Stocking thread for my 125.

[LS240]

I'm in the process of setting up a 125 gallon. It's going to have a diy foam/concrete 3D background along with Malaysian driftwood and will be fairly heavily planted, using Flourish Excel rather than CO2. Sand substrate with root tabs for plants as needed. Filtration will be from a Filstar XP L or XL if the L isn't sufficient alone(advice on that?). It'll be a couple months before it's ready for fish accounting for finishing the background project and cycling, so I've got time to think it over.

So far I'm thinking:

12 x Cories(Panda and Schwartz)
6 x Kuhli Loaches
6 x Siamese Algae Eaters
4-8 x of each Mollies, Platies, and Swordtails, keeping at least a 2 or 3 to 1 female-male ratio
4 x Sparkling Gouramies
Along with at least a dozen Red Cherry Shrimp and some Malaysian Trumpet Snails to stir the sand substrate

I struggled for a while trying to decide on centerpiece fish and ended up with livebearers. Maybe it's a bit unconventional choice for this size aquarium but I love those high fin blood red Swordtails especially along with all the varieties of Mollies and Platies. And I feel with that stock I've got a little bit of room to grow into so when they breed I can keep some of the offspring.

I do have some concerns though. I'm really conflicted about having Mollies in a pure freshwater setup. Any advice on whether I should try it or not? If it's truly going to lessen their life span as some say I could wait on them and make a brackish setup later and fill their place with Guppies and Endlers perhaps. But I really would love to keep them. Another potential issue is having multiple male livebearers together. I know they can sometimes be bullies, especially Mollies, but I'm hoping having a good m-f ratio along with lots of room and hiding places will calm any aggression.

Now about those Gouramies. Am I just asking for trouble trying to keep them with Mollies? I know they're supposed to be a bit timid and I don't want them being picked on or starving because they aren't competing for food. Will this be an issue? If so I'll drop them.

As for the shrimp I know there's a risk of them being eaten by the larger fish especially. There will be plenty of plants including Java Moss to hide in, but still I'm not sure how wise a decision this would be. I've already lost to predation all the RCS I tried keeping in a small Betta/community setup.

Other notes: My tap water comes out at 8.2 ph. I've already got Bettas, Cories, and Rummynose Tetras living in this water with nothing to adjust the ph except a small driftwood piece in my 16 gallon, which doesn't have much effect. All are thriving so I'm honestly not concerned much about my high ph. Hardness unknown.

By the way, if certain species above have to be eliminated from the list, the following fish are other species I'm interested in keeping that could take their place, in no particular order: Guppies, Endlers, Harlequin Rasboras, Ghostglass Catfish, Hatchets, Clown Loaches(probably too big for this community), upside down cats(ditto), Opaline, Gold, Pearl, and Dwarf Gouramies, Cherry Barbs, Denison Barbs(surprisingly prevalent and cheap in the stores around here), Boesemani Rainbows, and female Bettas. Phew.

Sorry for the massive post but I prefer to give all the info I can upfront. Thoughts? Thanks for reading!

 

[vanimal]

It looks good except I think a school of Bosemani Rainbows and Demison Barbs would look great. With that stock that you have listed I think you could add a school of either. Probably around 6 but if it were me I think I would do the above stock and 6 Denison Barbs with 4 Bosemani Rainbows. I think it'd be fine but some might say it would be overstocked as Denison Barbs can get to be a medium sized fish.

 

[absolutangel04]

I do not advise sparkling gouramis for this set up. They are a cute, fun little fish, but they are pretty small and would not do well at all with those tankmates IMO. The other gouramis on your list would be a good alternative though. I personally really like the look of opalines. They end up with lovely coloration.
I have kept mollies in fw before without an issue. They are naturally found in estuaries, so the salinity there varies.
Livebearers can indeed be bullies. IME though, it more an issue of individuals rather than the species. I have kept plenty of livebearers together in community set-ups and almost never had issues.
I vote against the rcs because they would likely be eaten, and I have doubts that you would ever see them anyways even if they did manage to stay alive.

 

[LS240]

6 x Panda Cories
6 x Schwartz Cories
6 x Skunk Cories
6 x Kuhli Loaches
4 x Swordtails
6 x Platies
6 x Mollies
6 x Guppies
6 x Siamese Algae Eaters
1 x Opaline Gourami(female)
1 x Gold Gourami(female)

AqAdvisor says I would be at 94% stocking and with a Filstar XP XL would have 144% of the filtration capacity needed. I hope with the 2 female Gouramis aggression could be kept to a minimum. And to be honest I wouldn't even mind having all female Mollies and Platies or maybe just one male per species. The females are just as pretty in my opinion.

I'm not sure I want to be that close to capacity though with livebearers and the possibility of fry surviving that I would inevitably want to keep.

 

[byork]

The swords and platys will interbreed. Not really a problem more or a thought. You may want to get some that have complimenting colors. Also with all the species you have mentioned you can add salt. Not to brackish levels but it will help all the livebearers live longer healthier lives. Also don't do the Siamese algae eaters they will get 8" long and become aggressive killing your other fish and sucking them to bones. Try some ottos. You may want to a something that is a fry chaser to keep your population down a little and to be sure only the strong survive to breed. I like glass catfish they are not to aggressive and they only chase them if they can fit into their mouth which are pretty small. The only consideration for the salt would be your plant choices. I have grown Ludwigs and wisteria in almost brackish water with few problems. Java I have not tried but I have plenty and could experiment. Sorry I am long winded...

 

[LS240]

I thought Cories don't really handle salt well? And are you sure the Siamese will get aggressive? I know Chinese Algae Eaters and the False Siamese get aggressive but I've read the true Siamese stay fairly peaceful and continue eating algae throughout their lives.

Edit: Forgot to mention I don't really mind the Swords and Platies crossbreeding. Most of them for sale are already crossbreeds anyways and if I get some cool color combos all the better. I'd really like the Guppies and Mollies to cross but I know there's a smaller chance of that happening though I know it has happened in community aquariums before.

Edit 2: Been doing more research on SAE and it seems some people have had aggression issues but seems rare. But I did find another issue which unfortunately eliminates them; they apparently like to eat moss, especially Java Moss. And Java Moss is going to be a large part of my aquascaping and I don't want it being munched on constantly. Sigh. I suppose I'll replace them with 6 or so Otos instead. On the plus side it would reduce my bioload a lot. According to AqAdvisor it would put me down to 78% stocking which I'm more comfortable with.

 

[absolutangel04]

Honestly, I would throw in a few more kuhli loaches. They don't get very big, and they are more bold in bigger groups IME. Also, they have a low bioload, so adding more is no big deal IMO.
I have not kept SAE, so I can't help you out there. Sorry.
As for the others, that sounds fine to me. Platies and swords don't always interbreed. They will often choose their own kind if they can.

 

[LS240]

Awesome thanks for the advice! I'll definitely add some more Kuhli Loaches. I feel pretty good about that stock overall as it gives me a good variety of the fish I love most. Now to get off my butt and finish preparing the tank.