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Originally Posted by paige17  I have a 36 gallon tank that is in the process of cycling right now and I was just wondering if anyone had any fish stocking ideas? Also, around how many fish could I get? I was hoping to have a tropical semi-aggressive aquarium. The pH is on the harder side, it is about 7.8. Below is a list of fish I like, but I do not know which ones are compatible with eachother and will go well and fit in my tank. Some of these are even community fish, but I wasn't sure if certain ones could still work together. Please make some groupings of fish that will work well together in my tank, and feel free to add some that are not in the list too. I know many of them will not go together, but just what are some different options and what fish do you suggest?
Thanks! |
First off, your higher pH limits quite a few species...and the best way is to look up their profiles here on TFK and verify how far away from your pH they need. Obviously anything that requires soft water or a low pH would not make it in your tank.
As far as gouramis go, I think one gold or blue (same species) would be okay, but they dont like fast swimming fish so rasbora, slower tetra, and bottom dwellers are best with them. And no fin nippers (lots of tetra and barbs are known for this).
All cories and loaches belong in a social group, cories minimum is debatable between 4-6 or more is always recommended. Loaches the minimum is 5 for a healthy social structure. In a 36 gallon I think 5 loaches is a lot on the bio load, and most loaches are fairly large ranging between 6-8" full grown and larger. In a 36 gallon, you may consider dwarf loaches, which max out at 2.5" or black kuhli loaches which only get to 3", and banded kuhli loaches that get 4". Unlike cories, loaches arent as easy to mix species for grouping. Cories can have their groups containing different species of cories and be happy and content.
Silver dollars are schooling and would be too large for a 36 gallon.
Red Tail Sharks cant be with any other sharks, and also tend to have issues with any other bottom dwellers as well as other fish with similar colorings.
Pictus Cats are rather mean, and get a good 6-8", I'd not recommend them for your tank size.
The tiger barbs would look great and are awesome schooling, however, they are a big fin nipper and can be slightly aggressive with not only each other (which can be controlled with a larger school of them...instead of 5-6 a group of 9-12 would minimize their nipping of each other), but they can also be rather nasty to other tankmates if they choose. Any gourami or long finned species, or plain community fish would not be best housed with them.
Ghost catfish are pretty cool, they do require a school of 5-6. They can reach 4" each. But they would probably work nicely, however you wont see them as well and your tank may appear emptier than desired when they are providing a large bioload and taking space.
Silver (or marbled is cool) hatchetfish need a group of 6 and will hang out at the top of the tank not bothering anyone...great community fish. They reach something like 3" each.
GloFish are nothing more than danios and they have beautiful colorings, but are community fish so no aggressive ones, and none that may eat them as they max at 2". Unaware of your knowledge on them, but I will say they get their glowing color from their genes being spliced with that of a jellyfish...rather cool.
Long Finned Rosey Barbs are vulnerable to fin nipping fish, so caution should be taken when considering tankmates.
Rummy nose tetra are a great choice, as they arent known for nipping, and school beautifully, and their size is perfect for a 36 gallon...I'd suggest 6.
Now for a better stocking list it may take me a little while, as I would have to backtrack and go through profiles to locate fish compatable with your pH level as well as size for the tank, and such.
What kind of substrate are you using? Live plants? What kind of filtration are you using? How are you cycling the tank?
With hard water like you have with that high pH, livebearers (
Swordtail,
Platy,
Guppy, mollies) would work great. Cories shouldnt have an issue as long as they arent the more delicate species such as pandas or habrosus or any of the 3 dwarf species. Most tetra and rasbora can fit in the water parameters you have.
As far as how many fish you can have depends on the size and bioload of the fish chosen, there is no perfect number of how many you can fit in a certain tank size as it depends on many contributers including but not limited to, water changes, tank size, fish size, fish waste, filtration, plantage, feeding, and more.
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