Possible 2nd Tank Stocking

[mikeyw64]

Ok so I know I''ve only just started on my first tank (which is coming along nicely) but I'm already thinking of starting a  second tank after my holiday to Mauritius at the end of the month (and no I don't mean I'm smuggling fish back in my luggage!!).

Thinking of a 200 litre lank for the family room (current tank is in the Snug/Home office).

Regarding stocking I'm thinking

20 Zebra Danio
10 Tiger Barb
1 Red tailed black shark

Required parameters (from aqadvisor ) are

Recommended pH range: 6 - 8.

Recommended hardness range: 5 - 15 dH.

(I presume they mean dgH ??)

My Tap Water is 7.2 pH and 3dgH however the water in my current tank (with live planting, fertilizers etc in) is  7.4 pH and 4dgH so would I be sort of correct in thinking that if I use coral sand and/or some rocks I could just tweak the hardness up to the bottom of the suggested range?

[Cheltgirl]

You could raise the hardness in the way you describe but don’t forget that every time you do a water change you would be adding in water at a few dGH lower therefore creating swings in parameters that the fish won’t like. Also 5-15 is a big range. Have you double checked on www.seriouslyfish.com for what they say? Their ranges can also be quite large so I would suggest going for about mid range as the numbers stated are the very extremes of the water in the natural environment and are often not what they are at most of the time. Mid range would be 8-10 or so which would require you raising the hardness a fair bit (I don’t know what the requirements are for the danio or shark though my barbs are in 7-8gh)

I’m sure others can help more but that’s what went through my head when reading your post.

[mikeyw64]

as I read it that's a range they will all be happy in

My current tank (ember & neon tetras + the Platys) , going on the ranges from aqadvisor , has a happy range of between 1 & 15 (although it has been pointed out here Platys dont like soft water, aqadvisor gives them on their own a range of 1-15, same range for the neons & embers)

[Cheltgirl]

The bit you need to consider is, yes they will 'survive' in 1-15dgh but will they 'thrive' the answer to that comes from the vast experience of many people that can only be found on forums like this one. You'll find in cases of soft fish in hard and vice versa that they will survive but are likely to have more health problems and potentially shorter life spans due to being in less than ideal water. I always use aqadvisor as a very rough guide only. Seriously fish has much more info about individual species. I go to both and then get back up from other sources including here then take an average. I have linked here to the page for platy. As you can see they recommend 10-30dgh for them, very different to aqadvisor but much closer to the experience based answers youll get for them here and elsewhere.

It's horribly confusing, with over 25 years of experience I still struggle with fish other than goldies and marine .

[mikeyw64]

and then where it gets confusing is that although my water is officially moderate soft, a pH of 7.2-7.4 puts it on the alkaline side of the PH scale rather than the acid side ;o)

[Gingerlove05]

Ph is more a factor in fish breeding behaviour and the sex of the resulting fry, as long as its stable and fish are acclimated correctly they should be fine.
There are exceptions like malawi cichlids where they need a very alkaline ph.

[mikeyw64]

Ok so cross reffing with Seriously fish then on paper I'm happier with the Shark (that isn't a shark) & the barbs , they sit in the low range for hardnesss but not at the bottom.

On paper the Zebra Danios are potentially borderline  for my softish water without a bit of enhancement.

( Tap: 7.2 pH and 3dgH  -- Current Tank:  7.4 pH and 4dgH)

[plankton]

They will be ok in your soft water as long as it doesn't "crash".
Run the tank at about 22C.
I would get more than 10 tigers in a 200l, they are much more amenable in larger groups. Lovely fish, but aggressive for a smaller fish.

[mikeyw64]

@"plankton"

You may have noticed in my other thread that I'm now looking at a 230-250L tank and upped it to 30 Zebra,20 Tiger & 1 Shark as a potential . Will be going in the space where the Telephone box currently is (1.1m max useable width , 0.5m useable depth) with that being relocated to where the TV is.


Meanwhile the TV will go on the wall out of shot to the left as will the dining table & the chairs will be moving to where the dining table currently is.

Cant just put the tank where the TV currently is as that would block access to the Main fusebox.

[plankton]

It doesn't look long enough for a 4' tank....???