What to add to this setup?

I have a 150L with the following inhabitants:
2x bettas (in their own section of the tank)
2x small plecos (one is roughly 12cm, the other 6 or 7cm)
2x Synodontis Petricola
2x Blue Gourami
1x Pearl Gourami
3x Corydoras Sterbai (bought 4 originally but it looks like I lost one a few days later)
1 Giant Danio (last one from 6 that I bought last year to cycle my 280L. The others got eaten by bichirs, and one jumped out of my 150L)

The tank looks really empty and boring, and I'm looking for something nice to add that will occupy mid levels. I would like, if possible, cichlids. I can rehome the gouramis if the cichlids are too aggressive - I'm just not sure if there is anything that's really suitable for a 150L. I was thinking possibly a blood parrot or two, but I don't really want to support the breeding of these fish. I would alternatively also love Orandas or Ryukins, but we all know that goldfish in a tropical tank is not a good idea. So, what is a nice fish to add to this tank? I want something semi large with personality that I could put one or maybe two of in the tank - that rules out more gouramis or a shoal tetras. Oh, and the tank is not covered, so no escape artists.

 

Hi there. Try and get some more Corys as they like to be in schools of 5+. I believe the same applies to the giant danios.

 

Yeah I know that about the Corys, and I will They like to be in schools of 6+ as far as I know. And I won't be getting more Giant Danios. They think they are salmon swimming upstream and they jump out of the tank. If anyone would like him they are welcome to have him.

 

No ideas, anyone?

 

What about some large tetras like Colombian or Black widows, bleeding hearts, Serpae tets. They all like to be in schools and would do nicely if you are going to remove the gouramis.

 

i think any of these are likely to become bichir food in that tank tho... (@Zeiphex, you did say your giant danios were eaten by them right?) i would advise zebra and yoyo loaches, as they can fend off the bichirs and they like to hang around together if have enough of them.

p.s. 150L tank is a too small for Bircher unless they are very young still..

oops, i justt realised you said they were in your 280L tank.

in that case add 14 tiger barbs to @Firefly 's list of potential tankmates. these do really well in a larger school.

 

Got me confused there for a second @mydummyname. I forgot about the barbs, they can work very well in a tank. Maybe some rosy barbs.

 

Angels, Dollars, Barbs...

 

i think they'd get too large for 150L tank, as they need to be in a school

get too large as well. also dollars would eat any plants you might have.

long finned red serpae tetra might be the answer IF you can find them, or tiger barbs, but you'd need 10 minumim (i would suggest 15 or 16) to see correct schooling behavior but then you'd not be able to add much else to the tank as your stocking levels will be pushing a bit high.

if you go with tiger barbs, get either all green or all albino or all normal tiger barbs. you will not be able to take your eyes of them once they are settled down and start schooling.

this is what they look like in a 16 strong school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5-C0smacUs&feature=relmfu

 

LOL Mixed up my threads here, my bad
Was reading another thread at the same time with a 450L

 

hehe happens to me all the time!!

 

Thanks guys! Haha, Bichirs are in my 280L, yes. I'd never keep them in a 150L! I'd also never keep Corys with them, as the Corys end up sticking out of the bichirs' mouths (but they can't swallow them). Not really a fan of tetras - they look great in a planted Discus or Amazon setup, but I find them a bit dull. No individual personality or anything. Tiger barbs are an idea I guess. I was looking for something larger with more personality, but it's probably not a reality in a 150L. How many tiger barbs could be kept in a 150L setup? I've never kept them before so I just know that they need to be kept in shoals or they become very aggressive. I will probably go with all normal colour tigers, as I'm not a huge fan of the green and albino variants.

 

i've kept 16 in a 100L tank with 10 silver tip tetras and some cory's for a year or more, so i guess you could keep 20 or so and still be ok given that you have a 150L tank.

having said that i've now moved them to my 270L tank with 20 rummynose tetra's, the rummynose tetra's are tight schoolers and you could look at that option too.. but be careful, they are smallish and gentle fish and might be bullied by other fish altho i havent experienced any fightingin my tank, this could be because the tiger barbs are in a large enough school.

let us know what you decide, and post pics

 

Thanks I'll probably go with the tiger barbs. I'd have liked to put an African Butterfly or two in the tank, but with it not being covered I can see that ending in disaster - apparently they can leap about 2m out of the water. And I will post pics when it's all set up - I can't resist taking pictures now that I have my Canon EOS 600D

 

Now I'm honestly having thoughts about converting the 150L into a fish and live rock-only marine setup. Never done marines before but it sounds interesting. Not sure I want to part with my little Synodontis Petricola cats though >.< If I put them in with my bichirs they'd just wind up in the bichirs' mouths again and I can't always be around to pull them out.

 

150l is pretty small for a Marine tank @Zeiphex - If you do go that route,get a HUGE sump....will lead to more stable water conditions...

 

Well those Pleco's aren't going to stay in there for long...

 

@azurekoi - huge as in how many liters? I don't really have that much space... The tank is on a wrought-iron stand which does have room for a sump underneath. However, I don't have experience with sump filters and I don't want to get myself into something that is more work and responsibility than I want. I just liked the idea because I was reading that a fish+live rock-only setup is not that much more work than a freshwater setup - apparently the only additional piece of equipment you need is a hydrometer. However, I have no idea how true any of this is, so at this point it's just an idea. Plus I'm not even sure I can afford to have a marine setup - marine livestock is not exactly cheap.

@SauRoN - I'm aware of that and I'll make a plan for them when they outgrow it. However I've had them for months now in my 280L and haven't seen any real growth in them or my other two plecos. Not sure why this is happening, since I've read that plecos are meant to have a fast growth rate. Tinfoil barbs have supersized, as has the saddled bichir, but the plecos aren't really growing at all In the 150L one is a leopard pleco and the other is a Gibbiceps. Do they perhaps grow slower than common plecos? In the 280L I have an "orange marble" pleco and a large-ish leopard pleco (23cm or so), and haven't seen these guys grow either. They get algae wafers and I've seen them eat the bloodworms and frozen lancefish that the rest of the community gets.

 

Check on MASA for info on marines, a Hydrometer is not all you would need and a Refractometer would probably work better (so I was told on MASA). Also you will need a Protein skimmer, Return Pump, UPS Backup, 2 Heaters and a sump for a DSB and power heads and/or wave makers for internal flow.

 

lol!!!!!! Sump should be round 150 to 200 litre - smaller than 300l tanks are way less stable in my opinion... So lets talk just some start up costs... Good skimmer gonna set you back round R3000... 80ish kg of GOOD quality Live rock @R150/kg... = R12 000... RO and a good salt mix maybe round R2000.... Lighting? figure another R3000 ish...

Then we not talking test kits and additives.... total to start (and you dont even have your sump built yet) = Round R20 000... You can do a whole freshwater fish room with that....

Skimping on Marine startup will only lead to wasted money and much misery down the line...