Another boring stocking question - how many pandas?

Hi,

I started a 120 litre (roughly 30 gallon) tank back at the start of May. It measures 60 x 40 x 50 cm (height = 50 cm), so perhaps could be classed as a 30 tall?

Anyway, I currently have 6 neon tetras, 6 guppies, 2 dwarf gouramis, 1 bristle nose pleco, 2 blue rams, about 5 Amano shrimp, 5 cherry shrimp plus an unknown number of accidentally introduced small snails, kept under control with 5 assassin snails (they bred like rabbits!), oh and 6 panda corys (my favourite fish, although the pleco is a close second). As I was slowly adding the fish one species at a time, I kept thinking that these would have to be the last (didn’t want to overstock), but it seemed a very happy community, with various species preferring different levels, and it didn’t and doesn’t seem particularly full, despite there being a lot of fish in it (at least in my limited experience).

Anyway, to all you Cory experts out there, can I add more pandas? Maybe another 3 or even 6? It’s reasonably heavily planted (see photo) and parameters are very stable but I still do an approx 30-40% water change weekly. Apologies for the reflections in the photo - there’s not really a baby book in there, honest!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Welcome to the forum. I think you should be okay with adding a few more, but that's assuming the guppies are all males. If there are any females in the group it won't take long for the tank to become overstocked.

Also, if you don't mind answers to questions you didn't ask, I see a couple of potential problems for you to watch out for. Feel free to stop reading here if you do mind.

If both dwarf gouramis are males there's a good chance they will become more aggressive toward each other when they approach maturity, and it could continue until only one is left alive. I don't know where you're located, but in some parts of the world females are rarely offered for sale in stores, so there's a good chance you do have two males. I'd suggest keeping a close eye on them and have a plan to move one to another tank or re-home one if that becomes a problem.

Are the GBR's doing okay? I haven't kept them, but according to all the information I've seen (most of it coming from experienced breeders), they struggle to thrive long-term at temperatures below the low to mid 80's F, and that's too warm for most of the rest of your fish.

 

Hi,

I started a 120 litre (roughly 30 gallon) tank back at the start of May. It measures 60 x 40 x 50 cm (height = 50 cm), so perhaps could be classed as a 30 tall?

Anyway, I currently have 6 neon tetras, 6 guppies, 2 dwarf gouramis, 1 bristle nose pleco, 2 blue rams, about 5 Amano shrimp, 5 cherry shrimp plus an unknown number of accidentally introduced small snails, kept under control with 5 assassin snails (they bred like rabbits!), oh and 6 panda corys (my favourite fish, although the pleco is a close second). As I was slowly adding the fish one species at a time, I kept thinking that these would have to be the last (didn’t want to overstock), but it seemed a very happy community, with various species preferring different levels, and it didn’t and doesn’t seem particularly full, despite there being a lot of fish in it (at least in my limited experience).

Anyway, to all you Cory experts out there, can I add more pandas? Maybe another 3 or even 6? It’s reasonably heavily planted (see photo) and parameters are very stable but I still do an approx 30-40% water change weekly. Apologies for the reflections in the photo - there’s not really a baby book in there, honest!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I completely agree with ProudPapa. My best suggestion would be for you to work out the problems with your current stock before adding more fish.

Also, what type of substrate is in your tank? Maybe it’s just the picture, but the substrate appears to be sharp? If so, it could erode the Panda’s barbels.

 

Thanks very much for the replies! In response:
- yes the guppies are all male so no chance of breeding
- the gouramis are both male unfortunately. I’d read repeatedly they need to be kept in pairs and hadn’t twigged this should be a male/female combo. Seem ok at moment although do seem to stick to different sides of tank. Will keep an eye on them and return one if become aggressive.
- the blue rams seem to be doing well. Colours developing and growing. Tank is kept at 26 degrees Celsius as per aquadvisor for this mix of fish.
- Substrate is gravel but rounded, not sharp.

Will take on board the advice and keep monitoring before making any changes or adding more fish. Thanks again!

 

Beautiful limnophila sessiflora by the way!