I intend to start my first fishtank soon. I want to get fish just after new years, and want at least a few months to get it set up how I want and have time for a fishless cycle. I've been doing lots of research, going to our LFS, asking them what they can get, seeing what I like, and seeing if it'll work well together. I think I know what I want to do now, but long before I commit to buying fish, I want to get opinions and have plenty of time to change plans if it looks like the plan wont work out.
My tank is a 32US gallon long-form, at 36"x12" and 18" high. That is the only detail I have that is not currently changeable. I figure I should do math for 30 gallons, since the gravel takes up some room. I tried to limit myself to about 30" of fish, but since all the fish I like are schoolers, also tried to keep the amount of different types low so I would be able to get multiples of each.
I think this will be my final fish count:
5 lemon tetras (~10" of fish when full grown)
4 of one of the 2" or less varieties of Corydoras (~8")
6 Celestial Pearl Danios (~6")
and after a few months when I know my tank is super-stable and I know what I'm doing (so probably not until feb or march,) I want to add
2 or 3 Ottos (max ~6")
I think I'm going to go for somewhat heavily planted - Lots of hiding room, but not so much that the plants are all you see. I'm thinking for aiming for 30%-40% of the generally tank area obscured by plants. (real plants, I really don't like fake ones.) I intend to keep the tank at about 80 degrees, with a filter that produces a medium or so flow. (nothing severe, but a noticeable current.) I haven't gotten as far as to figure out the specific kind of filter or anything. I still have about a month before I get that far. I'm going to go with a small layer of medium sized gravel for plant roots to dig in to, with about a half inch of sand over that, which should amount to a total of amount an inch of substrate. The tank will get low amounts of natural light (its in a basement, but directly below basement windows, so will not get any direct light but will get some diffused natural light for about six hours a day,) so I'll probably have pretty bright tank lights for the sake of the plants which I will turn off at night. I want to get a little bit of java moss and other low to the ground plant life, as well as some of those red-leaf lily things that I can't remember what they are exactly (but I know my mother used to have them in her tank, and I loved the big broad leaves. I think that, at the time, I read they were invasive or illegal in some areas or something.) and then some medium-length more bushy-type plants for good hiding that grow pretty freely.
I'll probably use a little bit of red slate for landscaping, and so the little ottos can hide easily since I've read that they are sensitive and often nervous.
So, that's the plan. I want to get any incorrect knowledge or bad ideas OUT of my system before I set the plan in motion, so I am really hoping for some input! From what I've read, I think the fish will all get along fairly well and can live in the same environments, but I don't want to find out too late that I am wrong.
My tank is a 32US gallon long-form, at 36"x12" and 18" high. That is the only detail I have that is not currently changeable. I figure I should do math for 30 gallons, since the gravel takes up some room. I tried to limit myself to about 30" of fish, but since all the fish I like are schoolers, also tried to keep the amount of different types low so I would be able to get multiples of each.
I think this will be my final fish count:
5 lemon tetras (~10" of fish when full grown)
4 of one of the 2" or less varieties of Corydoras (~8")
6 Celestial Pearl Danios (~6")
and after a few months when I know my tank is super-stable and I know what I'm doing (so probably not until feb or march,) I want to add
2 or 3 Ottos (max ~6")
I think I'm going to go for somewhat heavily planted - Lots of hiding room, but not so much that the plants are all you see. I'm thinking for aiming for 30%-40% of the generally tank area obscured by plants. (real plants, I really don't like fake ones.) I intend to keep the tank at about 80 degrees, with a filter that produces a medium or so flow. (nothing severe, but a noticeable current.) I haven't gotten as far as to figure out the specific kind of filter or anything. I still have about a month before I get that far. I'm going to go with a small layer of medium sized gravel for plant roots to dig in to, with about a half inch of sand over that, which should amount to a total of amount an inch of substrate. The tank will get low amounts of natural light (its in a basement, but directly below basement windows, so will not get any direct light but will get some diffused natural light for about six hours a day,) so I'll probably have pretty bright tank lights for the sake of the plants which I will turn off at night. I want to get a little bit of java moss and other low to the ground plant life, as well as some of those red-leaf lily things that I can't remember what they are exactly (but I know my mother used to have them in her tank, and I loved the big broad leaves. I think that, at the time, I read they were invasive or illegal in some areas or something.) and then some medium-length more bushy-type plants for good hiding that grow pretty freely.
I'll probably use a little bit of red slate for landscaping, and so the little ottos can hide easily since I've read that they are sensitive and often nervous.
So, that's the plan. I want to get any incorrect knowledge or bad ideas OUT of my system before I set the plan in motion, so I am really hoping for some input! From what I've read, I think the fish will all get along fairly well and can live in the same environments, but I don't want to find out too late that I am wrong.
/www.aquaticcommunity.com/corydoras/skunkcory.php
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