meeslef Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Hi there, how are you all going ? i've been lurking for a while and have a few questions for wiser heads.. After keeping goldfish with a reasonable amount of success some years ago i've always wanted to try keeping tropical fish. I bought a 60l tank 60x35x30 (2 feet?). Which has a single fluro light, filter, heater.. I live in Chch so the water quality is fairly reasonable. I've had the tank setup for a couple of weeks to check it out and added a few live plants and decorations. So now fish... I've been doing a _lot_ of reading and it's starting to blow my mind a little bit, these are my thoughts to date. I'd really like a small school of tetras(6); glowlight, neon or cardinal (o.k. purely because they look cool . I'm thinking a couple of some kind of cory cat as a bottom feeder, will 2 be o.k.? I read they like to school and i'm concerned that perhaps some other kind of bottom feeder would be more appropriate? I'm not sure tho what to have as a "middle level fish". Dwarf Gouramie (sp?) sounds like it would be a good choice, but i'm a little lost i'd like something slightly larger than the tetras but obviously the size of the tank and compatibility raises issues. Any suggestions ??? Also what would be the most hardy fish to have whilst the tank is cycling ? Just a couple more questions if you don't mind the ramble, what temperature would you suggest for a community tank most fish seem to like around 23 - 28 so i'm thinking about 25c ?? Is C02 injection neccessary for the plants, it's easy enough to setup a DIY system but i'm concerned about affecting the water quality and realistically it's about the fish and not the plants so much (as long as they don't die). Anyways.. this has become quite a ramble so thanks for your time.. any thought apprecatiated Cheers A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkytown Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Hey there A, I'm on the learning train too, and the same fish stood out to you and me, so I'll share with you what I've gathered so far. I too decided to go the tetra/cory/dwarf gourami route. I also looked at American Flagfish, Blue Rams, and livebearers like platties, Guppies and swordtails to swap in with the dwarf gourami. The livebearers were in real contention for a while, as they have a rep for being tough, good looking, and their breeding would be the "feature" of the tank. I settled on the dwarfs because I had some guppies when I was younger, and there was something very "usual" about livebearers, and I wanted "different" (to me). I've got a 34 liter setup. A bit smaller than yours, and I reckon by the time I'm done stocking my tank I should have... -3-4 Corys (3?) -6-10 Tetras (10?) -1-4 Dwarf Gouramis (3?) -1 bristlenose My eyes are notoriously bigger than my tank, so I'm not sure how it'll pan out yet. I'm still cycling the tank with just a couple of corys at this stage. The tank might look "full" when I put the first batch (6) of tetras in, and so I won't add more. Similarly, if I put in one dwarf and it doesn't look like it could hold 2 more, I might just stick with one (I'm avoiding having 2 as I hear a pair of males can sometimes be a little agro to each other. but 3-4 spreads the anger around more thinly). You tank isn't quite twice as big, and if I had your size, I reckon the above would go in *easy*. 2 lone corys in my tank is pretty empty. I think you'd be fine with as many as 6 or more. Just add slow and see how it's going/looking. I started with corys as the ranked well on my price/toughness/schooling not needed/eating food from the bottom, scale. With corys, I knew the food at the bottom would get eaten, not like with tetras, and I could just get 2-3, and they don't cost as much as the dwarf gourami, so if they die while I'm still learning, only my feelings are hurt, not my wallet. I've got heaps of plants in my little tank. It's choca with plants (not really, but I wanted to use the word "choca"). Maybe 8-10 or so. No CO2, and just the standard light that came with my Aquaone 380 setup. It's still early days, so I can't tell you if they're all going to make it, but I can tell you that more than a couple of plants have grown heaps in the last week. I didn't plan on actually having plant *growth*! The moral of the story is you don't *need* CO2 unless there are certain plants you really like and they need the extra CO2, or you want an awesome planted growing tank. I like the heavily planted look, and I'm going okay so far as-is. I might change my tune in a couple of months though. See how you go without it first. I'm just about to add my second batch of fish. I was trying to decide whether to get some tetras next, or another cory and a bristlenose. I'm bored of looking at the dull corys, and I'd love to put the 6 or so tetras in, but I don't want to increase the load of the tank that quickly. I think I'll get another cory and a BN. Dwarfs are going in last at this stage. If I'd gone the livebearer route, a couple of them would've gone in first. Oh yeah, temp. I was shooting for 26 at first, but with my tank setup for a few days sans fish, I saw that on the thermometer it was creeping quite high with the light on and the hot weather. I turned it down to 24 and it's still creeping up during the day. I've got it at 23 now, just to keep it from getting too toasty during the day. This is probably exasperated (is that the right word?) by having a small tank. If I could set-it and forget-it, then I'd go 26, but I think steady temp is more important than anything. 25 gives you the most room either side doesn't it? Anyway, hope this helps. I'm not an expert, but this is the way I've decided to do things and it's working so far. Fingers Crossed. Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 If the temperature of the "day" is affecting your tank. Even the removal of the heater/stat will not stop it. May have to start floating iceblocks in plastic bags. Love the word "choca" haven't heard it in yonks. :roll: Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Turning down the temperature on your heater will not lower the the water temp, i.e. it is a 'heater' not a cooler. If the water temp goes below what it is set to it will turn on and warm it up, if the room etc is heating the tank above what the heater is set to turning the heater down wont help. In fact you are making it worse for the fish and plants because at night the temp will be dropping alot lower making a bigger over all change in temp, you are better having a higher constant temp. Most fish will happily live with temps up to 27-28 degrees for a few months, and short term (for a hot day or two) will handle 30 degrees with no problems. It is the fast changes in temp that kills them. For you bottom cleaner I recomend a couple of bristlenose plecs. They eat every thing (algae and left over food) don't get too big, don't eat plants, cheap, easy to breed. You dont need CO2, plants need, light, nutirants, and CO2 to grow, but all in balance or you will get algae problems. I assume you have added nothing to the gravel for the plants so your nutirants aren't high, plus you have low light, so extra CO2 will just cause you problems. If you find your plants aren't growing fast enough I would add another light before even looking at anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meeslef Posted January 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 Cheers for the thoughts, something to think on I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkytown Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 Funkytown: Maybe move the tank to another room that is cooler? Thanks Mystic. I'm in an apartment, and there's really only one spot for my tank. It's sweet though. I'm not worried. Got it sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staplez Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 Your on the right track, you have been doing your homework. It doesn't sound like you have to worry about that temp. between 26 & 28 is where most of us would keep our systems at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 I would have thought between 22-28 would be the majority. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staplez Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 :roll: Oh ok didn't realize that many here would be kept that low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 I keep three of my tanks at 22c, quite in the acceptable limits of tropcial tempertaures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 Mine is set at 22 as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carriej Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 So now fish... I've been doing a _lot_ of reading and it's starting to blow my mind a little bit, these are my thoughts to date. I'd really like a small school of tetras(6); glowlight, neon or cardinal (o.k. purely because they look cool . I'm thinking a couple of some kind of cory cat as a bottom feeder, will 2 be o.k.? I read they like to school and i'm concerned that perhaps some other kind of bottom feeder would be more appropriate? I'm not sure tho what to have as a "middle level fish". Dwarf Gouramie (sp?) sounds like it would be a good choice, but i'm a little lost i'd like something slightly larger than the tetras but obviously the size of the tank and compatibility raises issues. Any suggestions ??? Also what would be the most hardy fish to have whilst the tank is cycling ? Hi If you are looking to start up in chch most of these fish can be bought cheaply through private dealers. I can supply most of these fish. if you are interested, then PM me. A CO2 system is not really neccisary, unless you are planning to grow plants on a large scale. plants can be obtained cheaply through John Peters, phone 03 9429456 although all of his plants come with snails. and these can be annoying in an aquarium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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