I have considered that option to be honest as I already have quite a few Bettas in various tanks around the house and have a few females in a tank of their own. I did try to add a couple of females to my community tank of platys/mollies once but unfortunately that didn’t work as they overfed. So it’s always just Bettas for me in their tank now. I imagine a heavily planted tank with a sorority would be great. Your Betta is stunning by the way.
Advice on which fish to buy.
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The OP's water company website gives his hardness as 43.9 mg/l calcium, but the water quality report lists calcium as 38.3 mg/l. They are not the same because the hardness figure includes magnesium and trace amounts of other metals, but it expresses it as though it were all calcium. Mg/l calcium is a unit commonly used by UK water companies.
My younger son has the same water company as the OP and this is what Yorkshire Water gives for his hardness (identifying data removed)
There is a box to convert the number to other units. It gives the choice of mg/l calcium carbonate (ie ppm), degrees Clarke, German degrees (ie dH) and French degrees.
Using this box, my son's 109.4 mg/l calcium converts to 273.5 ppm and 15.3 dH.
This is the son who used to work as an analyst for a water testing company and he explained all this to me
NearMeBettas
Fishaholic
Maybe a gourami and some schooling fish then?
The OP reports that the water company gives the hardness as 43.9 mg/l calcium, which converts to 6 dH and 110 ppm. The words on the water company site say 'slightly hard', but this is misleading. (Water companies in the UK define 'slightly hard' as 5.6 to 8.4 dH, or 100 to 150 ppm)
I think I've confused things with posting the info for my son's hardness; this was to show that many UK water companies quote hardness as mg/l calcium, which is not the same as the amount of actual calcium in the water. The hardness of 15 dH is my son's hardness not the OP's.
My apologies for the confusion.
I think I've confused things with posting the info for my son's hardness; this was to show that many UK water companies quote hardness as mg/l calcium, which is not the same as the amount of actual calcium in the water. The hardness of 15 dH is my son's hardness not the OP's.
My apologies for the confusion.
I wish I had paid more attention in chemistry lessons now
. I’ll go with the water as being on the soft side I just don’t want to harm the fish from the off so appreciate all of your expertise in this.That sounds like a good option, nothing too big but lovely to look at.
OK, thanks @Essjay for clarifying. Soft water it is.
@Cirque1 are there any fish you like? When you are considering fish for a tank this large you need to have all of them worked out so they co-exist peacefully. Sometimes one can build around species "x" and other times a tank of small shoaling fish works.
@Cirque1 are there any fish you like? When you are considering fish for a tank this large you need to have all of them worked out so they co-exist peacefully. Sometimes one can build around species "x" and other times a tank of small shoaling fish works.
That’s the problem there are so many options, which is a good thing of course. I’ve appreciated the advice though on here and now have a better understanding of what will work and I’m thinking shoaling fish.
Nothing has been said about live plants. Are you intending these? Most all of the shoaling fish will need this sort of cover. You can also use wood and branches for good effect. I would recommend a sand substrate, especially if loaches or cory catfish are intended, and either would do well in this sized tank and this water. But they must have soft sand. Quality play sand is fine and inexpensive. In the UK, the brand used by other members is Argos Play Sand.
Floating plants are probably going to be an absolute. Most all forest fish come from streams shade by eith floating plants or more often overhanging terrestrial vegetation and forest canopy. Their colours will be more intense in dimmer surroundings, and they will not be stressed by open space and bright light above them. When I had Congo Tetras (this is a fish you should consider) they would swim in the upper half of the tank, just above mid-tank. When the floating plants were so thick they needed thinning out, the open spaces even though few bothered the Congos and they moved down lower in the tank and remained there for days until the floating plants re-covered the surface.
You can also take a look in local fish stores. But a word of warning--do not be mislead by staff wanting to sell fish. Many an aquarist has fallen prey to this and ended up with fish that needed removing or euthanizing. Take down the names, scientific if possible, and post here to get advice on suitability.
Shoaling fish needs decent sized groups, and in a tank of these dimensions the numbers should be more. For example, if you decide on Rummynose Tetras, a group of 20 is ideal. This is a tight shoaler, the fish remain together most if not all of the time, and the more there are the better for their well-being.
Floating plants are probably going to be an absolute. Most all forest fish come from streams shade by eith floating plants or more often overhanging terrestrial vegetation and forest canopy. Their colours will be more intense in dimmer surroundings, and they will not be stressed by open space and bright light above them. When I had Congo Tetras (this is a fish you should consider) they would swim in the upper half of the tank, just above mid-tank. When the floating plants were so thick they needed thinning out, the open spaces even though few bothered the Congos and they moved down lower in the tank and remained there for days until the floating plants re-covered the surface.
You can also take a look in local fish stores. But a word of warning--do not be mislead by staff wanting to sell fish. Many an aquarist has fallen prey to this and ended up with fish that needed removing or euthanizing. Take down the names, scientific if possible, and post here to get advice on suitability.
Shoaling fish needs decent sized groups, and in a tank of these dimensions the numbers should be more. For example, if you decide on Rummynose Tetras, a group of 20 is ideal. This is a tight shoaler, the fish remain together most if not all of the time, and the more there are the better for their well-being.
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Thank you so much for that advice. I’ve got soft sand in there (spent a fortune on it and didn’t know you could use the Argos one, oh well never mind) I’ve got some wood and branches and a few rocks too.
As for plants, I’ve never had such good advice. I worry about snails but am definitely going to add lots of lovely plants and will certainly use your advice as to their placements.
The main reason I came in here asking for advice is exactly because staff were all giving me conflicting advice. I don’t want to overstock the tank so if I get 20 rummynoses (which I do really like) how many other similar sized fish do you think I could get?
Thank you again for your help and advice.
If you plan on having invertebrates such as shrimps or the non-pest snails we have to pay for (nerites, apple snails, rabbit snails etc) be careful about where you source plants. Those plants imported from the far east usually have snail killer on them under EU law. We may have left the EU but far east sellers aren't going to ship one set of plants to the EU and another set to the UK. EU growers are safe, though they could have pest snails. Or buy in vitro plants which have neither chemicals or pest snails. These plants are tissue cultured, grown in a gel.
If you don't intend inverts, it doesn't matter where you buy plants
If you don't intend inverts, it doesn't matter where you buy plants
We're all caught on terms here. 100 to 150ppm is moderately hard to me, but for people living with real hard water, it is probably seen as soft. How we see things in different places can be tough for new hobbyists talking to fishkeepers who are all over the place. Different standards and cut off lines don't help. But your water isn't far off what I had out of the tap for my first 30 years or so with tanks.
You have a 4 foot, 240 litres.
You have a core species picked: rummy noses. It isn't actually one species, but a few almost identical ones. Their needs are similar, so you're good. I'd put 20 in if I had the budget. They are sometimes hard to transport, and are a bit delicate so you might lose a couple at the start. If they get through 3 -4 days they are good for years.
Now what? I would explore small tetras of their size. If you have good stores, you decide to plant (important) and you add groups of tetras (add Corydoras too - you won't regret it), you can dispense with old ideas of centrepiece fish. Small fish will look great, and be dynamic.
Stocking is dynamic too. See what you want to go with the rummys, and we can start to figure out the community. There are no arbitrary numbers that say 52.54 fish can fit in there. It depends on a lot of factors, starting with what you like and moving through planting, filtration, species choice. In general, with fish the size of rummys, I would stock 40 or so fish. That will probably be debated. I would drop to 15 rummys to give myself the option of adding a few more groups of 6 to 8 social tetras. I have a 340L tank here, with 3 filters and heavy planting (but with slow growing and easy plants). I have 50 small South American fish in there, mostly tetras, and that is busy enough for my eye. The tank is very stable with 25% weekly water changes via a hose.
I know. It seems unnecessarily complex. It isn't because you have huge leeway. Right off, I can see you aren't looking at fish as trading cards but as living animals, so you are past stage one of being a new fishkeeper already!
You have a 4 foot, 240 litres.
You have a core species picked: rummy noses. It isn't actually one species, but a few almost identical ones. Their needs are similar, so you're good. I'd put 20 in if I had the budget. They are sometimes hard to transport, and are a bit delicate so you might lose a couple at the start. If they get through 3 -4 days they are good for years.
Now what? I would explore small tetras of their size. If you have good stores, you decide to plant (important) and you add groups of tetras (add Corydoras too - you won't regret it), you can dispense with old ideas of centrepiece fish. Small fish will look great, and be dynamic.
Stocking is dynamic too. See what you want to go with the rummys, and we can start to figure out the community. There are no arbitrary numbers that say 52.54 fish can fit in there. It depends on a lot of factors, starting with what you like and moving through planting, filtration, species choice. In general, with fish the size of rummys, I would stock 40 or so fish. That will probably be debated. I would drop to 15 rummys to give myself the option of adding a few more groups of 6 to 8 social tetras. I have a 340L tank here, with 3 filters and heavy planting (but with slow growing and easy plants). I have 50 small South American fish in there, mostly tetras, and that is busy enough for my eye. The tank is very stable with 25% weekly water changes via a hose.
I know. It seems unnecessarily complex. It isn't because you have huge leeway. Right off, I can see you aren't looking at fish as trading cards but as living animals, so you are past stage one of being a new fishkeeper already!
I think the GH issue was resolved. The numbers agreed on are 6 dH or 110 ppm. This is soft water to an aquarist. The terms are subjective, but the numbers matter. I have a chart that so far as I have discovered is universally used within the hobby.
0 - 4 dGH 0 - 70 ppm very soft
4 - 8 dGH 70 - 140 ppm soft
8 - 12 dGH 140 - 210 ppm medium hard
12 - 18 dGH 210 - 320 ppm fairly hard
18 - 30 dGH 320 - 530 ppm hard
over 30 dGH over 530 ppm very hard
This is soft water.
As for numbers of fish, the tank dimensions are needed. As this is a 240 liter (63 US gallon) and 48 inches (120 cm) length, I am assuming the width is either 12 or 18 inches and the height, whatever. With this being the case you could have 100+ fish of the approximate size of rummynose tetras, assuming floating plants. My 70g was minimally larger in width/height perhaps, and I had over a hundred fish in there for years. May not remember all, but there were 60 wild-caught Corydoras, 21 Petitella sp., 12 Hyphessobrycon sweglesi, 12 Carnegiella strigata (Marble hatchetfish), some 8 Moenkhausia pittieri (Diamond Tetras, the last of a larger group acquired many years previous), 1 Rineloricaria parva that was then 9 years old, and one or two Farlowella vitatta. However, you are relatively new to this and I would not go overboard, but the point is that if you stay with fish of this approximate size you are going to have a lot of options. I happened to have my rummys in this tank, a group of 21, and they really should not be kept if this number cannot be acquired. I had two species, Petitella bleheri (the most common species) and Petitella georgiae which is much rarer. The photo below is the tank the day after I set it up, the fish (all except the Red Phantom that I acquired a few months later) went in later that day, they were in another tank, I had 8 tanks in my fish room.
We often get caught up (wrongly) on numbers of fish because we think solely of mass, but providing each species with adequate numbers, and ensuring they are truly compatible in all aspects (not only behaviour, but requiring the same environmental aspects such as decor, light, water flow, substrate) is what is matters to the fish, and they will be healthier with less impact on the system if they are truly compatible.
You want to have the plants obviously growing, especially the surface plants, and then you are home free. And you build up to the total stocking, just so long as the entire intended number of each species is added together at the same time, this is im[portant.
0 - 4 dGH 0 - 70 ppm very soft
4 - 8 dGH 70 - 140 ppm soft
8 - 12 dGH 140 - 210 ppm medium hard
12 - 18 dGH 210 - 320 ppm fairly hard
18 - 30 dGH 320 - 530 ppm hard
over 30 dGH over 530 ppm very hard
This is soft water.
As for numbers of fish, the tank dimensions are needed. As this is a 240 liter (63 US gallon) and 48 inches (120 cm) length, I am assuming the width is either 12 or 18 inches and the height, whatever. With this being the case you could have 100+ fish of the approximate size of rummynose tetras, assuming floating plants. My 70g was minimally larger in width/height perhaps, and I had over a hundred fish in there for years. May not remember all, but there were 60 wild-caught Corydoras, 21 Petitella sp., 12 Hyphessobrycon sweglesi, 12 Carnegiella strigata (Marble hatchetfish), some 8 Moenkhausia pittieri (Diamond Tetras, the last of a larger group acquired many years previous), 1 Rineloricaria parva that was then 9 years old, and one or two Farlowella vitatta. However, you are relatively new to this and I would not go overboard, but the point is that if you stay with fish of this approximate size you are going to have a lot of options. I happened to have my rummys in this tank, a group of 21, and they really should not be kept if this number cannot be acquired. I had two species, Petitella bleheri (the most common species) and Petitella georgiae which is much rarer. The photo below is the tank the day after I set it up, the fish (all except the Red Phantom that I acquired a few months later) went in later that day, they were in another tank, I had 8 tanks in my fish room.
We often get caught up (wrongly) on numbers of fish because we think solely of mass, but providing each species with adequate numbers, and ensuring they are truly compatible in all aspects (not only behaviour, but requiring the same environmental aspects such as decor, light, water flow, substrate) is what is matters to the fish, and they will be healthier with less impact on the system if they are truly compatible.
You want to have the plants obviously growing, especially the surface plants, and then you are home free. And you build up to the total stocking, just so long as the entire intended number of each species is added together at the same time, this is im[portant.
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