Fish ideas for 220 Gal planted

"nAmYzArC" wrote in message
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On May 23, 8:22 pm, "swarvegorilla"
wrote:
"nAmYzArC" wrote in message

ups.com...





On May 16, 3:58 pm, NetMax wrote:
On May 15, 12:37 pm, nAmYzArC wrote:

Hey everyone,
I have a 220 Gallon planted tank that used to be stocked with 12
Bosemani rainbows (very colorful!!) 15 tiger barbs, 7 ottos & 1
skunk
loach. I had absolutely no losses in that tank. I had used the ottos
for cycling (not recomended) but they all survived & even had a
baby!
Unfortunately, about a year after the initial set-up & stocking, I
had
a double heater-failure (both went out within 1 day of eachother,
stuck in the ON position.), temp soared to 98 degrees & I was left
with only 2 rainbows.
I've since added a betta & male guppy from from another smaller tank
that I decided to de-commission, as well as 1 pleco I got from a
friend and 5 new ottos I added for algae control. The tank has been
this way for about a year.
I was really happy with my previous setup (colorful, active fish),
but
now I'm undecided as to which way to go. The rainbows are large
boisterous fish and that means the slower moving betta & guppy
rarely
get enough to eat unless I hand-feed them.
The way I see it my options a
1) Either I remove the betta & guppy & go back to the way things
were
(expensive since rainbows cost close to $13 a piece) OR
2) I remove the 2 rainbows and go a completely different route with
slower/calmer fish - say 1 school of cardinals + 1 school of black
neons & perhaps a cockatoo dwarf ciclid pair or something similar.

My goal is to keep the tank lightly stocked. My maintenance was
always
to do 1 20% water change once a month. I know it sounds "lazy"
(which
I am), but based on the slow but constant rate of plant growth (no
CO2
or extra fertilization) + with water parameters beeing 0 Amonnia/
nitrite/nitrate I didin;t seem necessary to do more.
Anyway, I'd love to hear some of your ideas as I've been undecided
for
an entire year.

A planted 220g is quite an empty canvas to fill. Myself, after a few
years, I like to try different fish entirely. Ask yourself what was
the best aspects of the fish you had and what you're looking for. If
you're able to sit close to the tank, smaller fish work well, like
Apistos and tetras. If you're further from the tank, maybe several
species of gouramis (5 Blue Opaline & 7 Pearls down the middle, 5
Chocolate on top and 7 Pygmy for the bottom). For something large and
slow moving, Angelfish or Discus are quite majestic in a tank that
size. There are also a lot of oddball fish which would do well in
that volume.

To continue staying low maintenance, I would stay away from
livebearers or the Apistos (to keep the population under control). A
species tank of Discus or Angels might get up in numbers, but these
are easier fish to catch and relocate or sell (unlike chasing Apistos
through the underbrush ;~)

If your water conditions were suitable (a little acidic), you might
want to try a fish which could maintain its population, be colorful
enough by itself to give the tank some 'snap', and never get too large
or populous to significantly affect the maintenance requirements.
Harlequin rasboras come to mind (copper colour contrasting with the
green plants).

Good luck & have fun with it!
NetMax- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm still a bit undecided. I have decided
that I'd prefer a larger number of small fish though. Anyone looking
to get a good deal on a couple of rainbows?

Ember tetra?
I recently got a batch of 'tiger danio' that I had never kept before.
Very
nice but very boistrous.
That said I am going to have to disagree with netmax on one thing.....
the livebearers. I recon theres an exception there hey!
Endlers! I dunno what the situation is around you, but females are tricky
to
find here.
They are like a wild dwarf guppy and I like them a lot.
With a fighter/betta in there with them..... the population isn't going
to
explode anytime soon.
I really do like endlers, They even make good food for halfbeaks and I
never
have a problem selling.
As to catching, I put net in water, add some food and scoop out the
greediest.
The oddball call is a good one though.
good chance to get a lizard fish or elephant nose. Some black ruby/khuli
loaches.
Maybe peacock gudgeons. They sell very well.
In Oz some my backyard has Melanotaenia duboulayi in the creek.
Rainbows are kinda ignored a bit.
I have been looking at USA creek fish..... jeez the darter are just
incredible.
I mean I think it's the banded or something.... awesome banded green in
a
freshwater fish!
So ya oddballs and endlers would be my choice. Don't forget a few cory,
heh
heh.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I had never heard of the ember tetra or the peacock gudgeon. I looked
them up and wow! The pic of the peacock gudgeon i found reminded me of
a killy. The embers were certainly interesting looking too and seemed
to be hardy by everyone's descriptions. Now I'm thinking maybe 3
schools of small fish: black neons, cardinals & embers. After all if I
remove the 2 rainbows I should gain enough "bioload quota" (tm) to add
10 of these little guys. I still want to do a bit more research on the
gudgeon to see if it would be a good fit as I'd prefer to have fish
that arent too fussy with food & water parameters.
Incidentally, my otos seem to be constantly dying now. I get about 2
dead ones per week that I keep replacing at the petstore (that you
petsmart 15-day warranty!). Water parameters are all at 0. I know they
are considered delicate, but the original batch had been doing so
well! I've read that there are several varieties of ottos. I wonder if
I've been getting a less-hardy variety? they all look the same to me...


OK check your temperature, then check your fish have something to graze on.
Don't want to foul the water but a bit of veggie like zuccini or squash on a
stainless steel fork for them to gnaw thru day helps a lot.
They need to graze.....
Umm... not too much at a time and remove before it clouds the water.
Then look for a bully..... heres lookin at you scapegoat rainbows!!
And ya, the peacock gudgeons are rather special looking fish.
Some coming out of germany are downright amazing.