135 gl stocking

Question
HI
I am in the process of cycling a freshwater 135 gl tank. I have never had a tank this large and am very excited at the possibilities. So my questions is I want a community tank with colorful, active, peaceful fish. Maybe a couple of fish that will get large, not huge (maybe 4 or 5 inches).

Thanks for any help you can give...

Answer
Hi Cathy,
How exciting!! That would be beautiful as a community tank.
I am assuming that you are not wanting to do as some people do when they get a large tank---fill it with large fish. Your tank would be gorgeous filled with schools of fish. Schools are active most of the time and there are fish that are somewhat peaceful. Don't be shocked,though, if you see your supposedly peaceful fish be a little aggressive to each other at times. I have yet to see very many fish, even the ones labeled peaceful, that at some time are not a little nippy to each other. It won't get serious but they will still do it to some extent.
You will need to have hiding places and some plants, depending on which fish you get, since some will eat certain live plants. You can decorate with fake plants as well and have a very nice tank. Fish always like to feel more secure and hiding places and plants make them feel better and more secure and therefore they want to swim around more.

Ok--now lets see what you could put in that big tank!
I am going to give you some ideas about different types of fish for a community tank. It would be a good idea for you to research which fish that you are interested in and that way you will decide which is right for your. Also, don't depend on what the fish stores tell you. Most people have found that they don't always give correct information from setting up a tank to which fish to put in that tank. Just research it your self before buying and then you will make the right choice.

The first stocking scheme is just a typical type of community tank. These are small fish and this will give you an idea of schooling type fish. A school of fish is always better in at least a group of 6. Of course, since your tank is large you can have more or just 6 and choose another type fish and have several schools of different fish or just one large school of a favorite type.

Platies -come in a variety of colors such as bright reds, blacks, pastel golds and some in a combinations of colorations. They are livebearers and will have live babies not eggs. They do reproduce frequently and if you don't mind having babies then they are very nice fish to have in a community tank. You could start with at least 6.

Danios -active little fish and have somewhat of a metallic irridescence. There are Zebra danios and pearl danios. There are also giant danios which get a little bigger than the regular danios. Two schools of any of these would look nice also.

Lemon Tetras -These little fish have just a hint of flourescent yellow on them and have bright sort of reddish eyes. You could have a couple of schools of these also.

Serpae Tetras -Very pretty colorful little fish. A shcool of these would be nice.

Cory cats - These are really cool fish. They really are active when you have alot of them. They come in various patterns. They like to patrol the bottom and sort of root around looking for food bits. They like algae wafers and sinking pellets but will try to find bits of flake food that the other fish miss. They are bottom dwellers. You could put a shcool of these also.

Here is another idea for stocking: What about angelfish? I raise them so I just couldn't leave them out!
You could put a group of at least 6-8. You don't want to put just 2-3 since sometimes, like all fish, if it isn't enough they will pick on each other. With more of their own kind they seem to not do it as much.

Swordtails -possibly all females or more females than males to help out with the males having a tendency to fight if there are not enough females. They come in some really pretty colors especially the red velvet swordtails. Some also have black fins and red bodies. They too are livebearers and will provide a little extra food for the angelfish.
You could also have a school of cory cats and mix the different species that they come in for a neat look.

Here is a little different stocking idea which some refer to as the Asian type:

White Clouds -These are small fish and you could have a very large school of these and not get crowded.

Gold barbs - These are of course gold as their name.

Rasboras - Really cute fish with differnt pattern on them and the go well with the other fish mentioned. A couple of schools or more would look great.

Gouramis - There are different types and colors of these fish.Some are dwarf and others are larger. Males are usually more colorful but a pair would also look nice together. You could try having two pairs of different colors together. They are labyrinth fish and they will go to the top to gulp air at times to help supplement the air they are getting from the water. They also have long little feelers that they more around and touch different things in the aquarium.

Rosy Barbs - These fish especially the males are very colorful. They are sort of orange-red on their bellies and gold on their backs with black fins. I have several of the males. Just be sure if you get both male and female that you get several females or the males will chase just one constantly to the point of making her sick.

There is also the Barb stocking theme which consists of large schools of Cherry barbs,Moss green barbs, Tiger barbs. Don't get Tinfoil barbs unless you want large fish. They are awesome in a school, I had some a few years back. They are constantly swimming and get at least a foot long. They are always at fish stores and I don't think people are aware that they can get that large. They do make a really nice addition to a large aquarium and are silver with red tipped fins when grown.

There are so many combinations that I could go on and on. If you aren't interested in fish that can get aggressive then I won't go into keeping cichlids. They aren't all bad, they just have to have room for their territories. Alot of people love to stock tanks full of African cichlids since they can be very colorful. You do have to provide alot of rock hiding places but they are really beautiful.

Another type of fish you might want to research is the different types of Rainbow fish. They could be a really pretty addition to a tank with alot of schooling fish added.

I have a tank with a strange combination of fish that has worked for several years. It has 9 black skirt tetras. One blue gourami, 8 Rosy barbs, 9 cory cats,3 lemon tetras, 1 guppy, 2 zebra danios, 2 angelfish, 1 bristlnose pecostamus, and one large parrot fish. He is bright orange and is about5-6 inches long and a big baby. He wants to be hand fed. This tank is a rather strange combination as a result of moving fish from another tank and it just sort of happened. They get along really well so far. This is only a 75 gallon.

Research the different fish and decide what would look best to you. You have got the room to have alot of really pretty schools of fish. Just don't add any fish to fast and don't add too many at once. Even though your tank is large you still want to give it time to cycle and not add fish too fast and too many at once to give it time to adjust to each new addition.

Best of luck with this fun project.
Hope this has helped,
Karen