38 gal. Stocking.

[Daniel E.]

Hello everyone!

 

So I am going to be getting a Marineland 38 Gallon bowfront from petsmart this weekend. I am planning on making a planted tank and doing mostly nano and small species.

 

I would like to run this proposal by all of you and get your take on it.

 

Fish:

 

A school of threadfin rainbowfish (6-8)

 

A school of ember tetras (20-24)

 

A school of dwarf Cory cats. (10-12)

 

A school of either CODs or emerald rasboras (10-12)

 

I'd also like something for a splash of gold or yellow. Maybe German Blue Ram's? But I think they may be to aggressive for the threadfins. Or maybe dwarf gold rasboras if I can find them.

 

Shrimp:

 

A dwarf shrimp of some color. (Could get my yellow here)

 

Snails:

 

Horned nerites maybe 5 after the tank matures.

 

This will be a heavily planted tank. With some driftwood and a fine planting substrate.

 

Any fish will be added slowly as to not overwhelm the BBs

 

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[dahling8]

I love new setups, I hope you can pick up the bowfront at a good price.  

I'll just comment on fish/inverts I've had experience with.  I like the idea of a big school of ember tetras, they are tiny for a tetra so a big school will make them feel much more secure and they will help draw out some of your more timid fish ie. CPD's.

The type of dwarf corydoras makes a difference.  I've had "pygmaeus" and "hasbrosus" corys.  Habrosus are the shyer of the 2, usually hiding in the plants, so with a heavily planted tank, you may never see them unless it's feeding time.  Their behaviour is typical corycat, usually hugging the bottom, but with the pygmeaus, I find them more outgoing and bottom/mid level swimmers.  They love weaving through the plants and resting on leaves.  I would choose those if you can find them.  They're both cute, but the pygmeus face is more pointed, more "mouselike".

Rams prefer warmer water, the cory's on the cooler side, so I'm not sure if they're will be a happy medium.  For yellow maybe a Yellow/Gold neo cardinia shrimp?  They should be able to breed in a densely planted tank.

I'ts been years since I've had threadfins, IIRC they are top level swimmers so they may be ok with rams if you go with rams since they prefer the bottom half of the tank.

I`m enjoying my nerites, good idea to stock them after your tank matures.

Good luck!

[Daniel E.]

I love new setups, I hope you can pick up the bowfront at a good price.  
I'll just comment on fish/inverts I've had experience with.  I like the idea of a big school of ember tetras, they are tiny for a tetra so a big school will make them feel much more secure and they will help draw out some of your more timid fish ie. CPD's.
The type of dwarf corydoras makes a difference.  I've had "pygmaeus" and "hasbrosus" corys.  Habrosus are the shyer of the 2, usually hiding in the plants, so with a heavily planted tank, you may never see them unless it's feeding time.  Their behaviour is typical corycat, usually hugging the bottom, but with the pygmeaus, I find them more outgoing and bottom/mid level swimmers.  They love weaving through the plants and resting on leaves.  I would choose those if you can find them.  They're both cute, but the pygmeus face is more pointed, more "mouselike".
Rams prefer warmer water, the cory's on the cooler side, so I'm not sure if they're will be a happy medium.  For yellow maybe a Yellow/Gold neo cardinia shrimp?  They should be able to breed in a densely planted tank.
I'ts been years since I've had threadfins, IIRC they are top level swimmers so they may be ok with rams if you go with rams since they prefer the bottom half of the tank.
I`m enjoying my nerites, good idea to stock them after your tank matures.
Good luck!

Thanks the Ram's was an after thought and I had not even thought of the temperature difference there.

I am thinking I'll go with the shrimp for yellow. Hopefully with the smaller fish they will be able to breed well.

I love threadfins. I had them once and they are beautiful fish. Probably my favorite on the tropical side.

I've also looked at blue eye rainbows as a possibility also but they are a bit harder to find. I did find one person on eBay that sales them if I wanted to go that way.

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[dahling8]

I have blue velvet neo cardinia in my 20gallon long with nano fish, the same one I posted before.  They breed like crazy, but I let the shrimp establish themselves first before adding in most of my other nano fish.  So it can work!

[Daniel E.]

So I got the tank and set it up today.

Also threw is some plants and wood from another thank to help jumpstart the cycle.

 

Sould be getting the wood and stone for it in a day or two.

 

 

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[Daniel E.]

I also saw some beautiful veiltail angelfish at the pet store. Part of me wants to get them for the tank. But if I did that I would have to abandon my previous idea.

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[Daniel E.]

Ok I'm torn guys. I need help.

I've not been able to get that cute little angelfish out of my head.

So I must decide do I keep the nano fish idea or grab an angel. I don't believe I can keep more than one in this tank without immigration issues. Even a mated pair could have issues in a 38g. If I went this route it would be the center piece with a school of larger tetras and corys or maybe move my platies in with it.

If I go with my original idea. It would look something like this.


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[dahling8]

Tough choice, I've done/doing both and both are good ideas.

Angelfish for their personality and interaction with you or nanos for lots of action and splashes of different colours. 

Maybe a hybrid of the 2, just 1 single Angel, and selected nano fish that may not fall prey to the angel when it is bigger?

[Daniel E.]

So what I did was I decided that I would go back to the store where I seen the fish and if that one particular fish was still there I would go ahead and get it. I figured the chances was quite slim considering it had been a full week and the fact that it was a PetSmart.

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[Daniel E.]

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[koko]

WOW he seems so small  

[Daniel E.]

WOW he seems so small  

He is so small. And maybe not alone after today. Lol
Okay so here's the thing. I want to keep the angel and I want to do my Nano tank. Also he seems very depressed being in there by himself. I might be imposing those emotions on him when they're not there LOL but in any case what I have decided to do is to temporarily make the 38 and angelfish grow out tank. That will give me plenty of time to restore my 80 gallon tank that I can then repurpose for the Angels. After the angels have outgrew the 38 gallon and are moved to the 80 I'll go back and revisit turning the 38 into a nano fish Community tank.

All that said I have 3 more angels that will be put in the tank today. Since they came to the same source and I've not had the one in the tank very long I'm not going to bother with quarantining these as the 38 gallon is in essence a quarantine tank of its own at this point.

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[Daniel E.]

By the way my whole I'm not doing more than three tanks thing has been blown way out of the water LOL

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[koko]

1 minute ago, Daniel E. said:

He is so small. And maybe not alone after today. Lol
Okay so here's the thing. I want to keep the angel and I want to do my Nano tank. Also he seems very depressed being in there by himself. I might be imposing those emotions on him when they're not there LOL but in any case what I have decided to do is to temporarily make the 38 and angelfish grow out tank. That will give me plenty of time to restore my 80 gallon tank that I can then repurpose for the Angels. After the angels have outgrew the 38 gallon and are moved to the 80 I'll go back and revisit turning the 38 into a nano fish Community tank.

All that said I have 3 more angels that will be put in the tank today. Since they came to the same source and I've not had the one in the tank very long I'm not going to bother with quarantining these as the 38 gallon is in essence a quarantine tank of its own at this point.

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You going to get different colored ones? 

[koko]

1 minute ago, Daniel E. said:

By the way my whole I'm not doing more than three tanks thing has been blown way out of the water LOL

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I was there once... 4 tanks and a pond. 

I do want a pond but I need to wait till Justine is older and doesn't want to pick the fish up or throw stuff into it  

[Daniel E.]

You going to get different colored ones? 

Different variations. I got one that looks like it is a type of Blue Angel. Also got a marble and a clown today. I'm holding out on the 5th one hoping I come across either a really nice gold or platinum.

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[Daniel E.]

I was there once... 4 tanks and a pond. 
I do want a pond but I need to wait till Justine is older and doesn't want to pick the fish up or throw stuff into it  

Three of my tanks are under 10 gallons so they only count as one right? Lol

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[Daniel E.]

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[koko]

10 hours ago, Daniel E. said:

Three of my tanks are under 10 gallons so they only count as one right? Lol

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There you go, good thinking. I got to try that on TD  

[Daniel E.]

Well 3 are doing well. One looks like he is not going to make it though.

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[Daniel E.]

Yep he is not going to make it he was stuck to the filter intake. I got him free but he can't hold himself upright anymore. I am expecting when I get home to be taking him out if the tank.

I added an airstone and did another 59% WC making sure to have my water 80-82°F this morning. The rest look happy and healthy so hopefully it will be just the one casualty. He was small and the store had just got them in a few hours before I got them so all the stress from shipping and then relocating again I believe was just too much for him.

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[aussieJJDude]

Sorry to hear one isnt doing so well! But congrats on the angels, they are one of my favourite aquarium fish!

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[Daniel E.]

Sorry to hear one isnt doing so well! But congrats on the angels, they are one of my favourite aquarium fish!

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I've never kept the successfully before.

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[aussieJJDude]

I've never kept the successfully before.

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Hopefully this time they do well. I use to have the same issue years ago, but ever since I started doing more frequent water changes and offering quality food, have not found that ti be the case.

I've currently got a breeding pair in one of my aquariums, I finally found my male angel a girlfriend - who is half his size... but biggest I've seen in retail in a long time!

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[Daniel E.]

Before when I tried many years I did not understand water parameters and thought if the water looked clean it was lol.

Then later I started to again and ordered 5 koi Angels. Then I found out I could not keep them in my 29gallon when they started fighting. So I rehomed them.

So now we are trying again lol.
Maybe if I'm lucky they will all get along great and not pare off and become aggressive.

Hopefully this time they do well. I use to have the same issue years ago, but ever since I started doing more frequent water changes and offering quality food, have not found that ti be the case.

I've currently got a breeding pair in one of my aquariums, I finally found my male angel a girlfriend - who is half his size... but biggest I've seen in retail in a long time!

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