New 20 Gallon Starter Tank - Advice? :)

[HevvyC]

As you are in the UK argos play sand is probably the most popular. It does need a bit of rinsing though as it contains a lot of dust. If you prefer a dark substrate search for black limpopo sand. Its not actually black - but does require much less rinsing than the argos sand.

Play sand you say! The things I'm learning already!

Here is an sample of it in one of my tanks https://www.fishforums.net/threads/lake-inle-nano.448015/page-3#post-3843525

We can go into a bit more detail now that we are pinning things down. Aquarium plants will grow in most any substrate, but the grain size can be problematical if too large. Sand is ideal plant substrate, and it is safe for all fish. Gravel in some specific aquascapes can be effective, but the grain size has to be small enough if plants are intended, and substrate-level fish (cories, loaches, some cichlids, etc) are usually hampered and need sand. The most inexpensive, safest, most natural looking sand is play sand. You're in the UK and other members from there can suggest brands as they have previously in other threads. Never use white sand, it is detrimental to fish. Black can be problematic too, but a darkish tone is best, like the dark grey mix of play sand or the buff tone play sand. This is also inert so no messing with the water chemistry.

Plants need nutrients, and while some plants (depending upon species and numbers) can manage fine with just the naturally-occurring organics from feeding the fish, and water changes, others may need more. Substrate tabs can benefit some substrate-rooted plants such as swords which are heavy feeders, and liquid fertilizer can benefit all plants, particularly floating which are not rooted in the substrate. The aim is to use minimally, as everything in the water gets inside the fish and less of this the better for the fish.

CO2...the primary source is the decomposition of organics in the substrate. In tanks with fish this will generally suffice. Algae can become a nuisance if CO2 is insufficient, and here the light plays into the equation.

I had a look at the light link and that should be good. Another thread had discussions of these same tubes a week or so ago. There are four different spectrum tubes in the photo. The Actinic and the Marine are definitely out, they willnot work over a freshwater planted tank. The "Plant" tube I thought was perhaps less effective that the last tube, whgich has a better colour wavelength. I am assuming this is the tube the text refers to, though it is a bit unclear.

Thanks a lot for all the advice - really useful stuff. Has made me think twice about the CO2 diffuser as they don't come cheap. I will try with just the fertiliser I found which has great reviews on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009S4IGOG/?tag=

Regarding lights, I'm hoping it is the same one! If not you may be getting some more lighting queries fired at you in the future, if you can bear it.

I'm not picking up the tank until next Tuesday but I'll be sure to share photos once it's up and running and I'm chuffed with the amount of info I've received.

Any suggestions on other colourful fish I could add rather than platies?

 

[HevvyC]

Play sand tends to come in one or two colour hues/mixres. I have a dark grey which is very nice, there is also a buff sand. Don't know what may be available in the UK.

Avoid white at all cost, it is not well suited to fish. Darker, not meaning black itself, is generally better. Light substrates and light then reflected off them can be stressful on fish.

For your tank, and assuming play sand in the UK comes in 25kg bags like here, one is all you will need. It's always nice to have some left over for later touch-ups, or another tank! You don't want it too deep, I tend to spread it evenly at about 1.5 to 2 inches depth overall (4-5 cm). Then you can push it deeper at the back and shallower at the front, or whatever.

Sounds great, thanks a lot. Good to know how much I should put in as well.

 

[Byron]

Any suggestions on other colourful fish I could add rather than platies?

From post #1, we have Honey Gourami (a trio would be nice, one male and two females but make sure you have floating plants), neon tetra and cories. These are all relatively sedate or quiet fish, meaning non-active swimmers; even cories do not get classed as very active. So you need to stay with that or you will have trouble if you add an active fish. Gourami are upper level, neons tend to be mid-lower, and cories obviously substrate primarily. Rasboras suit gouramis very well, so have a look at one of the Trigonostigma species, there are three. The most commonly seen is also the largest, T. heteromorpha (Harlequin Rasbora), and then there are the slightly smaller T. espei and T. hengeli, the latter quite striking. These are mid-water so a nice combo.

 

[HevvyC]

From post #1, we have Honey Gourami (a trio would be nice, one male and two females but make sure you have floating plants), neon tetra and cories. These are all relatively sedate or quiet fish, meaning non-active swimmers; even cories do not get classed as very active. So you need to stay with that or you will have trouble if you add an active fish. Gourami are upper level, neons tend to be mid-lower, and cories obviously substrate primarily. Rasboras suit gouramis very well, so have a look at one of the Trigonostigma species, there are three. The most commonly seen is also the largest, T. heteromorpha (Harlequin Rasbora), and then there are the slightly smaller T. espei and T. hengeli, the latter quite striking. These are mid-water so a nice combo.

Thanks for the suggestion - I actually work in a pet store inside a garden centre and we do stock harlequins. I can't say I'm in love with them but I want my fish to be comfortable with eachother and they will definitely add some interest/ movement to the tank. Maybe after watching them interact they will grow on me! How many would you recommend? And how many neons/ cory's would I be able to keep safely?

 

[Essjay]

There is a colour variant of harlequin, called variously black harlequins, purple harlequins or royal harlequins depending on the shop. They are very dark purple with orange noses.

All Trigonostigmas (all the fish Byron mentioned) like cover over their heads. I have T. espei and until I got some floating plants they all hid in the back corner. The other fish under discussion also prefer to have floating plants.

 

[Byron]

I agree. And as for numbers, with these rasbora you want to have more than the oft-cited "six." With the Harlequin (the original or the varieties essjay mentioned, all are the same species) I would say seven or eight. With either of the other two slightly smaller species, 9-10.

If this is the tank linked previously, it is 105 liters (roughly 28 US gallons) with dimensions of 75 x 35 x 40 cm. My suggestions are/will be based on this tank.

 

[HevvyC]

There is a colour variant of harlequin, called variously black harlequins, purple harlequins or royal harlequins depending on the shop. They are very dark purple with orange noses.

All Trigonostigmas (all the fish Byron mentioned) like cover over their heads. I have T. espei and until I got some floating plants they all hid in the back corner. The other fish under discussion also prefer to have floating plants.

Will definitely get some of those then, many thanks!

 

[HevvyC]

I agree. And as for numbers, with these rasbora you want to have more than the oft-cited "six." With the Harlequin (the original or the varieties essjay mentioned, all are the same species) I would say seven or eight. With either of the other two slightly smaller species, 9-10.

If this is the tank linked previously, it is 105 liters (roughly 28 US gallons) with dimensions of 75 x 35 x 40 cm. My suggestions are/will be based on this tank.

Okay! How does this list sound to you?

8 rasboras
6 neons
1 male & 2 female gouramis
2 leopard cory's

 

[Essjay]

My comment is that you need more of them. The rasboras and neons would do better with at least 10 of each; and cories need at least 6 with more being better. They are all shoaling fish that re much happier in larger numbers.

Dwarf gouramis are hit and miss. A lot are already infected with incurable disease by the time they reach the shop. If any fish, even just one, in the tank looks at all iffy, don't buy them but go somewhere else. And be warned that some shop workers can't tell the difference between males and females! Read up on them so you know the difference.
Or get honey gouramis instead.

 

[HevvyC]

My comment is that you need more of them. The rasboras and neons would do better with at least 10 of each; and cories need at least 6 with more being better. They are all shoaling fish that re much happier in larger numbers.

Dwarf gouramis are hit and miss. A lot are already infected with incurable disease by the time they reach the shop. If any fish, even just one, in the tank looks at all iffy, don't buy them but go somewhere else. And be warned that some shop workers can't tell the difference between males and females! Read up on them so you know the difference.
Or get honey gouramis instead.

I'm going to get honey gouramis anyway, my work is going to order some in for me and I will do my best to check they are healthy. Advantage of working there, I can choose them myself instead of getting whatever is caught first! I will go with those numbers providing it's not too many for my tank size - many thanks.

 

[Retired Viking]

I would also suggest not getting all the fish at one time. I put one group in at a time and see how they do before adding the next. I started with my red eye tetras and then my embers and finally neon tetras. I have a planted 55 gallon tank and still took the time to make sure I wasn't overstocking since I was doing a silent cycle. I have 9 neon tetras now and planning to adding 6 more. With your 28 gallon you have less room and the less water so you have a greater change in water quality when you add something.

 

[Essjay]

If you were to do a fishless cycle with ammonia, you could get them all at once but if you intend using plants then you do need to get them a few at a time. Test for ammonia and nitrite every day after adding fish to make sure the plants are taking up all the ammonia made by the fish.
But with the shoaling fish, you would need to get the whole shoal at once, so all the harlequins at once, all the neons at once and all the cories at once. Not all three at the same time though

When the fish arrive, don't rush to take them home immediately, wait a few days. That way you'll be able to tell better if they are healthy or not, as they will be very stressed at first.
Honey gouramis are less disease prone than dwarfs, but depending on the colour variant, they can be more difficult to tell males from females. Natural coloured honeys are easy (tan males, beige females), yellow honeys are trickier but it can be done; red honeys are almost impossible.

 

[Byron]

A couple observations. The Honey Gourami is not a disease risk (beyond any fish being one) unlike the Dwarf, so that problem is settled. Just so we are all on the same page.

The rasbora if this is the common Harlequin is OK with 8. If it is either of the other two related species, 10+ would be better. With three distinct species being discussed, "rasbora" needs to be pinned down so once again we are all thinking the same.

Neon tetra, agree with 10+. I know it can be confusing, all this insistence on numbers, but it really is important to the fish. Paul Loiselle's comment in green in my signature block gets to the heart of this...fish have evolved to function best in a very specific environment (which includes all aspects of their habitat) and we have to recognize their expectations and provide reasonably similar.

Corydoras definitely more, at least five [there was a study some time back that gave the reasoning for this, wish I could find it again] but whether five or six it is still the minimum, and with most all shoaling species and certainly the Corydoras species the fish will absolutely be in better shape/health with more. You have the space here, so I would suggest 9-12. It can be the same species, or mixed (except for the three dwarf species, they are a bit different).