Help Me Get Started With Fishies! :)

[roger79]

Hello all!

I've been reading through these forums a lot lately and have learned tons about fishkeeping. Thank you!
There seems to be many knowledgeable readers and writers here so I'm now looking for guidance to make sure my first experiment with fishkeeping turns out well!
I have absolutely no equipment whatsoever so far so any basic suggestions on what i should get would be appreciated.

I am moving at the beginning of July so that's when I will start putting everything together... I'm still at the planning stage...

What's already settled:

Total budget: $250 max
Tank size: 15 gallons (60L)
Fish species: Black phantom tetras, Neon tetras
Invert species: Shrimp (still unsure what species), maybe Snails

Where I need help:
I was told at my local store that Neons and Shrimps don't really count in the number of fishes your tank size allows... is this true?
Could I go with as many as 8 Neons, 12 Shrimps, and still add Phantoms and 2 other fish species? or is it too much variety?
If it's OK, can I add Honey Gouramis to the mix above? what else would do? I would like to add some colourful buddies!
Will the shrimp be safe around all those fishes?
What kind of shrimp should I go with? I was thinking of Cherry shrimps?
Do live plants really benefit water condition and fish moral or would plastic ones do equally well?
I really like the look of black sand in aquariums but it doesn't really seem like a natural fish environment... is it really good for them?

I know that's a lot of questions for a first post here... hopefully this doesn't sound rude or anything...
I just really want this first experiment to go well! I want my aquarium to look nice and my fish to be happy!

Thanks a lot!

 

[Scotty001]

to the forum roger79,

Good to see your ding plenty of research before you have got the tank the fish and the problems ive tried to answer a few of the questions below hope it is of some help and im sure that there will be many more people the come along to help out.

I would recomend doing a fishless cycle as you havnt got fish yet as this is muh safer and does not harm fish, if you have not already done so read HERE about how to do a fishless cycle your fish will appriciate it much uch more, i would also recomend reading through the pinned topics in the new to the hobby section there is lots of great invaluble info here !!!


Where I need help:
I was told at my local store that Neons and Shrimps don't really count in the number of fishes your tank size allows... is this true? un true for neons !! they do produce waste which becomes ammonia and needs to be converted through to nitrate whith a water change to remove the nitrate. otherwise you would be able to go ahead and cram so many fish in the tank thet there is no room for them to move and the waste the produce will be too high for filter to cope with, Shrimp however are generally not countded in the bio load.


Could I go with as many as 8 Neons, 12 Shrimps, and still add Phantoms and 2 other fish species? or is it too much variety? veriety is a good thing 8 neons is a good number as they are a schoaling fish and need safey in numbers as do phantoms. as a beginer the rule of thumb is 1inch of fish to 1 gallon (this is based on the size if the fish when an adult, this would give you aprox based on 8 neons and 6 phantoms. 9.4 inch of neon & 9.4 inch of fantom Total 18.8 inch in a 60L (15.9 US Gallon) which based on this rule of thumb is over stocked, however with good filtration you should be ok.

If it's OK, can I add Honey Gouramis to the mix above? what else would do? I would like to add some colourful buddies! honey gaouramis grow to about 2 inches and need a tank with minimum of 24 inch in length so depends how your tank is constructed but would be a big push to put in with the ther fish mentioned above, for colourfull fish and a small tank you may also like to look at Endlers, Guppys and Zebra danio's, you could not keep all of them together but could look at what you may prefer to have together.#

Will the shrimp be safe around all those fishes? shrimp will be safe around the above mentioned fish.

What kind of shrimp should I go with? I was thinking of Cherry shrimps?is good and neons and black phantms do go together and should be ok with cherry shrimp. as mentioned cherries are good with these fish

Do live plants really benefit water condition and fish moral or would plastic ones do equally well? live plants are better IMO they absorb Nitrates which is good as wil also help keep the algea away too, the look better than plastic and dont get covered in algea. and fish will lke them better to the plastic.

I really like the look of black sand in aquariums but it doesn't really seem like a natural fish environment... is it really good for them?The colour of sand is more personal choice, some fish come from areas where the substrait is dark mud some from sandy areas, ive not found any problems or heard of prolems leeepinf fish with black sand and it does show the colours of the fish much better

I know that's a lot of questions for a first post here... hopefully this doesn't sound rude or anything...
I just really want this first experiment to go well! I want my aquarium to look nice and my fish to be happy!

there is no probs at all with lots of questions !!! its the best thing to do other than research which questions are part of. there is no suh thing as a silly question other than the question that you did not ask.,

I would personally recomend as im sure almost every one here will if it is possible get a larger tank, the reasons being, the bigger the tank the better and simpler it is to manage the water quality and it will save you money in the long run too as im sure like most, myself included after a month of keeping fish you will want more and maybe biger fish that will not go into a 60L so will go out and buy a bigger tank.

I bought a 60L had t up and running for just ovr a month 9when cycled ) then went out and bought a 165L tank and have since bought another 2, 112L tanks as well.

Good luck with the fish keeping and good to see you researching 1st, ohh also ad a liquid test kit to your list of things to get, you will need this to cycle the tank and also keep an eye on the water your ish are living in making sure it is safe and comfortable for them

 

[roger79]

Wow thanks a lot for the quick and detailed reply!

I have indeed read the topic with the 2 fishless cycle methods and plan on going through that process.
However since I'm moving in a few weeks I will wait to be at my new place before doing so.

I would love to go with a bigger tank (and bigger fish) but I'm moving for the 3rd time in 3 years and will likely move again a few times in the near future so I would like to wait until I settle somewhere before I get into a more elaborate project.

Based on your reply, do Phantoms need to be a big group (6 as you mentioned) or could I only get 2 or 3 and then 2 or 3 of another species?
IIRC, the aquarium I was looking at was 22" long... could I go with only 3 Phantoms and a pair of Honey Gouramis (with the shrimps and neons)... or would that still be a big push?

Thanks again!

 

[Scotty001]

Wow thanks a lot for the quick and detailed reply!

I have indeed read the topic with the 2 fishless cycle methods and plan on going through that process.
However since I'm moving in a few weeks I will wait to be at my new place before doing so.

I would love to go with a bigger tank (and bigger fish) but I'm moving for the 3rd time in 3 years and will likely move again a few times in the near future so I would like to wait until I settle somewhere before I get into a more elaborate project.

Based on your reply, do Phantoms need to be a big group (6 as you mentioned) or could I only get 2 or 3 and then 2 or 3 of another species?
IIRC, the aquarium I was looking at was 22" long... could I go with only 3 Phantoms and a pair of Honey Gouramis (with the shrimps and neons)... or would that still be a big push?

Thanks again!

I think it will be a little push to have a pair of gouramis especially if you get a male and female or two males, as they will have a little chase around and a 60L isnt much room for them to dart about. with tetras and 3 phantoms in a 60L if you could stretch to a 100L / 112L then wouldnt be so bad.

phantoms do need to be idealy in groups of 6+ but they will shoal as well with similar size and shape fish so you could theoreticaly get away with 2 diff species of phantom, some male phanoms can get a little teretorial and will havea little push and shove so needs a few of them to even out the aggression amungst themselves.

 

[BigC]

Try to fill all the water layers,,,Top Middle and Bottom.
As you already have lower level occupants then I would suggest Marbled hatchets for the surface and some smaller Corydoras for the substrate. Your tank is not far removed from mine in volume. See pic for almost the same occupants. Once it matures and you are using live plants (pay attention to the substrate even if your nor considering CO2 injection) you can add a few Ottocinclus to the mix. Remember to do partial waterchangs on a weekly basis.

I couldn't get Black Phantoms locally at the time so Black Widows were an impatient 2nd choice.

Regards
BigC