Stocking 40 gallon

[darkfalz]

My old betta finally died, my longest living betta. I have moved my 8 remaining platys into his 10 gallon. Now I am ready for an all new tank with my 40 gallon.

Here's what I was thinking

4 tiger barbs
3 harlequin rasoboras
5 neon tetras

What do you think? Tank has excellent filtration and will be lightly planted with wisteria and anubias. PH will be whatever my tap water is (last time I tested it about 7.5) and I'll use 1 teaspoon salt per 20 litres. I will buy them as juveniles and give them a chance to grow into the tank.

[oliesminis]

wouldnt mix barbs with things like rasboras or neons as ive heard of them becomeing lunch

also if you did i would get at lease 5 of each the neons and the rasboras as these are shoaling fish

also have you got any ideas for bottom feeders like corys plecos or loaches

[oliesminis]

is it a 40l or a 40g because your thread name and your signature are different

[JustOneMore20]

I suggest sticking to 2 schools and having atleast 6-8 of each......especially the Tiger Barbs. You'll need atleast 8 of them IMO so that they won't torture/stress out the other fish.

Were you planning on including any bottom feeders to the mix? You could choose 2 schools of 6-8 and then have something on the bottom, like Cories to fill all the areas.

Originally Posted by oliesminis

is it a 40l or a 40g because your thread name and your signature are different

I believe darkfalz is referring to stocking the 160L tank, as he/she mentioned moving the platies to the 40L tank.

Darkfalz, how long is the tank? I'm assuming its probably around 3ft, but thats just a guess. If its less than 3ft long, I would skip the Barbs.

I don't believe Tiger Barbs will eat Neons and Rasboras. Both of those get around an inch, maybe a tad bigger, full grown......a little big for a Tiger barb to eat IMO.

[darkfalz]

I might give the tiger barbs a miss, but they are just so cool to look at. Tank is just under 3 feet wide (80cm x 40cm x 45cm), it's one of those display tanks with a curved front. I know there are more peaceful barbs (cherry barbs?) that I can consider. I'd like to make my mind up now rather than making impulse decisions at the fish store.

I was thinking maybe 4 of the smaller ciclids that can live in the same tank as another option.

I've never had a problem with algae so although catfish are interesting I don't know if I need one.

I'd prefer it under-stocked as I am partial to fortnightly water changes instead of weekly (though the platys will need weekly now). The platys are actually more active in their smaller tank, I don't know if it's the new surroundings or the less powerful light but they actually seem to be in heaven.

[oliesminis]

looks good are your platys all male / female or a mix

for the bigger tank even if youve never had algae problems i would still recomend a shoal of corydoras such with a minamum of 5 for a tank that size

hope it all goes well

instead of barbs perhaps u may want to consider something like danios or larger tetras

[darkfalz]

I like danios, I had long finned leopard ones, would prefer short finned zerbas this time. Platys are all females and all sisters, I raised them from babies.

[JustOneMore20]

Most catfish don't eat algae, so you can just enjoy them instead of having them for a purpose. Cories will stay small enough for your tank and are very entertaining fish IMO.

Almost any tetra, rasbora, or danio will work, as will some small Rainbowfish.

I think the idea of keeping it understocked is good. Thats a very nice tank!

As for cichlids, instead of dedicating the tank to cichlids, you could include a pair of Dwarf Cichlids (like Rams, Apistos) into your stocking.

Another option would be to have a shelldwelling cichlid tank. You could have a nice sized colony of L. multifasciatus along with some Danios as dithers.

Lots of options!

[darkfalz]

My favourite is the labidochromis - how big do they get? I think cichlids are so interesting, but they seem like they take more care than other fish. I also don't like aggressive fish as it stresses me to see chasing and bullying (which is why the tiger barbs probably aren't such a great idea, although I have a much bigger tank than last time).

[JustOneMore20]

Labidochromis is the genus name, but if you are referring to L. caeruleus (Yellow Labs) which is a very common Mbuna, then they get around 5 inches.

They are less aggressive than alot of Mbuna and IMO would work in your tank if you just went with that species. You could have around 6-7 Yellow Labs in that tank. They are rock dwellers, so you'd need alot of rockwork.

[darkfalz]

I meant electric yellow, but I wouldn't want just them, but maybe different colours from the same family? 5 inches is pretty big.

[darkfalz]

My new possible selection

5 tiger barbs
5 harlequins
5 zerba danios (short fin)
1 "centrepiece" fish - suggestions?

I know the tetras don't like salt, and salt in my water is just a habit now. So I think I will give those a miss.

[Kyoberr]

My cousin had one tiger barb, with a few danios in a tank, and the tiger barb gradually got to them one nip at a time. Maybe if they had plenty of things to dart behind... Just out of curiosity, how old was he when he died?

[darkfalz]

I had my betta three years, and he may have been about 2 years when I bought him.

I need fish who can tolerate a wider variety of water hardness as temperature/PH is enough to worry about for me.

[darkfalz]

I am 90% sure of my new tank now. It will be

5 tiger barbs
6 harlequins
6 zerba danios
1 yoyo loach (optional, I plan to get more plants and need something to control any possible snail infestation)

I'll get the barbs and harlequins as juveniles so they will have a chance to grow into the tank. Adding some driftwood and another rock and more plants (suggestions?).

[JustOneMore20]

Sounds good. Only thing I would change is more Yoyo loaches. They are social and can get more aggressive when you just have 1 or 2. I'd get atleast 4. Once they are full grown, you might consider putting them in a 4ft tank. I find them to be really active, but while they are small, its fine to have them in a 40g. I bought mine really small (around 1.5-2" or so) and it took them about a year and a half to 2 years to reach about 4.5-5". Nose to tail they are probably 5" each.

If you can find them, a smaller loach would be Y. sidthimunki or Dwarf Chain Loaches. I'm not sure of their snail eating abilities but they are botias, so surely they are good at it.

One hint about controlling snail populations is not to overfeed. More food=more snails.

[darkfalz]

Might skip the loaches then, and might skip adding salt in. Then I could have tetras too. I will put the plants into a bucket of tank water with snail rid in it for 24 hours to kill any hitchhikers then rinse them well and plant them.

[Fishfirst]

Tiger barbs an harliquin Rasboras sound like a bad idea... I'd be very very cautious if you do put them together... monitoring them daily.

[darkfalz]

Maybe cherry barbs, but they are not nearly so fun to look at. I like those torpedo barbs but they seem to get very big.

[Dr_House]

If you don't like fish chasing and nipping, the barbs are probably not the way to go. (I don't know about cherry barbs, as I've no experience with these fish). If they are a peaceful fish, as I've heard that they are, a keyhole cichlid may be a good choice for a centerpiece, if you're still looking to go that route. They are pretty shy and very peaceful and, in my opinion, a rather attractive fish. Here is a picture.