What to add to my tank

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Andrew.3

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I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank with:
7 tiger barbs
6 neon tetras
5 white skirt tetras
4 albino Cory cats
1 Rainbow Shark
I was wondering what other fish I could add to the tank. I’m open to any suggestions.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) and pH of your water supply. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

How long has the tank been set up for?
Has the filter cycled yet?
 
I'd love to see a picture of the tank!

One of the main ways to tell if your tank is fully stocked is to test for nitrates. If you have over 10, your tank is either stocked too heavily or you aren't doing enough water changes.
 
I'd love to see a picture of the tank!

One of the main ways to tell if your tank is fully stocked is to test for nitrates. If you have over 10, your tank is either stocked too heavily or you aren't doing enough water changes.

While it is true that a rise in nitrates may occur from overstocking (or overfeeding, insufficient water changes, inadequate filter cleaning, etc) by the time this shows up the fish are already being compromised. But the tank could be "overstocked" or "improperly stocked" regardless of nitrate test numbers.

While waiting for the data Colin requested, we can say that some of the species should be increased in numbers before new species are considered. And given the "feisty" nature of most of the present species, any additions will need to be compatible with that aspect.
 
While it is true that a rise in nitrates may occur from overstocking (or overfeeding, insufficient water changes, inadequate filter cleaning, etc) by the time this shows up the fish are already being compromised. But the tank could be "overstocked" or "improperly stocked" regardless of nitrate test numbers.

While waiting for the data Colin requested, we can say that some of the species should be increased in numbers before new species are considered. And given the "feisty" nature of most of the present species, any additions will need to be compatible with that aspect.

That's why I said ONE WAY and not the only way. If nitrates were already high, I would surely not recommend adding more fish.
 
That's why I said ONE WAY and not the only way. If nitrates were already high, I would surely not recommend adding more fish.
Right, but the point I wanted to make and don't think I did (sorry) was that the tank may be overstocked and nitrates could be zero. I didn't want the OP to fall into the "security" of thinking he was understocked due to nitrates. And in fact the tank is not overstocked but it is inadequately stocked.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) and pH of your water supply. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

How long has the tank been set up for?
Has the filter cycled yet?
The
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) and pH of your water supply. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

How long has the tank been set up for?
Has the filter cycled yet?

The tank’s dimensions are “48 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 21”
And I’ve had the tank up and running for 3 weeks now but yesterday was the first day I added fish to it because I have been busy the previous of weeks.

I am new to all of this and I’ve been going off of what some articles have said and what the employee has said who sold me the fish.

Like I said above I am new to this so I don’t know how to answer all of your questions correctly but I can tell you what the store told me to use:
Tetra Easy Balance
API Stress Coat
They told me this would cover majority of the needs to make the water appropriate for the fish

And here is a picture of the tank(it isn’t the best picture because I had to use the front facing camera so I could upload the file)
 

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Do not add any new fish until the tank has cycled in about 2 months time. The filters need time to develop beneficial bacteria that help convert ammonia into nitrite, and nitrite into nitrate. While this bacteria develops, it is important to minimise the amount of food going into the tank and to do water changes.

You should feed the fish 2-3 times a week and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 4-8 hours after feeding them. You should monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels and do a 75% water change any day you have a reading.
*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

When the tank has cycled and the filters have developed the good bacteria, you can feed the fish every day and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate once a week. You can also add more fish after the tank has cycled.

When the tank has cycled and you add more fish, increase the numbers of the fish you have so there is 10 or more of each species. Tetras, barbs and Corydoras are all schooling fishes that do best in large groups. The neon tetras also look better in big groups and having 20 or 30 neons in a tank can look really good.

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You need a picture on the back of the tank to make the fish feel more secure. You can buy backings form pet shops or use coloured card, a sheet of black plastic or anything really. Just sticky tape it to the outside on the back of the tank.

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You need some floating plants to reduce the light and make the fish feel more secure. Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) is a good floating plant that can also be planted in the substrate. If you buy 1 plant it grows rapidly and in a month you will have heaps.

Other good plants you can try include Ambulia, Hygrophila ruba/ rubra, H. polysperma, common Amazon sword plant, and narrow Vallis. These plants should all be planted in the gravel.

If you don't want live plants, then remove most of the gravel. You only need a thin layer of gravel for artificial plants, and less gravel means more water in the tank, which is better for the fish.
 
I really like worms in the aquarium. They add some extra color to the tank and are pleasant to watch. I saw an article on ARC Reef about some Indo-Pacific worms that are beneficial to a marine aquarium. Think about some live rocks and/or corals to put in the tank since not only the fish make the aquarium beautiful.
 
That wouldn't work here I'm afraid. The tank in question is freshwater not marine.
 
Like I said above I am new to this so I don’t know how to answer all of your questions correctly but I can tell you what the store told me to use:
Tetra Easy Balance
API Stress Coat
They told me this would cover majority of the needs to make the water appropriate for the fish

I missed this earlier, sorry. Neither of these products is safe for fish.

Tetra's Easy Balance makes impossible claims. You do not need or want stuff like this. Use a good conditioner at water changes, which should be once a week minimum (no need for more unless something develops) and 50-65% of the tank volume at each weekly change. The best conditioner for most people who have only chlorine/chloramine to deal with is API's Tap Water Conditioner. It is highly concentrated so you use very little, and the higher initial cost becomes much less going forward.

APIU Stress Coat is not something to use with fish in the tank. It contains aloe vera which is now believed to be harmful to fish gills over time. There is no need for any product like this anyway.

The less substances added to the tank water the healthier will be the fish, guaranteed.
 

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