What’s actually living in my 110-gallon
Most of them were born here.
People always ask what I’m keeping.
The short answer: way more than I planned, and most of it wasn’t bought from a store.
A lot of what I’ve learned came from cross-checking instead of trying to find the correct answer: INJAF for the “treat fish like animals, not decorations” perspective, years of lurking r/Aquariums to see what actually goes wrong in real aquariums, and a lot of random YouTube searches.
The 110-gallon (what’s in it, in plain English)
The guppies in my tank aren’t from PetSmart. They’re generational — descendants of fish I got almost four years ago when I mixed classic guppies with endlers in separate tanks, then combined them and let them breed.
Now I’ve got color combinations I can’t even predict. Some look like fever dreams — neon orange bodies with blue fins, yellow tails with red spots, patterns that make no sense but somehow work.
The 110-gallon. Fish at every level, plants everywhere, and nobody’s killing each other.
The paradise gouramis bred. Three times. In a community tank. I wasn’t trying to breed them — they just did it.
I’ve also got bottom dwellers that mostly hide (plecos, loaches, corys), two pea puffers that haven’t killed anyone yet, and a pearl gourami that turned out more beautiful than I expected.
It’s chaotic. It works. Mostly.
How I ended up with this mix
Almost four years ago I started with guppies and endlers in separate tanks. Eventually combined them and let them breed.
When I got the 110-gallon UNS tank about two years ago, I consolidated everything and started building out the community. My office went from looking like a fish store to looking like I just have one really big tank problem.
I was shooting for an active community tank. Lots of movement at different levels. Fish that wouldn’t tear up my plants.
I thought about goldfish — I kept them briefly in my early 20s — but they uproot everything. I ended up rehoming them to a friend whose kids wanted to get into fishkeeping. Helped her move the tank, passed along supplies, the whole handoff.
My dad built the stand for that setup too, and it’s still one of the most solid pieces of fishkeeping infrastructure I’ve ever owned.
So I went for bottom dwellers (loaches, corys, plecos), mid-level swimmers (guppies), and top/mid-level fish (gouramis). The pea puffers are wildcards but they fit.
Fish that surprised me
Pearl (the pearl gourami)
Pearl now. Hard to believe he was the palest one in the tank when I bought him.
Pearl was pale and washed out when I bought him — sitting in a crowded tank with a bunch of other juvenile pearl gouramis. I almost didn’t get him.
Once he settled into my tank and grew out, his colors came in strong. He’s striking now.
I might’ve thought Pearl was a female when I named him. Once the orange color and long dorsal fin came in, I realized the truth, but by then I'd grown fond of the name.
The paradise gouramis (and the breeding I didn’t ask for)
I underestimated their breeding capabilities. A lot.
A male and female pair managed to hatch eggs on three separate occasions in the community tank. I wasn’t trying to breed them. They just figured it out.
The female has been rehomed because I can’t keep up with demand for baby paradise gouramis. The original male (Frank) is staying. The last batch of juveniles will be my last time with paradise gouramis.
Frank. He figured out how to breed in a community tank three times. I wasn’t even trying.
I was surprised they bred so well in a community setup. No aggression toward Pearl, no issues with anyone. Line-of-sight breaks make a big difference.
The kuhli loaches + nocturnal crew
Most recent additions are the kuhli loaches. I watched the Dune movies and decided I needed my own little “Shai-Hulud” zipping around in the sand.
They’re nocturnal. I barely see them during the day unless I turn on the blue moonlight at night. My lights have a blue setting that makes nighttime viewing easier without blasting them with full light. Worth it.
The plecos are the same way. Bristlenose and clown plecos hide most of the day in their caves.
Night shift.
The pea puffers
I’ve kept pea puffers for years, and some are aggressive while some aren’t. The two in my 110 haven’t caused problems because I keep them fed. I have a self-sustaining colony of Malaysian trumpet snails specifically for them to hunt.
Fed pea puffers are calm. Hungry ones cause problems.
It works in my setup. That doesn’t mean it’ll work in yours.
The mistake I keep making
Overfeeding.
I’ve done it multiple times. You’d think I’d learn, but then I see the fish following me around like dogs and I convince myself they’re actually hungry this time.
They’re not. They just act like it. Fish learn the routine fast — they see me and they run the “feed me” script. And I fall for it anyway.
Last time I overdid it: algae explosion within two weeks. Too much uneaten food breaking down, nitrates spiked, hair algae on everything.
Took a month to get it under control. Reduced feeding, manual removal.
This is where the “contradictory advice” problem gets real. Some people fix algae by blacking out, some dose stuff, some change filters, some swear it’s all light, some swear it’s all nutrients. I’m not trying to win debates — I’m trying to keep a tank stable. For me, the boring answer worked: feed less, remove manually, and stop making huge swings trying to fix it in a weekend.
Now I feed less. Sometimes I skip a day if someone looks chunky. Hard lesson to learn but it matters.
I’ve also dealt with algae outbreaks from too much light, ich a couple times, impulse buying fish without researching compatibility first, and being lazy about water changes when I was running five tanks. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s about how you bounce back.
My dad also handed me a copy of Dr. Axelrod’s Mini-Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes (mini edition — ridiculous title). It’s old-school, but when you’re drowning in “trust me bro” advice, a printed reference feels grounding.
Fish personalities
All of my fish have favorite sleeping spots. I can always count on them being there when I look.
Some are more anxious, some are more relaxed, but most are just food hogs. They’re each different.
Feeding rotation
I feed once a day. I rotate between:
Flakes: Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Flakes, Omega One Super Color Flakes
Pellets (staple): Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets
Pellets (rotation): New Life Spectrum Thera+A
Bottom feeders: Hikari Algae Wafers, Omega One Sinking Veggie Rounds
Frozen (twice a week): bloodworms + brine shrimp (Hikari Bio-Pure / San Francisco Bay)
I drop algae wafers at night sometimes so the nocturnal crew can eat in peace. This also stops the guppies from trying to eat them. Fat little pigs.
Less is best with food. If I notice someone getting chunky, I’ll feed every other day.
Territory and coexistence (and the only “don’t copy me” note)
If you take anything from this post, take this: don’t copy the stock list like it’s a recipe.
Add fish slowly. Watch behavior. Assume personalities will surprise you.
This mix works for me because the tank is heavily planted, there are a ton of sight breaks, and I’m paying attention every day.
If something goes sideways, you need a plan B — spare tank, ability to separate, or willingness to rehome.
The full stocking list
If you’re curious about exact numbers:
Bottom: 1 bristlenose pleco, 1 clown pleco, 8 kuhli loaches (2 normal, 6 black), 10 mixed corydoras (albino, salt and pepper, juli, black Venezuela)
Mid-level: 20+ guppy-endler hybrids (generational), 1 pearl gourami, 2 pea puffers
Top/mid: 1 male paradise gourami (Frank) + juvenile paradise gouramis (looking for homes — Phoenix area if interested)
Cleanup crew: Malaysian trumpet snails everywhere
Almost four years of letting them breed. I have no idea what the next generation will look like.
It’s chaotic. It’s active. And after two years, it’s stable where it counts.