Hello! I am getting ready to stock my first aquarium and wanted some advice on stocking. I've had a 29 gal planted tank cycling for a little over a month now and have been interested in stocking some german blue rams as well as some kuhli loaches. I would like to do either black skirt tetras or swordtails to fill out the top of the tank but am unsure about which would be better. I would love some advice to make sure that my fish will be healthy and not overcrowded in their new home. Thanks in advance!
Stocking new aquarium
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Hi. I think the first thing people will ask is what's your water like? As in what's your water's ph? The temperature needed by the German Blue Rams might be too high for the skirt tetras.
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My ph is sitting a little lower than 7.0 and has been testing consistently in that range for a few weeks. My water is also testing pretty soft and my temps are currently set to 80 degrees in my tank but I can always adjust my heater before I put anything in there. I definitely am not planning on rushing anything as I want to do this as correctly as possible.
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Welcome to FL.
Glad to hear abt prudent planning. So many people rush into this. Hate to be a pain, but if you could plz provide your GH and KH, it would greatly help to provide suggestions. For example, your desire for Rams with black skirt tetras or swordtails would best be determined by the GH and, to some degree, your KH of your water. What type of filtration do you have?
Glad to hear abt prudent planning. So many people rush into this. Hate to be a pain, but if you could plz provide your GH and KH, it would greatly help to provide suggestions. For example, your desire for Rams with black skirt tetras or swordtails would best be determined by the GH and, to some degree, your KH of your water. What type of filtration do you have?
Not a pain at all! I appreciate whatever help I can get. My GH is around 40 and my KH is about 20. I currently have a TopFin PF 30 filter as that's what came in the starter kit I got, but I'm sure I'll eventually need to get a better one in the future.
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Envisioning a quadrant chart for fishkeeping can be handy:
- on the y-axis you have temperature
- on the x-axis you have hardness
Temperature ranges from subtropical/seasonal fluctuation, which resembles an unheated tank in a living room, to tropical, more consistent temperature, which typically requires a heater.
Unlike what you hear and read on the internet, a "cold water tank" is difficult to create at home. Depending on where you live, it could require the removal of your roof and running a fridge with door open...
Hardness ranges from soft (mineral-poor) water with 50 - 150 ppm in total (GH (calcium, magnesium), KH (bicarbonates) and other 'stuff' like potassium, sulphates, nitrogen/ammonia/nitrates, phosphates combined), to hard water (250 - 400 ppm). Hard water is typically dominated by calcium, sometimes magnesium and bicarbonates, hence GH and KH are good indicators.
Tropical tanks are typically, but not by definition, soft water.
Some people are lucky and have soft water running out of their tap. Others have to dilute their hard tap water with a soft water source (like demi, RO or rainwater) to mimick soft water.
When stocking a tank you can use this chart to select species. Many hobby fish prefer heating (at least during the winter) and soft water.
Kuhli are tropical, soft water fish. Swordtails are tropical, hard water fish. Can you keep them together?
I think most hobbyists turn on a filter and heater, add some conditioner to tap water, go to the store, purchase the fish that look nice, put them together, and observe happy looking fish.
This is biology. It is not black-white. Adult fish, depending on the species, can be hardy. Conclusions are subjective.
Also for me. Hence, I stick to the chart I described as it makes some sense and I have no way to assess their well-being.
- on the y-axis you have temperature
- on the x-axis you have hardness
Temperature ranges from subtropical/seasonal fluctuation, which resembles an unheated tank in a living room, to tropical, more consistent temperature, which typically requires a heater.
Unlike what you hear and read on the internet, a "cold water tank" is difficult to create at home. Depending on where you live, it could require the removal of your roof and running a fridge with door open...
Hardness ranges from soft (mineral-poor) water with 50 - 150 ppm in total (GH (calcium, magnesium), KH (bicarbonates) and other 'stuff' like potassium, sulphates, nitrogen/ammonia/nitrates, phosphates combined), to hard water (250 - 400 ppm). Hard water is typically dominated by calcium, sometimes magnesium and bicarbonates, hence GH and KH are good indicators.
Tropical tanks are typically, but not by definition, soft water.
Some people are lucky and have soft water running out of their tap. Others have to dilute their hard tap water with a soft water source (like demi, RO or rainwater) to mimick soft water.
When stocking a tank you can use this chart to select species. Many hobby fish prefer heating (at least during the winter) and soft water.
Kuhli are tropical, soft water fish. Swordtails are tropical, hard water fish. Can you keep them together?
I think most hobbyists turn on a filter and heater, add some conditioner to tap water, go to the store, purchase the fish that look nice, put them together, and observe happy looking fish.
This is biology. It is not black-white. Adult fish, depending on the species, can be hardy. Conclusions are subjective.
Also for me. Hence, I stick to the chart I described as it makes some sense and I have no way to assess their well-being.
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No problem….I had to ask. Well, you have some pretty nice water (soft with a slightly high pH) which will steer us/you into fish that like that water. Unless you decide to harden it…..of course. I had Gold Rams and have tetras in very similar water all at 78-80 degrees F. Swordtails like it a bit harder though. Now you can focus on fish compatibility, adult size of, and what you prefer knowing you’ll be providing the water parameters they’ll be best in.
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German blue rams might be a good option with the kuhli and a small group of cardinals or green neon tetra. You might need to bump the temperature to 81 but with the soft water they should do well. I kind of prefer the gold variety of German blue rams but mostly because it was one of my first dwarf cicihild. Just be aware that rams can be a bit sensitive to swing in temperature (esp during water changes) and you definitely do not want to over stock an aquarium with the rams.
I ended up upgrading my filter and decided on German gold rams, skirt tetras, and kuhli loaches! I just added in my loaches and the tetras and rams have settled in nicely! I also upped the temps a bit to better support the aquarium and my levels are staying nice and steady! I can't wait for my plants to grow in a bit fuller, but I'm excited about my new fish. Thank you all again for some great advice!
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One concern i would raise after the fact is the Rams want warm temps 81-82 range while the skirts would prefer cooler temps 76-77.
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