Stocking My 3ft

[mitchest]

hey guys,

cycle is getting close to finishing up. clearing 1ppm of ammonia every 3-4 hours. nitrite is past the peak of more than 5ppm to hovering around 2ppm, i expect it to just disappear quite soon.

need some advice... i'm on tank water; its pH is around 6.0-6.2. i'd prefer to not add anything to the water to boost it. do you think 6.0 is too low? i could easily whack in a little stocking of crushed coral. whats is your guys opinion on raising the pH?

but now the fun bit... fish! also will put an end to the "when you getting fish in there man?" questions. haha. the tanks 3' x 1.5' x 1.5'. got bout 130L running, 1200L/hr internal filter. lightly planted - several bunches of vals, sword, anubias, couple crypts. when finished cycling i will run it at around 26 degrees.

thinking at the moment,
10 neons
10 flame tetras, if i can get them. otherwise rummy nose, congos, black widows, beunos etc are avail
6 panda corydoras
6 corydoras julii
1/2 BN's
5-6 glass shrimp?

never run a proper tropical setup, as i kept cichlids for years, so i'm not really sure on the stocking levels. i'd love to keep 3 schools of tetras... if they were small tetras do you think that would be feasible?

also, i'm thinking add half the stock, then the other half couple weeks later? not really sure, as theres a bit on conflicting info about stocking after a fishless cycle. i know the bacteria could easily habdle a huge bioload, but im not really comfortable adding so many fish at once.

yout thoughts appreciated cheers,
Mitch

 

[bloatedguppy]

honestly I think after cycling a tank for 10 ta 12 weeks would be good for the neons but even mine was 4 years old cycled I lost 3. Just be careful cause there not the hardiest tetra specie but if your looking for a 3rd type of tetra with some dazlling features may I recommend Rummy-nose tetras if you can find them, there hard where I'm at cause not alot of breeders. Also if you get the small aussie rainbow fish they are just fascinating. Loachs too are fun to watch and your tank's about god size for a small school also let me know if your into med size community fish.

 

[jacko9901]

you could add 3-5 zebra or leapord danio's at the beginning. there very hardy so they will be fine. then i set up my tank i did a fishless cycle for a week and then added fish (zebra danio's and platy's). i was told to wait for another 6 weeks before getting anything else. maybe you should get some sort of hardy species first (doesnt have to be a danio, some tetras are quite hardy). then wait for 4-6 weeks before adding your other fish and then wait for another 2-4 weeks before adding neons and cory's to be on the safe side.