My first tank (kinda long)

[TobyS]

Hello all. This is my first post, so please be gentle

I'm currently in the process of cycling my 18 gallon planted tank which has 6 Black Widow Tetras. At the time of purchase I didn't know about fishless cycling and my LFS didn't mention it to me. They had only a small selection of hardy fish, the Black Widows being the best looking of them. I was recommended to buy at least 6 of them, but it wasn't until I got them home that I realized that with 6 Black Widow Tetras in my tank, I probably won't have much room left for anything else, and the main reason I bought the tank was so I could stock it with really beautiful and colourful fish.

Will I still have room to add some colourful fish when the tank is matured? I've done some research on the net and my results indicate that a lot of the really nice looking fish are either too aggressive for a community tank or just too large. Any recommendations would be appreciated. The main criteria is that they're peaceful and (preferably) colourful. I don't like the idea of handling blood worms or other live food, so they would need to like flake food.

My list of potentials (ie, fish that are peaceful and the right size) now includes: (I may not have the right names here)

Flag Cichlid, Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid, Dwarf Butterfly Cichlid, Dwarf Gourami, Zebra Danio, Panda Cory (so cuuuute ) and Up-side down Catfish.

I understand that some of these fish, such as the Danios and the Corys are schoolers (rather inappropriate given the size of my tank) and that some prefer live food such as the Cichlids. In fact the only fish which seems to be right for me are the Dwarf Gourami and the Catfish, (which I'll probably never see and isn't even that colourful).

However, all of my research is done on the Internet, so I'd like some feedback from people who actually have experience with keeping these, or similar fish. For example, can the schoolers be kept individually or in numbers of two or three? Or, will the Cichlids live off flake food?

I would also prefer to have 3 or 4 larger fish, each of a different species, rather than another school, so given that I only have a small amount of space left in my tank (I think) fish that don't mind being the only one of their kind would be ideal. I don't think I can trust my LFS to give me any useful advise on this matter as they seem more interested in taking my money than assuring the health and well-being of the fish they sell.

Finally, I have a question regarding the cycling process. My LFS sold me a "new aquarium kit" which includes dechlorinator, Filter Start and testers for nitrite and pH. The tank is on the tenth day of the cycle, which according to the instructions from the kit, should only take 2 weeks, but of course the instructions can't take into account the number of fish I have, so I'm expecting it to take longer.

I test for nitrites every couple of days and for the last few tests the nitrite levels have been the highest the indicator will allow. Although the instructions don't mention water changes, I have done a couple of 10% changes because I can't bear to think of my fishies living in water so toxic. I know Black Widow Tetras are hardy buggers but this really makes me wish I'd done a fishless cycle. Was I right to do a water change, or have I disrupted the cycling process? And before you ask, yes I dechlorinate the new water before I add it to the tank.

The instructions also say to feed the fish every day, but the LFS said to feed them every other day. For the first few days I followed the instructions to the letter, but after the nitrites shot up, I have reduced their feeding to once every other day to try to reduce ammonia levels. How long should I expect to wait before the bacteria has become established in a standard Juwel filter system? I am also adding the Filter Start as per the instructions.

The instructions make no mention of cleaning the filter during the cycling process, although obviously I shouldn't replace the blue sponges as these are what the bacteria is growing on, right? What about the carbon sponge; what does that do?

Obviously as a newbie I need all the help I can get to ensure the health of my fish, so please feel free to offer any support you can before I go and kill them all or overstock my tank resulting in a miserable existence for my fish.

Kindest regards

Toby

 

[Alien Anna]

Hi Toby,
firstly, stocking of tanks is more of an art than a science - experienced fish keepers tend to look at a tank side-ways and then go "Uh-huh" and then pronouce your tank over or under-stocked according to some voodoo you learn after years and years in the hobby (voodoo I haven't been initiated into).

Depending on the size and shape of your tank, the kinds of fish you want, whether you have plants or not, the territorial nature of fish, the type of filtration etc. you can fit varying numbers of fish in there. You can get away with over-stocking if you are cunning and prepared to do the work (i.e frequent water changes).

As for cycling, I'd do a water change every day until the tank is cycled and feed every other day. I'd leave the filter well alone unless it was actually blocked - in which case I'd rinse it out gently in used tank water and put it back ASAP. If you follow the link in my sig you can read my article which includes a step-by-step guide to cycling with fish as well as an explantion of cycling in general.

As for the sort of fish you want, I'd strongly suggest you avoid cichlids for the moment - they tend to be aggressive, territorial and large. The only exception might be a pair of kribs, but since I haven't kept them you'd have to ask advice on the New World Cichlid section.

Dwarf gouramis would be good. Alternatively, consider pearl gouramis - subtle colours, particularly in the LFS, but a bit of frozen bloodworm and they go an amazing colour (incidently, squeamishness tends to diminish after a few weeks of fish keeping - I used to be so terrified of touching even dried bloodworm. I felt better when I found out it was dried mosquito larvae - not as icky as worms).

A single male betta may be OK with your tetras - it can depend on the individual fish. I haven't kept one with black skirts so maybe you could ask around and see if anyone else has done so.

Other colourful small fish you might want to consider include: neon tetras, cardinal tetras, Beckford's golden pencilfish, chain loaches, rummy-nosed tetras, rosy minnows, harlequin rasboras, danios (all the true schooling fish); plus "family group" fish: platies, swordtails, cherry barbs, gold barbs. A dwarf plec of some kind isn't particularly colourful or visible but is extremely useful for cleaning up the tank. A couple of golden or blue apple snails will also add some character to a tank.