Nitrites Have Dropped!

[Alm0stAwesome]

This is a momentus occasion - after 5 weeks of cycling and my nitrites remaining off the chart high for 25 days, they are now 0! All being well I plan to start stocking on Friday.

Tip for everyone out there currently fishless cycling their tanks - don't overdose on ammonia! 2 or 3 ppm is it

I realised I was overdosing on ammonia by more than double. I'm pretty sure that cutting it back to he correct level is what got my cycle back going again. I did however start adding filter start at the same time as reducing the ammonia - so the controversy on "bottled bacteria" continues

 

[OldMan47]

Congrats on having things finish up for you AA.
What fish are you looking to get?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Thank you! I was starting to feel discouraged as it does seem like a long time

Well my LFS had some galaxy rasbora in when I was there last week so I hope to get 6 of those. Also, and I know controversially, I'd like to get 3 or 4 sterbai cory which I've seen some forum members advise against for my 48L tank size (and general school numbers) but I've also seen others stock this way just fine, sooo I'm going to give it a try - even though I have this guilty feeling like one of you are going to smack me on the back of the head and tell me to stop being difficult at any moment

Last I want to add a male betta.

 

[OldMan47]

The sterbai are a bit large for such a small tank. Have you considered some of the smaller cories like paleatus or trilineatus?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I would gladly stock either of those varieties, I just thought they were the same size as the sterbai?

 

[OldMan47]

Sterbai are among the largest of the cories. They also require rather warm temperatures. The paleatus and trilineatus are less demanding and are a bit smaller when full grown. I am not trying to tell you what to do but I suspect this is information you did not already have.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Sterbai are among the largest of the cories. They also require rather warm temperatures. The paleatus and trilineatus are less demanding and are a bit smaller when full grown. I am not trying to tell you what to do but I suspect this is information you did not already have.

No not at all, thanks for the advice! I'll keep an eye out for these varieties.

 

[-Jo-]

what size tank do you have out of curiosity?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

It's 48L

 

[-Jo-]

Thats cool. I have a 57 litre tank - so its nice to see another similar sized tank on here! interesting to see what your stocking yours with as im still unsure of quantities of the fish i want in my tank.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Cool Yes I can relate to the relief of spotting someone with a small tank there have been times where I thought I was the only one! However, I do see why everyone has bigger tanks..and hopefully I'll get a bigger one one day.

I'm just a beginner too so don't take my stocking as gospel! I think my stocking is a little controversial as cory cats are recommended in a minimum group of 5 or 6 and I'm planning on doing less than that. I also think I'm going to be pushing it a bit on my stocking numbers, only a little if I've understood correctly. I am a very stubborn person lol. But I am planning on taking it slow and if the tank doesn't seem able to support the stock then I'll change

I've changed my mind loads of times on stocking. It's taken me 6 weeks to cycle my tank so I've been looking at different kinds of fish the whole time!

Looking forward to seeing how your tank goes - fingers crossed I'll be able to get some of my fish this weekend

 

[-Jo-]

I know what you mean - When i see the tank sizes of some people on here i was on the verge of worrying a bit! ha! Im the same - i keep changing my mind constantly. I seem to like every fish there is which is slightly annoying as the ones I would love arnt exactly compatible.

Thats brilliant you cycled your tank in 6 weeks. I was in the 7th week of cycling when my filter broke and i had to start again. Although im 2 weeks into it again and its nearly done so luckily the bacteria didnt die. woo!

I see your wanting to get a betta? I would love one too - but i would also love guppies and tetras too - probably not the best mix altho some people would beg to differ.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Yeah I read your thread about your filter breaking - man that must have been soo frustrating! Glad it seems to have picked back up again.

Yep I am planning on getting a betta. I wanted to get guppies too and probably would have still considered it as some people say they can live together ok but the deciding factor for me was that I could have a bit more variety and activity in my tank if I went with a smaller fish like rasbora. Your tank is a little bigger than mine so you have more space to play with. What fish are at the top of your list now?

 

[-Jo-]

People have said to me to only get guppies or platys with bettas if they are in the same tank as each other in the fish place. Then id would get all of them

My top list fish are prob a bit boring actually ha! as im a newbie at the whole tropical fish keeping, I thought I would try and keep it as simple as possible at the moment. but the fish id like are:

Guppies
Cardinal Tetras
Penguin Tetras
Corys (most prob a dwarf kind)
Kuhli Loach

I would love them all in my tank, but im still unsure of quantities of each as i know the tetras are schoaling fish.