elmo Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 Hey guys, As you know i am currently running a small coldwater tank as i waited on a nice bargain on a trop to come up....today, i bit the bullet and bought a rio 180 (bow front) to start! Set it up this avo, have fine gravel, about 10 plants, a couple of rocks and after a ph test tonight ill prob grab some drift wood tomorrow. Its going to be heating over night and I just added an air pump and air stone to keep the water nicely agitated. It seems to be settling nicely! NOW, the fun begins. I want to start a fish cycle after i test everything tomorrow but really not sure where to go in terms of stocking after that and which fish to use for the cycle. All my previous community tanks have been keptquite simple (corys, rams, danios, silver sharks, pleco). This time the missus wants some kissing gouramis, perhaps some coloured shoaling fish and a nice few catfish. Any recommendations? What shouldnt i put with the gouramis or are they a poor fish anyway? ALSO, i have never had a fighter, ever, whats the rules? cheers guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land_lubber Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Just for your info the Juwel bowfronts are the Vision range so you have a Vision 180. Which colour did you get? black? post up some pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Could maybe start the cycling process with 5-6 Guppies Gourami's are great, they are usually non aggressive, You could keep several different varieties, Pearls, Golden, 3 Spot, Blue, just keep away from the Dwarf variety, they never seem to last long. I've got Golden Barbs, Cherry Barbs, Neons, Corys, Swordtails, Black Widows, Keyhole Chiclids, Rosy Barbs etc with mine and they all seem to get on well. Should be fine having a Simease Fighting Fish, just remember one Male only per Tank. Good Luck with your new Tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 there's a lot of info in here on cycling the tank viewtopic.php?f=4&t=47340 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malevolentsparkle Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 if you get kissing gouramis try and get the green wild form ones, they look awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmo Posted August 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Thanks for all of the advice guys. I remember keeping 3 spot gouramis a few years ago, i might be wrong but I always noticed they seemed to be a bit of a hardy fish. Any health problems any issues with temps/ph etc they looked as bright and healthy throughout as always. Maybe they were just good fish! I set it up on Saturday, monitored the temps and PH that night and all was ok. I conditioned the water and allowed it to filter all night and day and monitored again. Everything seemed perfect! SOOO, I went to HFF yesterday afternoon, picked up 5 cherry barbs, 5 tiger barbs and a pair of juvenile GBAs. I will leave it for a week (there is a lot of plant and hiding places) and let the tank cycle then perhaps add some gouramis and take it from there! Ill get some picks up later if I can (im not around until late tonight so i will do my best!) Im looking for advice regarding feeding. I have always just fed my fish brine shrimp and flakes. I bought the (expensive!) new life spectrum community food. One thing with it is: it is brown, small, sinking pellets. My substrate is fine burgundy so I cant see the food when it sinks... ALSO, will it just float past the top eaters if I add them? What do you guys think? Should I also supplement the GBA's diet with something specifically for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 can you gently float a pellet (or part of) on the surface? if you can do that it will slowly disintegrate and the bits will fall down and your shoaling fish will go after them as they look alive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Good choice on tank Im cycling my 180 with 12 large columbian tetras, 6 tiger barbs, a redtail shark, bristlenose, and a pair of cichlids :lol: :lol: and im only on week 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmo Posted August 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Cool! My plan is perhaps to add some rams (rainbow and gold rams). A nice fancy plec, some neons and then take it from there. I would really like to get a redtail black shark and some silver sharks but cant find any anywhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmo Posted August 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 can you gently float a pellet (or part of) on the surface? if you can do that it will slowly disintegrate and the bits will fall down and your shoaling fish will go after them as they look alive Ill give it a go. The barbs seem ok getting them as they fall. I may just get some sinking larger pellets for the gbas and a brittlenose if i add one. I will then perhaps get some frozen foods for the top feeders. Ill play it by ear for now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmo Posted August 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 ALSO, i checked PH this morning, looked to be about 7.4 This seems to me a little high? Should i get some drift wood or someting (will that lower it?) I do have a PH balance forumula but it reccomends to add 2 drops for every 3.8 litres which to me seems like a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Nothing wrong with 7.4. Better to have a stable pH slightly out of the preferred range than to add products to alter it, creating pH swings that are detrimental to the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Nothing wrong with 7.4. Better to have a stable pH slightly out of the preferred range than to add products to alter it, creating pH swings that are detrimental to the fish. Couldntve phrased it better myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmo Posted August 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Well now i am addicted and delighted with this board! All my questions answered! Thanks for the response, i was wary of changing the PH dramatically so i will just keep an eye on it and make sure it isnt climbing and leave it at that. I must also let you know, i added about 10 litres of water from an already cycled tank so my cycle should be a little shorted. Keen to get more fish in there (particularly some rams) soon so if anybody has them, lemme know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land_lubber Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Adding a little water from another cycled tank won't do much if anything, you want to add media from a cycled tank if you want to shorten it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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