Newbie From England

[TropicalDan1]

Hello!
I've recently set up a new tank and have joined to get some general advice and to see other people's set-ups.
 
I've got a 70l/15G tank which is currently home to 2 Swordtails (1 Male, 1 Female) as that's all Pets at Home (LFS) would allow. I will be getting 2 more females tomorrow as my female has a tendency to attack my much smaller male

 
I plan to add a few Corydoras and either Cardinal Tetras or Harlequins in the future. Would a Pleco be suitable in a 70l tank?
 
Thanks

 
Edit: I will add a picture of my setup shortly

 

[daizeUK]

Hi Dan and welcome!
 
I think the reason Pets at Home only allowed 2 swordtails was to give your tank a chance to mature before you add more fish.  Every tank needs to establish a colony of bacteria in order to process fish waste.  A new tank doesn't have enough waste-eating bacteria and so the waste builds up and can kill your fish if you add too many too quickly.
 
I would recommend that you take a sample of your water to the LFS so they can test for ammonia and nitrite.  Both should be consistently zero before you add any more fish.  Even better still, buy yourself a testing kit so you can test your water quality at home!
 
I'd say a pleco is too big for a 70L tank but cories would be nice - they like to be in groups of at least six, as do tetras and harlequins.
 
Look forward to seeing your picture!

 

[TropicalDan1]

Hi Dan and welcome!
 
I think the reason Pets at Home only allowed 2 swordtails was to give your tank a chance to mature before you add more fish.  Every tank needs to establish a colony of bacteria in order to process fish waste.  A new tank doesn't have enough waste-eating bacteria and so the waste builds up and can kill your fish if you add too many too quickly.
 
I would recommend that you take a sample of your water to the LFS so they can test for ammonia and nitrite.  Both should be consistently zero before you add any more fish.  Even better still, buy yourself a testing kit so you can test your water quality at home!
 
I'd say a pleco is too big for a 70L tank but cories would be nice - they like to be in groups of at least six, as do tetras and harlequins.
 
Look forward to seeing your picture!

Hello daize
 
Yes that was the reason I was only allowed 2 which makes sense. I also plan to take a water sample as it's only had fish in since Saturday.
 
Thanks for your welcome Pics to follow

 

[the_lock_man]

Hi Dan,
 
Can I recommend that you have a read of the green link in my signature area? It will give you the background why P@H only let you have 2 swordtails, and what you need to do to keep the water as pristine as you can.
 
Welcome to the Forum!

 

[TropicalDan1]

Thanks for the welcome, I actually saw your signature before joining so thanks again

 
Not sure if it was a good idea but as the tank was second hand, it came with 'dirty' gravel which I didn't rinse, on the understanding that the bacteria already in the gravel would be a good head-start in a new tank. Please correct me if I'm wrong though!
 
 
These are my Swordtails:

I made a rock cave for them:

And finally.. my cat, waiting for dinner

 

[attibones]

Nice pictures! Might I suggest you add some live plants to your tank such as amazon sword, ludwigia repens or one of the anubias species? These are all easy to grow.

Welcome to the forum!
Oh! Forgot to mention, if you do want to get corydoras, you'll definitely want to switch to sand.

 

[TropicalDan1]

Nice pictures! Might I suggest you add some live plants to your tank such as amazon sword, ludwigia repens or one of the anubias species? These are all easy to grow.
Welcome to the forum!Oh! Forgot to mention, if you do want to get corydoras, you'll definitely want to switch to sand.

Thanks, I really like the Amazon Sword, very effective. I was thinking of getting a Java Fern and perhaps some Java Moss in/around the cave?

 

[attibones]

Sounds like a good idea. Of course, the java fern will have to be tied to driftwood or something, as will the java moss.

 

[daizeUK]

The cave looks good!  You can tie java fern and moss directly to the stones if you like.
 
Love the swordtails, the black ones look spectacular!
 
Cat TV

 

[TropicalDan1]

Sounds like a good idea. Of course, the java fern will have to be tied to driftwood or something, as will the java moss.

 
Cool, thanks
 

The cave looks good!  You can tie java fern and moss directly to the stones if you like.
 
Love the swordtails, the black ones look spectacular!
 
Cat TV

Haha yep, the cat is fascinated, constantly watching them (much lile myself, really )

The Black one is my favourite, I just wish the female would leave him alone!

The cave is just some smashed rock (scrubbed and soaked for a few hours) but I like it. The fish are always hiding in the nooks and crannies so I must've done something right

 

[the_lock_man]

Thanks for the welcome, I actually saw your signature before joining so thanks again

 
Not sure if it was a good idea but as the tank was second hand, it came with 'dirty' gravel which I didn't rinse, on the understanding that the bacteria already in the gravel would be a good head-start in a new tank. Please correct me if I'm wrong though!

 
You usually get a decent amount of bacteria in the gravel, though you get more in the filter. It depends upon how long the bacteria went without water, oxygen and ammonia to say how effective the bacteria will be in processing the ammonia. But on the basis that every little helps, it was a good idea.

 

[TropicalDan1]

 

Thanks for the welcome, I actually saw your signature before joining so thanks again

 
Not sure if it was a good idea but as the tank was second hand, it came with 'dirty' gravel which I didn't rinse, on the understanding that the bacteria already in the gravel would be a good head-start in a new tank. Please correct me if I'm wrong though!

 
You usually get a decent amount of bacteria in the gravel, though you get more in the filter. It depends upon how long the bacteria went without water, oxygen and ammonia to say how effective the bacteria will be in processing the ammonia. But on the basis that every little helps, it was a good idea.
 

The filter, heater and gravel were all kept submerged in a few inches of tank water. I was given the tank by a friend who lives 2 doors away so it was all back up and running within a few minutes.
*Edited to add that I rinsed the filter media with the tank water before switching it on*
 
Been doing a 10% water change every other day and had the water tested yesterday (my next investment is an API Master Test Kit) at my LFS. It came back spot on so I bought another 2 female Swords

 
Thank you all for the welcome and for the advice

 

[the_lock_man]

Sounds good!