Request for feedback on stocking 10(ft)x4(ft)x22 inch aquarium

[jake37]

'm working on stocking for a 'loach' aquarium and unfortunately have no first hand experience with many of the species in question so am hopeful that those more experience can provide some feedback on this stocking:

The target water condition is tds 50, gh 2, kh 1, ph whatever (probably high 6); temp 78-80.


10 clown loaches
20-30 zebra loaches
6 yoyo (left over not adding more)
8 krobia xinguensis
40 cardinals tetra (will krobia eat these) ?
maybe 1 flagtail prochilodus
4-6 laetacara species (probably curviceps)
6 aonostomides psuedanos (not sure about these)
maybe a platydoras armatulus (am i over populating the aquarium; or the bottom of the aquarium?)
4 crossocheilus langei (never see these in usa but if i can get them)
Some random plecos (mostly 6 inch or smaller; L204, L397, L128, 172a,..)
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Something i could see adding at a much later date include chocolate cichild (this would eliminate all schooling fishes due to their size); this would require i remove the cardinals; this is unlikely as they could also eat the zebra loaches which would make me very sad.

Anyway if you've kept some of these fishes and can provide some insights or suggesting for tweaking the stocking appreciate it.
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substrate will be estes stoney river (black); tank will have a fair amount of planting
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The tank will be uniformly heavily planted with open areas in the middle front; drift wood and shale will make natural caves for the plecos/clown loaches - no artificial caves. I hope to have enough burried in there to keep conflict from occuring between the clowns and plecos as this can be a serious issue - usually with the pleco suffering.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Would up the clowns to 12 or 16, would match that qty with the zebras or as you have, go with slightly more.
Would certainly replace the cardinals with something at least double the size otherwise these will just disappear.
Note of course that over the years the clowns and flag tail will get to 12-16” but of course the stocking will have changed by then.
Will be good to see how the yo-yo get on with young zebras and young clowns especially if the yo-yos are already large adults.
Mine do ok but the yo-yos are certainly more boisterous.
Hiding 40mm pipe under the driftwood and shale makes cohabiting plecs and loach much easier.
Chocolate cichlid could be a later change/addition as loaches and flag tail grow larger.
If the tank is seriously 10x4 you are miles from overstocking it for a very good number of years.

 

[jake37]

Would up the clowns to 12 or 16, would match that qty with the zebras or as you have, go with slightly more.
Would certainly replace the cardinals with something at least double the size otherwise these will just disappear.
Note of course that over the years the clowns and flag tail will get to 12-16” but of course the stocking will have changed by then.
Will be good to see how the yo-yo get on with young zebras and young clowns especially if the yo-yos are already large adults.
Mine do ok but the yo-yos are certainly more boisterous.
Hiding 40mm pipe under the driftwood and shale makes cohabiting plecs and loach much easier.
Chocolate cichlid could be a later change/addition as loaches and flag tail grow larger.
If the tank is seriously 10x4 you are miles from overstocking it for a very good number of years.

Is there something you would recommend to replace the cardinals; or maybe just add more aonostomides psuedanos?

I currently have 10 zebra; clown loaches and yoyo together in my 120 - so 3 of the yoyo are adult size - 3 are small - they seem to get along ok - though late at night one can never tell - a few times i've seen them all glass surf together which can be amusing given how much larger the largest clown loach is compared to the yoyo and zebra.

 

[Fishman Dave]

When you say aonostomides psuedanos are you meaning psuedanos in headstanders such as Pseudanos Trimaculatus ? Three spot headstander

 

[jake37]

When you say aonostomides psuedanos are you meaning psuedanos in headstanders such as Pseudanos Trimaculatus ? Three spot headstander

I copied from my notes incorrectly; I meant Anostomus anostomus.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Think a tank that size is great for a decent shoal of barbs, slightly larger types like filament or similar. Heavy vallis planting, loaches, plecs, and then the smaller/dwarf cichlid pairs

 

[jake37]

Does that mean the headstanders would be a bad choice? I'll have to think on the filament barbs; just never been a fan of barbs other than cherry.

 

[cockroach]

Good suggestions and cautions from Fishman Dave .
Given the space you have, I too would up the clown loaches to at least 10+, a dozen or more being a great number. My Yoyo loaches are "boisterous" to say the least and at times seem to bother the larger clown loaches. However, a larger tank with varied community may quell this.

Headstanders should do well. A more common one, and more available, is the marbled headstander.
Be aware that the anostomus will chow down on plants but given a large enough tank, 6-8 shouldn't pose too much of an issue.

Having never kept laetacara myself but from research they seem very peaceful. That many loaches may, if I make an inference, be very active for them if not properly catered for. Below Water YouTube has a 10' Xingu river tank with anostomids, tetras, plecs and geophagus that include laetacara. but his tank has some serious flow to keep boisterous fish busy.

As for cardinal substitures, there a a plethora of larger tetras that will fit the bill. Asian barbs would also be a great addition for a tank with loaches and keep it more geographically compatible.

If you drop the zebra loach number a bit I would be inclined to up the crossocheilus to 6 or so.

Sounds like a great tank. Please post pics as you build it up.

 

[jake37]

I currently have 6 yoyo with 10 zebra and 6 clown loaches in my 120 and have not noticed issues with the yoyo; at least during the day. They are a bit bossy eaters but beyond that they are a bit smaller than my largest 2 clown loaches and i presume at this point they are adults (3 years old); of course the clowns will get a lot larger. They also will school with teh zebra and clown loaches the few times i've seen them out at night.
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I'm a bit concern with Abramites hypselonotus (marble headstanders) as fin nippers; and perhaps the anostomus is also a bad choice. Chilodus punctatus is fairly docile but also a bit on the small size. Maybe i should just drop the headstanders?
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I'm only concern about zebra loaches; clown loaches and for a limited time yoyo loaches - so the question would be if these specific loaches will create an issue.
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My issue with barbs is more cosmetic; the two species I like are cherry (too small) and red fin (temp range is not really correct for this stocking).
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I'm not sure why i would need to drop the number of zebra loaches to up crossocheilus langei; as they are quite small. The issue with crossocheilus langei is finding them in USA - they seem to be never availalbe; with some of the larger stores like wetspot not selling them.
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I'm really at a loss as to how to fix this stocking; it just doesn't seem to be workable.

Good suggestions and cautions from Fishman Dave .
Given the space you have, I too would up the clown loaches to at least 10+, a dozen or more being a great number. My Yoyo loaches are "boisterous" to say the least and at times seem to bother the larger clown loaches. However, a larger tank with varied community may quell this.

Headstanders should do well. A more common one, and more available, is the marbled headstander.
Be aware that the anostomus will chow down on plants but given a large enough tank, 6-8 shouldn't pose too much of an issue.

Having never kept laetacara myself but from research they seem very peaceful. That many loaches may, if I make an inference, be very active for them if not properly catered for. Below Water YouTube has a 10' Xingu river tank with anostomids, tetras, plecs and geophagus that include laetacara. but his tank has some serious flow to keep boisterous fish busy.

As for cardinal substitures, there a a plethora of larger tetras that will fit the bill. Asian barbs would also be a great addition for a tank with loaches and keep it more geographically compatible.

If you drop the zebra loach number a bit I would be inclined to up the crossocheilus to 6 or so.

Sounds like a great tank. Please post pics as you build it up.

 

[FJB]

In my experience with both Abramites and Anostomus, Abramites are more likely to be nippers of other fish fins. Both are jerks and can nip, but Anostomus can be tamed more easily (by offering suitable habitats) and overwhelming them with numerous, fast moving, even if small fish, so they can't target individuals, as well as offering algae treats. I have not had any problems with plant-eating by Anostomus, my experience is instead that they are constantly grazing on algae on surfaces (including plants' surfaces).
Larger tetras such as lemons, Colombians, sanctafilomenae, megalopterus or others would be suitable companions and are larger than cardinals but behave similarly.
Below my single well behaved Anostomus eating nori (everybody loves it!). Notice several long-flowing finnned fish (angels, gouramis), who have not been bothered at all by the headstander. Note also 5-6 plant species (more not shown). Yes, this is very weird mix of fish from various continents (although similar water requirements) but my wife likes it so. This is a small tank, 75gal.
The main problem with all headstanders is their tendency to be very quarrelsome towards con-specifics. Even Chilodus do that. Abramites may be the worst in my experience. But I have seen at least twice aquaria where large groups of them (Anostomus and Abramites) were kept, seemingly okay. Of course I could not observe them long term.