Fish For My 90G Tank And Some Questions?

[kirkster]

Hello, another post this evening from me!
 
So my new tank is 4 feet long and 90 gallons or so.  I will be transferring over 8 Neons, 4 Rummy-nosed tetras a couple of white tipped tetras and two clown loach from an old tank that I will be discarding  All these fish are over two years old and doing well in the existing, much smaller tank.  I am doing a fishless cycle tank on the new tank detailed above that I am half way through (and is going well so far).  I am now planning my new additions when the new tank is ready.  I have some questions please?
 
1.  When the tank is cycled and I move the existing fish over, would it be ok to immediately add new fish from the LFS of the same variety the same day, or within a couple of days of the transfer of the existing ones?  I was thinking of putting in another 8 neons and perhaps the same in rummy nosed to start with to populate their numbers a bit more.
 
2.  I am quite conservative in my fish choices.  I do like all forms of tetras, mollies, guppies and scissor tails.  What would you suggest please and how many to put in?  My Ph is quite high - around 8 or so.
 
3.  I also want some bottom cleaners that do not grow huge in size, which would rule out Plecs from what i understand?
 
Appreciate your advice please guys.
 
Steve
 

 

[Byron]

1.  When the tank is cycled and I move the existing fish over, would it be ok to immediately add new fish from the LFS of the same variety the same day, or within a couple of days of the transfer of the existing ones?  I was thinking of putting in another 8 neons and perhaps the same in rummy nosed to start with to populate their numbers a bit more.
 

 
Eight more neons is fine and wise.  More rummys too, but I would up their number to close to 20 in total, so another 15+ to the four you have.  This fish is much better in larger groups, and the 90g will suit it admirably.
 
As for adding the new fish, in a 90g the new neons and then the new rummys will not be problematical, but I would wait a few days after moving over the existing fish.  And a t this point, are you intending to quarantine?  Very wise these days.  The existing tank could be a QT, and as it is now running. just leave it after the current fish are out and it will be an established tank for the new fish, and I would get both neons and rummys here.
 
What about the "white tip tetra", any more planned?  Do you know the species?  Sometimes too few of shoaling fish can cause aggression, and before you say it, the fact that it has not occurred yet does not mean it won't, in the new tank.  Fish can change their behaviours at a whim or due to environmental changes.
 

2.  I am quite conservative in my fish choices.  I do like all forms of tetras, mollies, guppies and scissor tails.  What would you suggest please and how many to put in?  My Ph is quite high - around 8 or so.
 

 
What is the GH of your source water?  This is actually more important than pH, and some of the fish mentioned here have specific needs.  Mollies for instance will not last long in soft water, whereas tetras are better in soft water.  You can ascertain the GH from your municipal water suplly folks, likely on their website, or call them.
 

3.  I also want some bottom cleaners that do not grow huge in size, which would rule out Plecs from what i understand?
 

 
I posted in your other thread about this.  But in general, forgetting the "algae" issue, there are many good substrate fish.  None of these are "cleaners," and there is no fish that does this (snails are good for this though).
 
The smallish plecs like the Bristlenose and a few others are nice, but make sure you really like them as fish before getting them, as sometimes these can have specific food needs.
 
Byron.

 

[attibones]

Are you intending to keep the clown loaches? while the 90 gallon will be a lovely upgrade for them, they do get very large. They require a school and a very large tank.

 

[kirkster]

 

1.  When the tank is cycled and I move the existing fish over, would it be ok to immediately add new fish from the LFS of the same variety the same day, or within a couple of days of the transfer of the existing ones?  I was thinking of putting in another 8 neons and perhaps the same in rummy nosed to start with to populate their numbers a bit more.
 

 
Eight more neons is fine and wise.  More rummys too, but I would up their number to close to 20 in total, so another 15+ to the four you have.  This fish is much better in larger groups, and the 90g will suit it admirably.
 
As for adding the new fish, in a 90g the new neons and then the new rummys will not be problematical, but I would wait a few days after moving over the existing fish.  And a t this point, are you intending to quarantine?  Very wise these days.  The existing tank could be a QT, and as it is now running. just leave it after the current fish are out and it will be an established tank for the new fish, and I would get both neons and rummys here.
 
What about the "white tip tetra", any more planned?  Do you know the species?  Sometimes too few of shoaling fish can cause aggression, and before you say it, the fact that it has not occurred yet does not mean it won't, in the new tank.  Fish can change their behaviours at a whim or due to environmental changes.
 
2.  I am quite conservative in my fish choices.  I do like all forms of tetras, mollies, guppies and scissor tails.  What would you suggest please and how many to put in?  My Ph is quite high - around 8 or so.
 

 
What is the GH of your source water?  This is actually more important than pH, and some of the fish mentioned here have specific needs.  Mollies for instance will not last long in soft water, whereas tetras are better in soft water.  You can ascertain the GH from your municipal water suplly folks, likely on their website, or call them.
 

3.  I also want some bottom cleaners that do not grow huge in size, which would rule out Plecs from what i understand?
 

 
I posted in your other thread about this.  But in general, forgetting the "algae" issue, there are many good substrate fish.  None of these are "cleaners," and there is no fish that does this (snails are good for this though).
 
The smallish plecs like the Bristlenose and a few others are nice, but make sure you really like them as fish before getting them, as sometimes these can have specific food needs.
 
Byron.
 


Thankyou Byron - and others.   The water hardness is "slightly hard" according the WC website.  So Mollies, Guppies, Scissortails will be OK in that do you think?
 
Thankyou guys for your help!

 

[Byron]

Thankyou Byron - and others.   The water hardness is "slightly hard" according the WC website.  So Mollies, Guppies, Scissortails will be OK in that do you think?
 

 
OK, so with the data in the other thread, the GH is at 8 dGH which they call slightly hard and I would call moderately hard, same thing in essence.  Terms like these are rather subjective, and as a very rough guide, "soft" would be 4 to 8 dGH, moderately or slightly hard would be 8 to 12 dGH, and fairly hard 12 to 18 dGH.  You can see these overlap...as i say, they are subjective.  To your fish.
 
Guppies would be fine.  Mollies, definitely not, as this is not sufficient mineral.  Swordtails is kind of iffy, but for the sake of the fish I would say no.  Platy would be similar.  These are all livebearers, and they require mineral in the water in order for their physiology to function at its best.  It is possible to raise the mineral content, but before I go down that road I would suggest something else.
 
And that is to consider more soft water species, or those that are more suited to the water you have.  It is always easier not having to fuss over water parameters; it is less expensive, it is more stable, and it makes water changes a breeze.  Preparing tubs of water, adding mineral compounds, etc is not always easy or convenient.  Then there is the effect this would have on the other fish.
 
Your neons and rummys are very soft water fish, and as i mentioned previously, GH is rather more important than pH, and your lower GH is the reason your tetra are doing OK now (at least, I assume they are, as you've had them a while).  Stay with these and similar fish.  There are hundreds of tetras, corydoras catfish, rasbora, anabantids (gourami) and such.
 
Byron.