ANOTHER help me stock my tank thread!

[Stropzilla]

I've started cycling my 90 liter tank at last. It's an Aquastyle 620 (not the tall one) www.seapets.co.uk/products/aquarium-supplies/aquariums/aqua-one/aqua-one-aquastyle-aquariums/aqua-one-aquarium-aquastyle-620-black-90l.html like that.

DD wants guppies in it, (actually she wants males and females to have babies which I dont think I'll be doing) but given the weakness of guppies due to inbreeding I'm not certain if I should avoid, or try to find a proper breeder. Other than that, I'd quite like a dwarf gourami, or cherry shrimps? It's not my first tank, but I've not had one for a while and forgotton most things! So, if this was your tank what would you put in it?

I'm on the look out for a larger tank to properly plant up, and a smaller tank for a betta! DD would quite like a marine, but I'm a bit nervous of those.

Ooh, I love these threads What's your water like?

If it's very hard then livebearers are a good choice. You could find a proper breeder but fancy guppies are all fairly inbred. If you want something similar but not quite so inbred then you could have a look at endlers.

If your water is more neutral then that give you lots of choice. Dwarf gouramis are a bit ropey and a lot of them are carrying a virus. If you're after something small and colourful then there are other choices like maybe a pair of peacock gobies. You could have a pair of them and a small shoal of dwarf corys if you have a sand substrate.

If your water is soft and acidic then there are other small gouramis you could look at but soft acidic tap water is quite rare in the UK and you will be the envy of fishkeepers everywhere if you have it!

Cherry shrimp are fantastic, I've got millions (and counting...). Ebay is much cheaper than an aquatic store if you've got someone nearby selling them. They breed like crazy though.

Marine tanks are expensive and a lot more work. I'm a lazy fishkeeper, if something can't be kept in tapwater then I don't want to be bothered with it

Can I recommend green barbs? I've just got myself a shoal of five and looking to increase it to 8. They are playful fish and very pretty to look at. Barbs can be a bit nippy but I think if you have a decent sized shoal they will tend to focus their attention on each other.
Hmmm, what else? Bolivian rams are lovely as a quirky, pretty fish. I swear they get to recognise you as well. Bavarian blue rams are perhaps more colourful, but much, much less hardy.

Great! I have hard alkaline water Ph 7.5. Love the idea of the rams or peacock gobies. Will have to take pics.

90 litres is on the small side for rams but there are other smaller cichlids that would do OK. Maybe have a look at shell-dwellers, they are small but full of personality!

Oops, didn't notice the tank size, ignore me !!

Fair enough! I do like the look of peacocks. I'm cycling my tank at the moment and doing lots of testing with DD, who loves being a little scientist. It's really going to come down to what I can get from my local shops, but it's great to have ideas so if I do see something I like I know what they are.