Stocking Help 180 Gallon (Updated)

[msawdey]

LOVE my angels... such an interactive fish.. I say angels over discus if you have had problems running a reef tank. Angels are much hardier than discus... Also... look into bolivian rams.. They color nicely and tend to stay at the bottom part of the tank...

[Perchance]

Yeah, I've heard they can be quite friendly..I'm not sure about them nipping, and I also think online pictures don't do them justice. I'll have to think about it. I like the Bolcvian Rams but prefer the Blue and Golden varieties, and would rather more middle swimmers to avoid the Krib's aggression. I'll have to think about the angels though, thank you!

Any chance you have any clue what's killing my Rosboras, though? Is this a symptom of whitespot or a new infection/problem?

[msawdey]

Originally Posted by Perchance

Yeah, I've heard they can be quite friendly..I'm not sure about them nipping, and I also think online pictures don't do them justice. I'll have to think about it. I like the Bolcvian Rams but prefer the Blue and Golden varieties, and would rather more middle swimmers to avoid the Krib's aggression. I'll have to think about the angels though, thank you!

Any chance you have any clue what's killing my Rosboras, though? Is this a symptom of whitespot or a new infection/problem?

My angels only harass each other. In a 180, you could easily have 3 known pairs or even start out with about 12 young ones and let them pair off. Nothing better than seeing angels pair, its amazing.

It sounds like you could have 1 of 2 problems with the rasboras. 1. its the whitespot bacterial infection, in which case i would remove them immeadiately. 2. they are having a tough time adjusting to the tank. Being rasporas, you will probably lose the other 2 just because of stress of there being only 2

In my opinion, once you go rams, you never go back to kribs. I had too many issues with them going after other fish (much more so than any angel i have ever had). If you can get angels young, they will do just find in that tank. Im really jealous and want a tank that size

[Perchance]

Yeah I really am starting to like the idea of angels.. More active than discus too. I put my details and replaced the Discus with Angels and AqAdvisor said I would have to upgrade to a large tank eventually if I put 6 Angels in. As in, the site thought 6 would grow to large for my tank?

How accurate is that?


I had 14, am down to 9 now.. They still school together though one still looks a bit off..

When you say white spot bacterial infection do you mean a bacterial infection around the gashes left by the parasite? I can't see any surface mold, fungus and growths on any of them... That's why I was concerned it was the water doing something to them.


Thanks for the input - I'm really being persuaded towards angels. And then I can keep the temp closer to 28... Should that be okay with the Rams still? I know other species would appreciate the lowered temp

[Perchance]

Anyone? I'm doing a water change at the moment... about 80gallons is all I can manage

[tomfromstlouis]

I cannot advise you on your sickness issue, but I can endorse the angel idea. I have ALWAYS had angelfish and do not tire of them in any way. If you get a group of juveniles and watch them spar and pair off, you will have plenty of harmless violence to entertain you.

Like so many domesticated species, there are now lots of varieties to choose from. I am partial to wilds and wild crosses, but my only advice (consistent with my earlier suggestions) is to get all of one type for a more uniform look. They do tend to hang around together a bit. You could easily keep up to a dozen angels in a 180, depending on other stocking.

Otos do not school in my experience, but their task in a 180 is a large one. I have read that they do like to be in groups though, and this seems to be the case with most species when you think aobut it. That is the glory of a larger tank; you get to keep fish in more natural groupings that they themselves prefer.

Back to the deaths: larger communities of any kind regularly deal with death. Nobody likes it, but it is a part of what we are doing with these tanks, so do the best you can, learn, but do not let it cause excessive sadness.

[msawdey]

Originally Posted by Perchance

Yeah I really am starting to like the idea of angels.. More active than discus too. I put my details and replaced the Discus with Angels and AqAdvisor said I would have to upgrade to a large tank eventually if I put 6 Angels in. As in, the site thought 6 would grow to large for my tank?

How accurate is that?


I had 14, am down to 9 now.. They still school together though one still looks a bit off..

When you say white spot bacterial infection do you mean a bacterial infection around the gashes left by the parasite? I can't see any surface mold, fungus and growths on any of them... That's why I was concerned it was the water doing something to them.


Thanks for the input - I'm really being persuaded towards angels. And then I can keep the temp closer to 28... Should that be okay with the Rams still? I know other species would appreciate the lowered temp

For stocking, it fully depends on what age you get the fish. If they are young, around quarter to half dollar size, you could easily put up to 20 in a 180. Personally, I wouldnt. Full grown I would say 3-4 pairs would be perfect for that tank depending on how much plant growth you have. I would say if you go the young route, start out with 10-12 angels.

As far as the issue with the schoolers, I am not sure what is going on. I think if you have more loss though, you really need to consider taking them out. possibly getting a UV light if you dont have one hooked up to filtration may help with future issues, but I would probably dose the tank with a general antibiotic after removing some of your bioballs from your filters (they can last a few days (3) in tank water set aside) while you are dosing with antibiotic. After you dose, do a large water change again and replace bioballs

[Perchance]

Originally Posted by tomfromstlouis

I cannot advise you on your sickness issue, but I can endorse the angel idea. I have ALWAYS had angelfish and do not tire of them in any way. If you get a group of juveniles and watch them spar and pair off, you will have plenty of harmless violence to entertain you.

Like so many domesticated species, there are now lots of varieties to choose from. I am partial to wilds and wild crosses, but my only advice (consistent with my earlier suggestions) is to get all of one type for a more uniform look. They do tend to hang around together a bit. You could easily keep up to a dozen angels in a 180, depending on other stocking.

Otos do not school in my experience, but their task in a 180 is a large one. I have read that they do like to be in groups though, and this seems to be the case with most species when you think aobut it. That is the glory of a larger tank; you get to keep fish in more natural groupings that they themselves prefer.

Back to the deaths: larger communities of any kind regularly deal with death. Nobody likes it, but it is a part of what we are doing with these tanks, so do the best you can, learn, but do not let it cause excessive sadness.

Thanks, guess the loss is just overwhelming as I also lost my dog today. She was gorgeous.

I was about to say that the remaining 8 Rosboras have been fine for the last 24 hours, but a couple are darting and once barely moves. Idk/ See what happens I suppose. I don't want to dose the tank and am hoping the heat will be enough to kick it. Is it often enough?

Yeah I would like a large group of Otos. Depends on their price, really.. Online is cheaper, but I get staff discount at the LSF and have a certain loyalty there, of course.

I probably will go with Angels, at this point... The temp lowered, even minutely, should be appreciated by the plants and widen the rage of tetras I can get. Thank you!

[Perchance]

Originally Posted by msawdey

For stocking, it fully depends on what age you get the fish. If they are young, around quarter to half dollar size, you could easily put up to 20 in a 180. Personally, I wouldnt. Full grown I would say 3-4 pairs would be perfect for that tank depending on how much plant growth you have. I would say if you go the young route, start out with 10-12 angels.

As far as the issue with the schoolers, I am not sure what is going on. I think if you have more loss though, you really need to consider taking them out. possibly getting a UV light if you dont have one hooked up to filtration may help with future issues, but I would probably dose the tank with a general antibiotic after removing some of your bioballs from your filters (they can last a few days (3) in tank water set aside) while you are dosing with antibiotic. After you dose, do a large water change again and replace bioballs

I have one I can put on.. It just kept malfunctioning last time and shocking the water (what the hell, I know). But an electrician nor the Pet Shop could find out why it was doing it, as it wasn't doing it when plugged in in town.. I might have thrown it, actually. Blah.

Yeah I was thinking 6 angels, maybe 8. The ones available to me are normally small...no bigger than an inch or so.

Just curious, why did AqAdvisor say they would grow out of the tank, when I put 6 in my list and took out the discus?

[LyzzaRyzz]

Reading through your thread, don't really have any advice, except that I'm very sorry you lost your dog. I recently lost my beagle, of thirteen years, to cancer. It can be tough.
Good luck to your tank, I'm subscribed, can't wait to see what you do with it!!

[Perchance]

Originally Posted by LyzzaRyzz

Reading through your thread, don't really have any advice, except that I'm very sorry you lost your dog. I recently lost my beagle, of thirteen years, to cancer. It can be tough.
Good luck to your tank, I'm subscribed, can't wait to see what you do with it!!

Thanks, we got her when she was oldish already, and then had her for six years. Just a sweetheart, really.

I might post some pictures of the tank despite me not bothering to really clean up around it lately.. Also there's a big giant powerhead covered with a sponge in the corner... not attractive haha But marine style powerheads are generally a little too powerful for planted tanks. The plants are all really kind of.. mixed and the scape isn't fantastic by any means. But I'm making small progress. Got two branched pieces (one large, one small) and a medium log of driftwood today for $20 for all three. I was happy with that


Pictures, even bad ones, are probably incentive for comments and advice, no?


Thanks for subscribing, also!

[Perchance]

Some pictures of the shoddy plants and dwindling number of gorgeous little Rosboras.


Edit: Air curtain for extra O2 in warmer temp for the whitespot.
ALso kind of like the look of it atm (don't shoot me) :P

[LyzzaRyzz]

Wow, I think it looks great! Your plants all look so healthy! Love the blue light!
Yeah, salt water equipment doesn't usually work as well in freshwater..whatever works for you though! Maybe you could sell it off and buy freshwater? Or trade? I know this forum has some salt water people!

[Perchance]

Yeah that's the smallest powerhead I own hahaha I also have two larger 20,000 L per hour ones I had to take out, of course. They're proper wavemakers with controllers so I could sell them for quite a bit.


Thanks! I didn't think anyone would like it. The blue is mainly because two 'daylight' bulbs failed recently. Had to order new ones online... Bought 2 Powerchrome Midday and Powerchrome AquaFlora... Hope they work well. They will arrive tomorrow, or at least the day after.

Notice there isn't really a foreground at this point... What would you guys recommend? I really like glossostigma, and can actually get it in my area.

Also, thanks for saying they look healthy! Though a few aren't all that happy. The Aponogeton Crispus in the center has melted a bit.

The really tall Anubias is new, also, wanted to put it on the peice of driftwood but because of that, the tallest leave touch the top of the water. Is that a problem?

[Perchance]

Gah, I'm not sure if I have a weird fungus or bacteria in my tank. One of the Rsboras had a white dot on it's lip. Could it just be white spot in an odd place, or should I look into mouth fungus type infections?

I don't know what to do. I have a tank I can set up for quarantine, but I can't for the life of me even catch them.

Should I start medicating the tank? The water being at 30C for the last 4 days hasn't done anything, I don't think. New spots appeared today.

Edit: I emailed Aquasonic (Australian brand for most aquatic supplies which I can actually get locally) to ask if their products are plant safe. And I photographed the fish with the white bump on his lip. I will upload these and some extra photos tonight