Fishless Cycle Almost Finished

[DaveyG]

I am a couple of weeks into a fishless cycle (I added some filter media from a cycled tank) so the ammonia is dropping from 5ppm to 0 in about 24 hours at the moment. The nitrites are still high (can't measure how high because the chart doesn't go that far) so I'm hoping they will drop soon!

Anyway I am wondering what to stock my tank with. I have a 200 Litre tank with a few live plants and some cool looking ornaments!

I already have 6 guppies and 2 Nothobranchius rachovi in another tank which will need to migrate over (what's the best way to do this by the way?)

I want a colourful community tank if possible. I have researched into clown loaches and I would get 6 of them so they stick together. I also really want a red tail shark and some people at the LFS said that would be fine as it stays at the bottom so won't nip any of the others?

I also really want an algae eater or 2 - does anyone have any recommendations for these?

Suggestions and recommendations are completely welcome! What's worked for you etc!

Thanks!

Dave

 

[waterdrop]

Glad to hear your fishless is coming along so nicely! Those Nothobranchius rachovii are really beautiful killis!

All the new possibilities you mention sort of fall into my list of fish that might have questionable social behaviours with other fish so I'll perhaps leave them to Davo or some of the others to give you some feedback on. Don't get me wrong, they might work fine for you, its just me that doesn't know.

Just to generalize on that a bit more.. I sense you mentioning fish that have pretty bright colorations that can jump out at you from a distance. Sometimes it happens when you are a beginner that you look and look at the tanks in the stores and this is the feeling you get about what you want. Sometimes people are even trying to recreate the shocking colors that marine fish can have. Its rare for tropical freshwater fish to have the kind of shocking colors that some reef fish can have, it just doesn't happen much. But the surprise that sometimes comes for freshwater beginners is after they'v had their tank for a while and begin to discover the subtle beauty of a freshwater aquascape. The fish often take a significant amount of time to settle in, become comfortable and begin to show their "true colors." And those colors can often be much more beautiful in your home than they were in the store. The other thing that is so nice that sometimes happens is that people will sit quietly with their tank, sometimes at night with only the tank lights on and perhaps 6 months to a year after the tank has been established they will find it really sinking in how beautiful the freshwater fish and whole scene can be.. anyway just my small "drop of water" comment.

I tend to really like many of the assortments of schooling tetras for these sorts of coloring surprises, or rasboras, but there are all sorts of fish that have struck me in the way described, so I'm sure you're going to come across some. Good luck,

~~waterdrop~~

 

[DaveyG]

waterdrop - an amazing post which seems to have hit the nail on the head!

I am in this for the long haul so I am looking forward to my tank maturing and watching the fish settle in. I already sit down and watch the few fish I have in my smaller tank sometimes and can't wait to have more to look at. They really are tranquil!

I am certainly working up to marine fish - I want to have a marine tank but this is my first time so I am concentrating on getting to grips with this first and in a couple of years hopefully moving to marine fish!

Thanks for your reply, - compatibility was also a concern of mine so hopefully someone will point out if any of my suggestions need some other considerations!

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I think at the very core of the hobby has got to be this thing where every individual sits at his/her tank and has those moments, there's nothing quite like it and its just a great thing in our current world because so many things seem to always be moving in the opposite direction, towards more and more stress and more and more intrusion of business and sales-think more and more intimately in touch with our private lives. We don't need all that stress and its not any more healthy for us as humans than ammonia is for our fish! Aquariums, perhaps along with camp-outs (lol) are things that go against the stream!

I mean, not saying there can't be plenty of excitement, with breeding and going to fish swap meets and the like, but just like mentioning sometimes this tranquil beauty that should be at the core for everyone in my opinion...

~~waterdrop~~