Ideas For A New Tank - 70 Litres

[sizzla01]

Firstly greetings to all Boardies

I am a complete beginner in keeping Tropical fish this is my first tank.

10 Days ago I purchased a Juwel Rekord 70 and have just had my water chemical levels passed by the local aquatic centre, so I am now ready to begin stocking the tank.

The tank has a gravel bottom, 2 large rocks, various smaller pebbles and 4 artificial plants (2 large, 2 small)

I have been told/read that I can have between 70 to 80 can of fully-grown fish.

So my plan is to have the following: -

5 rummy Nose Tetra’s approx 25 cm
5 Red eyed Tetra’s approx 35 cm
2 dwarf guarimis approx 10 cm
1 or 2 bottom feeder/algae eater approx 10 cm

What do you think to this plan ?

Is this to many fish for the tank ?

Will they mix together well ?

Which fish should I introduce first ?

What bottom feeder/algae eater do you recommend (or even cructation) ?

What breed dwarf guarimi would you go for ?

Do you think having 2 different types of Tetra’s is worth it ? (as I have also thought about barbs for 1 of the shoals )

What other fish should I consider ?

Basically if you have any other ideas to throw at me I’m willing to consider any suggestions from you more experienced boardies.


Thanks in advanced

Sizzla01

 

[tled6448]

I think it is bad because if you are talking about a plecostomus (algae eater) they get very large. I have a 18 inch plecostomus and he is highly aggressive. I think that rummy nose tetras,red eye tetras,and dwarf gouaramis are good peaceful fish. you could also add zebra danios, other small tetras, and many other small fish. If you have a walmart don't buy your fish there. There fish selection is not good because alot of their fish are dieing of disease. Don't buy pacus they get 3 feet long and larger! I have one and he is 12 inches now and growing fast. I recommend a Otocinclus Catfish for a algae eater. They only get 2 inches long. How Many gallons is your tank? They will all mix together well. I would get any of the dwarf gouramis they aren't semi aggressive like the larger gouramis. Some barbs are fin nippers. I hope this was a little bit of help to you!

 

[dwarfgourami]

I think it is bad because if you are talking about a plecostomus (algae eater) they get very large.

Please note:

that the term pleco or plec is used of a great number of different species- all of them don't grow anywhere near as big as 18 inches (and a fair few of them don't eat algae either). As you keep telling people that their plecs (regardless of species) will grow massive, tled, I think you might benefit from a quick look at the PlanetCatfish list- just google PlanetCatfish and you will see what I mean.

that the term algae eater is usually used of the Chinese Algae Eater (gyrinoleichus aymoneri), which would be another bad choice for this tank.

Sizzla, it would be possible to fit a bristlenose plec (ancistrus sp.) into this tank, but it is a bit of a tight fit and would require otherwise very light stocking and dedicated maintenance (I have a similar arrangement and gravel vac twice a week).

A better bet might be 3 otos, but they are sensitive to water stats and should only be added once the tank has been up and running for several months with fish and without disease. At this stage it would also be possible to add amano shrimps, they also eat algae.

Have you checked out the pinned topic in the beginner's section about fishless cycling? Do so before you add any fish! Make sure you understand the concept of the nitrogen cycle, so you are not dependent on the shop.

Just one more note- dwarf gouramis are sensitive so should not be added early while the tank is still unsettled. And they are territorial, so only get 1 male (the brigthly coloured ones). They are not sociable, a single male would be perfectly happy on its own.

Rummy noses are also very sensitive and should be added when the tank is mature.

 

[kayzcar]

http/www.thinkfish.co.uk/community.html
i found this helpful in seting up my tank

 

[dwarfgourami]

http/www.thinkfish.co.uk/community.html
i found this helpful in seting up my tank

Be careful, you will end up with a very crowded tank if you follow some of their advice.

 

[stang1]

I agree with dwarfgourami, the thinkfish community creator isn't very accurate at all.

 

[fffclub]

If it helps at all, I have a 75l tank and the following stock

4 platy, 5 albino cory, 10 galaxy rasbora and 2 cherry shrimp.

All the occupants get on fine together.

The platy swim at all levels, the rasbora generally stay in the centre of the tank, and the cory spend the majority of the time at the bottom, although they do seem to race around the top at times.

The only downside is trying to find the shrimp !

 

[fishboy619]

my 70litre has 5 kuhliis, 3 amano shrimp, 5 red phantom tetra and 5 black phantom tetra and 1 female betta
plus 3 male guppies that are staying short term

 

[Biulu]

You could add 2 male dwarf gouramis to this tank as long as you make sure there are sufficient hiding places and plants, so they can each occupy their own territory. The breed is up to you, as they are all the same species (Colisa lalia) which come in different colours. The most common ones are a type of blue cobalt with orange (in varying degrees, some more blue, some more orange), and a so-called flame gourami (almost completely orange with a greyish head). Make sure you put them in at the same time, and that they are roughly the same size to avoid any bullying.

On this forum people mostly talk about inches and gallons, which for us using the metric system is more complicated. However, I did the conversion of the 1 inch/gallon rule, and that amounts to about 0.67 cm/ litre (2/3 cm per litre). For a 70 litre tank that would make 47 cm of fish, instead of your 70 to 80. That is almost half of what they told you!

For a tank that size, I would personally take 1 type of (small) shoalfish, 1 or 2 larger fish (could be the dwarf gourami), and complete it with some cories (around 3 - 4) for the bottom.

I assume that you tank is cycled after what you told about the water that you had tested at the lfs. Otherwise, read the threads on fishless cycling.

Good luck!

 

[Tessla]

That's about 18 US gallons. I'd only keep a single gourami in there as you haven't got enough room to keep a two females with a male. As mentioned dwarf gouramis are all the same species, just with different color forms. The honey gourami also stays small and would do well in your tank. A single larger group of a shoaling fish, either rummy nose or red eyed tetras or a similar fish would be better than two smaller groups.

There are quite a few fun bottom feeders, I tend to stock my tanks around my bottom feeders rather than my top dwellers. Most prefer sand to gravel, any that dig (the kuhli loach for instance) will require sand but most others will appreciate it as well. Dwarfgourami already mentioned Planet Catfish, this is a great resource if you are interested in any sort of corydoras or pleco. Corydoras will do best in a group of five or more, so you'll likely want to go for a smaller species.There are also many loaches suitable for small tanks, if you can find them. Loaches Online has some excellent profiles on various species. The hillstream or butterfly loaches tend to be smaller, and are one of the "sucking" fish that would suit your tank. Other options would be a small group of 3-4 dwarf chain loaches or 4+ kuhli loaches (which would require sand). There are also several algae shrimp which make great additions, the most common are the amano and cherry shrimp, Petshrimp.com has some good info on them.

 

[sizzla01]

Well 1stly thankx for the advise....

Since my 1st post i have purchased 6 Danio's (3 Leopards 3 Zebras)...due to the fact that I have been advised that these are very hardy & good starter fish. They seem to be doing fine, even though they a lively so & so's.

So my revised plan is to introduce a shoul of 5 or 6 Tetra's (either lemon, Red eye or Bleeding Heart) in the next couple of weeks.

Then later on down the line add 1 or 2 Gourami's (probably Honey's) as they seem to stay small.

Then finally add a Bristlenose once the tank has matured sufficently.

For the past 2 weeks I have performed a weekly 15% water change, but on re-introducing the "new" water there seems to be a lot of oxygen bubbles in the tank for a few hours after & the Danio's go even more mental than normal.

Is this normal ? and is there any tips on the correct way of introducing new water.

I have also introduce 2 live plants (1 week ago) and plan to introduce 2 more this weekend, but as yet have not feed them.

Do the plants need feeding ? if so what products do you suggest ?

Any advise more than welcome.

Sizzla01

 

[sizzla01]

Sizzla, it would be possible to fit a bristlenose plec (ancistrus sp.) into this tank, but it is a bit of a tight fit and would require otherwise very light stocking and dedicated maintenance (I have a similar arrangement and gravel vac twice a week).

Why do u need to clean the gravel so often ? Also how do you clean the gravel without up rooting all your plants etc ?

A better bet might be 3 otos, but they are sensitive to water stats and should only be added once the tank has been up and running for several months with fish and without disease. At this stage it would also be possible to add amano shrimps, they also eat algae.

Could I have both oto's & amano living happy together ? along with my danio's, tetra & gourami

 

[sizzla01]

On this forum people mostly talk about inches and gallons, which for us using the metric system is more complicated. However, I did the conversion of the 1 inch/gallon rule, and that amounts to about 0.67 cm/ litre (2/3 cm per litre). For a 70 litre tank that would make 47 cm of fish, instead of your 70 to 80. That is almost half of what they told you!

No disrespect but 47 cm would be approx 9/10 danio's (or otha smalle's) who grow upto a maximum of 5 cm.

Both Fishboy & FFF Club seem to be getting on fine with similar tank sizes and have in the region of 20 fish. I'm only looking to have 15-20 of small fish so hopefully that won't be over stocked.

Thankx

Sizzla01

 

[fffclub]

I tried to research several aspects before I made a final stocking choice, which included the levels of the tank the fish would probably inhabit, and how much mess they would create.

Although I have the galaxy rasbora they remain very small, 2cm max, and hardly add any waste to the tank

If you have a specific breed you definately want then try to work the rest around that, even if it means you have less stock than you anticipated.

The only problem now is trying to convince the other half that a much larger tank would be a good idea

 

[dwarfgourami]

Why do u need to clean the gravel so often ? Also how do you clean the gravel without up rooting all your plants etc ?

Because bristlenoses poop a LOT! I would estimate that one 5 inch bristlenose probably has the body mass of 20 of Biulu's galaxy rasboras, and like most plecs BNs are quite messy, so you're not really comparing like with like. I clean around the plants, no probs, but I have found I need to lift my ornaments from time to time to prevent pockets of dirt and pollution from forming.

Could I have both oto's & amano living happy together ? along with my danio's, tetra & gourami

Yes, that sounds fine. About the tetras, get a smaller species than bleeding hearts- they grow quite big and need more swimming space. Something like glowlights or black neons.

But make sure you test the water before you introduce more fish- 6 danios is actually quite a heavy load for cycling a 19 gallon tank. Make sure you don't get ammonia spikes, and it will probably take more than a couple of weeks to complete the cycle.