Just Set Up My 1St Tank And Have Some Questions

[Giles]

Hey,

Just received my 1st tropical tank. I have kept coldwater when i was younger (14/15) but lost interest when i went to Uni. I was kindly given a 60 Litre Juwel Aquarium by my G/F parents after they upgraded there tank. The dimensions for it are 24 x 12 and 16 High. Im pretty sure its 60 but it might be 64? Anyway i got the tank and the stand with a heater too. I needed a new filtration system so have purchased one and needed a new light too. By that i mean not just the bulb the whole unit. Fortunately i got speaking to a lady at work who said she had a whole setup that she wanted rid of and promptly asked me to take the whole thing of her hands for free. Unbelievably the light actually fit as the tank that she gave me was the same size in length and width just smaller for depth. Bonus saved me £30 at least. She also gave me a load of tetra safe and other chemicals for the fish and some other equipment. Anyway i set up the aquarium and allowed it to cycle before introducing fish. Being a complete novice after 1 week i put in 2 Molly's and 5 Neon tetras not realising that these are not hardy fish. Two of the tetras died the same day but the rest are absoloutely fine and seem to be loving it! I do have 6 live plants and bogwood for hidey holes as im aware the plants provide alot of oxygen. I have also recently added an air pump, which i was told can help quite a bit; along with 2 harlequins (Very small at the moment) and a Plec of some sort, i was told my the women who sold me it that this type will not grow that much so i know its not a common plec but need help identifying exactly what it is?

My question is now these fish have been settled a couple of weeks i want to slowly introduce more fish, however i dont want to ruin all my hard work and introduce something that could cause the whole lot to die. Im aware roughly of how many fish i can have but am satisfied for now with the size as im still at home in my bedroom.

I had thought over time i could/would like to add:


Two blue rams?

Cardinal tetras

Mollies (im aware of the potential breeding but my g/f parents have a huge tank i could send too if they do breed)

Cherry Barb

A red tail Black shark? Im aware this could pose a problem but wasent sure if one signle one would be ok?

Im open to any suggestions and unsure of what would be suitable to add next so any advice is most welcome.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

First thing's first, do you have a water test kit of some sort? The majority of users on here prefer the API Freshwater Master test Kit (12/15 quid, Ebay). You are now in a 'fish-in' cycle and therefore need to continue to test your water DAILY and do water changes whenever needed, IE; any trace of Ammonia and/or NitrIe WILL be harmful to your fish, so be prepared for daily, even twice daily water changes, for the next couple of months...

I am unable to comment on your stocking as i am a relative newbie myself, but what i do know is that as soon as the word 'Plec' is mentioned on here then a whole heap of info and opinions come your way.

A 'fishless' cycle is always the preferred method, but nevermind..keep on top of your W/C's and hopefully you'll get there.

Terry.

EDIT; After reading your post again, you say you 'cycled the tank', in what way? Did you 'cycle' it using those 'chemicals' then simply add your first fish after a week? If so, your tank is not cycled. If this is the case, politely ask your G/F's parents for a handful of their media out of their filter..this will kick start your cycle process. Using 'mature media' from a friend, i cut my fishless cycle time down form 6/7/8/ weeks to a fortnight!

 

[StandbySetting]

Just a note on the plants, the one at the very front with white tipped leaves is not aquatic, so remove it before it rots.

With regards to your stocking I would cycle the tank first, it would seem that you're in a fish in cycle, so complete this before adding fish, but for your future stocking I would suggest buying another Neon Tetra and another 4 Harlequin Rasbora's, so you have 6 of each, along with your 2 Molly's and the Pleco you have (which I believe is a Bristlenose Pleco) then your stocking is pretty much complete for the initial few months, once the tank matures and everything becomes settled you could add a few more, but I wouldn't add Blue Rams to a tank with these current fish in it, they require higher than average temperature's to thrive and the current fish you have don't do well at these higher temperatures.

 

[Harlequins]

Have a read in the beginners section,lots of info about cycling the filter etc,if you've added bottled bacteria to cycle then it probably hasn't done much...

Has taffy mentioned you will need a liquid test kit to make sure your ammonia & nitrite is at zero,if not then w/c's is a must.

Going by your measurements your tank is 76 litres(17gal uk)(20 gals us)- Red tailed black shark is a no,tank to small imo,harlequins & tetras are shoaling fish and need to be in groups of 6-8+

I'm unsure of id on your plec,i'm sure someone will help with that,the important thing is dont add anymore fish until you've tested your water for ammonia & nitrite.The last thing you want is to lose fish.

Welcome to TFF

 

[Giles]

With regards to the cycling, i kept some of the old gravel and a couple of the plants from my G/F tank as well as the heater. I had to get a new filter as the old one was on the way out. I cycled the tank by setting it up, adding plants and tetra safe and then leaving it for a week. I then took a water sample to my local garden centre, which has a huge aquatics centre and was told that it was ok to add some fish. I do have a test kit but am yet to use it at the moment but i will now that ive been made aware of what is necassary. I was told that adding live plants and an air pump would help the water with regards to providing oxygen.etc Like i said the only casualty i had was two tetras on the first day. Yes stupidly i didnt buy hardy fish initially but i wasen't advised otherwise by my local f/s either. I dont know why the tetras died? perhaps shock.etc from being introduced to a new tank although i did float the bags for 30 mins to allow the temperatures to stay equal. I would like to know the size of the tank with regards to Litres with it being slightly odd shaped. 24x12x16


I wasent aware that the plant was unsuitable it was sold to me in the aquatics section as an equatic plant at pets at home.

For the future would anyone be able to offer advice on what might work in this smallish community tank added to what is already in there please.

 

[fluttermoth]

With regards to the cycling, i kept some of the old gravel and a couple of the plants from my G/F tank as well as the heater. I had to get a new filter as the old one was on the way out. I cycled the tank by setting it up, adding plants and tetra safe and then leaving it for a week.

I'm afraid your tank is not cycled. The water and gravel will have held very, very little of the good bacteria you needed; that was all in the old filter.
Just running a tank wil not cycle it; you need to be adding a source of ammonia for the bacteria to feed on. You are now in a fish-in cycle, so will need to be testing every day for ammonia, and doing large water changes, with warm, dechlorinated water any time you see the ammonia (nitrite too, if you have a test for that) above zero.

There are some really good articles on cycling in the beginner's resource center (the link is in my sig)

I dont know why the tetras died? perhaps shock.etc from being introduced to a new tank although i did float the bags for 30 mins to allow the temperatures to stay equal. I would like to know the size of the tank with regards to Litres with it being slightly odd shaped. 24x12x16

I'm afraid the tetra died from ammonia poisoning from being in an uncycled tank, although they don't so well in new set ups either.
76 litres; that's a pretty standard size

I wasent aware that the plant was unsuitable it was sold to me in the aquatics section as an equatic plant at pets at home.

We're always hearing that, but it is a non-aquatic plant!

For the future would anyone be able to offer advice on what might work in this smallish community tank added to what is already in there please.

I wouldn't try to add any more fish until your filter has cyled; it'll just put extra strain on the new bacterial colony

 

[Giles]

Ok thanks for the advice, most odd then that it was sold in that way to me then, i wouldnt have bought it had i known it wasen't. Sounds like im quite lucky then that i only lost two tetras on the 1st day everything else seems to be doing fine, i havent seen any fish gasping for breath or anything of that nature.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Ok thanks for the advice, most odd then that it was sold in that way to me then, i wouldnt have bought it had i known it wasen't. Sounds like im quite lucky then that i only lost two tetras on the 1st day everything else seems to be doing fine, i havent seen any fish gasping for breath or anything of that nature.

Ok, but as i asked before..is your G/F's parents' tank still running? If so, you really could do with a handful of their 'media' from their filter, this will speed up your cycle time and then you can look into getting more fish!

In the mean time, as fluttermoth says, you really should be testing EVERY day and doing water changes as soon as you get readings for NitrIte and/or Ammonia, otherwise you're going to lose the rest of your fish.

PS- some aquatic stores do NOT recognise the benefits of doing a fishless cycle. Their simple advise is, as you say, 'leave for a week then add some hardy fish'. Yes, ok, the fish you have WILL produce enough Ammonia to feed your 'beneficial bacteria' in time but it involves water tests and water changes, daily, which is the situation you find yourself in now. So prepare yourself for a couple of months of daily tests and changes, unless you get to your G/F's parents and get some of their bacteria rich media!!!!

Terry.

 

[Giles]

Obtained the old media, whats the best way to add this? i have the old pump as such, also i had another question regarding this. I have another filter given to me, which is a fluvel and perhaps alot better looking than my current and proberbly a better filter overall. Would it be possible to change it for my filter, this one was in an established tank but hasent been used for a year, still boxed in full working order.

 

[fluttermoth]

Your best bet would be to put all the old media that's just been given you, plus what's in the filter you're using now into the fluval, along with as much new media to top it up as you can get in (short of stuffing it in so hard it inpedes the water flow!).

 

[Giles]

Can you just clarify when you say "old media" what you mean exactly? the sponges or stones as such?

 

[fluttermoth]

Media is anything that sits inside the filter for bacteria to grow on; it's usually sponges and/or ceramic rings, but can be porous 'rocks' or something.

I'm sorry, I should have made myself clearer!