New tank Set up and Future Stock Idea

[underthesea1]

Yesterday was stressful! Finally got my new tank and did the transfer over.

Luckily fish SEEM fine so far and I am hoping the meagre amount of filter media from old tank is enough to seed this one.

Happy with the way it looks.

If it continues to be good then I may consider adding a few new fish - so suggestions on good tank mates fr the single Molly and Cory would be appreciated. I am in London so hard water! 100L tank.

 

[AJ356]

Yesterday was stressful! Finally got my new tank and did the transfer over.

Luckily fish SEEM fine so far and I am hoping the meagre amount of filter media from old tank is enough to seed this one.
View attachment 374360
Happy with the way it looks.

If it continues to be good then I may consider adding a few new fish - so suggestions on good tank mates fr the single Molly and Cory would be appreciated. I am in London so hard water! 100L tank.

Well you could do with more Corydoras for a start, as they are best kept with their own kind for company. I'd get as many as you can, at least another five. However, when I had Corydoras last, I used 50% RO to get the water softer, as I am in London as well. The problem you might have, is that if you can't get the water hardness down....... if you re-home your remaining Cory, 95% chance it will still end up in hard water going by the demographic of the likely people that will be interested if you advertise the Cory. If you took a poll of fish keepers in London, or anywhere in the UK I imagine, 98% would probably have no idea they are a soft water fish. The shops won't know, or tell people, as there is too much money to be made on them. I had a breeding colony of albino corydoras in hard water, GH about 16 many years ago. They seemed really happy. However, for long-term health, I'd aim for trying to get a GH of 12 or below if I kept them again.

 

[underthesea1]

Thank you I’m not sure what our GH is I will look

I’ll look at adding more cory

What about rainbow fish or cherry barbs?

 

[AJ356]

Thank you I’m not sure what our GH is I will look

I’ll look at adding more cory

What about rainbow fish or cherry barbs?

I personally wouldnt keep Rainbow fish in less than a 40 inch long. I've always liked cherry barbs, never had them. Lovely colour and perhaps one of the best behaved barbs for a community set up

 

[underthesea1]

Oops I dont think I meant rainbow fish.

I am having a look at some tetras, barbs and danios. But doing research

 

[Essjay]

With your London location, it is likely you have very hard water, though it is worth checking on your water company's website to see just how hard.

Most tetras, barbs and danios tend to be soft water fish though there are species which would be OK in hard water (though maybe not very hard).

Your molly should be fine as they need hard water

 

[AJ356]

Quite a wide range in terms of general hardness for cherry barbs, according to seriously fish
Hardness: 36 – 357 ppm. Wild fish will probably do best towards the lower end of this range.

 

[Essjay]

I have cherry barbs in my tank. I originally bought 2 males and several females. One day I discovered a fry which turned out to be male, giving me 3 males. Then one day I got up to find 2 dead males in the tank. Was that just co-incidence that they died at the same time or do I suspect the surviving male of foul play?
Just in case it was the latter, if you do decide on cherry barbs don't get too many males even if they are prettier than females.

 

[underthesea1]

Thank you - I think the Odessa or cherry barbs are looking like a good option.

Perhaps Asian Rummynose?

Just putting together a list of suitable options encase the fish shop doesn't have them all in stock.

According to Thames Water for my postcode my water is the following

​

Hardness​

We measure water hardness by looking at the levels of calcium carbonate, commonly known as chalk, in the water. We then put this number on a scale of 0 to 400 parts per million (ppm). 0 ppm is the softest water, 400 ppm is the hardest water.
The level of calcium carbonate in your water zone is 263 ppm.
The water supplied in the Brent South zone is hard water.
0100200300400

SoftMediumHard

ppm = parts per million (also equivalent to milligrams per litre)

Other hardness measurements​

Degrees Clarke:	18.4
Degrees German (DH):	14.7
Degrees French:	26.3

 

[Essjay]

Fishkeeping uses 2 units of hardness - ppm and German degrees. Fish profiles give the hardness needed by a particular species in one or other, so you need your hardness in both units.

Your hardness is 14.7 German degrees - also called dH - and 263 ppm. Pretty hard.

One of the best sites out there for fish research is Seriously Fish. Not only does it give the hardness range of fish species, it also gives their temperature range, minimum tank size etc.

Knowledge Base — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[underthesea1]

Omg I have been looking for this website! I forgot what it is called - thank you I will check the species in there and feedback!

 

[underthesea1]

Simeine has suggested any of the Pseudomugil species and I love the and now I remember I was highly considering fork tails before