Cycling So Far....

[Miss Wiggle]

ok that sounds better, should still try to get a proper ID for them as they may turn out to be too big long term in which case it would be better to return them to the lfs now before you've got too attached to them.

i would suggest your friend may need to have them for more than a few weeks though

what you need to do now is daily monitoring and water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm. Once they both hold steady at 0 without daily water changes you should leave it minimum of two weeks if not longer then just add one of the plecs, again same process of testing and water changes, when stats level out leave it minimum another 2 weeks preferably 4 and then add the other plec back in.

 

[millie1]

nitrite is 0 and nitrate is about 10

PH is 7.5 would like it slightly lower but i lowered it from 8+ yesterday!!!



GH and KH what shoudl they be???

thanks

 

[rabbut]

I hope you diden't lower the pH with chemicals 9 times out of 10 chemicals will make the pH swing, which will be far more stressful to the fish than a stable pH outside their ideal range. Leave the pH be, unless you are lowering without off the shelf chemicals...

Ohterwise things are looking up

 

[millie1]

rite ok - will leave the ph alone then *slaps wrists*

is tht not important atm??? will it sort itself out???

yep - fish are happy swimming round like nutters... few more weeks and i am getting the 2nd lot

glass catfish they called??? they are in my LFS

 

[rabbut]

I'd wait untill the tanks been up 6months for glass cats. They don't like new tanks and can be very fussy feeders

The pH will stay put, and that is what you want

 

[millie1]

ahhhh ok.....

i got told thye were ok...

ahhh rainbow fish then?

 

[Corleone]

How big was the tank again? Glass cats get quite large (4-6 inches), and need good sized groups, so they can take a big bite out of stocking.

Rainbowfish are peaceful, active, colorful, and most are reasonably hardy IME (granted I've only kept a couple species). They vary a lot in size - some are only 1.5-2 inches, some get up to 6, so as usual do your research ahead of time.

Dwarf neon rainbowfish (aka praecox rainbows) are great little fish - beautiful, danio-sized, and a put on a fantastic show. As with most iridescent fish, if you get rainbowfish, put a lamp in front of the tank when you're looking a them. Top lighting just doesn't do most species justice.

 

[millie1]

200 liters....
i dont plan to stock it to the max - just a few types of fish - rainbowfish and catfih (fell in love with these) and another whichever my mum wants them im done!! no more than 6 to each group i think........