fish happy?

[burrowssj]

you should just get 7 loach which can take care of the bottom feeding an then 3-4 "XXX" fish for the top feeding (my loach is at least 7cm now an he struggles to fit under some of the small decorations in the tank(60x30x30)

you are going to be overstocked when these fish grow out abit, waste will start to increase an possibly your enthusiasm to clean will decrease an you'll end up with a filthy ugly tank that you don't want to clean an your olds will dislike it every time they walk past it.

keep it really low tech for now see how it plays out, a tank will be much more enjoyable if its easy to maintain an the fish are all happy an confident

p.s I would really like to see a loach eat from a hand you should try get yours confident enough to do so!

[kuhli loach]

so you think just about 5-7 Kuhli loaches and 3-4 small fish, or a shoal of smaller fish for the top tank levels?

for the small fish would platys be alright (I love all their bright colours!)

or prehaps a small shoal of tetra

or guppies

or zebra danio

or golden pencilfish

or threadfin rainbowfish

or hatchetfish

or chocolate gourami?

burrowssj wrote:

p.s I would really like to see a loach eat from a hand you should try get yours confident enough to do so!

so would I!

[Joe]

I still think you should go for the Cardinal Tetras. They're MUCH more colourful and exiting than platys!

This should be suitible for your tank:

1x Pair of Apistos of your choice

10x Cardinal Tetras

5x Golden Pencilfish

5x Khuli Loaches

3x Hatchetfish of your choice

Joe

[Zev]

I think that is way too many fish that you suggest, Joe, it is only 54l and even with good filtration is overstocked. As burrowssj says, it could go downhill very fast, even before the fish grow out you could have problems.

[Joe]

OK, get 2 Neon Tetras and be done with it :lol:

OK, how about:

Pair of Apistos

10 Cardinals

5 Kuhlis

Does that sound better?

[ryanjury]

I would still be inclined to ditch the pair of apistos maybe just get a male cockatoo/agassizi or a single male/female krib for a show fish that way they can't beat each other up or breed and beat all the other fish up. It will be too much stress for you having a pair in your only tank.

[kuhli loach]

that sounds more realistic!

I brought a big piece of bogwood today! It looks so neat and i think the Kuhlis will like it since it has lots of tunnels in it that they would like hiding in!

Still wanting platys (sooo pretty and so many color variations!)

don't like cichlids much, too agro when breeding.

[Sophia]

A small school of Cardinals, a few platies and kuhlis.

Clearly you love kuhlies and platies, and the cardinals can be a roaming shoal of another bright colour. They are hardier than neons and if you change your mind later you can sell them easily on TM or here.

You could plant some twisted val or ambulia to grow towards the top, which will encourage the cardinals to be more bold and come to the top at feeding time. If platies behave like swordtails then they will hang about wherever they like, looking for food and being busy bodies. As they are such bright colours you don't need many to give some variation.

I had a tank the same size and comfortably kept 2 oto, 7 or 8 cardinals and 7 corydora. The cardinal were more interesting and bold when there were 6 or more and higher growing plants.

don't forget to post pictures, we :love: pictures

[kuhli loach]

Trying to choose plants now!

Since my aquarium is only 30cms deep, some plants are going to be way too big. Can they be trimed or shortened to size or would it be better to buy smaller plants?

we have Acorus rush variegata, for sale currently in our petshop would this be too big?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Fish/Aquatic-plants/auction-327069255.htm

Another thing would tiger barbs grow too big for my aquarium or could a shoal of eight substitute for the tetra (neither kuhlis or platys have long fins so fin nipping shouldnt be a problem)

[Sophia]

I don't know anything about barbs.

I think the rush will get too big and I think it's a cold water pond plant too? Depends if you have a lid and don't want plants growing out of the top of the tank.

In a same depth tank for I have had a lot of success with ambulia (cabomba is too big), twisted val, star grass, and crypts.

You can pinch out the tops of the ones that grow taller and if there is good light and they are spaced far enough apart, they will send new plants out further down the stem. You can also trim in the same way and plant the trimmings to start growing as well. I usually get a couple of months out of a stem, maybe more, and then after lots of trimming and replanting they are tired and need to be replaced.

[kuhli loach]

plants growing out the top of the tank would look cool!

unless platys, tetra or kuhlis like escaping tanks, or jump when nervous it should be fine without a lid.

will reasearch tiger barbs.

[Caryl]

It isn' just fish size you need to consider, but how they swim. Tiger barbs zip about so like space.

[kuhli loach]

will go without platys but tiger barbs and kuhlis would look really nice. The tigers would have quite a bit of swimroom, being the only fish in the top and middle tank levels.

[Joe]

Tiger Barbs like to be in shoals of about 10, but grow to 7cm. So I'd leave them and get Cardinals instead.

Don't get the Acorus rush. It is a marsh plant and will not last long in your tank.

[kuhli loach]

ok then platys cardinals and kuhlis! :roll:

would have liked to keep tigers (have read thet they need to be kept in shoals of 5 or 6 minimum, and thought they grew much smaller, have never seen them fully grown)(would they still achieve this size in a small aquarium or simply grow to suit its size?)

Oh! another thing are any of these fish very nervous and/or inclined to jump because although I will try to keep teenage tantrums to a minimum, I have a 3 year old brother who loves to run through the house screaming at the top of his lungs, slamming doors and playing with his very loud barking dog. My room door will be shut (not slammed!) but the noise through the wall still might be very stressful to hatchetfish and other nervous species.

[Sophia]

In my experience cardinals hide in dark corners near the bottom of the tank when frightened, they don't jump or head to the top.

There might be a bolshy one who bosses the others around but it is tame chasing here and there usually, as compared to focussed aggression. As they are shoaling creatures they are generally peaceful. The bigger the shoal the braver they are. In a busy house they may be inclined to be a bit shy if there are people running about in front of the tank. I wouldn't let that stop you though, as they are bright you can usually see them anyway, you won't have to search them out like a dark coloured shy fish. You can train your brother to be very quiet because that is how he will get to see them.

Just keep it simple and enjoy it

[kuhli loach]

no, there won't be much movement in front of the tank at all, just the noise from outside.

I'm guessing platys and Kuhlis wouldn't jump either.

[Joshlikesfish]

I personally wouldn't pick platies. Guppies are nice fish IMO and almost always hang around the top of the tank. I bought about 40 off someone, gave about 15 to a friend, gave away another 20, and only a few days ago I pulled about 40 large guppies from my 60-30-30 with moss etc. Not counting the 40+ fry

Guppies breed like crazy. Platy do also. So you'll need to do something with the eventual fry, or only have males

[kuhli loach]

ummm? somerthing to do with fry....

feed them to something? Cats?

sell them on trademe to Oscar and other large fish, keepers as a food fish?

...or even have them as guppy fritters instead of whitebait?! :lol:

[Joe]

You might need to shut your brother in a dark cupboard with a sack over his head for a couple of hours to calm him down a bit. He certainly doen't sound like a good look for a tank full of fish.

...or even have them as guppy fritters instead of whitebait?!

Not being stupid here, but that sounds like an excellent idea! If everyone did that then the whitebait population will have time to regenerate a bit.

[kuhli loach]

I'll make sure my brother won't be in the same room as the fish but can't really do much about the outside noise. :roll:

The guppy fritters, i suppose would taste the same as whitebait and would be great for keeping their numbers down!

Have decided on getting platys cardinals and Kuhlis. Which of these should i put in the tank first after cycling?

[Joe]

Platys, because they're cheap, easy to replace, and are more hardier than the other two fish species you are looking at getting.

Once your tank is fully cycled and your platys are happy, get a couple of Kuhlis, and see how they do, and if they are fine get two or three more. Then once they're all happy, and your plants are thriving and healthy, get your shoal of 10 Cardinals.

[kuhli loach]

great! Will be getting tank set up soon, will try to post some pictures!

[kuhli loach]

Instead of platys and cardinals are those cockatoo dwarf cichlids still an option; making lots of caves out of river rocks so thought if they would'nt be too agressive towards the Kuhlis a pair of those could have the tank to themselves and would really enjoy the caves.

[Joe]

Despite what some people say about the dwarfs being aggressive etc, I've found them to be peaceful and I think you should still get a pair of them.

You don't need to make caves. Just get a whole lot of bogwood and grow Java Fern over it and that will be easier and it will look better.