Tropical Fish Tank Help

[Danielhorvath]

Hi, okay so I got a new tank from my friend, which has been up and running for a couple of years, so don't need to worry about nitro cycle and stuff,
I love fish! I am studying to become a marine biologist and am in year 11

Measurements are:
L 58
H 30
W 30

52.2 L tank
13.789 gallons

It came with fish and I have added some more,
2 kuhli stripped loaches
2 harlequins
1 ornate tetra
5 neon tetras
2 bloodfin tetras
1 peppered corrie

It may sound like alot but I did think about the different levels so tank isn't over crowded, and some of the fish are nocturnal and hide at day time, and they all have different levels of the tank

I have added 10 glass shrimp, tiny ones, more as live food than anything else, but will my fish eat them?

Also I have got 3 different plants, 1 fine leafed plant and 2 broader ones for a variety, and have 3 different hiding spots/decorations which the fish love as they can keep to themselves, but have a wide space in the middle to swim around in as well,

They have been thriving for about a month now so nothing seems to be to bad,

And I have a water filter, that provides a soft current in the tank, a heater set at 24-25 degrees Celsius and an air bubble thing that oxygenates the water
I do not have a light tho, but apparently the fish I have don't like bright harsh light anyway, but should I get one anyway?

Does this whole tank sound good?
Any changes that should be made?
Thanks so much

Ps how do you go about cleaning the actual water?
I have cleaned everything else on a regular basis, without chemicals and always used the same sponge, etc
But how do you get rid of about 10% of the water without sucking up fish, and then put new water in ?

 

[McCool]

That tank is very overstocked! And with inappropriate sized schoals. All those fish listed should be in groups of atleast 6+, which a 13 gallon could never handle. If I were you I would take everything except one of those type of tetras to the fish store, then bump whatever type you decided too keep up too 6. Then you could add another type of centerpiece fish in later on. But first, you definitely need too downsize on the stocking level! As far as the shrimp go, I don't see anything there that will eat them.
Do you have a water test kit? Normally most of us do 50% water changes every week, either with a hose or a small cup to dip water out with. If you have a hose and are worried about sucking up a fish, take a piece of mesh and rubber band it over the end.

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Ipicked up the bio-orb gravel cleaner from pets at home. It has an attachment at the end that it doesn't,t sook up gravel or fish. The water flow is fairly quick. You start the suction by squeezing the middle of it and it starts right away.
Get yourself a liquid test kit. Find out your water levels, then you do water changes as required. Also get yourself a water conditioner that eliminates chlorine in your water. When you are ready to refill your tank add the conditioner to your bucket and gently pour the clean water into your tank using. Cup,mug,jug or similar item.

 

[techen]

I agree with being overstocked and you should invest in a testing kit as soon as possible. Also be looking for at rehoming a fair few of those fish so you can get the stocking levels sorted.

As for lights, you'll plants will need lights or will slowly die off without them. All fish are fine with light, gotta have a day/night cycle.

 

[Danielhorvath]

Hey guys, okay so I am getting another fish tank around size, bit bigger,
And am putting

5 ornate tetra and 5 harlequins in one tank

And 5 blood fin tetras and the 5 neon tetras I have into the other,

I will also have 2 peppered corries in each tank to help clean and am putting 4 kuhli striped loaches in the bigger tank as they hide under rocks etc anyway..

As for the water, I do have a water test kit and water is perfect, took it to city farmers just to be sure and they said its really good
I have one of those suction things and so I used that to clean gravel Etc, and changed water and everything and de chlorinated it Etc so fish tank is all good now

Also the shrimp that I have, have been being eaten, I had 10 and now only about 6 and I saw some of the fish eating them

Thanks so much for the help guys
(Ps I thought it was other stocked but wasn't quite sure, I got the fish with the tank, so didn't really chose aha, and I just added shrimp)