Advice on stocking scheme

K

kahunacohen

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Jan 22, 2014
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Hi I have a 55 gallon freshwater aquarium I started about a month ago. I cycled with 4 platys, and when the water params were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5ppm nitrate I added another platy, a pleco, a school of 6 neon tetras.

I am thinking of adding 4 or so cory cats and a school of danios. But I'd also like to convert my 10g aquarium to an isolation tank. In that tank I now have a single dalmation molley and a tiger barb (I know the barb should have some friends).

So how would I modify my original scheme to house the molley and the tiger barb. I should have a school of the tiger barbs right?

Or do I really need an isolation tank? The kids might like to keep that 10g tank for their room, so I could add some fish to it.

What would you do?
 
I would recommend an isolation tank to help prevent diseases getting into your main tank. I would also rehome the barb, they are fairly aggressive fin-nippers and would make a danios life a very difficult thing. The molly should be fine.
 
I wouldn't trust Tiger Barbs in a small tank, that being said, a school of 8-10 Tigers in the 55 would be my choice. They do have a reputation for being nippy so watch tank mates closely. Medium sized semi-aggressive cichlids/ Red-tailed Black Shark/ Rainbow Shark, are possible replacements should you run into compatibility issues.


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What about adding more neon tetras? I don't really care to raise the fish, but I find that the more you have in the tank, the more impressive they are. Another simple option is to add more platy's or mollies but of different colors and "finage", if there is such a word. Mollies come with liar tails and long tails...also swordtails are good community fish.

What group of people will be looking at this tank the most? If it is young children, they usually enjoy seeing a broad variety of shapes and colors in a tank. Actually, most adults do also.
 
I think your safest bet is the isolation tank. Re home the barb and Molly. Then go for your original stocking plan. Most people would agree if you can....you should have a way to isolate and watch newcomers.
 
Do NOT get more mollies. That will, as a rule, leave you with a hundred fry more than you can deal with. I'm still dealing with my old molly problem almost 6 years later.
 
I agree to forget Tigers; a larger group as others have mentioned is essential, but that still restricts other fish as not everything works with these. A more peaceful barb with very similar patterning is the Black Ruby, for example.

No mention is made of water parameters (hardness particularly, also pH), and while many fish can adapt somewhat, some cannot. Mollies will not last long in soft water. Some tetra need soft water. Knowing what comes out of your tap will help us suggest possible fish.

Byron.
 
Keep the isolation tank. I have a 10 gallon that I use exclusively for QT when you want to add new fish to a healthy tank having the extra tank to isolate your fish will help you out a lot. I always keep a whisper filter for my QT in my main tank's filtration box so when I am ready to use my QT I have live media ready for use.
 
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