# starting afresh - stocking ideas?



## estrelaslave23 (Jan 18, 2014)

As I posted previously I lost all my fish to a mystery fungal infection apart from 3 loaches so am starting afresh, with all the kit to keep the water tested. The loaches are enduring a fish in cycle and, zo far, seem to be weathring the storm. My question is this, are there any cold water fish that dont need as much room as goldfish that don't just sit on the bottom?


----------



## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

White cloud mountain minnows are the best option. Get a shoal (you can get two forms, wild type which is a purplish-grey, and golden) and watch for hours the males displaying to each other. They're really tough little fish, and they only grow to about 1inch max.

I have a 100L temperate tank (that's cool water, so it doesn't drop too low - I set a heater to 21/22 because the nights are cold) and in it I have the white clouds, plus golden barbs, odessa barbs and rainbow shiners. Those three though are a little big for 70L (you might get away with odessa barbs, just about - they're really very pretty too). Alternatively, if you get a heater and set it to 20C (it will hardly ever come on if your room temp is reasonably stable) there's a few tetra species that can cope with that temperature - I found out that green fire tetra can go down to 20C and they too are interesting little fish. I think neons can also tolerate down to 20/21 if you really push them, and there's others.

I almost forgot - black widow tetras - they are cool water too. And if you have hard water - rice fish (the japanese ricefish in particular).

These two websites are good for checking out what fish you can have in the set up you have:

Seriously Fish - Feeling fishy?
AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

That seriously fish website - I browsed all the tetras and found quite a few that tolerate cooler temperatures. For the price of a heater its worth having one to give you wider choices - even if you don't have it set at typically tropical temperatures.

Gymnocorymbus ternetzi (Black Widow Tetra) - Seriously Fish

The black widow (also comes in a pale form) great for a 70L tank down to 20C.

Aphyocharax rathbuni - Redflank Bloodfin - Seriously Fish

The green fire tetra (which goes by many other names, here its redflank bloodfin)


----------



## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Japanese rice fish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The japanese ricefish


----------



## estrelaslave23 (Jan 18, 2014)

Thank you, will investigate the web site


----------



## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Just wondered, because in your last thread you mentioned you thought the tank was really big - what does it measure?

You know what I think i'm going bonkers, I don't know why but I got your tank crossed with someone elses - Naomi has the 70L tank, you have 120L - right? In which case, odessa barbs, golden barbs and rainbow shiners are all fine (rainbow shiners prefer a bit of length though, so your 120L tank would have to be long rather than tall). There are also corydoras catfish that can be kept a cooler temps, but they are bottom dwelling fish like the loaches.

Rainbow shiner, Notropsis chrosomus | Features | Practical Fishkeeping

That's the rainbow shiner - not cheap but as interest grows here in the UK they should drop in price.


----------



## estrelaslave23 (Jan 18, 2014)

I have now worked out it is 180l, measures 1m long, 0·45m wide and 0·5m depth. I like the idea of the minnows so may go for something like that, also the barbs come in a wide range. Will ask the people at maidenhead aquatics who are quite knowledgeable. Tank is still cloudy at moment but loaches still seem ok. Thank you for your suggestions, really helpful.


----------



## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Hi there.

Well good news, 180L would be ok for a single goldfish - but if you really wanted to get one, I would suggest choosing the smallest variety of fancy (avoid orandas, for example, they get too big) and don't get the long bodied, comet-type, as they really are only suitable for a pond. BUT saying that I personally would look towards something different altogether, because whilst you would only be able to have one goldfish (I think they're best kept in pairs but you don't have enough space), choosing a community set-up means you could have a variety of species that are hardier and (IMO) more interesting (no offence to the goldy lovers out there).

It sounds like you have a long narrow tank - which is perfect for some of the long bodied river fish. Those rainbow shiners I told you about - they love fast water setups. But anyhow, your options have increased because your tank is bigger than we thought. There are somewhat larger cold/temperate water fishes that you could consider, for example the rosy barb, which can reach 10cm in length (usually 8cm) and needs 100cm in tank length to be comfortable.

Have a look at this article:

Alternatives to coldwater fish

this one:

How to set up a temperate tank - that looks tropical! | Features | Practical Fishkeeping

and this one (which gave me a few ideas):

Tropical Fish Finder.co.uk - The ultimate UK fish keeping resource for all types of tropical and marine fish, including fish books, articles, fish shops, fish clubs and more.

And have a think about what fish you might like that would suit your set up (taking into account local water pH and whether or not you are going to have a backup heater).

Hope that helps!


----------



## estrelaslave23 (Jan 18, 2014)

Ta, you have definitely given me some ideas. Now just have to wait for the water to settle down, going to play with my new water testing kit at the weekend. Can't wait to get started!


----------



## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

It's exciting isn't it - all those new fish to drool over


----------

