Saying Hello And A Question About Stocking My New Fluval Edge 46l

[timjam]

Hi Everyone,

New fish keeper here with a Fluval Edge 46l.

I say fish keeper... but actually at the moment all I have is gravel, some plastic plants and a couple of rather small Anubias Nana.

Iv been following the "add and wait" method of fleshless cycling described here:

http/www.fishforum...shless-cycling/

Im getting nitrates produced at the other end so it looks like things are heading in the right direction.

So starting to think now about what fish and plants to add when it's finished.

I'm from Nottingham so my water is Hard and slightly alkaline (calcium carbonate 260 ppm and pH 7.5)

Any one got any fish or plant suggestions?

My original plan was just going to be 6 or 7 tetras or some variate and also some lternanthera Reineckii Pink and Hygrophilia Pinnatifidia.

Many thanks for any thought or advice.

 

[KCB]

Tetras might be fine but it depends on the specific species you would like, some are more active than others and so need more space.

I have the same tank (see my sig) and I have gone for the pygmy varieties of fish such as Endlers and Pygmy corys and also have some BPT's in there too

. This is a good basic guide to what you can put in a 10gal (slightly smaller than your tank but it will give you some good ideas) http/www.fishforum...r-a-10-gallon/.

So if you compile a list of fish you like the look of and post back here, more specific advice can be given .

Oh and welcome to the forum .

 

[lloyd]

Alright mate, i cant really help ou out on the plants, but fish wise if you want tetras you should stick with the smaller species like neons or embers 7 is fine but 10 would be better. Although they are soft water species, most tank bred soft water species will do fine in your water. A fish ou should look into maybe instead of the tetras are endlers live bearers. there super colourful, quite small and love your water paramaters. For bottom dwelling speies maybe dwarf cory or kuhli loaches?

Have fun with your new tank Lloyd

 

[timjam]

that looks a great post, thanks, I'll take a ready though properly tomorrow and get back to you.

any thoughts on planting?

 

[KCB]

that looks a great post, thanks, I'll take a ready though properly tomorrow and get back to you.

any thoughts on planting?

I've gone for low tech plants that require low light and just a dose of ferts. The species I have are Amazon swords and E. tennellus. It depends on whether you would like a challenge or not though

. But I think with this particular tanks lighting, plants that require high intensity light would be a no no but I'm not 100% on that.

P.S With regards to neon tetras, I have been told that even though they are small, they are very active fish and so a 12 gal might be a little on the small and tall side, though I would seek a second opinion if you really want them

.

 

[timjam]

Might Cardinal Tetras be a better choice then? This seems to say they do better in smaller aquariums:

http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/tetrafish/cardinaltetra2.php

 

[eaglesaquarium]

In my opinion, cardinals would do best in a larger aquarium than you have.

I'm thinking endlers, ember tetra, Celestial Pearl Danio (Galaxy Rasbora). You would be better with fish that are about 1 inch long.

Trigonostigma espei or other microrasboras.

 

[timjam]

ooo, yes the Trigonostigma really are nice, and it looks like they will do well in my slightly alkali water conditions too!

Thanks for that - I'll see if there are any about in my local area to have a look at.

 

[mlolm]

I'm new too. Living in Berlin, the water is quite hard as well about 7.5-8ph. I'm not sure how set you are on fish, but thought I would mention the merits of shrimp keeping.

My shrimp have been doing very well, and I can really recommend shrimp keeping. They are easy, they are natural cleaners and they have little personalities. They will likely breed on their own though if they are comfortable so be ready for more. I got 5 bloody mary and 3 blue dreams and now i have a colony a few months later. (See here: http://www.fishforums.net/threads/bloody-mary-blue-dream.444585/). They even play in the outflow of the filter, swimming in and out of it and letting the water push them around. I used to have one who liked to surf the outflow all day long, but he was a different breed: amano shrimp. Amanos are really cool too, but they are escape artists and can walk on land so i had trouble with them getting out and dying. Now with my blue dream/bloody marys i dont have tha problem really.

I can also definately recommend going the planted/real plant route instead of fake. This will help with water quality and create a more stable ecosystem in your tank. Plus it looks cooler too. Just takes a long time to grow in usually, but patience is worth it.

Anyways, have fun it's a pretty cool rewarding hobby especialy when you start getting babies.