Newbie To Tropicals

[IonaMcCluskey]

as the title suggest i'm new to tropical fish, just bought a nice wee tank to try my hand with them.
i've had a bit of experiance with goldfish so have a basic understanding of cold water fishkeeping, but tropicals is a whole different ball game, so, so much more to take into consideration.
i've done a bit of reading up so got a rough idea of where i want to go, but facts and personal experiance sometimes tell a bit of a different story.
let me start with the basic information i have on my tank, equipment & water and you can let me know if there is anything i have missed

 
tank is 36"x15"x18" (LxWxH)
filter  turbo n 750 internal, foam media, recommended for 80-200ltr tank, turns 750l/h
air pump  oxyboost 200, recommended for 200ltr tank, will be conected to 2 three and a half inch bubble discs.
heater  hot 2005, 200w
lights  marina micro LED hub with three (white) spot bulbs
tap water test came back with
pH 7
hardness between 4 & 5
set up, i have went with whimsical so sorry to those that only condone pure natural.
small black gravel
plastic ornament
a cave built of rocks
2 large plastic plants
(will also put) a few live plants along the back
 
now comes the really hard part....... what fish to put in it?!?! here is what i was hoping to go with.
 
6 neon tetra (think that's straight forward)
 
4 endlers (was going to go with 8 but seeing just how prolific they are in my lfs i decided 4 and let them make up their own numbers. my lfs has agreed to take the extra back off me as and when required. from info ive read they should be kept 3-1, male-female, but from a few posts i've read here i think it has been suggested that i could keep male only this would avoid the over population issue

 
2 red dwarf gourami (saw these in lfs, lovely! i've not got a clue about these & from posts i've read here there is something about them breathing from the surrface, this would scare the hell out of me as with a goldfish this would mean there was something wrong. also not set on the number, so many conflicting opinions on this but please bare in mind it is only a small tank

)
 
2 golden/german/blue rams ( seen a few pics of these and they and the neons are the main reasons for setting up this tank

number wise is same as above. also someone has already suggested that these and the gourami may have issues

)
 
thats the basics, now for the possible add ons if there is room and if they are compatable
would like to have 6 emporor tetra too and if none of the above are bottom feeders possibly some cories BUT... from what i've read here they need sand substrate and also kept in 5 or 6, really dont think i will room for that many. so any suggestions about a bottom feeder if i need one would be really handy but bare in mind i really dont like plecs or loaches, they give me the heebies, sorry to any who are fans of those fish.
 
ok go to it........ any and all help will be greatly appreciated......but go easy on me, my head is already bursting trying to figure this all out & i am here to learn

 

 

[ncguppy830]

first more female livebeares than males so 3 females 1 male.Be careful with rams they thrive with a low PH while livebearers thrive in a high one so try to keep the 7 that you have.But if you could get the volume of the tank that would be helpfull to me and if its in CM of in inches because of its in cm you probaly cant have any of those fish?

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

thanks for taking the time to help
according to the calculator here the volume is 159ltr, 35 imp gal or 42 US gal. wasn't too sure what everybody would be working in so that's why i hadn't put volume
it's deffinately inches the measurements are in, i wanted something small but also reasonable volume so i could get a few different fish in without overcrowding.

 

[ncguppy830]

oh okay well i would just add to the neon numbers instead of another school.
OH and did you cycle or are you cycling?

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

im still waiting for the tank to cure LOL cant even put water in it before thur or fri. just trying to get it all organised before i start buying fish and find out the hard way that it was a bad idea.
im gona jump start the cycle off of my goldfish tank so that's not to big a prob

 

[The Taffy Apple]

im still waiting for the tank to cure LOL cant even put water in it before thur or fri. just trying to get it all organised before i start buying fish and find out the hard way that it was a bad idea.
im gona jump start the cycle off of my goldfish tank so that's not to big a prob

 
Good call...use as much filter media from your goldfish tank in your new filter as you can. Invest in a liquid based water test kit, add the ammonia in a fishless cycle way and monitor the results until you can prove your filter bacteria is safely getting rid of the Ammonia AND NitrItes.
Good luck, patience is the key here for a healthy, beautiful tank.
 
Terry.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

thanks terry
i was just gona put the wee filter for this tank in the goldfish tank and run it for a couple o weeks but have been told the media switch is the best way to go but that's not a prob as it's a big external on the goldfish tank so i'll just skip a water change when i switch the media out, it'll prob take less than a tenth of the external's to fill the internal.
my lfs was going to test my water for me. good idea or bad???

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Always allow your LFS to test your water for you....but any sufficient fishkeeper serious to the hobby should own their own water test kit. What happens, say, if you have a sudden death on a sunday when your LFS is closed?
 
Terry.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

hi terry,
ok i see your point there, but my lfs is open on a sunday and the first thing i would do in the case of a sudden death is a water change anyway. take a sample of before and after water change water to be tested.
i dont test my water on a regular basis, just carry out my 20-25% water changes every 3-5 days. i've never had a problem maintaining my tanks.
i was more concerned about the stocking as i've never kept tropicals before, the who goes with who, the who uses what part of the tank, how many of each, what ratio, with the fancy goldfish everybody goes together and uses the whole of the tank.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Yet you NEED a water test kit if you are going to do a fishless cycle (which is what is recommended). You need to be testing your water daily for Ammonia and NitrItes, possibly NitrAtes and maybe PH at some point. All this is essential BEFORE you can even think about what stocking is going to go in your tank.
 
Terry.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

Ooooooo! the excitement! the apprehension!
it's that altime newbie question..........have i got babies
i noticed yesterday that one of my female endlers was hidding away in a deep dark corner, so i flipped to the livebearer section and read the pinned topic related to birthing. sure enough it was pretty much a bang on description of her behaviour.
so i get up this morning and do my instant head count, everybody accounted for except one female endler, looked at the tank from every angle i possibly could and still could not find her.
instant reaction, to find any hidden (live) fish, first thing in the morning, is to feed. sure as fate by the time i had the lid back on the tub and bent down to check, there she was, swimming away no probs
now i'm left wondering if i have a batch of teeny tiny little fry swimming about some where

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

that's the 2nd batch being born & i still have the 4 from the first batch