What fish should I get?

[Swimmer32]

I'm stoked that at long last my tank has finally cycled, and I'm excited at the thought actually having fish in it.

I've looked at the links in this thread with regards to what type of fish to populate with, and what types get on with what, and what type likes what condiotons etc, but it's all very confusing and I just end up going in circles. 8O

So I'm hoping you guys can make a few suggestions.

All I know I want is a lot of colour in the tank, fish that are pretty easy to look after, and something to roam around the bottom to clean up leftovers etc. and maybe something to eat a little algae and keep the glass clean as well.

My tank is a 175 ltr, with a trickle filter using a standard sponges and ehfisubstrat for biological filtration. I think it filters around 390 litres/hr.

There's a decent layer of gravel, and before I put any fish in there I intend to put a number of low light plants as well.

Oh, and the Ph seems to be stable around the 7 - 7.5 mark as well.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[Jchillin]

Moved to Getting started forum.

 

[joannde]

Congratulations on finishing your cycle ! Feels great, doesn't it ?

I hear ya on the stocking choices - so many beautiful and interesting fish and inverts to choose from It might help to narrow down the potentials, so lets see what you prefer from the list below:

Peaceful, semi-aggressive, aggressive ?
Livebearers or not ?
Fast swimmers or slow ?
How important is schooling to you ?
A few larger fish or more smaller fish ?
Are there any "must have" spieces on your list ?

That should help folks make some suggestions.

 

[Swimmer32]

Thanks!

Absolutely right, it's fantastic!

It took almost eight weeks of testing e-v-e-r-y d-a-y though.

But well worthwile, and I guess the biggest lesson to be learned here is patience and persistance.

I had only tested once this week, coz I had almost given up on the whole idea and was going to put the tank in storage, and that would have been the end of it.

I was thinking of some kind of Tetras or maybe Neons of some description for schooling fish, maybe a bristlenose for the bottom dweller. The rest I don't really know.

I'd just like a nice, colourful, peaceful community that all get along with each other, and not any fish that are particularly difficult to look after - being a beginner.

I'm thinking it migh be nice to have a larger feature fish or two, and then compliment them with lots of smaller - medium fish. A variety I guess.

Hope that helps you, to help me

 

[JeffreyL]

cycle

Congratulations!!!! Sounds like you have already gotten a handle on 3 of the most important traits for fish keeping. Patience, persistence and research!!!!!! As to fish, good advice given to me was go window shopping!! Visit your local fish stores and just browse. Look at all the cute little guys and write down the names of the ones that really grab your attention. Then do more research. There are excellent profiles on some of the more popular fish here. Another good place to look is fishprofiles.com. Or just search tropical fish profiles. Lot of sources will pop up. One that is neat is aquahobby. It contains lots of testimonials from people on their fish, so remember much info may be a bit biased. But it is still a fun read. They seem to use a very slow server however, so it can be a tough site to access.

Another reason to visit you LFS if you haven't, is to get a feel for how good a shop each is. How healthy are the fish, how helpful is the staff, and do they know what the heck they are talking about. lol

Have fun and good luck!!!!

 

[Stretch]

Thanks!

I was thinking of some kind of Tetras or maybe Neons of some description for schooling fish, maybe a bristlenose for the bottom dweller. The rest I don't really know.

Neons are pretty tough to keep alive, for me, at least. I've kept my current ones alive for about a month now, but I just got home from work to find two of them swimming sideways and stuff. I don't remember them being this hard to care for when I was little. I hear the Rainbow Tetras are much more hearty.

 

[joannde]

Jeffrey, as usual, came up with a great idea. Window shopping then you can come back and look up the fish and see if they are what you want.

My personal favorites and recommendations would be:
Cory Cats for the bottom - they're alot of fun to watch. You should get 5 at a minimum since they love to play together and are most comfortable that way. There are many different species of cories, so take your time to find the type you like. Go to http:\\fishprofiles.com and type in Cory in the freshwater profiles. Most cories get to be about 3", some only 2".
Guppies - I know it sounds like a fish a child would keep, but for color and activity they are still one of my favorites. You can do all males if you want. If you get both males and females try to get 2 females for each male to reduce harrassment by the amourous males - but then you'd also need to be prepared for LOTS of babies
Harlequin Rasboras - great schooling fish and I just love the dark and light pattern.
Of the tetras you could lalos ook at lemon, head & tail light, or anothe of the small varieties. Neon's tend to be a little sensitive, so you should probably let your tank get settled for a few months before you add them. Just "save room" for them in your bioload.

 

[Purrbox]

I would also recommend looking into Rainbows. They're a very colorful fish with enough varieties that your likely to find a color size combination that fits what you're looking for. The Dwarf Neon Blue Rainbowfish is one of my favorites.

 

[Swimmer32]

Looks like my weekend has been planned then!

There are a couple of fish shops I like to go to, one in partiular had a nice range of fish and one had a nice range of plants. They're miles and miles apart though but that's fine.

Can't wait!

 

[SkullJug]

Congrats on getting your tank running!! I've got some spare time so I'll just write a bit about my fish and why I love them, might help with your choices.

IMHO Gouramis make a great first fish, they are hardy, eat anything and can breath oxygen from the water surface so even if you make the odd mistake they have a good chance of surviving. They are also my favourite fish personality wise (hmm, or maybe angels) they are bright, colourful and have heaps of personality.

My other real favourites are danios (which are also very hardy fish), They provide a lot of action to the tank, school fairly well and tend to hang around the upper levels of the tank.

Cories are just about the cutest little guys and are great little bottom cleaners.

Plecos are (IMO) The kings of the substrate. They are pretty good at algae cleanup (Certain types anyway) and mine gets heaps of attention from people checking out my tank. A trick with them is if you are feeding vegetables to only have them in the tank when the lights are on, and remove it before the lights go out. This will teach your pleco to cruise the tank in daytime (And no fish can cruise like a pleco!)

Best of luck - Let us know what you go with.

 

[ksfishguy]

Awesome job on the cycling, I'm hoping to be done soon as well. I have six rasboras that are awesome to watch. I am going to add a couple a week until I get a large school to watch dart around the tank. Good luck and I look forward to hearing what you get! Oh, I also like the albino cory cats, they are awesomely hyper!!!

 

[Swimmer32]

What a shocker! 8O

I went back to the shop where I bought my tank etc, and I was disappointed and horrified at the same time.

Last time I went there they had a great range of fish, and all very (seemingly) healthy.

I popped down after work to write down the kind of fish I liked, and I couldn't believe the amount of dead and dying fish I saw in most of their tanks! Some were almost completely eaten, so they would have been there for quite some time I would imagine. Bleck!

Won't be buying anything from there, that I'm sure of.

They seemed to have ALOT of Tetras there, which all were nice. Some more than others.

My question is - if you buy a number of them, do they have to be the same species? Or can you get maybe a dozen or so that are all different species?

Also, there was one bottom feeder/algae eater that I really liked. I've seen pics of it before but can't quite remember what it was. It had quite a flat mouth and was a darkish brown with creme spots all over it. Whatever it was, I definately want a couple. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

 

[SkullJug]

Tetras should be kept in schools of the same type. They will only school together if they are the same type and 1 tetra by himself is fairly vulnerable. You could give it a go but I don't think they'll be very happy.

The catfish sounds like a Pleco, but I have also seen bristlenoses with those spots!

 

[Swimmer32]

Didn't think choosing would be that difficult. 8O

I liked alot of what I saw, but from what I've read, they won't all get along.

This is my list so far and I'm looking for any feedback that anyone can provide.

Definately, definately want a Zucchini Pleco, or maybe two for company. I knew I had to have it the second I saw it.

4 x Sailfin Mollies
8 x Bloodfin Tetras
3 x Phantom Tetras
2 x Clown Loaches
6 x Zebra Danion
3 x Electric Yellows
4 x Platys
2 x Golden Gourami
2 x Lace Gourami

I'm wondering if this sounds like too many for my tank, but I've deliberately picked alot of the smaller fish and a few of the larger ones.

I also have concerns about mixing different variations of the same species. Like the Tetras and the Gouramis. I know SkullJug, you said to avoid this for the Tetras, but what if they had more of their species for company?

The numbers are easy to change, but how about the general mix?

Edit - clarity.

 

[JustOneMore20]

175 liters is about 47 gallons, so yes, you have too many fish listed there. Also, Electric yellows are African cichlids and shouldn't be kept with community fish (tetras, danios, gouramis, etc). Clown loaches will eventually outgrow your tank, so unless you plan to upgrade within the next year, I'd get a smaller loach like yoyos, polka dots, zebras or chain loaches. You could have a nice group of 4-6 of them, if they are the only bottom feeders you want.

I'd stick to 2 schools of 6-8. 3 schools is a bit much for a 47g and your school of 3 isn't enough. I'd choose one type of tetra and the danios. Also, Sailfin mollies get pretty big, so I'd choose either the group of 4 of them or a few gouramis. Get 1 male and 2 female gouramis if you can....of the same type.

Also, do you have a scientific name for the pleco? I can't find a profile for one to know how big they get.

Keeping more than one gourami can be tricky IMO. I'd get a group of one type, with alot more females then males if you can find them. If all you can find is males, I'd just get one because they can be really nasty to each other.

 

[Swimmer32]

Ok. Back to the drawing board.

As excited as I am, I don't want to rush into my selection.

I don't plan on upgrading to a larger tank, so if the fish get too big I'll just give them away to any fish shop that wants them. Maybe I can organise a swap or something.

I think the pleco I'm looking at gets pretty big but the ones I saw weren't. Maybe I got the name wrong?

It sort of looked like this, but not quite...

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=715

To give you some idea, this is what my tank currently looks like.

You can still see the prawns I'm using as an ammonia source at the top right.

Some of the plants tend to blend in with the background which tends to give it a very nice effect.

 

[ksfishguy]

Looks incredible, will look even better with your fish, have fun!

 

[Swimmer32]

How about something like this?

8 x Bloodfin Tetras
1 x Clown Loach
3 x Zebra Danios
3 x Platys
3 x Golden Gouramis

Plus that Plec I was looking at before?

Is that still too many fish for the tank?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Clown loaches will outgrow the tank and unless you plan on upgrading within a year or so, I'd stick with something smaller, like dwarf chain, yoyo, or zebra loaches. Zebra danios are schooling, so I'd go with 6.

That stocking looks alot better. The gouramis are hit or miss. Sometimes you get 3 that get along, sometimes you have 3 that fight like no tomorrow. Can you get females? If so, I'd go with 1 male and 2 females.

If the plec in the store is the one from planet catfish....it gets far too large for your tank. 20 inches is a huge fish! I'd stick to one that stays around 5-6 inches.

 

[Swimmer32]

Ok. I'll give the loaches and the plec the flick.

What would you recomend as a good algae/bottom feeder? A Bristlenose Catfish of something?

I something similar once before (I can't remember what it was) but it was very aggressive.

It would make its way to the top of the tank, jump off the side, and then attack every fish on its way down to the bottom of the tank again. I hated that thing.

Any other way to tell the male Gouramis from the female, other than a pointed dorsal fin?

I don't know if I could spot the difference?

Edit - This is my list so far, but alot seem to be smaller fish. Anything around a Gourami size that canyone can suggest?

8 x Bloodfin Tetras
6 x Zebra Danios
3 x Platys
3 x Golden Gouramis