 Panda Cories
x5 Long-Finned Leopard Danios

Would i have room to add a BN pleco?
Or increase my cory and danio schools?

 

[librarygirl]

Does this sound possible?

x1 Angelfish
x1 Dwarf Gourami
x2 Rams(Golden, Bolivian or Blue)
x4 Panda Cories
x5 Long-Finned Leopard Danios

Would i have room to add a BN pleco?
Or increase my cory and danio schools?

I think it looks OK although I don't have any direct experience with those fish. I think you could add the BN OR up the Danios to 8 and Pandas to 5-6. Either way you'd be slightly overstocked but not too severe so as long as you keep up a good water change maintenance schedule (50%+ weekly) you should be fine.

Also read up on cycling a tank if you haven't already (links in my signature below). Good luck!

 

[Wild]

Okay thanks!
And i am currently cycling my tank,

Will there be any problems between the Angel, Gourami and Danios?
I wouldn't want the Gourami to get mad at the fast Danios. Or the Angel and the Gourami get mad at each other..

Has anyone kept these fishies happily together?

 

[dudeofrude]

Your stocking list is almost my exact tank lol i have a 36 bowfront too! Angels and dwarf gouramis are great tank mates but I've not kept danios so I'm not sure there
i have 4 dwarf gouramis together (2m 2f) a lot of people advise against it but for a change I took the advice of my lfs and went for it and am so glad I did. I also have pitbull plecs and cories. I did have a pair of pitbulls but one died and the other has took to hanging with the cories but to be honest he isn't anywhere as active and playful as he was when the other was around. Kuhli loaches I've kept before but to be honest they need to be in a big group to really be interesting. Ime keeping 2-3 of them just makes them shy.

 

[Wild]

Okay thanks, i figured i wouldn't be able to keep kuli's or pitbulls happy without having a bunch of them. Guess i'll just keep dreaming of a bigger tank

And so your angel and gourami get along? thats great! I was worried i'd be having a constant show down in my tank haha
Do you ever see bubble nests from your gouramis?

 

[dudeofrude]

If you check online most sites put gouramis and angels as perfect tank mates, makes for a real pretty tank. I get occasional bubble nests but not too many bit my tank is quite planted so they might be hidden? To be honest I would say you have enough room for 3 pitbull plecs as long as that's the only bottom dwellers?

 

[Wild]

I figured they'd be okay. I just had someone else who i asked said 100% they'd kill each other...=/ So i just wanted to make sure they had no clue what they were talking about haha

Okay, i guess if i find anywhere that sells female gouramis i might think of getting a pair .

Well for my bottom dwellers i think could get 4-6 Cories OR 3 Kulis OR 3 Pitbulls
Did your group of pitbulls have lots of personality?

 

[dudeofrude]

I would go with either 3-4 pitbulls OR 5 cories. They get to roughly the same size just make sure you have some bogwood and plenty of hiding holes for them. I personally prefer cories as there are more colour varieties, I also found that a sand substrate really brought out the pitbulls compared to gravel

 

[dudeofrude]

As far as kuhlis I would think you'd get away with about 8 as they have a very small bioload and spend the majority of the time hiding so they need little swimming room

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Be careful with DGs and angels. Do not underestimate the aggression of a gourami or angel as they get older. My gold honey male gourami killed my female even when they'd been living together for about 2-3 months no problem. I also highly suspect it killed my angelfish as well.

Also be aware that danios can sometimes be fin nippers that will nip at your angel's and gourami's fins in the possible future. Danios are very active, so it may bother the slow-moving gourami.

 

[Wild]

And Cories, Kuli and pitbulls would be okay with Rams? They are bottom-ish fish right?

Of course. If it comes to it, i'll just pick between the Gourami and the Angel. Since angels are Chichlids nothing is ever 100% predicable with them.
My lfs has many sizes of angels. So is there any way to introduce them that would give me a better chance at them being friendly?
Like small angel then gourami, or gourami then large angel?
And a decor rearranging when i add them as well?

 

[dudeofrude]

Like most fish they tend to get more aggressive with maturity so your best bet for a happy cohabitation is introducing them both at the same time as young as possible, they way there's more chance they'll grow to adapt to eachother

 

[Wild]

And are just dwarf gourami he aggressive ones? Would it be better to think about a differnet gourami species?

 

[Lafeet85]

Cory cats are awesome. Get like four of those and you're set. They are like the best bottom feeding fish. They are pretty, and you will spend hours watching them forage for food. They are just so active and hardly ever stop working at keeping your tank clean. Algae eaters are good also but they tend to be a little shy and hide a lot. They do most of their work at night.

 

[Wild]

Cory's sound so cute! They were my first choice just because I've heard so much about their personality. I'm still thinking like they sound like the cutest little guys around

 

[Lafeet85]

For sure. One of the best fish you can ever buy!!

 

[librarygirl]

Cory's sound so cute! They were my first choice just because I've heard so much about their personality. I'm still thinking like they sound like the cutest little guys around

I have Panda Corys and they are so cute I just want to kiss them. Here's a video of mine if you want to see some: