# Help With Stocking



## Yobbo10 (Aug 19, 2012)

My tank dimensions are length 24 inches, width 18 inches & height 21 inches. The filter is a Eheim Ecco 2234. The tank has driftwood & live plants. Currently have 2 sword tails (m&f) & 6 cardinal tetras.

I am looking to add a single catfish, six more colorful schooling fish & maybe a pair of centerpiece fish to finish the tank. Any help would be greatly appreciated


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

39 gallons, good size for a lot of different kinds of fish 
Colorful but on the small side, one of my favorites: Von Rio Tetra's. (Yellow and orange)
Colorful- also one of my favorites- Cherry barbs- also stay small and you could easily have a school of 8 of either of those. 
If you can find them I like the blue neons. Their color is subtle but really nice. 
There are just a TON more options but those are a couple. 

Plecostemus catfish would be a bristlenosed or a rubber lipped... both sold commonly in PetSmart. Again loads of options- those 2 are just really easy and pretty cheap. Do NOT get a common pleco- those get 2 feet long. Just say no LOL. 

Centerpiece- Pair of rams. I think you will find a lot here recommend those. I would also recommend a curvicepts pair. They are on the shy side. I have a single and love him. They are small cichlids that get along with community fish really quite well. You could go with a Gourami as a centerpiece. Really all kinds of options.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Plecos are nice but huge! Although it takes time to get that big. If you like them get one and plan to re home it someday.

My vote for a bottom dweller is cories. Like 6 of them would be sweet.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Common plecos are huge. Royal's are huge. Many are huge. 
Bristle nosed- 5-6 inches- Not huge
Rubber lip 5-6 inches. - Not huge
100's of others are as small or smaller. My candy striped pleco maxes out at 3 inches. My rubber lipped decided not to grow for whatever reason (was in a 100 gallon tank- there was no stunting involved) and is about 2.5 inches. Darndest thing I ever saw LOL. She's dang cute though, and it worked out well since I ended up moving her to my 20 

Check out Planet Catfish for some great catfish ideas. 
http://www.planetcatfish.com/

L numbers are plecostomus (Loricaiidae).

C numbers are Corydoras catfishes. Many varieties are available in pet stores. My personal favorites are the Julii cats and the Paleatus (peppered). Albino's are awful cute, panda's are also commonly found. 

If you go the cory route make sure you get a cory and not a Brochis- those are still good but get much bigger than the cory's will. 

Cory's will want to school so you should get a group of 4-5 at minimum. They are true bottom dwellers so they will spend about 95% of the time on the bottom. They do wander the walls a lot, especially when new to a tank. Mine almost never do that anymore, but they have been in this tank for 2 years now. 

There are also all kinds of other catfish in different families listed there, tons. Take a look around- it's the biggest catalog of catfish around.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Pleco's will do a better job of cleaning the tank than cory's- both eat algae. Cory's pick, pleco's mow


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

That is not always true, my pleco doesn't clean the tank at all. All it does is sits on the driftwood or hangs out by the heater.


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## Murloc (Jul 26, 2012)

This site: http://www.planetcatfish.com/ has pretty much every single catfish species known to mankind. I've spent a lot of time browsing it, and picking out species I like, then checking to see if they are available through a local fish store, or online. 

Pygmy Synodontis (Synodontis petricola ) are a cool looking catfish, might be pushing a little large for your tank size, but still worth a look.


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## Murloc (Jul 26, 2012)

Wow I really need to read people's entire posts before I say anything. Didn't realize obsidian already hook you up with that info.

You guys are arguing about plecos? Plecostomus are just plecostomus lol, and not all fish in a species are all of the same demeanor. Maybe you spoil your pleco too much Cory and now he doesn't want to eat algae hahah.


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## Yobbo10 (Aug 19, 2012)

Thank so much for the response. I really like the rubber lipped catfish, but am still undecided on the schooling fish & center piece fish.
Thanks again


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## mpfsr (Jun 22, 2011)

Pleco's DON'T clean your tank. They are some of the dirtyist fish you can keep. thats your job as a fish keeper!!! Some do eat algae but they won't make your glass sparkle. Obsidian gave you some great fish to pick from. Most other smaller L# pleco's that would fit in the tank you will hardly see if given the correct set-ups. I would also like to add adding some more of the cardinal tetras rather than a different type of fish would look great too as they would love more company..The more schoolers you have of the same kind the better for the fish. I not sure who came up with the number 6 for a school but in the wild there in the thousands not 6. I have noticed the more I add to my schools the more I see them in there natural beauty.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

I said better job of cleaning, not actually cleaning LOL. I can see where that would be misleading. 

Pleco's will mow down algae as long as they are interested in it. Many grow to prefer meat as they get older. Now with that said they are not capable of going in neat little rows and getting everything. Your glass will not be cleaned by them. Your wood will probably stay pretty algae free. Most will leave your plants alone. 

Water quality wise they are quite the load. They poop a LOT. So it will not clean your tank in terms of water quality either. It, like any fish, requires regular tank maintenance.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Apistos or Rams. Awesome fish. Expec. when it's spawning time. I've got ram fry now Can't say enough about how awesome they are


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Instead of one catfish, I'd get a bunch of corys. They will make the tank look more active. Maybe 3 or 4, with a pair of rams and 10-15 more tetras.


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