Newbie With A Stocking Question

[Azaezl]

Hi,

I recently bought a second hand fish tank, it's a juwel rio 240, My tank readings are(I don't understand them as I'm a total newbie to fish);

Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 10
gh - 16
kh - 6
ph - 7.2

I have an aqua pro 2 external filter

Current stock;

1 x 9inch senagalus
1 x 7 inch senagalus
1 x 4 inch blue gourami
1 x 2 inch opaline gourami

They are all very friendly with each other and even though I've heard senagalus can be aggressive mine are so placid, for example last night my largest sen was munching on a tiger prawn and the tiny opaline went right up and started chomping on the prawn also and the sen didn't mind at all.

I'm looking to get a plec, but not sure what sort to go for, any suggestions for more fish, plecs or general advice are much appreciated.

Thanks,

Kel.

 

[djloach]

How long have you had your tank? Unless you got the numbers backwards it seems your tank has not cycled yet as you really need your nitrites to be 0. What is your ammonia reading? Until you get ammonia and nitrite both to 0 then you should not add any more fish.

When you do get around to adding more fish and want to add a pleco choose your pleco wisely. Some get very large and far too large for your tank. There are a number of nice plecos that stay under 6" so make sure you go for one of those. I'd suggest you consider getting a small schooling fish like a tetra or a harlequin rasbora. Just look around and find out what you like. But again, wait for the proper ammonia/nitrite levels before adding any more fish.



Actually, on second thought a small fish might not be best with your senegalus's. I am not too familiar with them but they might see small fish as food.

 

[Azaezl]

I bought the tank last Monday(the 8th), didn't have time to cycle the tank, as I said the tank was second hand and already had fish(plus I'm new to fish and have only through reading on this forum found out what cycling is) I know I'm a bad newbie for not reading up more before getting the tank but it was a bargain and I really wanted to get into tropicals.

I didn't have my readings the wrong way around, just put the wrong thing, duh! nitrate - 0 nitrite - 5 (I did another test), still not good but better lower than what I thought. How do I test for ammonia, I got a load of test kits with the tank but the guy didn't explain how to use them. I have 3 little bottles that say NH3 test on them but what do i do with them? It says it comes with a colour scale and instructions on the box but surprise surprise they aren't there.

Tetras are a big no with my senegalus as they can fit half a tiger prawn in their mouths so a tetra would be no problem.

I was thinking of getting 2 bristle nose plecs but wasn't sure if that would overstock the tank and also not sure if they would grow fast / big enough to avoid being eaten. Although my senegalus are so placid it's hard to believe they'd eat anything that's moving.

Thanks for the advice