Ok Im Setting Up My Tank Now Lots Of Help Needed

[BWBettas]

ok im kinda new and i abve a 26 gallon tank ready to be made all up into a proper habitat now.

I Need Help On:
Tank Mates
Sand/Gravel
Anythgin else You Can Think Of

Please Help P.s Im On A Short Budget Maybe Around £100 for the fish and plants and ecorations

 

[OohFeeshy]

On a budget, you might as well go for playsand. Fish, what are you after?

 

[BWBettas]

tropicals like a couple of center fish (gouramies maybe?) the n liek soime shoaling fish (lemon tetras?) and somebottom feeders like some corydoras and kuhlies and some platies

how m,any of them could ifit ni my tank

 

[Durbkat]

You need to go to your lps or lfs and have them show you the right size power filter for that size tank get a 50 watt heater I believe. Since your on a budget you won't be able to get to much go for gravel. Get fake plants since their cheaper and easier to maintain. Once you get everything rinse gravel very good to get dust and things like that off it put it into tank. Fill tank up with water, plus when at the lps don't forget to get dechlorinator I like Amquel plus but not sure if you guys have it in the UK pour the correct amount of dechlorinator into tank after you fill it up. Don't forget to get a hood and light for the tank also. Cut some of the back of the hood off but just enough to fit the power filter on it. Hang the filter on outside of tank connect the tube to the filter fill the filter up with water from the tank, plug it in then put heater in tank and set it to 78 degrees and then let tank sit for two weeks or more while you are adding ammonia to tank (which you can get at your lfs or lps) then after two weeks of adding ammonia go to pet store and have water tested and if they say its good. A good starter fish would be the black tetra. So get about 3 long finned or regular black tetras then after a week go to lfs and get water tested again and get 3 or 4 more long finned or regular black tetras and if you want you can get some corys (they eat food that the fish missed or some ottos that eat algae. Then also you will need to get a vacum cleaner from your lfs and vacum clean the tank every two weeks. And enjoy!

 

[BWBettas]

would sand be easier to clean also?
and more safer for my ories and kuhlis

 

[OohFeeshy]

Sand can be easier, yes, and is better for bottomfeeders. Is the tank cycled?

 

[BWBettas]

tank wont be cycled but i will hvae enough time to set it up which also means i could save up some more money how mnay of those fish could i keep oin the tank

i wuld like enogh bottom feedes to make it look like theres something going on liek th khulis going round

 

[Labyrinth]

Goldfish

Lemon Tetras are great shoaling fish and really look nice!!
Kuhlie Loaches are Nocturnal so you should have a cave or shadowed area for them to hide during the day, also the sand will help as they like to bury them selves in the ground.
Again, Otto are great algae eaters, but you would need a group of these as I have heard they don’t like being on their own.

Usually people use the inch per gallon for calculating amount of fish, but if you do get Kuhlie this rule doesn’t count as they do not pollute the water as much.

Hope this Helps

Lab

 

[Durbkat]

Wait a minute I thought Kuhlie Loaches got as long as 18" so wouldn't be a little to big for a 26g?

 

[BWBettas]

oo thanks so i can get alot of kuhlis then
so i defo have to buy

5 lemon tetras
5-10 kuhlis
3 ottos?
2 female platies (red wagtail)

and some others

 

[Labyrinth]

What I have heard is most grow to about 5 inches.

My Kuhlie Loaches are roughly this size as well.

Lab

 

[OohFeeshy]

Wait a minute I thought Kuhlie Loaches got as long as 18" so wouldn't be a little to big for a 26g?

Where did you get that from?

 

[Durbkat]

If I were you I would only get 3 kuhlis and the rest you listed then six to 7 lemon tetras.OohFeeshy I thought I read on here one time that some kind of kuhlis got real big or maybe it was something else, I don't really remeber.

 

[BWBettas]

thans everyone so far im still looking fgor alot more suggesions

 

[dwarfgourami]

I would definitely go for the fishless cycle if I were you. Neither lemon tetras, khuulies or otos are hardy enough to cycle a tank, and 2 platies wouldn't be enough to cycle a 20 gallon. If you have the patience to do it with a cheap bottle of ammonia, you would then be able to add the platies, khuulies and perhaps the tetras (?) after a few weeks. Otos had better wait a few months until the tank is a bit more mature. There is a pinned topic on fishless cycling. And remember that one essential thing to spend money on is a good test kit!