# Stocking Strategy



## Roland6543 (Jun 27, 2012)

I'm busy doing a fish-in cycle of my 70g tank with 5 Danios and 4 Tiger Barbs. At this stage, I want to begin planning a long term stocking strategy, to be implemented gradually after the cycling is complete, and need a bit of help with this.

As background: 
a) For filtration I have a Fluval 404 and a Marineland Hot 250 Magnum. The total filtration capacity is about 140G I believe. Not that I plan to overstock, I just like the idea of extra filtration capacity. I have a lot of cover in the form of plastic plants (I will be adding some real plants later), large rocks and wood. Plenty of hiding places. I have "regular" size gravel, and am thinking about adding sandy areas for loaches. I do have very short plastic grass covering the open areas. It looks great, but is a bit "spikey" and I have a concern that it may be unsuitable for bottom dwellers.

b) I should also mention that my tank is warm. In the summer, the house's temperature is about 26C (79F), so its not abnormal for the water to reach 28C (82F). In the winter the heater will kick in to keep the temp constant. What I'm saying is that my tank will be running at the warmer edge of the spectrum.

I'll start off by mentioning my favourite kinds of fish (with no regard to compatibility), and I'd really appreciate it if you could suggest options taking compatibility in mind. Please suggest other species because my list is only a starting point.

1)Clown Loaches. I absolutely love these fish and really wanted a few of them. I have since learned that they will grow too big for my tank. Any recommendations for similar (but smaller) loaches?

To follow through on the plastic grass and sand. Should I remove the grass? Is there a low growing, spreading grass that would look good in the open, front area of the tank? How about creating some sandy area's - may be good for the loaches?

2) Cory catfish - a big variety. I like them, but dont want too much competition for space at the bottom (with loaches).

3) Shrimp - never kept them before, but they sure add interest.

4) Algae eaters (Otos are sometimes mentioned as good, busy housecleaners). Obviously I wont rely on these to keep the tank clean, but they may help with housekeeping. I don't want any plecs (too big).

5) Middle dwelling, active, tight-schooling fish. I currently have Tiger Barbs, and I'm unsure about their overall compatibility with community tanks. I like them, but have a concern about fin-nipping. Any other suggestions, because I can return them if necessary? Harlequin Rasbora's come to mind, although they are not the most colourful.

6) Gourami's - another category that I like. Amazing colours. I would love to attempt breeding, but I realise this is difficult in a community tank. Perhaps a few peaceful cichlids? Some tetra's (e.g. long finned red tetra's, neons, etc) would be good too.

7) Top dwelling, active, tight-schooling fish. Since I started with Danios, perhaps a few more.

As may be obvious, generally I like colourful fish although I don't have much interest in livebearers such as platty's and guppies.

On a final note, if you know of links to an encyclopedia of fishes, where I can continue my research, please share.

Sorry for the looooong post. Eagerly looking forward to your comments and suggestions.


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## Mr. Scruples (Apr 20, 2012)

Have you had a look at AqAdvisor? It can give you a good idea of how many/what types of fish will get along with your setup. It'll throw up a warning if you try to put things together that might not get along. It tends to run on the conservative side in terms of stated filtration capacity and stocking levels, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.. Definitely a handy resource.

As for top dwellers (#7): I have a shoal of 10 Espei (Lambchop) Rasboras that are incredibly fun to watch -- they tend to stick to the top areas of my tank and spend their time surfing in the strong current from my filter output. Temp in my tank is 30, so they'd have no trouble at all in yours. Lovely little fishies 

Also, I have an area in my tank with some grass that sounds quite a bit like what you're describing, and my Corys don't seem to mind rooting around in it for nibbles. Not sure how loaches would do though, since I haven't got any, but cats seem to be OK with it at least..


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## Roland6543 (Jun 27, 2012)

Well the TB are going back (they terrorised the danios)

This is my plan for stocking my tank.
I will phase in 1-2 species at a time and obviously I will need a larger tank once the loaches in particularly get large.
Please comment on possible issues you see with this combination and suggest better options:

4 Clown Loaches
6 Boesemans Rainbow Fish
5 Killifish
1 Keyhole Cichlid
1 Angelfish
1 Cockatoo
10 Harlequin Rasbora


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## Fishyfishyfishy (Mar 3, 2008)

-Just a note on the clown loaches. Don't worry too much about them getting too big. I kept them for over 7 years and they are extremely slow growers.

-Go for bristlenose plecos, they dont' grow too big.

-Harlequin will be nice top level swimmers.

-Tetra will be nice mid level swimmers. I like cardinals. Cardinals + neons are cool. They school together.

-Amano shrimps are fun and they are big.

-Corys are nice. I would say the corys will have a hard time fighting for food against the clown loaches. Clown loaches are very aggressive and quicker eaters, especially with them big mouths.

-Tiger barbs will bit other fish (sometimes)

-Gouramis are excellent, I kept 5 different species in the same tank before. Very fun

This is my current 55g tank: http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33430


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## Roland6543 (Jun 27, 2012)

Thanks for the input guys. I went to Fantastic Fins yesterday and got a 1000 more ideas. I'll let you know what strategy 3.0 looks like! LOL


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## Roland6543 (Jun 27, 2012)

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> This is my current 55g tank: http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33430


 Very Nice Tank!


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