# How should i setup my tank



## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

Im hoping to soon get a 60 gallon tank and i would like to know what i should plant my tank with and wether the fish i want to get will work well together and alsofit in my tank.

What fish i want to get:
4-opaline gourami
10-cherry barb
3-small kribensis
1-indawgyi stream catfish
1-queen loach

feel free to make additions and changes to the list if you think it will make it work better, i just want to make sure that i get lots of color variations.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

4 opaline gourami are too many for a 60, they will fight non-stop.
You could get away with a larger school, around 20, cherry barbs or add another type of barb with them
I'm not familiar with the catfish so I will leave that to someone else
Kribs are a cool little fish, if you buy three you will probably get at leas one male and female, they will pair up, and youll probably have to get rid of the loner. They like to have plants and fine substrate and caves and once they start to mate, can get highly territorial. Its a cool thing to watch them take care of the young though.
Queen loach will be fine too.
All these fish would be fine in a planted tank as well.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Tall one is right about the opaline gourami being a fighter, however if you are just starting out they are great to cycle with. They are tough. BTW, I have 3 in a ten gal tank right now. No aggression what so ever. They are doing fine.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

this is my new and improved list, feel free to make changes. And also what are some specific plants and other items i should include in my tank?

8-Puntius titteya "Cherry Barb"
3-Pelvicachromis pulcher "Kribensis" - Small
1-Akysis prashardi "Indawgyi Stream Catfish"
1-Botia dario "Queen Loach"
4-Puntius tetrazona "Green Tiger Barb" - Small
1-Pelvicachromis rubrolabiatus "Dikya"
2-Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus "Fusco" - Juvenile

EDIT:i just added the official names for you guys


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Well i'm not gonna disagree with ron v, he knows his stuff so if you want the gourami go for it. 
Id say beef up the tiger barbs to at least 6 or 8
dikya? fusco? again beyond my knowledge, unless those are just scientific names, i really suck at remembering those lol


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Wow, common names. This large malawi predator http://www.malawicichlids.com/mw08063.htm and this tiny killie http://www.killi.co.uk/speciesProfile/Nothobranchius/fuscotaeniatus/ have the same species name (fuscotaeniatus) and can both be called "fusco". Always use both genus and species names as I confuse easily. I get 'dikya' is a place in Guinea is a place where fish are collected. I found http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/5175/product.web. But usually they catch more than one fish in the same place, so again, genus and (hopefully) species, please.


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## Sea-Agg2009 (Aug 2, 2008)

Tiger barbs are nasty little punks. They are aggressive to everything. Slow things like catfish get nipped all the time. Fish with bright colors and wavy fins (like the kribs), wouldn't stand a chance. 

The "problem" with juveniles, is that they become...not-juveniles. Then you're in trouble.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

if people wouldnt which would make life much easier for me, instead of just writing your additions and removals copy and paste the list i made and make your additions and stuff to the list so i can know what to buy.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Well you didn't tell us you wanted us to make your decision for you. If thats what you wanted you should have said that in the first place. Here yo go then:
2-Pearl Gourami
12-Cherry Barbs/Gold Barbs
4- YoYo/Sidthemunki Loches
3- Kribnesis
6- corey cats of your coice
6- otocats
Hows that for a start? 
/ = or (not and)
Oh and I see you edited, the problem is we want the common names, I know the common names of almost all fish, I don't know the scientific names of any pretty much. You'll probably get better help if you use the common names.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

ty for the response, and i wasnt exactly saying that the choice should be made for me but as im new to fish keeping experienced advice and additions are always helpful


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Tall one, that is an excellent list. I like the fact that all are soft water fish. That is if Fish on the brain has soft water. Have we established that?


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Haha thats a good question, I did just assume he had soft water. 
FOTB: Do you like that list? Those fish should all do fine together and give you a good amount of cleaning crew for both bottom and plants, schooling, color, a "spotlight fish" in the Kribs, and different species.
And as ron said, have you tested the water? how are the parameters? or is it not set up yet? Most of the fish I put are also pretty hardy but soft water would be very helpful.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

the tank is not setup so i can keep my options completely open to wahtever i end up wanting to be in the tank. But personally i would remove the corey cats and otocats, just because i dont like how they look and this will be a show tank. Any more colorful replacements you can think of?


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

So, fishonthebrain...do you have soft water?


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Well not having otocats and corey cats just means more work for you because the otocats will clean the algae off the plants and the glass and the corey cats will clean the food off the bottom. There are plenty of good looking corey cats though, the newest type thats pretty cool looking are the laser corey cats who have orange lines going down there sides. Panda cories and albino cories also add color. There is also a new type of otocat called the chocolate or marbled otocat. 
I understand the idea of a show tank but these two fish help keep the show tank clean and showy and for the most part you don't really see them all that much if you tank is well decorated and planted.
Its your decision though.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Not to go off topic, but tall suggested a few Sidthemunki loaches. When I read this I first read it as Sid The Monkey loaches


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Ha Ha. Good post bml. That's funny. It really does look like that!


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

bmlbytes said:


> Not to go off topic, but tall suggested a few Sidthemunki loaches. When I read this I first read it as Sid The Monkey loaches


now i feel stupid cuz thats what i rlly thought they were......lol


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

Tallonebball said:


> Well not having otocats and corey cats just means more work for you because the otocats will clean the algae off the plants and the glass and the corey cats will clean the food off the bottom. There are plenty of good looking corey cats though, the newest type thats pretty cool looking are the laser corey cats who have orange lines going down there sides. Panda cories and albino cories also add color. There is also a new type of otocat called the chocolate or marbled otocat.
> I understand the idea of a show tank but these two fish help keep the show tank clean and showy and for the most part you don't really see them all that much if you tank is well decorated and planted.
> Its your decision though.


how many panada corys and laser corys should i get if i want to mix those 2 species? Also do you know any sites that sell the otocats cuz i cant find either of those 2 species newhere on the interwebz


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Well it depends on how much money your willing to spend lol laser cories are fairly new and pretty expensive and panda cories are also a little more expensive the regulars. If you choose to do both, from what Ive seen cories with similar body types will still school together so you could do 3 or 4 of each. 
Aquabid.com has different otocats sometimes but the chocolate are hard to find.
and I actually do pronounce it as SID THE MONKEY lol


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

could i mix and match the types of barbs i want? like could i do 3 tiger barbs,4 cherry barbs,2 gold barbs, and 2 false eight-banded barbs?


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Tallonebball said:


> and I actually do pronounce it as SID THE MONKEY lol


I looked it up to see how it was pronounced. It is actually spelled Sidthimunki. I couldn't find the correct pronunciation for it though.

I could be wrong since I don't have any barbs, but I don't think different types of barbs will school together. I know tetras wont, and my zebra danios even ignore the GloFish a lot, and they are the same fish!?!


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

bmlbytes said:


> I looked it up to see how it was pronounced. It is actually spelled Sidthimunki. I couldn't find the correct pronunciation for it though.
> 
> I could be wrong since I don't have any barbs, but I don't think different types of barbs will school together. I know tetras wont, and my zebra danios even ignore the GloFish a lot, and they are the same fish!?!


does anyone have a more educated andswer than since bml says he doesnt rlly know?


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

It really depends, I can tell you for sure the gold barbs and cherry barbs won't school with each other or any other type of barbs. The false banded and the tiger barbs might but thats up to the fish wether they want to or not. 
I find more often than not fish will school with other fish that aren't the same as them if they are the only one of their type in the tank. I once has a scissortail rasbora school with a school of rummynose tetras after all his buddies died. But once a put more scissortails in, he went right back to schooling with them.
So there really isn't a great answer the that, cause all fish will act differently in different situations. My scenario will most likely be right though.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

could i replace otocats with some other type of fish because the place im getting my fish from doesnt have otocats and i dont even know what they are.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Oto cat, aka. Dwarf sucker mouth








Species name: _Macrotocinclus affinis_, or _Otocinclus affinis_
Size:	1.5" (4 cm)
Swimming zone:	Bottom, middle
PH:	5.2-7.5
Hardness:	Soft to hard. dH range: 4.0 - 20.0
Temperature:	68 to 82°F (20-28°C)

Great for eating algae.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

ty vry much


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

You could replace with a couple flying foxes if you like


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## th3g0t0guy (Jul 9, 2009)

fotb you know i love angels so angels all the way...they would look sick in a 60 and what kind of lighting are you goind to have???


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

1-Blue Dwarf Gourami
2-Opaline Gourami
12-Barbs(4 green tiger,4 cherry,2 gold,2 false eight banded)
2-Small Clown Loaches
3-Kribnesis
4-Pygmy Cory
5-Dwarf Suckermouth Catfish
2-YoYo Loach


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## th3g0t0guy (Jul 9, 2009)

aaaaahhhhhhhhhh no angels just do 1?!?!?!?!


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

might want to streamline those barbs or beef up all of there schools to at least 6


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

what do you mean by streamline?


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Cut a couple out in order to make the others have larger schools.
You can keep the gold because they are a bottom fish, they will rarely go very far from the bottom of the tank so I would beef them up to around 6 or 8
I would knock out one of the others, either the green, cherry, or false banded barbs and beef the other two school to around 6-10 of each, they are all mid-tank fiash so the middle of your tank is going to get crowded 
Heres what your "zones" in your tank will look like
TOP: NONE
MIDDLE: Green tiger barbs, false banded barbs, cherry barbs, Kribnesis
LOWER: Clown Loachs, yoyo loachs, gold barbs, pygmy coreys
ALL SECTIONS:Blue Dwarf Gourami, Opaline Gourami, Dwarf Suckermouth Catfish
Also be aware that Clown Loaches get around a foot long and from my experience, gouramis don't really get a long with each other.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

this is my new list, and i would also like to know if id be able to add a few cardinals to the list:

3-Platinum Gourami
21-Barbs(8 green tiger,5 cherry,8 gold)
4-YoYo Loach


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

You got 21 barbs listed there lol 8+8+5=21
Yeah if your gonna add cardinals, make sure your tank water is completely perfect and cycled, and add about 12 of them into your tank once its ready.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

what are you talking about? it says 21......atleast now it does.......lol


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

hey does anybody know what the best temperature and ph levels are to keep the above listed fish and cardinals?


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## SouthernBelle23 (Mar 24, 2009)

Keep them at whatever pH your tap is (messing with it usually causes more problems) and temp can be around 74-79ish.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

what ground cover should i use?(ex. gravel,sand coral) and also what plants, if any can i keep ?


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

If your keeping plants I suggest fine gravel or fluorite. And if you have the right lighting and budget you can keep any plants


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

new stock list:

20 barbs(5 gold,5 tiger,5 green tiger,5 cherry)
3 yoyo loach
5 pygmy cory


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Thats not much for a show tank but it will work fine


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

Tallonebball said:


> Thats not much for a show tank but it will work fine


well its the same stocklist as before except i cut down each school size while upping the amount of schools, and adding some pygmy corys for maintenance


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## GoBlue337 (Sep 1, 2009)

Tallonebball said:


> Well i'm not gonna disagree with ron v, he knows his stuff so if you want the gourami go for it.
> Id say beef up the tiger barbs to at least 6 or 8
> dikya? fusco? again beyond my knowledge, unless those are just scientific names, i really suck at remembering those lol




I second the amount of tiger barbs. I had 4 once and it did not go well.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I agree with Tall. Get one "Flashy" fish. Lots of little fish look good, but adding one nice flashy fish will definitely make it look better. For example, my tank was full of danios and tetras, when I added my betta, the tank looked way cooler.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

> well its the same stocklist as before except i cut down each school size while upping the amount of schools, and adding some pygmy corys for maintenance


Its not the same stocklist as before because if I remember right you had 3 platinum gouramis which are considered a flashy fish as BML puts it. You have a lot of schools but most show tanks have a "centerpiece" fish. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

And more schools is worse than having larger schools, I would keep the gold and cherry barb schools at 5 because they are peaceful fish but the tiger barbs and green tiger barbs schould really be in at least schools of 8


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

i would think that the multitude of brightly colored barbs would work as show fish......

EDIT: if i wanted to do a show fish just to appease you ppl would a kribensis work?


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

You dont have to appease us, you asked for our input and we gave it to you. If you want to have nothing but barbs as your fish then do it.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I'm not really sure how big a kribensis is, but a good centerpiece would be a fish that is slightly larger than your other fish, and would have something excentric about it. For example, when I said my betta fish really added to my aquarium, it works because it is bigger than danios and tetras, and it has big colorful fins. The kribensis would be a good one if it was bigger than your barbs.

Also, don't build your aquarium for us. Build it the way you want. We are just here for suggestions.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

sorry if you didnt pick it up(my fault,talking doesnt work when typing), but i was using extreme sarcasm. I was rlly just asking if a kribensis would work,thats all.

And ty vry much evry1 for great advice

EDIT: i looked up the kribensis i was looking at and they grow to about 4" and all the barbs in my tank grow no larger the 2.8" so i should be good.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Cool, so when will you set it up?


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

within the week hopefully

EDIT: you should get on chat, i was just afk cuz i needed to eat


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

further refined stocklist for my 55 gallon tank with dual emperor 350 filters and 2 air pumps(uknown size, will find out later)

6:tiger barbs
6:green tiger barbs(small)
6:gold barb
6:cherry barb
8: pygmy cory
4:yoyo loach
1:german blue ram


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

So did you give up on the idea of the kribensis?


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

no, i just forgot it. and also im hoping for more feedback on it


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

With pygmy cories your could have 10. I know they are pricey, but your tank is big enough for a large shoal or even a bunch of bigger cories. I don't know much about barbs so I'll not comment there except that cherry and gold barbs are really pretty. Kribs are pretty, but the are also shy, you might hardly ever see them. But they also might raise fry in a community tank. You don't really need 2 air pumps. One decent sized air-pump and a gang valve will power all the ornaments, bubble wands and sponge and filters you could want. A too-small air-pump just won't pump to the bottom of a 55. If you already have them, use what you have. But if you are shopping, get a slightly larger pump that will do 'deep-water'. Barbs like current.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

well both the pumps came with the tank when i got it so i would guess they work for it

EDIT:the tank also has 2 powerheads that came withit that i have yet to set them up

EDIT 2: emc the only thing im worried about is overloading my bioload, but i do have 2 pretty heavy duty filters so i should be good waste wise


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Sounds like you have more equipment than you need. A good position to be in. Powerheads can run a sponge filter nicely and provide current. Did it come with an undergravel filter?


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

no it didnt, why?

EDIT:do you think i should keep maybe 2 or 3 kribensis because then they will be a little less shy?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Its just that powerheads often come with something to power. They are getting popular for just creating flow for fast-water fish like hillstream loaches, but its still relatively new. Powerheads often come with sponge filters, UG filters, or sumps. If it were my tank, I'd put a hydrosponge Pro #4 or #5 on each powerhead and then you'll have no worries about biological filtration. But if beauty is your primary goal, that won't work well. If you are running power-heads without anything being powered, I would suggest a sponge prefilter to keep stuff from getting in the impeller. http://www.kensfish.com/files/pre_fil__3.jpg 

I would start with 4 young kribs in the hopes of getting one pair. If they grow up in your tank, they may learn to be unafraid.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

would i be able to keep a few german blue ram with all my other fish?


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

bump, please answer!


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

I wouldn't do rams if your doing kribs.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

well im not sure which one i want to do so i was just wandering if i wanted to do gbr f i could.


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## petlovingfreak (May 8, 2009)

We used to have a few opaline gouramis, a few dwarfs, and a couple blue's they all got along just fine


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2009)

dude. go for it. i picked up adult sized healthy rams today!


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Personally I would go with rams over kribs any day


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

yah i would too, how big do rams geT?


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Not very big, like 3 or 4 inches long, best to go in pairs or one male with a few females.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

This is my newest stocklist, please comment on compatibility and school size.

7:tiger barbs
7:gold barb
7:cherry barb
8: pygmy cory
4:yoyo loach
4:german blue ram (1 male,3 female)

EDIT:Removing green tiger barbs for creative purpose, was thinking i just didnt like them and then it gives me room to add something if i want to. I also boosted barb schools


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Looks good to me


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Looks good FotB. 

You know, I asked a similar question in one of my threads, and I was able to come to a decision on fish much quicker than you lol. Just make up your mind already


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

well its more like the fact im just waiting on the tank because things have comeup and the tank i thought i was getting last week is getting postponed till funds return so while im waiting i mine as well hust try and perfect my stocklist


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

bump!!!!!!!!


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

What else do you want? lol you haven't asked any other questions


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## Alexis (Aug 9, 2009)

Is it just me or did we already go through this one time before with fishonthebrain?  I thought the first time we went through all this was a 55?  And I thought FOTB never got it for whatever reason. Well, all I want to say is, IMHO, I would get the tank first...make sure I had it, start the cycle process and in the mean time post up. Some ppl may say I'm contradicting myself, yes, but I'm always 153% sure I'm going to get it. :fish: But that's just me:!::!::!: And my bright ideas. :idea::idea::idea:


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

lol. yes it makes sense but this just gives me something to do, and i do believe what we went over this before but it was a 60 square tank which was then scrapped(cuz it was well.....square.)and i went with a 55 normal so i had to do some rethinking then i wanted to do kribs as a "show fish" which i got from a suggestion than i saw a pic of a gbr and decided to do those instead and needed to learn about them.


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## FishontheBrain (Aug 7, 2009)

alright, i though i was done but after finding a severe lack of gbr's in my area i'm doing kribs.

Stocklist:
Tiger Barb:7
Cherry Barb:7
Gold Barb:7
Yo-Yo Loach:3
Pygmy Cory:6
Redtail Shark:1
Purple Passion Danio:5
Kribensis(small):3


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Haha looks good to me


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Lol dude, just buy the tank and the fish already. Stop fussing about getting the perfect number of fish and everything.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2009)

*Ffb*

*I understand that getting this tank just right is very important to you, and should be. If you would like you can PM me anytime you want to discuss this, as I have nowhere to go and all day to get there  *


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