# Stocking my 36 gallon?



## Hossack (Sep 14, 2011)

I just acquired a 36 gallon fish tank, stand and all the fixings for free! This is the largest tank I've ever had. I don't think im going to with a planted tank, might throw in some fake plants though. I believe it has an Aqua Clear 50 filter but I'm not 100% sure as its coming later tonight.










Fish wise I was thinking this









I've never owned any of these fish in the past so I'm not sure if I should have less of the loach's or the gourami's or if its all good to go after I've cycled my tank


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## MissPisces (Jun 8, 2011)

I would not get the red-tailed black shark if I were you. They get to be about six inches, true, but they need a lot of swimming room (based on what I've read about them). Just one needs swimming space of about forty or fifty gallons, so I've heard. Maybe you'll get advice from someone who actually owns some, but I thought I should let you know. 

The thing about stocking a tank is that you're going to do it very, very slowly anyway. Start out with two or three fish and then you can go from there, adding two at a time until you have your desired number of fish. The dwarf gouramis and loaches should get along fine, and the mystery snail won't be a problem. 

One more piece of advice: This is a little unsolicited, so I apologize, but PLEASE consider putting live plants in! There are several that are well-suited to low-light tanks, and that do not require CO2 injectors. The benefits to having live plants are numerous and important, and they greatly outweigh the "benefits" of fake plants. They offer safer cover that won't tear at fish fins, they help to cycle the tank faster and more safely, they grow and reproduce so that you won't have to buy so many at first (my wisteria started out about four or five inches tall, and now it covers the back of the tank completely; all in the span of about a month), they provide more oxygen for the fish, they help to keep waste levels down, fish just love them (my betta is in heaven since we replaced all of his plastic plants with live ones), they're less likely to be covered in algae (and you never have to clean them), they're much prettier, and they're usually a WHOLE lot cheaper. Need I say more?


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## Hossack (Sep 14, 2011)

The thing is it came with a homemade led light. Theres only 12 leds. They light the entire tank but Im not sure they will be good enough for live plants.

edit:
As for stocking I'm going to take it slow. I just wanted to know if the fish would be alright together


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## MissPisces (Jun 8, 2011)

If that's the case, you could get a java fern or another low-light plant (such as anubias) and see how well it does. LED lighting can be just as good as any other when it comes to plant growth, but you could try it out if you're so inclined.

As for the fish, they should all get along together (though I'd be cautious with the shark). Good luck!


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## Hossack (Sep 14, 2011)

I'll think about the shark before buying one. I'm going to search around for some more info on them


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I've got a 36g bow and it in I've got: 9 Harlequin Rasboras, 6 (used to be 7) Three Line Corys and 2 Anglefish - and a bunch of pest snails that I farm for the Assassin snails in my 20g tank.

I would not get the shark, as he's going to get big. Most loaches get large as well and most also need to be in a school.

I wouldn't get 6 Dwarf gouramis... that's asking for trouble. In my 20g I have 4 Fire Honey gourami (a type of dwarf) 1 male and 3 female and so far everyone gets along great. Sometimes the females chase each other, but they aren't aggressive.

In my 36g I USED to have 1 Male Dwarf Gourami and 3 females... the male killed all 3 females then he died. (I replaced them with the Angels.) Basically, I'm lucky with my Honeys.... most don't have that kind of luck with gouramis and they end up killing each other until there is 1 left.

You could do 1 Pearl Gourami (aka Lace Gourami), some Cory Cats (or 1 Bushy Nosed Pleco) and then a school of medium tetras or rasboras (as long as they aren't fin nippers - the gourami has long pectoral fins.)

As for plants, I'd try to do as many live plants as normal, as they will help with your water parameters - live plants eat ammonia and nitrates. If you don't want to do all live, you could do a mix. Gouramis and Angels like plants for cover. You could do some tall ones along the sides and back, and even allow them to grow to the surface and drape over the water a bit. (Fish LOVE live plants!)


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## Suzanne (Jun 10, 2011)

I like your background; it goes nicely with the rocks in the tank.

Dwarf gouramis are nice, but they tend to be susceptible to disease and/or come with it - you might read up on "dwarf gourami disease" just to be informed. I've had both good luck and bad luck with them, so I think it's (at least partly) just that, luck. If you're worried about disease, pearl gouramis might be a good alternative, though they're a bit larger so you might want to get slightly fewer. (I think there are other smallish but non-dwarf gouramis too, but pearls are the only ones I've had any experience with.) Just a thought.


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## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

What everyone else said, plus the loaches would likely find your snail to be a healthy snack. 
I personally prefer tetras, I have a mix of Buenis Aries and Brown Skirts and they are very active and amusing. If you want loaches a school of Khulis would be smaller and might do better in your tank. They would prefer a sandy bottom btw. 

hth,
eb


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Khuli's are awesome fish! They do prefer sand (as do corys) but if the gravel is rounded and has no sharp edges and you have lots of hiding places they'd be ok.


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## Hossack (Sep 14, 2011)

Alright so im going to rethink all the fish. I won't be buying them for a little while anyways since the tank was just setup. Also there is sand in the tank maybe it doesn't look like it in the picture.

I'd like to get 6 Black Kuhlii Loach's for sure though.

The Harlequin Rasboras looked interesting and I'm going to be thinking about them.

Is it just the dwarf gouramis that are aggressive towards each other or is it all gouramis?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

All Gourami are aggressive towards each other. Honey Gourami are supposed to be one of the more 'not so aggressive' but I would still NEVER put more than 1 male in the tank! 

You could do 6 Khulis, 9 Harlequin Rasboras and then either 1 Honey Gourami OR 1 Lace/Pearl Gourami. That would look really nice.


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## Hossack (Sep 14, 2011)

Thats what I was thinking. Having a Gourami as the center piece fish. Will I need an algae eater though? I don't want the bottom of the tank to be crowded but could I add say 4 Zebra Oto's in? 

So my list would consist of this:
6 khulis
9 Harlequin Rasboras
1 Pearl Gourami
4 Zebra Otos

I also have to buy a new filter. It came with an Aquaclear 150. I was thinking of picking up the Fluval C3 model. Any thoughts on that filter?


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## ShrimpDiver (Sep 28, 2011)

the only thing with the loaches is that they may dig up everything. my loaches dug up every one of my plants and they may knock over all of your decorations.


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

Live plants are awesome ! Planted elodea yesterday, per Holly12 suggestion, thanks!, and it looks great in the background. Have a couple of anubias also, beautiful plant. The fish colors pop with the live plants !


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

You don't need an algae eater. If you've got algae, you need to cut your lighting.

The Khulis do need to be fed bottom feeder pellets - shrimp pellets - but they also may scavenge left over food (google that for sure).


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## Hossack (Sep 14, 2011)

Alright so I'll leave out the otos. Does it matter which species I add first and how long should I wait to introduce another one?


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