Live Stock planning

[Dominik_K]

Hello UKAPS-Community,

I recently set up my 128l planted tank and I am starting on stocking it with fish and shrimp. From my old tank I added the following:

- 12 Ember Tetras
- about 20 RCS
- 6 Amano Shrimp
- 7 Otocinclus Catfish

And I am planning on a final stocking for that tank and I would love to hear your opinion on that:

- 15 Ember Tetras
- 20 Green Neons
- RCS Colony (lets see how it will grow)
- 12 Blue Bold Shrimp (I would like to try this in a community tank, if it does not work out, I've learned a lesson)
- 12 Amano Shrim
- 12 Nerite Snails
- 12 Otocinclus Catfish

I know thats a lot according to the 1" per gallon, 1 cm per liter or Surface Area Rules. But since all of the fish are either really small or being some kind of clean up crew, I think it might be appropriate, what do you guys think?

Have a nice day and I hope the weather is as nice as here on your side of the world. I will start to enjoy it by now

 

[alto]

tank dimensions 80 x 40 x 40 cm

That's a good # of fish for that size of tank, I'd stock gradually allowing 2-3 weeks between livestock additions so you have sufficient time to observe inhabitants

While Oto's are excellent in groups, be sure you've enough algae to support that # - even with supplemental feeding their diet should contain considerable algae

Nerite snails - begin with 3-4, like Oto's they need primarily algae in their diet

Amano shrimp can be fairly aggressive with other shrimp so I'd establish the RCS & blue bolts first

I'd add 12 or so green neons to start, adding more embers & green neons after several weeks - you may decide the tank is busy enough with 12 of each

 

[dean]

I'd get the green neons in one go from the same shop & tank
Mixing neons from different supplies can be a hazard
Sorry I don't see the point of adding 3 more ember tetras
Id say it was a bit bottom heavy with all those shrimp

If it were mine I'd consider less shrimp species and add a danio type species for the top layer



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[alto]

I suppose that since I run quarantine/hospital tanks, gradual stock additions are not a concern

 

[Dominik_K]

Hi,

thanks for the reply guys I really appreciate that.

@alto : The first list of fish is already living in the tank, since my girlfriend was close to kill me because of having two tanks running she was fine with four weeks, but after about five she told me to make some room (our flat is pretty small to be honest).

But you might be right, I think I will add about 15 green neons at first, since they are a little bit smaller than the embers and to odd the numbers.

Since I have the amanos already, thats sadly not an option, but I will keep an eye on that. Having another tank in the basement will allow me to separate the amanos if needed. And that would be a reason my girlfriend would be fine with. She is a friend of animals, if one may say this in english like that.

@dean : why may that be a problem with neons? never heard about that. Could you explain this? Won't they join the school or what would be the problem? I am really interested in such information.

To be honest, I personally love bottom heavy tanks. I like the crawling all over the tank and within my 60 cm tank, the 20 rcs and 6 Amanos were awesome, but a little to less for me.

The supplier is always the same for me, but if I want to have them from the same tribe, I should buy them within a maximum of three to four weeks. I will ask him for the time the current stock arrived.


Thank you both for your help!

 

[alto]

Which green neons do you mean?

P simulans

M kubotai


I prefer the kubotai though they can be more difficult to maintain long term, they are definitely more sensitive to low oxygen/high CO2
- when you add them to the tank, do so after CO2 is off & oxygen levels are optimized again, this is especially important upon introduction as they will be stressed from shipping, shop time, bagging etc.

Fish will adapt biochemically to the higher levels of CO2 of planted tanks, I usually maintain reduced CO2 for a few days, by this time fish are settled & more able to manage any high CO2 stress, as I recall adaptation occurs over a couple weeks

(I bought a group of 30 kubotai shortly after shop had done their tank water changes, 10 were dead in the bag when I arrived home 45min later & several more died within a few hours of being in the tank - they were obviously spinning etc when added.
When I picked up the replacement fish (new shipment) I made sure no water change (just competed) & no losses from that group. I've bought these fish on several occasions & it's unusual for them to die in the bag like that)


In my area both of these "green neons" fish are seasonal & likely wild caught, unlike "neons" P innesi which have been farmed for decades with little attention to proper (breeding) line maintenance resulting in a decidedly delicate fish

P inessi

 

[Dominik_K]

Hi,

I am exactly on the oposite side of yours, prefering the P simulans I like them very much and I think their blue-green stripe will add decently to my layout.

I am lucky enough to have a live stock wholesaler about 30 km away from my hometown, who keeps the fish in quarantaine for two weeks before they are available for purchase. So there is no problem. When ever I lost a fish that originated from that store, it was hardly the fault of anyone else than me. Even the sensitiv Otos I bought made it all. Two of them died after four months and it was a failure of mine. Please don't ask me why, it is to stupid to talk about .

Regarding CO2, I am never above 20 (after photoperiod) - 25 ppm (before photoperiod), since I inject 24/7 (better results for me and yes, I own a solenoid, I just do not use it anymore). I never had any trouble with it, but I will keep an eye on that when my new fish arrive and maybe go back to 15 ppm for a couple of days

Thanks for all your advice, that leaves me with some things to think about

 

[alto]

Shop sounds fantastic

I'd forgotten, I visited a local wholesaler this spring & they had a tank with 2000 green neon tetras, dimly lit, 2 meter bare tank & the fish looked amazing - hopefully you can work some dim light viewing of your tank into times when you're home to watch these fish

I had a group 1-2 years ago but they always disappeared into the plants when lights were on or when I approached the tank - tank was in a quiet corner so they remained skittish, fish in the other tank with lots of (quiet) movement tend to relax & ignore people stopping by, or ask for food