60 Litre Stock

[Andy-oc]

Hello everybody, i have a 60 litre tank and im new to the aquarium world!!
So any advice will be apreciated , i have done everything corectly so far and have in my tank 3 baloon mollies, 2 corydora, a male dwarf gurami, and i think a female opaline gurami, all of my fish are peacfull and happy! Buty dwarf seems lonely and not as sociabel!! Can i add another dwarf male? Will this be ok with the female gurami? Also i hope to add 2 more corydora then thats it!!! Help please

 

[CezzaXV]

You don't want to add more male dwarf gouramis as they can get quite aggressive towards each other. A few female dwarfs might be a good idea but I can't advise on the compatibility of the opaline so you'd have to ask someone else or google it. My male dwarf isn't very sociable either, but they're generally quite happy on their own. He's easily the most fascinating fish in my tank, so intelligent.

Cories need to be in groups of at least six so I'd recommend getting at least four more. They are gorgeous little fish, my favourites.

 

[Andy-oc]

Wow thanks for your help!!! Can i have 6 corys ??? My tank is only 60 litres?? Just dont wana over do it!! 60 litres as a rule is 60 cm of fish i here!! So far when all my fish reach adults i will ecumulate 43 cm so i have 17 cms to play with!!! Corydoras get to about 7cm so 4 will be 28 ?? Oh i duno its midboggling all this stuff!!! Ha ha

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I hate to rain on your parade but 30cm of adult fish is a safe ballpark limit for a 60l. Even if you never get ammonia or nitrite spikes (although water in small tanks like these can rapidly turn toxic), you could easily risk nitrate poisoning over time without a relatively crazy water change regime (for instance, I'm changing ~33-66% daily on my Lionhead Cichlid nursery tank).

Mollies reach ~12cm (especially females) and really need a 3-foot ank long term.
Corydoras need social groups, at least 6, ideally 10+, the only way you could safely do that is to turn this into a species only tank stocking one of the "pygmy" varieties (C. pygmeus; hastatus; habrosus), which do not just sit on the tank floor, possibly with you male Dwarf Gourami at a push.
An Opaline Gourami is a bit too big for a 60l and having just two can be dangerous, as males especially can get nippy with other gouramis.

 

[Andy-oc]

Thanks for ur advise but my local fish shop who i bought the tank of told me that what i have i sufficiant and safe all fish tank food etc was bought on their advisery !!! They said i kild have all these? Im worried now and have tested my water and its perfect??? Dont no what to believe???

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Thanks for ur advise but my local fish shop who i bought the tank of told me that what i have i sufficiant and safe all fish tank food etc was bought on their advisery !!! They said i kild have all these? Im worried now and have tested my water and its perfect??? Dont no what to believe???

If you could post how (if at all) you 'cycled' your filter, then your stocking questions would be easier to get the answers .
Unfortunately, we live in a consumer world and the vast majority of pet stores will continue to give you 'helpful' advice if it means you buy their stock. Then keep coming back when they die. And buy more stock. You get my drift.

You say your water is 'perfect', but if you could post the EXACT results for Ammonia, NitrIte and NitrAte then that would be helpful.
I get the feeling you have added your first fish after a certain amount of time with little or no approach to a 'fishless' cycle...but if you have 'cycled' your filter and i am wrong then please accept my full apologies..but we really do also need to know what you have done to your tank since you have had it.

Terry.

 

[Andy-oc]

Thanks for ur advise but my local fish shop who i bought the tank of told me that what i have i sufficiant and safe all fish tank food etc was bought on their advisery !!! They said i kild have all these? Im worried now and have tested my water and its perfect??? Dont no what to believe???

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

A hypothetical to try and get a point across...
Lets say I only sell Smarties and there is no law to stop me from selling you Smarties. You tell me that you are using all your money to buy Smarties instead of buying "proper food," you get overweight and have serious tooth decay problems and other health issues. You ask me if you can buy another tube of Smarties from me.
Morally, I should refuse to sell you Smarties, you should find a balance between sweets and nutritious food. However, without the sale of Smarties I have no income... So I'm naturally going to sell you another tube of Smarties!

Apply the above to a fish store and hopefully you will see why fish stores have a bad habit (with some exceptions) at selling you fish that create bad combinations and/or overstocking. If you loose fish through deaths, you go back to the fish store and buy more, reassured by the fish shop keeper that the death was a freak incident.

 

[dh058977]

If you only learn one thing from joining this site its this - We want to help you and want whats best for your fish. The vast majority of fish shops however, just want your money.
I dont think you have answered Taffy's question but it is rather important for the health of your fish, how was your tank cycled? When you say your water is perfect, what are the actual results?
Your idea of 60cm in 60 litres is far too much.

 

[Andy-oc]

Yes its fully cycled and fish were added only when the store tested my water to Allow me to buy!!! They have also told me i can buy more corydoras next week! If thr water is safe!!! Why would i be told 1cm 1 litre??? Im pissed realy because i am new to this aghhhhh

 

[dh058977]

Please dont swear, this is a family forum. How was your tank cycled? What were the actual test results? Im worried your test results were good as your tank wasnt cycled with Ammonia hence no readings to flag as bad when your tap water was tested.

 

[Andy-oc]

Basicly i set the tank up used the amount of tap safe advised!! Also used a liquid called cycle that i use for water changes and weekly dose etc!!! Left the tank for 2 weeks!!! Added 3 balloon mollies!!! Did 10 percent water changes every 2 days !!!! Adding cycle and tap safe!!! Then after another week went back and with a water sample and they told me i could have the dwarf gurami , opaline and 2 corydora!!!! Test results when ive checked myself including tonight!! No3 between 0 - 10 No2 - 1 GH 8 KH 6 PH 7.2 CI2 0 ?

Sorry i should of said peed !!!

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Ok..so you're obviously in a 'fish-in' cycle here..read up on the provided information in my signature and be prepared to be changing upto half water every day for the next few weeks.

Terry.

 

[dh058977]

OK so your tank was not cycled properly and you are now in a fish in cycle situation, this can be extremely time consuming as you should be carrying out large daily water changes to keep your Ammonia and Nitrite (No2) as close to 0 as possilbe. If your Nitrite reading is really 1 then you should consider carrying out a water change asap as this is deadly, what testing kit are you using? I would also suggest not buying anymore cycle as bottled bacteria are known to be next to useless, save your money. Do you not have a test for Ammonia?

 

[Andy-oc]

My test kit is just a strip that i swill in the tank!!!! So i should change half my water?? Shall i do this now??