New Fish Community

[alya24]

Hi all,

I am new to this so all help appreciated.

Having read the amazing info on the beginners resources page I am now the proud owner of a 60l tank which I am currently doing a fishless cycle on. Early days, only been running it for about 2 days so I don't expect to be getting any fish for quite sometime yet.

In the meantime I have been doing some research on what I would like to have. P@H recommended the following (introduced in phases):

2x Dwarf Gourami
2x Corydora (male & Female)
4x Cardinal Tetra
3x Guppy

My water pH is 7.6 (north east scotland). Does this sound sensible?

Also my tap water seems to contain 0.25ppm of ammonia, I don't envisage this being an issue once I have an established tank but would like to know if this is normal?

Many thanks

 

[ZoddyZod]

2x Dwarf Gourami - not a good idea in a 60l tank. 2 males = fighting. 1 male + 1 female may equal female being pestered to death. 1 would be fine though.

2x Corydora - corys need to be in groups of 6+, they are schooling fish and dont appreciate being in small numbers.
4x Cardinal Tetra - same with tetras, 6+ is the general rule.
3x Guppy - no issues there. Might be a probelm with the DG, might not!

My water pH is 7.6 (north east scotland). Does this sound sensible? 7.6pH should be fine for all the fish you listed.

Also my tap water seems to contain 0.25ppm of ammonia, I don't envisage this being an issue once I have an established tank but would like to know if this is normal?

it's not perfect but it does happen. You are correct to assume that once you have a cycled filter then this should not be an issue. How are you checking your readings for ammonia? I always found it difficult to judge between 0 and 0.25ppm on the colour chart. You might simply be misreading it. If in doubt, compare your tap water to a sample of bottled water side by side and see if you can see a difference in colour.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

The advice you were given at P@H was not great...

• Dwarf Gourami can get aggressive with each other, especially if you get two males. In a 60l tank, the bullied fish has very little space to hide from the bully.
• Cory catfish are very social fish that live in schools in excess of hundreds strong (see video in cory section for amazing video clips of ~500+ in a shallow stream). They really need to be kept in 6+ groups in tanks.
• Cardinal Tetra are social fish too and do much better in 6+ groups. Worth letting your tank mature for several months if you really want some, plus make sure fish at store have been there for ~ twp weeks (they do tend to have high fatality rates after being moved to the fish shops).
• Guppies are livebearers and potentially you could end up with a population explosion, that will dangerously overstock a 60l tank very quickly.

You would be far safer getting one midwater/surface dwelling group (or a suitable single) plus a group of bottom dwelling fish (or perhaps a pair of Lionhead/Cockatoo Cichlids).

Have a good scour of the internet for fish <6cm, to try and come up with a fish that you really want, using sites like http/www.seriouslyfish.com/kb.php to find out more about the species and its needs. Once you have found your "must have" fish (ensuring a 60l tank is not too small for it, such as Zebra Danios, who really need a 3-foot tank minimum), you can than narrow down suitable tankmates that enjoy the the same temperature; amount of current; have compatable personalities etc.

As regards your tap water, are you using test strips or a liquid test kit to get that reading? Test strips have a very inaccurate reputation.

Good on you for discovering "fishless cycling" before coming home with your first fish!

 

[KittyKat]

Having read the amazing info on the beginners resources page I am now the proud owner of a 60l tank which I am currently doing a fishless cycle on. Early days, only been running it for about 2 days so I don't expect to be getting any fish for quite sometime yet.

In the meantime I have been doing some research on what I would like to have. P@H recommended the following (introduced in phases):

2x Dwarf Gourami
2x Corydora (male & Female)
4x Cardinal Tetra
3x Guppy

My water pH is 7.6 (north east scotland). Does this sound sensible?

The dwarf gouramis would kill each other in that tank; the Corys and cardinals are schooling fish; guppies are... fragile, to say the least. Here are some options I would consider, based on that list:
* 1 dwarf gourami
* 6 cardinal tetras (although, in my personal opinion, too big for the tank)
* 6 dwarf Corys

If this was my tank, I would probably stock the following:
* 1 Betta (female or shorttailed male) - nb, they only live for a few years
* 6-8 espei rasboras or ember tetras
* 6 dwarf Corys

Also my tap water seems to contain 0.25ppm of ammonia, I don't envisage this being an issue once I have an established tank but would like to know if this is normal?

Not uncommon. It won't be an issue, but you can use a dechlorinator which removes ammonia, if you like.

 

[alya24]

Many thanks for the advice folks, very much appreciated. Looks like I would have been heading for a bad time going with the original advice. I shall have a re-think based on your suggestions.

As for the ammonia, I am using a liquid test and it was certinally a darker colour than that on the colour chart. I shall run a comparison test on some bottled water, as suggested, and see if it was maybe a false positive or something.