Newbie Community Tank

[aces_up1504]

First post and thanks for all the helpfull information i gained reading through the forum as a guest.

Got the go ahead to stock the tank with some fish today from our LFS.

A little bit of background:

We opted for a 60 litre tank, with a sand substrate and has been planted with real plants, some bog wood and some stone work to make a cave.

I have opted for 6 cardinals to start with and probably eventually get this up 12 to get them schooling over the comming months

From reading around the subject, I will have probably stocked to about 50% of the tanks capacity.

So on that that thought, I dont think i want to add another schooling type fish, So something that is happy on its own or a small group. Ideally i would like to get quite a few different types of fish.

So over to the experts, please could you recommend some fish that would compliment the tank and provide something different.

thanks

 

[librarygirl]

Is your tank cycled? I'm guessing no if you just let the tank "run" for a few days and then listened to your LFS and bought fish.

If you can, return your fish and do a fishless cycle. Otherwise, you're in a fish-in cycle situation which is do-able but going to be hard on you and your fish.

First, you need a good water test kit, liquid is best (strips are cheaper but not very accurate), the API Master Liquid test kit is best. You want to test your own water and not go to the LFS for testing b/c they will say your water is "fine" when it isn't.

Now, if you want to try to keep your fish, you are going to have to do a lot of water changes. Make sure to match the temperature of the water going in with the aquarium water (as close as possible) and dechlorinate your water with something like Prime before it goes into the tank.

With your test kit, you need to test water once per day at least. Any time ammonia or nitrite go above 0.25 on the test kit, do a water change. If one of those levels is 1.0 for example, a 50% water change will only get it down to .5 so you'll need to do another 50% water change to get it down to 0.25, and so on. Be prepared to do more than one pwc in a day for a good long while. Again, if you can return the fish and do a fishless cycle, it'll be better for you and the fish.

This is from another forum but it's a good article that will help: http/www.aquariuma...-now/Page2.html Good luck.

Oh, and to answer your post: DO NOT add any more fish until the tank is cycled.

 

[aces_up1504]

Cheers for the reply,

Tank has been cycled and had the checks done with the LFS. Thankfully read around the subject before starting on my tank.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Welcome to the forum.

How have you cycled your tank? Did you follow the method outlined in the fishless cycle thread, linked in my sig? If not, I highly recommend you do so, and that you wait to get fish, until after you have properly prepared your filter to handle the bioload of your fish. Regardless of what your LFS says, chances are high that your tank is not ready for fish, and certainly not for that level of bioload right away. If it is properly cycled, then it can handle a full bioload without any trouble.

 

[librarygirl]

Cheers for the reply,

Tank has been cycled and had the checks done with the LFS. Thankfully read around the subject before starting on my tank.

Good for you!

Sorry about that, I just saw "got the go ahead from the LFS" and panicked lol

As to what eaglesaquarium said, I agree, how did you cycle the tank? With fish or without? Again, if you let the tank "run" for a while that is NOT cycling. You either did fish-in which could have taken a few months or fishless with pure ammonia (or raw shrimp or fish food). If you didn't do either of these, then you're in a bit of trouble (and refer back to the link I gave you before).

I don't know much about stocking as I'm still doing my fishless cycle, so I'll let someone else chime in

 

[waterdrop]

Hi there AU1504 and welcome to TFF,

Congratulations on getting started with the Freshwater hobby. It will feel strange to have everyone so concerned about "cycling" but it is true that we usually get dozens of newcomers each month who have been told by their LFS that they are good to go and who subsequently end up in a difficult Fish-In Cycling Situation and are eventually livid about the incorrect advice. The members are concerned because a 50% stocking that turns in to a Fishless Cycle can sometimes just not work because the bioload is just too dense.

A Fishless Cycle (with no mature media addition) done prior to the introduction of fish is not generally trusted if it takes less than a month and it often can take double that or more. The test for successful completion of a fishless cycle is when a full 5ppm dose of pure ammonia can be dropped to zero ppm ammonia and zero ppm nitrite(NO2) within 12 hours after dosing (as measured by liquid-reagent test kits) and when this can be repeated for a week without spikes in ammonia or nitrite occurring.

Hopefully though you've been through and we are over-worrying!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[aces_up1504]

Yep Overworring! Levels 0,0,30

But i do like your concern for health and well being of the fish.

The Cardinals have settled in well and darting around the tank and appear to be having plenty of fun!

I am in no rush to add any more fish at the present but just looking for ideas of what will and wont work in the tank i have described.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Glad to hear that it is fully cycled! You are in the minority of folks who come to this forum talking about your "new" tank. Most end up posting something along the lines of what "Guppyz" just did last night.


A sand substrate is ideal for corydoras spp. Any of them would work in your tank, with cardinals. I'd go with one of the smaller varieties, like Corydoras habrosus. This will allow you to get a few more individuals than a larger species. Getting 8-10 habrosus (Salt and pepper corys, or Venezuelan corys, as they are commonly called) would work fabulously in your set-up.

I also second the idea of adding some more cardinals, as having more cardinals helps the fish settle in better and leads to a better display.

My recommendation would be to up the cardinals first, before adding any other fish. When adding shoalers, you want to add a number that will be comfortable (6 is usually a minimum), but you also don't want to increase your stocking level too quickly. I'd stick to adding no more than 50% of your present stocking - meaning 3 more cardinals. Then maybe a week later, another 3 - to bring the total to 12. I wouldn't just add another 6 all at once.

 

[waterdrop]

OK, sounds good! Agree with the fish recommendations from eagle. Don't be shy about naming off fish you like when visiting the local shops or are thinking about otherwise. The members generally work better at telling you potential problems with various ideas you have rather than just suggesting things they like. WD

 

[aces_up1504]

Cheers for all the help.

I settled on 5 more Cardinals and have added 3 Panda Corys.


I would like a few "bigger" fish or something that is likes the top end of the tank? Any suggestions?

Also thinking of adding some shrimp, what is a good number for 60 litre tank.

 

[fluttermoth]

Dwarf or honey gouramis might be a good choice for you; they stay in the upper levels.

Shrimp produce so little waste that you really don't even count them as part of your bioload until they get up into the hundreds, so you can add as many as you like!

But you should consider adding more cories too; they do better in larger numbers