Ok you got it.
First up please read this
Absolute Disaster I am also re setting up my tank. and I have been thinking about it. Here's what I am going to do, I am going to stick with small fish mainly.
Hengeli Rasboras, ( Trigonostigma hengeli ) About 10 of them. I like them under the right light they look spectacular, Also I found they did well in my water.
Striped Kuhli Loaches, About 5 of them, Personal choice I love how they look like little snakes.
2 BnPlecos a male and a albino female, These will be the big fish, Again personal choice I like how they look. Great at eating any food they find. I also used feed mine algae wafers.
10 to 15 Red Cherry shrimp, They do well in my water are a great clean up crew and breed lots of little shrimp that fish love to eat.
And maybe some Galaxy Rasboras.
I am done with messing with substrate I have tried a few things and will stick with plain old roundish gravel, on top of that lots of drift wood for the loaches to hide under, and a few caves for the plecos, Low light plants mostly Anubias tied to driftwood some Vals and the like giving the loaches and shrimp more cover and some floating plants like Duck weed and Water Sprite because Rasboras love some top cover.
The reasons.
The water that comes out of my tap suits these fish, I add
Easy-Life fluid filter medium — English to the water before adding it to the tank and that's it, I looked into bottled water and RO ( Reverse Osmosis ) and decided it was too expensive and too much fuss. What If I need to do a emergency water change for some reason and can't get the water I need?
These fish all live within a close temp range, I run my tank at 25 deg C, That also seems to suit the shrimp and plants.
No big fish like Gourami they are cool, However I have decided to go with lots of small schooling fish.
None of these fish are aggressive, Ok so they may eat a few shrimp so what.
With plants careful feeding and a 800 LPH canister filter my bio load IMO is not to much for my setup, I change 50% of the water weekly and add ferts when I remember.
Like I said I am going with small schooling fish.
Once you decide on the type of fish you are going to keep, do a bit of research on the type of habitat they prefer and try and recreate that you will find your fish are happier and healthier, If your fish prefer a jungle tank then scape it that way, Use real plants rocks and driftwood.
Well anyway you asked. LOL
