# Ready for stocking...with what?



## Vivid-Dawn (Jan 18, 2005)

My tank is more or less cycled (finally!), I just need to do a water change to get the nitrates a bit lower.
So, next week I’m gonna start buying fish. I’m going to get 3 at a time, and quarantine them for at least a week, probably closer to 10 days, before I put ‘em in the community tank. This is what I plan on getting, in this order (shy ones first, so they can get their territory established before the more assertive fish).

Pictus Catfish (3)
Peacock Gudgeon (3)
Boesemani Rainbow (3)
Bala Shark (3)
I know Balas are supposed to be non-aggressive, but they’ll get bigger than just about everybody else, except maybe the catfish... and I want those first because I got some algae growing right now *sigh!*

I have 50 gallons, and one bunch of Anacharis plants. Taking into consideration the size of mature fish, is this going to be over-stocked? I have a Penquin 350 filter with 2 bio-wheels... I do a 5% water change Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10% every Saturday. I hope that’ll be alright, but I’m not sure how “messy” these types of fish are!
If I need to get rid of any fish, my first choice would be the Peacocks, since I’m going to have to order them off the internet... not necessarily a bad thing, but if my tank is overstocked, I wouldn’t want to have spent the extra money for them to end up miserable (or dead). Then maybe the Bala Sharks, and replace with either a couple Dwarf Gourami or a few Neon Tetras if possible, for some extra color.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

The pictus cat would only gobble down the gudgeons like popcorn, so it's best to leave them out after all.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

I think the balas get too big to be kept in that size tank when they are adults. They can get to be at least 8" long in good conditions.


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## Vivid-Dawn (Jan 18, 2005)

Balas get up to 15" from what I hear. So I may not get those after all... I wanted a silvery fish for the middle, but they might get redundant with the Pictus under them.
Peacocks are out, for lots'a reasons now.
Maybe I'll just stick with 3 Pictus and 6 Rainbows. Not much variety, but it'll be a more stable enviroment...I hope!


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

Instead of silvery, how about yellow/orange? Rosy barbs are tough, brightly colored (males are an almost neon orange, females kind of washed out looking) active fish that I think will get along well with the pictus and rainbows.


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## euRasian32 (May 19, 2005)

Be careful not too add too many fish at once, you could disrupt you biological cycle by increasing the bio load too much/too soon. Keep a close eye on your ammonia levels for a couple of weeks after adding new fish.


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 4, 2005)

Do pictus catfish eat algae? I thought they were predators...


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## Vivid-Dawn (Jan 18, 2005)

*Final draft?*

MyraVan
I don't like orange. Yellow is good, which is why I chose the B. Rainbows.

euRasian32
Only going to add 3 at a time, and have them in there 3-4 weeks after quarantine before new ones are bought. Then with their quarantine, it'll be more like 5-6 weeks. I actually know how to do this sortta stuff now! (I hope... LOL)

Ownager
er... I dunno! (ahem.. more research needed, I guess...or just review the notes I already have somewhere.)
I feed all sorts of stuff to my fish, so they won't starve! Omega One flakes in the morning, then every evening rotates: daphnae, plankton, brine shrimp (dried for now), bloodworms (also dried), algae disks, live flightless fruit flies, and dried krill.
Maybe I could get a couple ottos, but I'm hoping that with regular cleaning and decent tank maintanence, it'll go away in a couple months anyway.

I was pondering switching the rainbows for cichlids, since my PH is 8.2 and hardness is pretty high (haven't tested yet, but I get 'crust' on stuff within a couple months!). But I don't like the body shape as well... I've heard some rainbows live in 9 ph, so if I acclimate them good enough, I guess it won't be so bad.


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