New Tank

[zoopkamol]

Started up an 38gallon tank. Tank is "cycled" 0ppm ammonina, 0 Nitrites, PH 7.

substrate is 5-7mm gravel with a 200watt heater. temp is 78.

have built up a driftwood wall structure along backside of tank. have few lava rocks in driftwood mix.
water is slightly tannis stained from driftwood

Was wondering possible fish to stock with.

Tetras/barbs? Gouramis? Chichlids? or others any help would be appreciated.

 

[thereverendturtle]

What are the dimensions of the tank? Makes it easier to give suggestions.

 

[zoopkamol]

tank is 30x15x22h aprox. bow front.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

There are so many fish to choose from! Why don't you list a couple that you really like the look of and then folks can help you build from there?

 

[zoopkamol]

fish i like...

oscars -tank too small

tiger barbs, red-tail blk shark, gouramis(all types)
neons, cardinals, jack dempseys, corys, platys, mollies.

looking for some color in tank also as driftwood tends to darken appearence.
also have some plants on driftwood throughout (java ferns, java moss) plants fairly small now

 

[zoopkamol]

went to a LFS tonight to ask about possible fish for a driftwood setup.....advice i got wasnt impressed...guy told me setup would be perfect for a clown loach and 2 yes 2 oscars...promptly just turned and walked out. after a bit of researching kinda leaning towrads gouramis..unsure of type though

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum zoopkamol.
Do you have any idea what the nature of the water is from your faucet? That is the real determiner of the "ideal" stocking for any tank. If you have low pH and soft water the fish that are suitable will be far different than if the water you are dealing with has a high pH and is quite hard, like mine is.

 

[zoopkamol]

just tested PH of tap water 7.5. drifwood taking it down to 7.0 or a bit lower. hardness of water no clue. checked ammonia again too its a 0 still nitites at 0 to nitrate around 5 or so.

 

[OldMan47]

If drift wood is moving the pH by 0.5 points, the water is not very hard in terms of KH. That means that you should probably concentrate on things like tetras and South American fish rather than the livebearers that I concentrate on. Maybe a nice tank of ember tetras, rummy nose, corydoras, neon tetras, angels, rasboras and similar fish.
Forget things like platies, mollies, swordtails since they will not thrive in your water as easily as they do in mine.

 

[zoopkamol]

ok i'll go read up some more on the list of fish you said. thanks.

still looking for other ideas too. not stocking with fish for another few weeks. dont wanna make a mistake and regret the fish i get.

 

[zoopkamol]

ok kinda decided on fish i was thinking of but unsure of numbers would be acceptiable

tiger barbs -thinkin 8-10
peppered corys - thinking 5
and if room 5 neons

i thinking neons might be to much for tank.

any advice on numbers would be appreciated

also being that my substrate is a bit larger then the norm...should i change it out to smaller grians. no fish in aquarium yet and i can wait longer to stock if need be.

 

[elmo666]

I tend to favour a smaller grain substrate in a planted tank, seems to encourae better root grotwh, howver that is only my preference and not based on anything I have read. Numbers seem fine, you may have to "thin out" the tiger barbs as they can acheive a good size. I wudn't bother with the neons, too small, maybe drop the barbs to 6 and add some serpae tetra for a contrasting colour. Good luck with your new set-uo.

 

[zoopkamol]

ok gonna change out larger gravel for more sand like substrate

 

[OldMan47]

If you place neons in a tank full of tigers, the neons will not survive. Tiger barbs play rough. Just watch some at your LFS and you will know what I mean.

 

[zoopkamol]

ok no neons and gonna change out to a sandy/small pebble substrate.