My Superfish 70

[Eclectic Ukulele]

I have never owned a fishtank before. Dogs, cats, guinea pigs and hamsters yes, fish never.

The fishtank and stand were £180 on ebay from an Aquatic shop. ( Aquacadabra}.

Thankfully water conditioner, bio conditioner and a dew other bits came with it.

I used the Fluval Shrimp substrate as I felt the substrate would be suitable for corydoras whether I had shrimp or not.

Despite a bad case of flu over the winter the cycle seems to be ok so far.

Even bought a few more bits ie christmas tree a large log and a new plant.

There are a few Nerite snails helping with the algae.

Current levels are:

Ammonia 0
Nitrites: 0
PH: 6.5


I turned the filter up slightly.

Hoping for Pygmy Corydoras 6 or 12
Ember Tetras x 6
Honey Gourami x 1

Optional: Cherry Shrimp x ?

Opinions are always welcome.

 

[raylove]

Don't put all the fish in at once. I would add the Embers first followed by perhaps 6-8 Cory's at least 6 weeks later. Honey gouramis can be shy but I understand why you chose it a a centrepiece. It would be best to leave that until you have more plant cover. I think the shrimps would be OK but I've not kept them myself.
All that is provided the tank is truly cycled - you say the cycle seems OK but not sure how you cycled it and how long it took? Once ammonia and nitrite have leaked and fallen you need to keep feeding the bacteria until you introduce fish. If you stop, the bacteria die off and the tank 'un-cycles' itself and you are back to square one.

 

[Eclectic Ukulele]

Thanks Ray.

 

[seangee]

I'd go 12 embers personally. They are peaceful, so no harm in adding 6 and then another 6 after a month or 2. Agree that they should go in first - they are much hardier than pygmy cories. These are quite sensitive to water quality btw, so regular water changes are a must.
Personally I wouldn't bother with the gourami as IMO centrepieces aren't needed in well balanced communities. (Also likely to see shrimplets as food).

What is the pH of your tap water? Put some in a glass and test after 24 hours. pH of 6.5 seems low for Beds, so it is possible there is something in the substrate that's bringing it down.

 

[Eclectic Ukulele]

I'd go 12 embers personally. They are peaceful, so no harm in adding 6 and then another 6 after a month or 2. Agree that they should go in first - they are much hardier than pygmy cories. These are quite sensitive to water quality btw, so regular water changes are a must.
Personally I wouldn't bother with the gourami as IMO centrepieces aren't needed in well balanced communities. (Also likely to see shrimplets as food).

What is the pH of your tap water? Put some in a glass and test after 24 hours. pH of 6.5 seems low for Beds, so it is possible there is something in the substrate that's bringing it down.

The substrate I used is the fluval shrimp one as I knew from the start I wanted Corydoras.