Fish For My Tank...

[fish nutter]

Hi, everyone i have just started a new 250 liter / 55 gal and was wondering if the following fish would go together and if so how many of each should i have...

- German Blue Ram
- Guramies (what types???)
- bristle nose catfish
- Glass Catfish
- Chilids (what types???)
- Rummy-nose tetras ( i already have 10)
- Red-line torpedo barb
- Scavenger fish (what types???)

I am aiming to set up a Non-aggressive community tank so please tell me what fish are to aggressive, prefer different PH, water hardness etc...

Thanks very much

 

[didz04]

Hi, well what I can see for the stocking that the German blue rams won't be a good idea as they need temperatures of around 29 degrees of what I have read on this forum, and for Gouramis they need a temp of around 25 degrees.
You could go for the Bolivian Ram as they are very peaceful and show really nice colours to. They can range from 22-27 degrees. You could try out Dwarf Cichlids and have a look at these Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid, you could keep 1 male & 3 females. As for some scavengers and that are active day and night I think in my experience you should go for the yoyo loach, and best with a minimum of 3.

 

[fish nutter]

Hi, well what I can see for the stocking that the German blue rams won't be a good idea as they need temperatures of around 29 degrees of what I have read on this forum, and for Gouramis they need a temp of around 25 degrees.
You could go for the Bolivian Ram as they are very peaceful and show really nice colours to. They can range from 22-27 degrees. You could try out Dwarf Cichlids and have a look at these Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid, you could keep 1 male & 3 females. As for some scavengers and that are active day and night I think in my experience you should go for the yoyo loach, and best with a minimum of 3.

thanks and will consider... will the Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid's, yoyo loach, guramies go with the red torpedo barb because i understand that they can grow quite big

 

[didz04]

These Red Line Torpedo Barbs will be fine and are also peaceful fish, even when they grow big they are peaceful schooling fish and prefer to be in a shoal of 6. They will be best to start off at a small size. They actually don't even need a heater if the room temperature is around 15-25 degrees but still 25 should be the highest point for them. So this may limit your stock but I think you should be fine as most tropical fish are comfortable at around 25° degrees. You will need a lot of swimming space for these and they love to swim around ornaments and in and out of holes as they are bottom, middle and top dwellers. Also it is best to get harder plants as the softer plants will get nibbled at by them. In their natural environment they have strong currents and highly oxygenated water so it will be a good idea to buy a powerhead and put in an airstone which people do recommend. They should have a ph of 7 and with all of these conditions put in together they should thrive in really well.

These are becoming harder to find as what the lfs guy told me who used to order them regular, he said they are becoming extinct fish and not many left where they come from Asia: Primarily from Kannaur, Kerala in India. If you are considering these then it would be a good idea to ask the lfs to reserve 6 of these for you. Have you fully cycled your tank yet?

 

[fish nutter]

Not too sure what you mean by cycled but hope this helps. It is around 2 weeks in and the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are all at 0ppm. the tank is looking clean with a few signs of white stringy algae. I do a water change 30% one every second week because it is understocked.

I have the eheim pro 3 2073 filter - it this enough currant for the torpedo barbs? and as for the oxygen i currently have 2 air stones, because it is in my bedroom can i turn off the air pump at night?

 

[danb]

Not too sure what you mean by cycled but hope this helps. It is around 2 weeks in and the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are all at 0ppm. the tank is looking clean with a few signs of white stringy algae. I do a water change 30% one every second week because it is understocked.

I have the eheim pro 3 2073 filter - it this enough currant for the torpedo barbs? and as for the oxygen i currently have 2 air stones, because it is in my bedroom can i turn off the air pump at night?

You need to dose the tank with ammonia. have you done this ?

 

[fish nutter]

Not too sure what you mean by cycled but hope this helps. It is around 2 weeks in and the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are all at 0ppm. the tank is looking clean with a few signs of white stringy algae. I do a water change 30% one every second week because it is understocked.

I have the eheim pro 3 2073 filter - it this enough currant for the torpedo barbs? and as for the oxygen i currently have 2 air stones, because it is in my bedroom can i turn off the air pump at night?

You need to dose the tank with ammonia. have you done this ?

no i have not.. never even heard about doing this, however i do have fish now (10x rummy noses) so i suppose they could produce enough to kick start the cycle?

 

[danb]

umm well i didnt know about fishelss cycling. I added 6 neon tetras, 6 glowligh tetras, 2 black widows, 6 zebra danios and 2 silver shark. The tank still hadnt cycled for 3 months, i added 6 gouramis 2 weeks back and still the ammonia is too low to kick start the cycle. I am now cycling my 180 litre tank to put the fish into. The tank they are in now is of similar size to yours.

 

[fish nutter]

how do u know when it has cycled and what should i do?

 

[fish nutter]

http://DSC_0006.NEF

 

[danb]

http://DSC_0006.NEF

It wont be cycled. There is nothing you can do now while you have fish with regards buying ammonia so dont do that. You'll just have to keep an eye on your tank, wait for ammonia spikes and do water changes when you see them. If you havent already get yourself a good liquid test kit.

 

[fish nutter]

http://DSC_0006.NEF

It wont be cycled. There is nothing you can do now while you have fish with regards buying ammonia so dont do that. You'll just have to keep an eye on your tank, wait for ammonia spikes and do water changes when you see them. If you havent already get yourself a good liquid test kit.

right thanks for the help.. will adding more bacteria do anything? and will it eventually cycle.. do i need to add more fish and if the ammonia spikes isn't that a good thing so i just add bacteria to start the cycle?

 

[danb]

http://DSC_0006.NEF

It wont be cycled. There is nothing you can do now while you have fish with regards buying ammonia so dont do that. You'll just have to keep an eye on your tank, wait for ammonia spikes and do water changes when you see them. If you havent already get yourself a good liquid test kit.

right thanks for the help.. will adding more bacteria do anything? and will it eventually cycle.. do i need to add more fish and if the ammonia spikes isn't that a good thing so i just add bacteria to start the cycle?

Its not as simple as that. I dont know very much as im new to fish keeping too, hopefully someone will come and help. You cant just 'add' bacteria unless you have some mature filter media. The products dont work apparently.

 

[fish nutter]

http://DSC_0006.NEF

It wont be cycled. There is nothing you can do now while you have fish with regards buying ammonia so dont do that. You'll just have to keep an eye on your tank, wait for ammonia spikes and do water changes when you see them. If you havent already get yourself a good liquid test kit.

right thanks for the help.. will adding more bacteria do anything? and will it eventually cycle.. do i need to add more fish and if the ammonia spikes isn't that a good thing so i just add bacteria to start the cycle?

Its not as simple as that. I dont know very much as im new to fish keeping too, hopefully someone will come and help. You cant just 'add' bacteria unless you have some mature filter media. The products dont work apparently.

oh right well i appreciate the help you've given me and i guess i just need to wait

 

[didz04]

Hi, I am really sorry that I couldn't get back to you. I have seen in your other thread that you are sorting out your fishless cycle, or more like fish-in-cycle. I had to go through exactly what you did because the lfs giving me bad advice as well, well more like no advice for the cycling. You are in a good place where people on this forum like fatheadminnow really happy to help you. I was going to say that you could go to another fish shop who will take in your fish and not tell them your situation but it looks like your doing just fine.
To be honest I am still a beginner on this about what happens but I know what I will need to do when it comes to maturing the tank, however, I am not that good at explaining it to a beginner. But you have really good helpers on here so I know you will get through this.

I will keep a look out on your situation, and please keep us updated which I know you will