40B stock and plans

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Vincenia

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Since my old 55 gallon tank had its front silicone seal fail recently. I’m going to replace it with a 40 Breeder. Better foot print and its a smaller sized tank. I plan on a planted tank and a different stock then what I had in my 55.

Planed Stock list
1 angel
2 German Blue rams
2 South American Bumblebee Catfish
1 Twig Catfish or Bristlenose pleco
15 Checker Barbs
6 Golden Zebra Loaches
1 Pictus Catfish
 

The GingerFishman

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Pictus are a schooling catfish. I've kept them many times. If you keep only 1 it won't thrive and eventually will wither away. I'd do no less than 3-4 of them. I actually have 3 in a 40 breeder right now. Plus they're way more fun to watch in a small group. If it were me, I'd cut the Bumblebees, since they're not as interesting to watch, and add more pictus, possibly drop the loaches to 3 as well if necessary, or even cut the barbs to 10. However, personally, I think if you have good filtration, a cycled tank and regular water changes, just adding a couple more pictus to your current stock list would be fine even though it's a tad bit on the heavy side. I find that a good cycled tank with great filtration negates a heavier stocking list, but I really don't see it as a problem. Those 40s are quite deep and can hold a fair amount.
 
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Vincenia

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I can normally tend to stock on the heavy side, and do decent water changes. I’m putting my Emperor 400 filter on the tank, it was once on my 55 gallon. I had one pictus in my 55 and he was quite active, my stepmom currently has him, I’m going to get him back and may just replace the bumblebees for two more pictus, since I love these cats a lot more. I can cut down to 3 zebras, had three before and they seemed happy and stayed together. I fed them shrimp pellets, which I do know pictus tend to love a lot.

Stock list for now:
1 angel
2 GBR
3 pictus catfish
3 zebra loaches
12-15 Checker Barbs
1 Twig catfish
 

Vincenia

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I’m thinking of changing the stock around for the 40B, I have two other stocking ideas. I wonder which one would work better.
Stock 1:
12-18 Harlequin Rasboras
1 Angelfish
GBR Pair
3 pictus catfish
1 Twig catfish
3 zebra loaches


stock 2:
15-20 neon or black Neon tetras
1 Angel
6-8 Corydoras
1 Bristlenose
3 pictus catfish



I’m leaning towards Stock one, I like the Rasboras and Pictus cats. But depends on what I can do.
The angel will be something for my grandpa, I had lost him back in May. He was fond of my old angelfish years ago.
 

The GingerFishman

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I’m thinking of changing the stock around for the 40B, I have two other stocking ideas. I wonder which one would work better.
Stock 1:
12-18 Harlequin Rasboras
1 Angelfish
GBR Pair
3 pictus catfish
1 Twig catfish
3 zebra loaches


stock 2:
15-20 neon or black Neon tetras
1 Angel
6-8 Corydoras
1 Bristlenose
3 pictus catfish



I’m leaning towards Stock one, I like the Rasboras and Pictus cats. But depends on what I can do.
The angel will be something for my grandpa, I had lost him back in May. He was fond of my old angelfish years ago.
I like stock 2 better because in stock 1 you've got too many rasboras in the 40 with all the other fish. However, you most definitely CANNOT keep neons with Pictus, while they're not an aggressive fish whatsoever, they will absolutely eat anything they can fit in their mouths. I tried the neon thing with pictus many years ago only to find that the Pictus all had nice full stomachs bulging the next morning.

You need a slightly bigger tetra, even the Harlequincy, if they're on the sale/younger side might become food. Here's what I'd suggest, get some large Rummynose tetras, they're too long, too fast to be eaten, beautiful and they school incredibly tightly and are awesome in a good sized group, lots of fun to watch.

Here's my suggestion:

10-15 Rummynose
1 Angel
6-8 Corydoras
1 Bristlenose
3 pictus catfish
2 GBR (pair)

I think this would work fine and your stocking would be fine with a well cycled tank. Many of these fish are small and aren't huge waste producers - except for the pleco, but a Bristlenose is a great commodity in almost any tank.
 

Vincenia

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I had a pictus catfish in my 55 before the silicone seal failed. I also had neons mostly black neons and neon. The pictus never bothered them, I gave him shrimp pellets that he ate like it was going out of style. My stepmom currently has my pictus catfish, I’ll be getting him back once the tank is set up and cycled. Could I do Black Widow Tetras or Red Eye Tetras instead of Rummynose tetras? I had Rummynose before and they nipped any fish that had long fins.
 

The GingerFishman

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Were your Pictus on the smaller side at the time? Larger ones will def pick off small tetras in the night.Those other tetras are sort of lame and boring. You want some color! What are your water parameters, as far as ph goes? If it's neutral, what about a school of Celebese Rainbows, or Dwarf Neon Rainbows? Oh here's one with a little colors on the fins that is nice - what about Pristella Tetras?
 

Vincenia

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The tank isn’t set up yet, I know my ph out of tap is 7.6-7.8. The pictus I had was full grown when my old tank went, but was small when I got him. I do like the Dwarf Neon Rainbows, I could do those. How many can I do of them?
 

The GingerFishman

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Feb 13, 2019
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The tank isn’t set up yet, I know my ph out of tap is 7.6-7.8. The pictus I had was full grown when my old tank went, but was small when I got him. I do like the Dwarf Neon Rainbows, I could do those. How many can I do of them?
I think you'd be fine with 6 - they don't get too big


6 Dwarf Neons Rainbows
1 Angel
6-8 Corydoras
1 Bristlenose
3 pictus catfish

I'm thinking you could probably get away with another Angel or two as well if you have good filtration, and a well established colony of anaerobic bacteria. Keep in mind, everything other than the Neons, does best in softer acidic water, so you might want to get the ph down just a bit closer to neutral, but the Neons like a more alkaline ph if I recall correctly, but since your just a tad over neutral, I think it should be fine, just keep an eye on breathing etc while they acclimate.
 
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