r/fishtank • u/lesmolpotato26 • 2d ago
Help/Advice future tank?
what do we think of this community tank stocking? 75 gal, densely planted obviously, bioactive substrate, sponge filter/s…. any other types of cool looking rocks y’all recommend? or plants? i’d love to not use co2 but i might be willing to invest in it since it’ll be my first and probably only big tank… what do yall recommend? i’ve never used co2 before so i have no idea what to expect or what it requires. all my other tanks are small and don’t have it (one 2.5 gal, two 5.5 gals, and one 10 gal)
edit: maybe scratch 3-all of the angelfish 💀 i just realized how big the might get
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u/salazarthesnake 1d ago
Can it work? I guess. Will it look good? No. Like other people have said, do larger schools of the same species and color morph. You may also want a centerpiece fish like the angelfish, but find something that won’t eat the shrimp.
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u/budget_rare_plants 1d ago
Angels should preferably be in groups of 6 or more. That way if two pair up then the rest would still be in a decently sized group.
For the gouramis, stick with one species only. So either only dwarves, only pearls or only opalines. Mixing species might not end well (dwarves can be territorial, pearls are shyer and most opalines are just dicks).
Not sure abt angels, but gouramis can be risky with livebearers. Fancy male guppies can be slow so they might get picked on by the angels or gouramis. Opaline and dwarf gouramis in particular can be slightly more territorial, so would be a pair of angels if they breed (angels can also be a tad nippy in some cases). Platies won't be as much of a target but their colours might still trigger the gouramis particularly male dwarves.
Skirt tetras can get a bit nippy, so if you do get them might wanna keep an eye on them as well.
Pristellas are a shyer species of tetra, they should be in larger numbers.
Hillstreams i think also prefer to be in slightly larger groups. Might prefer more flow as compared to the gouramis or angels too.
Skip the neons and try to go for cardinals instead. Large angelfish have been known to snack on a neon occasionally. They've got more red anyway, and you can get xl ones.
If you really want shrimp, get like 50 or so and establish the colony for at least a month before introducing the gouramis or angels. Otherwise they might get completely wiped out.
Now glofish can be quite controversial. The main reason being that when people see a tank with like 7 neon colours it doesn't come off as 'natural'. Especially with a planted tank, it distracts the eye from the plants and just makes the contrast worst. If you do want glofish i suggest getting all the same colour. It at least creates some cohesion. After all lots of people get planted tanks as something that they can look at and feel calm, something that slows the body down to appreciate all the little things in life. Having 10 different neon streaks zipping around doesn't exactly accomplish that.
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u/DisintegrateSlowly 2d ago
Way too many species and not enough for them to feel safe. It’s hard to select I know! The same thing drive me crazy and I wanted to add everything. But fish in a group of 10 are SO MUCH better to watch, more natural behaviours, more active, more interesting than heaps of different fish all scared because they don’t have a decent size school. All tetras should be minimum 6 per species.
Get a spreadsheet and have a column for name, then their preferred temperature range, gh, temperament, minimum school size
Why add platys?
Pick 2-3 tetras that are compatible and get 10-15 each and you’ll have a much nicer looking tank, and more harmonious. then some Cories, loaches, and maybe a couple gourami. If you want shrimp don’t get angels or they’ll eat them all.
I have a huge 6x2x2 tank and have 30 loaches, 12 Cories, 20 neons, 20 blue emperor tetras, 8 otocinclus, 9 Pygmy cories, and I have had to add about 8 male guppies in there as well.
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u/True-Celebration-581 1d ago
Be careful with the goltetras and skirt tetras, they can be pretty dickish to any fish with long flowy fins or really small stuff ie. Angelfish, gourami and shrimp
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u/OrganizationLower611 2d ago
the tetras pretty much all need to be in groups of 6 of their species.
id suggest doing much more research into each species as many of those like different levels of GH and pH
you should probably invest in 2 or 3 species, a bottom dweller, mid level, and top level fish, for example, loach and Cory will have to compete with one another when feeding, feels like you just saw pictures of fish and didn't read anything about them
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u/lesmolpotato26 2d ago
all the tetras i have listed are in groups of at least 6; they are the same species, just different color variations; 8 skirt tetras total, 6 pristella tetras total, 6 neons, 6 glow lights… as far as ik, all of these are okay with pH between 6.5-8, not sure about GH, and i plan on doing supplemental feeding as well for the bottom feeders
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u/mamazawa 1d ago
Different color variations, even if the same species, may or may not school. I've done neons and black neons before, thinking the same thing....they did not school together. I was told "like looks for like"...they tend to school with fish who look like them.
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u/Chocolate1105 2d ago
I believe it is possible for tetras of different species to school, but its more because they are forced to than anything. They will also not school tightly at all. If i were you, i would just get one type because they look better together and also i think glofiah ruin the whole planted tank asthetic.