So, I've had my 36g corner tank setup for about 2 1/2 months now -- 8 glowlights, 7 neons (lost a weak one the day after introduction), and 8 corys. I grew out water lily and aponogeton bulbs and wound up with a pretty nice environment. I use 2 penguin 200s and a bubbling sponge filter.
The above stock violates the inch per gallon rule (or myth -- been reading everyone's comments on this) (with 15 tetras at 1.5 to 2 inches when grown and 8 corys at 2 inches grown). I pushed it with the tetras because they are very small and I committed to an aggressive water maintenance schedule.
My problem was that I had 23 fish which all occupied the bottom (or at least the bottom 1/50th) of the tank on most occasions -- I've described it as having 23 fish using up 2 gallons of water and leaving the other 34 empty.
I do a 33-50% water change every other Saturday with a gravel vac -- and have a decent load of plants (I've added anachris, banana plants, and african swords) -- I have a solid base of black onyx sand as substrate and the corys keep the black sand spotless. I test the water every Saturday and have had 0/0 readings for ammonia and nitrite since the cycle completed and my nitrates remain below 20.
During my time off over the holidays, I decided that I needed to find a few fish to occupy the rest of my tank -- but I know that I'm already pushing it despite the positive water readings. I researched everything and anything -- it seemed that everything I could come up with was either a fin nipper or too active for the tetra/cory combo -- then I saw some black phantom tetras at the LFS and came home to research them. I read that they are very calm, slow movers, and that they won't turn aggressive to smaller fish. A few days later, I bought a male and two females and introduced them to my tank. After about 2 hours of "feeling" each other out, everyone seemed comfortable. In the days since, I have found the phantoms mimicing the behavior of my corys -- hanging out with my shoal of little tetras -- and just generally being awesome tank mates. My little tetras are full of color -- and my water readings (I have been testing twice a week now) have remained solid with double zeros and nitrates have remained around 10.
My question is this -- my three new phantoms have added a very nice touch to the aquarium -- and haven't upset the balance that existed prior -- BUT -- the black phantom is supposed to also be a schooling fish and I have only three. The three are always together -- and they play with all the other fish on a regular basis. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on keeping just three of this fish -- or whether I should push the envelope even further by completing the school. I'd also appreciate feedback on my overall stock -- am I just wayyyyy out of line by keeping this many fish (despite their size) in this tank. I'm going to have to get another tank for my angels (4 babies in my 15g) as they grow -- so I do have options for correcting any big violations I may be making. Thanks in advance!
The above stock violates the inch per gallon rule (or myth -- been reading everyone's comments on this) (with 15 tetras at 1.5 to 2 inches when grown and 8 corys at 2 inches grown). I pushed it with the tetras because they are very small and I committed to an aggressive water maintenance schedule.
My problem was that I had 23 fish which all occupied the bottom (or at least the bottom 1/50th) of the tank on most occasions -- I've described it as having 23 fish using up 2 gallons of water and leaving the other 34 empty.
I do a 33-50% water change every other Saturday with a gravel vac -- and have a decent load of plants (I've added anachris, banana plants, and african swords) -- I have a solid base of black onyx sand as substrate and the corys keep the black sand spotless. I test the water every Saturday and have had 0/0 readings for ammonia and nitrite since the cycle completed and my nitrates remain below 20.
During my time off over the holidays, I decided that I needed to find a few fish to occupy the rest of my tank -- but I know that I'm already pushing it despite the positive water readings. I researched everything and anything -- it seemed that everything I could come up with was either a fin nipper or too active for the tetra/cory combo -- then I saw some black phantom tetras at the LFS and came home to research them. I read that they are very calm, slow movers, and that they won't turn aggressive to smaller fish. A few days later, I bought a male and two females and introduced them to my tank. After about 2 hours of "feeling" each other out, everyone seemed comfortable. In the days since, I have found the phantoms mimicing the behavior of my corys -- hanging out with my shoal of little tetras -- and just generally being awesome tank mates. My little tetras are full of color -- and my water readings (I have been testing twice a week now) have remained solid with double zeros and nitrates have remained around 10.
My question is this -- my three new phantoms have added a very nice touch to the aquarium -- and haven't upset the balance that existed prior -- BUT -- the black phantom is supposed to also be a schooling fish and I have only three. The three are always together -- and they play with all the other fish on a regular basis. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on keeping just three of this fish -- or whether I should push the envelope even further by completing the school. I'd also appreciate feedback on my overall stock -- am I just wayyyyy out of line by keeping this many fish (despite their size) in this tank. I'm going to have to get another tank for my angels (4 babies in my 15g) as they grow -- so I do have options for correcting any big violations I may be making. Thanks in advance!
Tank is all planted and I am a tad obsessive about cleaning it and keeping the fish happy.