Help me stock my 50 gal. Pics posted

[jm667]

Well I finally got some plants in my 50 gallon tank here and ready to start slowly stocking it. I might add a few more, but I got it pretty well filled out. I am going to keep this low tech, with just 50 watts of T8's for now, but I can overdrive them if I have to, and no CO2. Anyways, right now I have 3 harlequin rasboras in a small tank that I will be transferring over. I should probably add a few more of those to that school to start with, right? Then after that, I am pretty open to ideas. You guys are probably experienced with what looks good with black substrate and black background and plants. I was thinking maybe two or three nice schools of different fish, some bottom dwellers/algae eaters, and a couple bigger centerpiece type fish. I also love shrimps. Throw some ideas out there. Thanks!

 

[HN1]

Beautiful tank!

I agree with adding to the rasboras first.

What fish do you like? There are SO many possible combos. Personally, I think rummies or black neons would look spectacular for schoolers in that setting.

 

[FastFly67]

definitely more rasboras. a nice schoal of some type of cory would be excellent or possibly a loach? i'm partial to habrosus (pygmies) cories. a school of tetras, maybe black skirt or red eyes. as far as a centerpeice fish, depending on what you stock as far as schools of fish, you could do a betta or a gourami, maybe a powder blue or honey. maybe you could do german blue rams?

 

[jm667]

I can really put a male betta in a tank that size? I wanted something similar to that because I used to have one in a smaller tank and it died, but I really liked how he seemed to have a personality. I was thinking of gouramis though, then at least I could have more than one. I like the dwarf neon ones, I think they would stand out in there. Can I do like two of those, and another type of gourami, or a german blue ram? Maybe 3 total of the larger fish like that? I think I will get 5 more rasboras tomorrow, then I'll check out the different types of tetras in the store. I thought neon tetras might look good in there, but will the black neons stand out with the black substrate, or will they blend in?

So maybe the two schools of 8-10 rasboras/tetras or whatever I choose, 2-3 gouramis or similar, a few corys for the bottoms, and some shrimps? Is that too many fish or do I still have room for a few more?

 

[Joshuaag]

What do plants need to live in a tank? Nitrates that it?

 

[Hucklebuck]

I have a 30 gal and i have many fish,3 baby honey gouramis , blue gourami and blue betta and a bunch of others and they all get along fine.

 

[jm667]

Its a male betta in your tank with the gouramis?

 

[Hucklebuck]

Yes it is a male betta.Also love the tank it looks great.

 

[Jagwa]

i think a school of normal neons would look great in that tank

 

[Barnature]

A school of like 20 SM neon tetras or 10 cardinals. Nice tank!

 

[mom2reds]

nice tank. I wanted to warn you that a male beta and a male gouramis will fight most of the time to the death. that being said neons or rummy nose tetras would be stunning in your tank. i am redoing my tank and will be adding both of those if i can find them. Have fun restocking your tank.

 

[HN1]

I have a 30 gal and i have many fish,3 baby honey gouramis , blue gourami and blue betta and a bunch of others and they all get along fine.

Its a male betta in your tank with the gouramis?

IME, trouble will eventually result between bettas and gourami housed together. I would not advise trying it.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I agree with the betta and gourami comments. The same goes usually for multiple gouramis, unless its a pair of Honey gouramis or Pearl Gouramis. They usually do ok with more than 1 in a tank (1 type or the other though). I wouldn't mix the Betta in with Gouramis though.

I suggested Rummynose tetras, Harlequin rasboras (which you already have), a pair of Rams, and maybe a pair of Pearl Gouramis. If you wanted some Cories or small loaches for the bottom, that would be nice....along with maybe some Otos.

 

[jm667]

Yeah thats what I thought, that you shouldn't put male bettas with other fish that resemble them. I am sure there are some exceptions and you might get a more mellow betta and some might get along like hucklebucks. But I don't think I will take the chance. I'll get all the smaller fish first and then decide which larger ones I want. I think I'll get 3-5 more harlequins today to bring the school up to 6 or 8 and leave them in there for a bit, then maybe next week get another batch of something else. If I get algae eaters (like otos I believe are, right?) would it be smart to wait for there to be algae in the tank first so they have something to eat? Thanks guys!

On another note, should I be concerned about shrimps and small fish getting sucked into the intake of my filter? Some of the openings in it look large enough that it could happen. Should I put a piece of screen, or netting, or nylons or something over it?

 

[HN1]

If I get algae eaters (like otos I believe are, right?) would it be smart to wait for there to be algae in the tank first so they have something to eat?

On another note, should I be concerned about shrimps and small fish getting sucked into the intake of my filter? Some of the openings in it look large enough that it could happen. Should I put a piece of screen, or netting, or nylons or something over it?

I would wait before adding any "algae eaters". Especially with Otos. You may not need them anyways. IMHO, too many people try to depend on fish to do their maintenance. I like the way you are stocking gradually. You have a beautiful tank!

Yes, a sponge or netting should probably be put over the intake if you have shrimp in the tank. Small fish shouldn't be sucked up unless they are very small fry, but shrimp absolutely will.

 

[jm667]

Ok maybe not the otos then, but other bottom dwellers are good aren't they? Don't they clean up all the crap on the bottom (extra food that falls, etc.) I know even on my small tank, I recently found a rasboras tail stuck in the filter intake, and the holes in that were much smaller.

 

[JustOneMore20]

You can put a sponge over the intake. I usually do it in my tanks both for any fry or shrimp and to keep plant pieces from getting sucked into my canister filters. I use Eheim prefilters....they fit well over most any intake, not just Eheims (I don't have any Eheim filters... ).

My suggestion for Otos wasn't just for algae, but because they are cool fish! I don't care if mine eat algae or not. I like those little buggers.

Bottom dwellers are awesome...not just because they eat fallen food, but because they are just awesome. Cories are my favorites. You still want to feed them some bottom feeder foods that sink (whether you get Cories, loaches, or whatever else).

Definitely wait for the Otos (if you decide to get them) and shrimp.

I like the gradual stocking as well. Definitely a good idea.

 

[HN1]

They can be, but the vicious circle that we get into is that the food that falls to the bottom is quite often not enough to sustain them so we need to feed even more or target feed them with sinking pellets, etc. This just adds more potential debris. With good weekly gravel vacs, you shouldn't NEED bottom cleaners. If you like them, by all means stock and feed them appropriately and enjoy. Cories, loaches, some cats, etc can be great tank additions if they are added for the fish vs. a possible function within the tank.

That's odd about the rasbora. A healthy adult fish should not be sucked up.

 

[jm667]

This is a little off the original topic, but in my other tank, there were just a couple plants, and when I did the gravel vac i could shove it down into the gravel and it would get all the gunk out. I am just wondering on this tank, since there are so many plants, I really cant see how I can shove the vac down into the substrate without hitting plants or roots. How do you vac something like this?

 

[mom2reds]

you really should not have to just wave the gravel vac over the top of the substrate to kick up any stuff that needs to suck out.