Stocking A 64 Litre Tank

[Clump]

First of all, hello all! This will hopefully be the first of many posts here...

After much reading about nitrogen cycles, Ph levels, nitrates, nitrites, bacteria, filter media, substrates, autotrophic, heterotrophic etc etc (etc x 100) I am pleased to say that I am now the proud owner of a 64 litre chemistry kit cum bacteria colony, sorry I mean tropical fish aquarium . To think that last week I thought this would be as simple as throwing a few fish into some water

On friday I started a fish less cycle and tomorrow I intend to get hold of the necessary test kits and pure ammonia (used fish food until now) so I can do this properly. Interestingly I seem to be in the middle of a bacterial bloom - last night the water was crystal clear and now it is milky - hopefully patience and water changes will sort this. Fortunately no fish to worry about so it isn't an issue.

Anyway, on to the point of this first post...

I need some advice regarding what to stock the tank with once the cycle completes. I know that peoples first thought will be "stock with the fish you like". I would instead much prefer to be definetively told, stock with X, Y & Z. I have no real preferences. With all the science and chemistry going on I would rather avoid another set of variables around fish compatibility with each other and the tank etc.

Actual tank dimensions are : W60cm x D32cm x H37cm

So, what would you put in it?

Somebody is going to ask, so I quite like Guppies / Tetras and it would be kind of cool to have some shrimp in there as well. It would also be nice to have a busy but correctly balanced tank. I am not talking of massive and unhealthy shoals, however more than just 3 or 4 fish would be great. That said if this is not possibly then I bow to your experience and will follow it.

Not sure if this is relevant or not, but the tank has live plants in it - 6 bunches in total. Havent worked out what they are yet as they were "recommended" by the LFS. The less said about that the better, if the plants have to go then say the word. I have no qualms in killing plants, I am just a tad more concerned about killing fish.

 

[fluttermoth]

) I am pleased to say that I am now the proud owner of a 64 litre chemistry kit cum bacteria colony, sorry I mean tropical fish aquarium

LOL! Yep, you've got the hang of things, I can see that!

Welcome to the forum

Is your water hard or soft? Just a rough answer; does your kettle get furred up very quickly, for example?

Different fish prefer different hardnesses of water, so it's better to get fish that like the kind of water you have. Guppies, for example, prefer rather hard water, whereas most tetras like it soft.

Also, and this might seem like a silly question, but from how far away will you be mostly viewing the tank? Some fish; like one of my favourites, the glowlight danio, look stunning with your nose pressed up against the glass, but just look sort of brown from a couple of feet away!

 

[Clump]

Welcome to the forum

Thankyou

Is your water hard or soft? Just a rough answer; does your kettle get furred up very quickly, for example?

Not entirely sure, however using the kettle as the measure it doesn't get furred up

A quick google for my area yields the following:

"Most areas have soft to moderately soft water: 0 - 100mg per litre as calcium carbonate equivalent."

Also, and this might seem like a silly question, but from how far away will you be mostly viewing the tank? Some fish; like one of my favourites, the glowlight danio, look stunning with your nose pressed up against the glass, but just look sort of brown from a couple of feet away!

The tank is about in our main living area, I have 2 young children so they will have their noses pressed up against it most of the time. It fascinates them now and there are no fish in it. It is also lit with both blue and white bulbs.

One of these:

http/www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=385&pf_id=53524&co=fr

 

[Ormsie]

Have you looked at endlers at all? They're the forebears of guppies, smaller and the males are colourful. I keep a 50 litre with a group of endlers, some shimp and a male betta. Lots of colour!

 

[Clump]

Have you looked at endlers at all? They're the forebears of guppies, smaller and the males are colourful. I keep a 50 litre with a group of endlers, some shimp and a male betta. Lots of colour!

I think I have looked at just about everything, but that seems to be a nice mix as you said lots of colour.

How many endlers do you have the in the tank?

A little googling tells me that Endlers prefer hard water and mine is soft to moderate - I would prefer to not add to the chemistry overload by trying to also manage water hardness. How important is this?

 

[Aquascaper]

Our kids have the same tank and love it

We have 9 african dwarf frogs in ours but originally started of with platys.

If you don't want to mess about with water chemistry, want a colourful, interesting and full(ish) tank I would suggest livebearers (guppies, platys, etc.). These are incredibly easy to keep as they are usually tank bred in the local area so accustomed to local water conditions with the bonus of breeding without any help.

You would possibly want to get some bottom dwellers too (otos/corys) as the livebearers normally stick to top/mid levels.

 

[Ormsie]

Mine are bred in the local area, so tolerate out soft to medium water very well. I currently have 12 in there, all males. I don't want an explosion of babies even though the betta would probably take care of them!