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New 160l aquarium stock ideas

pollyandpear

pollyandpear

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Joined
16 Jan 2023
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291
Location
London
As of today, my 4 Cory's have moved into their new 160l aquarium! Hopefully they will love it. We now have sand, 2 airstones, a new filter (oase bioplus therm 200) and just waiting on the new light to arrive. I have some plants arriving in the post soon and hopefully they will be much happier!

Now I don't plan on adding any new fish straight away as i want everything to settle, but I'd like to think of what I could add.

Obviously london hard water is still an issue, so I'm limited by that but hopefully the bigger tank opens up some more options.

I'll probably add a few more Cory's as 4 isn't very many.

I'd like a weird unique looking fish, any suggestions?
 
African butterflyfish,

That's the only one with comes to my mind at the moment,

Weird one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Piotr Listwan said:
African butterflyfish,
Click to expand...

pollyandpear said:
Obviously london hard water is still an issue
Click to expand...
Assuming we mean Pantodon buchholzi then its not a fish I'd suggest for beginners and not something I'd suggest to be kept in liquid rock tap water. Sure fish can adapt, just suspect without experience this may not end well.
 
Haha I already read they can jump out the tank!


Im considering dwarf ccichlids Well, but still want one weird unique fish haha
 
It's worth knowing if you're in the 300ppm quite hard london water or the 450ppm liquid rock water. As that can limit some options. Although your Local Fish Shop may be the best place to ask what works well what doesn't.
  • Guppy's aren't weird or unique but Can look fabulous in a large shoal in hard water.
  • Congo Tetra love hard water. They shine all manner of colours.
  • Pupfish/Flagfish look pretty unique but they can be hard on plants.
  • Lots of Rainbowfish do well in hard water.
  • Paradise fish look cool.
 
Thank you. I've ordered a water testing kit so will find out.



According to an online postcode search we are 307.6.



Here is my tank
 

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Guppies?

farmed fish will be fine, mostly. But wild fish, are almost always from softer waters. @LightingBamboozled is spot on, go to the local fish shop, ask them if they’re on tap water and ask them what they have had for a while. Fish that have been in the shop longest are generally strong, adaptable fish. (Aim for things going on 12 weeks, a good ship will not BS how long they’ve had them).

I know planted tanks are cool, but shellies are adorable and vallis and some rocks can look amazing 👍
 
Thanks! What about a single powder blue gourami and a few either khuli loach or some guppies?
 
To be honest. 160L still doesn’t really open you up to much fish wise, it’s still very much a nano tank and stocking choices only really open up when you hit the 250L mark (IMO)

Most of the weird and wonderful (how each of us define that obviously differs) tend to be slightly larger and require slightly larger tanks.

That however doesn’t mean you can’t have a tank setup for a specific smaller species that will in turn reward you with some really interesting natural behaviour.
 
seedoubleyou said:
160L still doesn’t really open you up to much fish wise, it’s still very much a nano tank
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I would like to wholeheartedly disagree with this. 20-80 Litres is nano. 80-140 opens up a lot of stocking options for small fish. 160L is a decent size. It's enough to have three shoals of a dozen and a centrepiece if you pick the right species.
pollyandpear said:
According to an online postcode search we are 307.6.
Click to expand...
That's about 17.2 °dH (German Degrees of Hardness).
pollyandpear said:
Thanks! What about a single powder blue gourami and a few either khuli loach or some guppies?
Click to expand...
For Dwarf Gourami, there's a wide range of information about the hardness they tolerate. My understanding is it varies a lot individual to individual. If your LFS has some it's kept over 2 months that look healthy, that'd work.

Kuhli Loaches I would definitely avoid. Above about 8-10 °dH they don't thrive very well.

Guppies are so hardness tolerant I've heard breeders joke they could live in lava if it was cooler.

Also, we haven't asked but what species of Corydoras do you have? Some are better in hard water than others (Sterbai, Elegans, Melanistus, and Aeneus are probably the most hardness hardy)
 
hypnogogia said:
www.fishkeeper.co.uk

C102 Leopard Cory-Corydoras sp. C102

Expert facts, care advice, feeding tips and breeding information about the C102 Leopard Cory (Corydoras sp. C102) for freshwater aquarium enthusiasts.
www.fishkeeper.co.uk www.fishkeeper.co.uk

soft and slightly acidic water…
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Hopefully mine seem to be doing really well. I lost two recently but I am sure that was due to a faulty heater.

I want to add a few more Cory but will look at species that prefer harder water.

I think from what I've read the blue gourami and some guppies would suit and be compatible :)

I spoke to someone at the aquatic design centre (they seem pretty knowledgable) and they said that their bristle nose plecos tend to be fine in hard water. I believe a lot their tanks use London tap water so I'm hoping maybe one of those might suit. Gosh there is so much to research!
 
pollyandpear said:
I think from what I've read the blue gourami and some guppies would suit and be compatible :)
Click to expand...
Only problem with these is they’re often of terrible quality and don’t last long. Personally I’d steer clear.

Platies would do well, they’re a lot hardier than guppies or any of the less commonly available livebearers like limia. Any of the more commonly available psuedomugil species available. Threadfin rainbowfish, the smaller danio species like tinwini, kyathit etc, smaller barbs such as cherry, chequer, galaxy danios. There’s plenty other options too.

What do you like? 160l is a decent size tank but doesn’t allow for larger species.

Cheers
 
I do like celestial pearl Danios! A few of those would be nice. And then one other species, either a gourami, dwarf cichlid or bristlenose pleco ( and open to others!) As it would be nice to have one slightly larger fish

Thanks for your continued help guys, I do appreciate it.

Would a pea puffer be an option?

I do like celestial pearl Danios! A few of those would be nice. And then one other species, either a gourami, dwarf cichlid or bristlenose pleco ( and open to others!) As it would be nice to have one slightly larger fish

By larger I mean slightly larger tthe cories!
 
I have kept the following in hard water, 17-18°DH;
  1. Acanthopthalmus kuhlii
  2. Acanthopthalmus semicinctus
  3. Acanthopthalmus unknown sp, poss hybrid
  4. Acanthopthalmus sp var. albino
  5. Acanthopthalmus piperata
All except the albinos also bred in hard water.
A friend kept and bred A. myersi in the same tapwater.
Acanthopthalmus is now Pangio btw.
1 is the 'true' coolie loach,
2 half-banded coolie,
3 a lot in the trade are not readily identified,
4 no idea what species with no markings to help ID,
5 black coolie.

For dwarf cichlids, A cacatuoides is probably the best Apistogramma for hard water.
Don't overlook Nannacara anomala, they often look dull in the shop but so much better in a planted tank.
And there are Flag Acaras Laetacara curviceps, and Keyhole Cichlids Cleithracara maronii if you like more subtle colours.
hth
 
Bristlenose do fine in hard water. I have a female that's 25 years plus now and it's been in tap water the whole time. We are on liquid rock water as it comes from a chalk aquifer but it never put them off breeding.
 
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