Stocking thoughts 75 gallon.

[gimmethatfish]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some stocking ideas. Currently my 75 gallon is running an ac 110 and a sunsun 302 canister. The listed flow rate on the ac 110 is 500 gph and the sunsun is 264 gph. Clearly the actual flow rate is lower I am guessing by about half which would put me at 382 gph total on the high end. My stocking is the following:

Australian Rainbows - 10
Serpae Tetras - 9
Synodontis Euptera (featherfin syno) - 2
Oto's - 3

The Syno's don't really hold up with my vision of the tank but they are a holdover from this tank's previous life (African Cichlid tank) and have worked out OK surprisingly. They occasionally uproot some plants and will get a little territorial with each other over one particular piece of driftwood but they leave everyone else in the tank alone. Currently I only have the one 4 foot tank and would not put them in anything smaller so for now they are here to stay. They also are a very cool looking fish so they have that working for them.

First off in relation to fish load how much more room do you think I have for stocking? AQAdvisor has me at 189% Filtration and a stocking level of 77%. Which would mean I could add one of the following

up to 10 congos
up to 15 rummynose
up to 20 cardinals

while staying under the 100% stocking mark and over 135% filtration for the selected species. Obviously AqAdvisor is just a guide so I definitely want to run the stock list past some other people first before adding any additonal fish.

Secondly if you were to add fish what fish would you choose? As you can see I am leaning towards schoolers or shoalers but would definitely be open to other suggestions. I am hesitant to add bottom dwellers with the syno's as much as I would love some cory's or loaches I am afraid the syno's might get territorial with them. Another option would be 4 or 5 boesmani's to add to the other rainbows. Thanks for reading and any thoughts will definitely be appreciated as I would love to get some other ideas that I am not thinking about.

[Kathyy]

If you like the serpae I would increase their numbers.

Congos are similar in size and shape to rainbows, wouldn't want that.

Rummies and cardinals are both tetras but of a different shape. Not sure I would like their bright primary coloring next to the more subtle serpae and rainbows however.

I think my 6' long tank looks a bit crowded when my dozen Congo tetras shoal front and center. Your tank might look a bit crowded with more rainbows.

What about more otos? Would a couple small plecos work with your cats if there is enough wood for all? A school of corydoras if you like cats?

[Ashnic05]

I personally love Congos and if I had a big enough tank, would get them in a heartbeat. If you get them you'll have a lot of super active fish but that's the best part IMO. Good luck on your decision.

[gimmethatfish]

Originally Posted by Kathyy

If you like the serpae I would increase their numbers.

Congos are similar in size and shape to rainbows, wouldn't want that.

Rummies and cardinals are both tetras but of a different shape. Not sure I would like their bright primary coloring next to the more subtle serpae and rainbows however.

I think my 6' long tank looks a bit crowded when my dozen Congo tetras shoal front and center. Your tank might look a bit crowded with more rainbows.

What about more otos? Would a couple small plecos work with your cats if there is enough wood for all? A school of corydoras if you like cats?

The Serpae's could work. Right now they tend to hide out a little bit in the foliage and behind driftwood maybe with a bigger school they would be a little bit more active.

I was thinking the congo's might detract from the rainbows so that was one of my concerns.

I definitely would like more oto's but I am afraid they will starve to death. The tank doesn't seem to generate much algae at all right now and they dont seem to be interested in zuchini so far although that might change if they get hungrier. I am considering upping my light now that I have pressurized co2 on this tank so that might be something to consider.

I would really like cory's but I don't think they will work well until the featherfin's are gone. In reality they may be fine but with the featherfins being a bit territorial and the cory's being so docile I would hate to throw them in only to get the crap beat out of them. Definitely going to have to think about it some more but thanks for the replies.