42G First Tank

[Dpayton11]

Me and my girlfriend are buying a 42 gallon tank in the next couple days and its the first one for both of us. We went to Pet Smart and they told us to buy the tank and let it sit for a few days and then it's good to put fish in it. After researching though we are definitely going to do a fish less cycle. I think I have the steps down on the cycle, but if not then I will ask you guys more about it.

Basically my question is what are some fish choices for a 42g tank.
We definitely want:
6-8 Neon or Cardinal tetras.
5-6 Panda Cory Cats

After that we aren't really sure what would go good with them. She wanted an angel fish, but I read that they eat tetras, is that correct? And she also liked the rainbow fish but 42g is too small right? And for the Cory's should we go with sand as the substrate? Or is gravel fine?

Thank you. We can't wait to get started with this. I'm starting to feel addicted already lol.

 

[Sickbound]

Yes you should use gravel. You're going to LOVE your corries. They are my favorite fish because each one has a different personality and has their own unique beauty. You SHOULD have 6-10 corries though. You shouldn't keep less than 6 IMO. 
I THINK that Angel fish like to be in small schools, though.
IMO tetras are the best choice as a first fish. IMO they seem to get sick often because of their breeding history. 
http/aqadvisor.com/ is a great place to figure out what would work in your tank, you should mess around with it.
 

 

[Dpayton11]

What about a bolivian ram? Would that be okay with the Cory's and tetras? Are they good on their own?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

You should absolutely go with sand for your panda cories!

2012 TFF Fish of the Year



You won't see that with gravel!


Rams and cories and tetras work just fine together. No worries there.


As for aqadvisor, I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Sand is best for cories.
The pet smart advice is wrong. Are you sure you know about fishless cycling? Because its different from what pet smart have said.
It would depend on your tank height and length to whether or not you could have angels.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Angels and neons are a bad mix... Meanwhile, rainbowfish generally prefer harder water conditions.


A group of 12 neons, 10-12 pandas with a Bolivian ram plus a small Pleco maybe would work very well for your new tank, just be sure to cycle it. See the beginners resource center linked in my sig...

 

[Dpayton11]

Yeah Pet Smart isn't the one that told me to fish less cycle...I'm pretty sure that guy had no clue what he was talking about. He told me to put fish In after two days and it didnt seem right to me so I went online and found out that was wrong. I got a video tutorial of how to do a fish less cycle so I think I'm good there. If some thing goes wrong then I will definitely ask questions.

And thanks eagle, I'm definitely gonna go with sand for the Cory's.

So how would this work do you guys think?
12 Neons
8 Cardinals
1 bolivian ram
6-8 Panda Cory's

Is that good? Or would that be too close to overstocked? What do you guys suggest for the plants and stuff. I'm thinking of doing fake plants since I'm new and maybe like 2-3 caves. Would that be good with these fish I have picked out?

Thanks everyone.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I personally, would do:
6-8 Neon Tetra's
10-13 Cardinal Tetra's
1 Bolivian Ram
6 Panda Corys
1 Bristlenose Pleco

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Neons and cardinals are extremely similar looking, why do you want a shoal of each? In my opinion, it would be better to just have all of one or the other and more of them... Or go with another shoal of different looking fish.

 

[Dpayton11]

What other shoals do you recommend?

 

[misterpro]

Welcome & congratulations on researching and not going by what the fish shop tells you!

Sand all the way if you plan on adding bottomfeeders with sensitive barbels in your tank.

I agree on neons & cardinals looking too similar. Random visitors will not see the difference unless you point it our every time... You could add some rummynose, black neons, lemon tetras, ... There are quite alot to choose from

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Smallest (smaller than the neons)
ember tetras
lambchop rasboras
celestial pearl danios
emperor tetras
 
Medium (same size as neons)
harlequin rasboras
glowlight tetras
black neon tetras
green neon tetras
bloodfin tetras
rummynose tetras
cherry barbs (not a great shoaling fish, though )
 
Large (same size as cardinals)
lemon tetras
head and tail light tetras
five banded barbs (Not to be confused with tigers! which grow even bigger and are a lot more persnickety)
phantom tetras (not a great shoaler either)
 
"Jumbo" (bigger than cardinals)
red eye (lampeye) tetras
penguin tetras
 
 
 
 
 
Lots of options really... If it were me, and I liked the look of the neon/cardinals, I'd probably go with the neons, because they are smaller (which means I get to have more of them ) and pick another smaller shoaler to keep more of them as well.
 
Proposed stocking:
12 neon tetras
12-15 emperor tetras, lambchop rasbora, celestial pearl danio (whichever you could locate)
10 panda cories
1 small pleco - BN, clown, etc.  Just not a big one - like sailfin or common.
 
 
That would be fairly heavily stocked, but if you do the cycle properly and build up to it, you'll have no issues.  Of these, the lambchop rasboras are probably the hardiest - and should therefore be stocked first.  Some of the others really prefer a more "mature" aquarium.

 

[Dpayton11]

Thank you guys very much. I'm going to be getting the tank today I believe and begin cycling ASAP. I will post on this thread if I have further questions.

Again, thank you.

 

[Dpayton11]

Hey guys,

Another question here. Should I go with Live plants or fake plants? What's the easiest for a beginner? Would live plants be too hard to maintain? And what kind of lights would I need. Also what plants do you recommend that are kinda easy to care for. And would sand be fine to plant them in? Or do I need to use something else below the sand?

As for the fake ones, do they harm fish? They seem kinda hard to me.

Maybe I can do like a mixture? That would work right?

Oh, and you can do a fishless cycle with live plants in from the beggining or no?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It's best to wait to add the plants. But IMO, live plants are best. The key is getting undemanding ones.