Stocking Plans....sound ok?

DaisyGirl

DaisyGirl

My Betta Malaria
Jan 5, 2005
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I'm so excited!


I have MTS really bad, but sadly, a lack of funds limits me to only 2 tanks.

Right now I only have one tank....10g goldfish tank, 4 fancy goldfish, problem is I got them as a gift, when I went to the fish store, they said they wouldnt take them back...so I'm stuck with them, but I have no money.....but anyway the point is they arent going to be there long, I'm building a pond in my yard for them this summer. I have a few questions regarding that and stocking, which you'll read later on...

(1) I live in Eastern Massachusetts, where its in the low teens-below zero temps all winter, with a week at 30* F if we're lucky, but on to the question......Will the fish be able to winter in the pond? If so how deep will it have to be?

(2) Do I have to still feed them in the pond, or do they just eat the plants?


Ok....Now for the stocking....I'm buying a 20g tank to accompany the 10g that I already have....for stocking I was thinking of the following:

10g

Platy trio (1 male 2 females)
1 male dwarf gourami
3-4 cories

does that sound ok? Any changes?

20g (has two options)

(1) Krib pair
maybe a cory school, or some bottom dwellers, if they get along...

OR

(2) 1 angel, a few of the surviving platy fry from the other tank, or maybe all the platies and gourami, and turn the 10 into a grow-out....


Or, should I do something completely different?

Thanks for the help!

--DG

PS: I do have heaters and filters, and lighting for the 10 and 20g tanks, and I will buy a filter for the pond!
 
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Well, for the first part, while I'm pretty sure that goldfish can do the cryo thing, you'll probably get better answers to that in the coldwater section.

The 10g is heavily stocked, but not necessarily overstocked. I always give a little extra space for things like livebearers, namely because of fry, which, although will likely be eaten is an extra input to the tank, IMO. It's definitely doable though, keep and eye on NO3.

I've got a pair of kribs in an 18g with a pair of african butterly cichlids. The kribs completely dominate, especially around breeding time. The ABC's are content to stay a little off the bottom, say the bottom 1/3 of the tank as a rule, but they also hang out a little higher up in the plants. The point I'm getting to is that kribs and cories probably won't get on very well in a 20g. However, you could certainly do something like a pair of kribs (they are gorgeous fish) and a school of tetras.

A school of maybe 10 cardinals or rummynose tetras, or perhaps Gertrudes Rainbows (little yellow rainbowfish with blue eyes, they grow to about an inch in length and stay near the top), would look beautiful, be plenty active and keep the kribs happy with the bottom as their territory.
 
Thanks for the fast reply, so in re-cap, I could keep the kribs in the 20 with a few smaller tetras such as cardinals, rummynose, or gertrudes rainbows, (I like the rainbows the best) and have the cories in with the platies and gourami in the 10....I do 40% weekly water changes, they all seem happy.....I wasn't too worried about the overstockage becuase of the platy fry because some, actually most of them would get eaten by the other fish...I do LOVE cories, they have such cute personalities, so I am very hopeful in getting them.

--DG
 
Yes, most/all of the fry will be eaten by the parents or the gourami. Keep the cories down to 3. See if you can find the pygmy variety, that should help keep the stock light-ish.

Weekly 50% and everyone will be happy.

Do you plant your tanks?
 
I don't now, as I have nibbling goldfish, but I am definetly planning on it for the tanks after they are tropical.
 
Cool. In that case, when you're changing your stock, try to find a coarse sand, about 3mm in grain diameter (a #2 mesh if you're talking to sand people). You should be able to find it at your local landscaper, hardware store, or quarry outlet. Check in your yellow pages under "sand".

It's great for planting and the kribs love it, it's what I've got in my 18g. It's just about perfect for them to dig in. Then when you're ready to plant, it's good for plants as well.
 
Thats actually pretty funny, because I was planning on having sand as my substrate anyway, but this works out great...thanks for all the help!
 
ok, 3mm, sounds good, I'll get that asap.
 
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