Many Thanks To The Members, 5 Stars!

[twistedlink]

After what seems like a lifetime, my tank has fully cycled as of yesterday, and upon adding more ammonia and timing it, i have what seems to be a perfectly cycled tank for sure.

I went to the LFS today and got myself

7 neon tetras
7 black phantom tetras
4 keyhole cichlids (couldnt sex them, WAY too young, theyre only 3/4" long if that, so i thought id buy 4 and hopefully get 2 males and 2 females, or even 1 male 3 females or vice versa would be nice, i can seperate the males into my 2nd currently cycling tank)


thats 18 fish, and while i thought thatd fill my 240L tank up quite a bit, it still looks totally barren LOL.

The fish are LOVING 30+ plants ive stuck in there.

The only thing im concerned about is my keyholes, 3 were fine on adding to the tank, but one went totally brown (i know this means its stressed) but there was no real reason, the other 3 seemed really happy, and now 7 hours later after adding them, theyre hiding quite a bit, i know ammonia and nitrite can lead to hiding inactive fish but both are totally 0ppm.

Are they just naturally hiding types of fish?

When i enter the room theyre out and quickly hide again lol.

Thanks to a fully cycled tank i dont have to limit myself to 3 fish a week nonsense, i see a fish i like, so i get it mwahahaha.

Pics and vids will ensue once i get more fish and my plants look decent, right now i just plonked them in for the fish, looks very basic and amatuer lol

Oh also, my neons look REALLY shiny and glossy, is this normal?

 

[OldMan47]

It sounds like the keyholes are acting normal to me. they tend to be a bit skittish in a new environment and are never going to be as relaxed as the neons. Yes neons are very bright colored fish so shiny neons is quite normal. The open and uncrowded look that you have will not seem so empty when everyone gets comfortable and start swimming in the open where you will see them. I would hold the present stocking level for a week or two and let everyone settle in. After that you could probably add a few more fish, maybe something that lives lower in the tank like corydoras.

 

[pauly]

Congrats! But get some pics up please

 

[waterdrop]

Congrats! But get some pics up please

I agree. Great to hear, twisted!
~~waterdrop~~

 

[backtotropical]

Good to hear you got there, Twisted.

Keyhole behaviour sounds normal to me too. They'll settle in and show themselves eventually.

Also, the neons being shiny sounds like its just the type of lights you have. Nothing to worry about.

Great news mate, choked for you!

Enjoy!

BTT

 

[twistedlink]

lol, i got more fish already Oldman, because i didnt read this until now lol

I bought 5 more neons, and i got 5 corydora Julii (WEIRD you should mention them oldman and i get them and didnt even read this message until afterwards)

Im not fond of big bottom eaters and they were cute tiny things and from my knowledge only grow 2" so thats good good, however i wont be buying more fish until next week at the earliest.

 

[twistedlink]

It also appears that Julii are mislabelled a lot, but mine have no lines or zigzags, pure dots, holy hell do i have the real deal here?

Thatd be a nice accidental buy, il get many pics up soon, and hopefully if theyre real Julii's (Once the pics are up) and theyre what a lot of collectors are after i might buy a 3rd special breeding tank just for em and see how i get along and sell them, i can see this becoming a very expensive, yet a very rewarding and addictive hobby

EDIT:A few have a line down the body, the other 2 have dots as the line, not a thick line, also, the eyes are differing in colour, the suspect Julii are lighter coloured, and there eyes look more white around the outside, they dont look different, maybe a mix of both?

Vid is crap phone quality will get a far better one soon

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcAQ3xmI0Gw

 

[OldMan47]

The two corydoras you caught a short closeup on look like trilineatus to me. They are very nice fish but not julii. I didn't see the spotted ones though.