FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I finally got a tank bigger than a 10g. Yay! I got a new 55g as the title says. Now I need some advice on what to put in it. I have a gravel substrate with a little flourite (now I know I should have done either all or none on the flourite), I have 1 anubias nana, 3 anubias coffeefolia, and 2 bunches of wisteria. I have the stock light fixture for now...but Christmas is almost here and I am getting a compact flourescent fixture. I have under 1 wpg. The wisteria in there is left over from what I bought for my 10g...I don't know if it will survive, but hoping it does until I get the new fixture. I plan to moderately plant it once I get the new fixture and have around 2.4 wpg.
Anyways..I let the tank run for a week before adding anything. I have an Aquaclear 70 filter and no heater at the moment (my temp stays around 75 degrees F now).
This past weekend I put 9 head and tailight tetras in it. I checked for ammonia and nitrite last night and both were 0.
I want to add 2 angelfish, eventually and 2 schools of corys. Also maybe one more school of tetras.
My question is what to add next...I know not the angelfish. I am hoping to add more fish this weekend. I am trying to stock it slowly, but I am a little impatient. I am hoping that I could add some maybe every week or every two weeks so that my ammonia doesn't get very high. Could I add a school of cories next? I need some help on this. Also does anyone have suggestions on what other type of tetras I should get that could live with angelfish and not get eaten or nip them. Thanks!
Kristin

*Kristin*

just go slow, a friend on mines has a 70 for a month stocked with with about 25 fish the first week and now they are slowly dieing. anyway, with the fish, i would go with cardinals with the angels. a better look.

now I know I should have done either all or none on the flourite

Not true. Where'd you get that? I have 50/50 flourite in two of my tanks, and my plants grow out of hand...

as chris said go slow, you don't want to stock it so fast that it crashes...I'd go ahead and top off the school of tetras before adding anything else...

What kind of corries are you thinking of adding to the tank? If it were me I'd go with a large school of one type and uh let them be happy

heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

I cannot stress enough the importance of going slowly. It will take a long time for your 55 to cycle, probably over a month. I certainly wouldn't add any more stock until it does. I've never had head and taillight tetras, but I do know that many species of tetras are not the hardiest stock. Just be patient and test regularly, watch for the ammonia and nitrite spikes and when nitrites start dropping as nitrates rise it'll be almost time.
Angels... also not the hardiest of stock but a beautiful fish. Best wait for the tank to fully cycle before adding them.
As for more tetras, I'm kinda partial to black jumbo neons, or even cards. just beautiful.
I think that I would add a small school of cories next, but alas, wait for the tank to cycle. You'll be saving yourself a lot of grief.
Ammonia isn't the only harmful parameter to fish, the nitrite and nitrate are also. It took over a month to cycle my 29, and also my 10. It was the longest 5-6 weeks of my life waiting fot it.
Perhaps a nice school of harlequin rasboras. They are a nice peaceful and hardy species. Had mine since day one and still all are fine.
Well, congrats on graduating to a larger tank, Best of luck with it.

About the flourite..i read a post on here where someone had 50/50 or less of flourite and someone else responded that flourite should be 100% substrate. Oh well...glad that's not true. I only have 25%, but i hope it works. I was thinking about cardinals too..but I don't remember seeing them at any of the fish stores around here. I'll have to see if I can locate them because I also think they are very pretty. The guy at the fish store I bought my tetras from said head and taillights were hardy. He could be wrong but he seemed like he knew his fish (moreso then other stores I have been to ).
The cories I am looking at are bronze cories and green (emerald?) cories..those are the ones I've seen..I will check around before I actually buy some to see what the stores have.
As far as filling out the school of tetras I have now...I have 9..is that not enough?
Would it be safe to add a small school (maybe 6) cories, in 2 weeks...then fill the school out later when the cycling is over? I know not to add angels now or cardinals..if I can find some. Thanks for the suggestions. I will have to learn to be patient.

*Kristin*

well, the more fish you have in a cycling tank, the more ammonia will be produced. That does not mean that the bacteria needed to convert it to nitrite will grow faster or that the bacteria to convert nitrite to nitrate will grow sooner. You may speed the process along by adding a product like stress zyme, cycle, or one of the many cycle speeding products, but it will still take a long time. Petsmart carries both, and I think petco does also. You can find cards at both petsmart and petco. Unfortunately, here in the chicagoland area most lfs (and there are many) are all large chains. There are a few small, privately owned lfs but they are few and far between (you wouldn't think so would you?)
Good luck with your new set up. Post pics someday if you can.