Stocking New Tank

[wan1967]

Hello all,
just set up my first tank(60l) and after leaving it fishless for a week i put in 4 neon tetras.The water went cloudy and the fish were always at the top.Read a few posts and followed the instructions,crisis over,fish healthy and water crystal clear.I would now like some advice about what to put in next.I was thinking 3 small catfish,2 angel fish,1 red-tailed shark and some guppies.Your thoughts on compatibility and stocking levels would be much appreciated,cheers Bruce
ps using a stingray filter,2 plastic plants and 1 tube ornament.

 

[Falling Ash]

I wouldn't put in angelfish or the shark, they need a bigger tank I believe. Small corydoras catfish and guppies will be fine though.

 

[Cgjohnst]

I just set up my new 25 gallon tank and had a simliar problem. I didn't cycle the tank or do anything like that. I put in the water, used stress-coat and stress-zyme, then the next day(~28 hours later) put in 6 guppies, 2 green corys, 1 bristlenose pleco, 3 upside-down catfish, and 10 neon tetras. That was yesterday. I woke up this morning and all 10 neon tetras were dead. The other fish seem to be doing fine. After researching online this morning, a lot of places have said American neons die easily since they've been inbred. I don't know how true that is, but neons definitely seem difficult to keep in new tanks.

 

[MrCrabs]

I just set up my new 25 gallon tank and had a simliar problem. I didn't cycle the tank or do anything like that. I put in the water, used stress-coat and stress-zyme, then the next day(~28 hours later) put in 6 guppies, 2 green corys, 1 bristlenose pleco, 3 upside-down catfish, and 10 neon tetras. That was yesterday. I woke up this morning and all 10 neon tetras were dead. The other fish seem to be doing fine. After researching online this morning, a lot of places have said American neons die easily since they've been inbred. I don't know how true that is, but neons definitely seem difficult to keep in new tanks.

The problem probably came upon introduction, that was way too many to add at one time, Ammonia/Nitrate probably spiked and killed them all, but yes Neons are sometimes difficult to keep. Ideally you should add 2 or 3 fish every couple weeks to a month after, and only after the tank has been cycled with some sort of ammonia agent to get the Nitrogen Cycle started and that can take up to a month to complete. I am glad you got it sorted out though, and I hope your little friends are doing well.


To the OP, as long as your Ammonia and Nitrites are reading 0 you are cycled, then you can add 2-3 fish at a time every couple weeks. If I am not mistaken 60L is about equal to 16 gallons, I agree with Falling Ash about the angels and Shark. Maybe try some guppies, mollies, platys?, be aware though these are livebearers and can and will breed freely so before you get these fish make sure you have a backup home you can take them to if you cant care for them. Or you can make sure you have all males or all females, but again the females can be preggars before you buy them. The standing rule is one inch of fish per gallon of water, unless that changed but make sure when calculating that you take the adult size of the fish and not the size when you bought it.

Hope at least some of this helped somebody, Good Luck and I hope all your fish thrive!

 

[wan1967]

Thank you for your time.It looks as though i will have to set my sights smaller.