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Hi all. I purchased my first tank 8 days ago and while it is all very exciting, I am also finding all the varying information out there somewhat overwhelming. So please bare with me for a bit while I get to my questions.
My tank is 250L (which I think converts to approx 65gallon -correct me if I am wrong). I have added two platies so far to start cycling the tank and so far so good. Before I start gradually adding more fish however I want a clear idea in my head of what I want the final product to be. I have found a highly recommended, and very helpful book, which suggests possible stocking schemes for beginners and one scheme in particular appeals to me.
For a 55-gallon tank it suggests 5 platies, 8 Danios (zebra or pearl), 6 Lemon Tetras, 6 Serpae tetras and 6 Cory Cats. Also because my tank is bigger, the book suggests I could add a few more fish.
My concerns are as follows:
-does this seem like to many fish to you?
-could I add a small pleco(e.g bristlenose)or two to the mix as it's the one fish I had my heart set on when I bought the aquarium?
- would it be OK to substitute the danios with Harlequin Rasboras?
- and finally, I've looked around a few local New Zealand fish specialists and can't find either Lemon or Serpae Tetras. Will keep looking, but am interested in what other tetras people would recommend. I like the look of the Black ones.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks heaps

[font color="#800080"] Welcome to the site...
If you can't find the tetras then by all means go with a BN. The list that your book gives you is a few top middle and bottom dwellers, however your tank is up to you do what you want with it.....just be aware that some fish need schools (corys) some need more swimming space (danios) some need extra gallonage to take into account the fact that they produce more waste than others (plecos).

With stocking...take into account the fact that surface area is more important to the fish than the ammount of water the tank holds.[/font]



[span class="edited"][Edited by Trillian 2004-08-29 05:22][/span]

1)Nop..it seems not enough for me

2)That can be done, but with caution...I had Bristlenose in my tank before and kept all sinking tablet food to himself chasing the cory's away. But other than that...it won't bother the cory's

3)a great idea

4)Neon, , green Neon, cardinal, black neon, glowlight, black widow etc, I like and green neon and cardinal tetras the best

Welcome to FP Karina...

That stocking list sounds good to me. Though personally I'd go for just two schooling species (plus the cories) and have larger schools. I'd probably also want centrepiece fish, but the platies might fill that role for you. A bristlenose or two will be fine too.

I'd go to all the LFS's near you and write down the names of all the tetras, and any other fish as well, that interest you. Then you can come back here and research them a bit before making your decision. Basically, most tetras would be fine in your tank; some get a little larger than others though so would need a smaller school.

Congrats about starting out so well ! Most of us here didn't research anything with our first tanks, and took a few fish deaths before discovering the bits and pieces of knowledge that go into keeping an aquarium successfully.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

welcome to FP Karina and good for you on doing research before you started fish keeping
1. its a good amount of fish (infact id add a little more)
2. i'd go with 1 BN
3. yep harliquins are awesome
4. and for tetras, id recondmend black neons or rummynoses, with a pair of emperors, (empereors don't school like other tetras)
oh and i rekonmend u join this site (if u havn't already) http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/ its a NZ fish forum, so it comes in handy
good luck

cfd

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Billy was a scientist, Billy is no more. For what he thought was H20, was H2SO4

You guys are great. I'm really determined to do everything properly, so your helpful and positive responses are very encouraging. Please keep them coming.

Catfish_dude - Thanks for the site suggestion. Will definately join up as it'll be good to chat with other kiwis. Also, I like you suggestion of Emperor Tetras. Think I spotted them in the shop the other day and thought they looked quite interesting.

Just beginning - could you please elaborate on your comment about wanting a Centrepiece fish. I'm assuming by this you mean a fish that sticks out amongst all the other, and by all means I am open to suggestions. I think the platys are cute, but would hardly consider them pride of place in a fully-stocked tank. I am completely taken by some species of larger fish (e.g. Silver Sharks) but have been put off by a lot of stuff I have read regarding their behaviour and how big they get. So if you have any suggestions for some fish that would stick out from the others (preferably because they are a little bit larger - but not too big) and who would also be suitable for my beginning tank, I would love to hear them.
My tank is rectangular and has a surface area of .44 sq/m if that helps any.

Also, what do people know about Borneo Suckers? I saw some the other day but have been unable to find much info on them.

Thanks heaps.

Yes, but centerpiece JB means something a single usually large and colorful fish as the "focus" fish. For example, in my tank I have two schools of fish, then a dwarf gourami, which is my centerpiece.
If you like black tetras, try either black phantoms, or black neons as mentioned.
BN's are great, if you get a pair, you could ever breed them for your LFS and turn in a small profit. The downside is they are poop machines, so stocking with BN's or any plec for that matter should be taken carefully. Gravel vacs/WC are a must, as with any tank. Good Luck! and welcome to fp

[span class="edited"][Edited by ferretfanatic 2004-08-30 20:43][/span]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

for a centerpiece you might like to consider a gourami, dwarf gouramis are quite pretty.

IME serpaes can sometimes be a bit aggressive especially to fish with long fins, i have a school of serpaes who constantly nipped my poor male siamese fighting fish so i had to remove it! im not sure if they would bully the gourami tho. but to play it safe, i would rather get harlequin rasboras then serpaes (not that i dont love my serpaes!) or a school of cardinal tetras, they are quite pretty and easy to keep!

ok a bit on borneo suckers. They are also known as hillstream loaches and they really prefer coldwater (21*C or less). If they are kept in a tropical tank, they will eventualy die off after about 4 months and they don't eat algae, they eat the 'things' (for lack of a better word) in the algae. IMO they are for coldwater tanks and should not be kept in tropical aqauaruims.

cfd

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Billy was a scientist, Billy is no more. For what he thought was H20, was H2SO4

Help, Please
Here I am thinking I've got everything under control so far, when I look in on my tank of two and find it's now become a tank of at least five(maybe more). I was concerned about this when I bought the fish, so the lady in the store gave me two of the same sex. She failed to mention that the females could already be pregnant when I bought them.
I don't want to end up with a whole tank of platys, and being a newbie I'm really not sure what's the best thing to do. Even if I could manage to catch the fry, I have no other tank to put them in (and neither the money or inclination to buy a new one). So what do you suggest? Since I'm still cycling the tank do they have much chance of survival?
Any advice greatly appreciated.

By the way, a gourami as a centrepiece sounds like a great idea. Thanks

just leave them in there! platys are pretty hardy fish, and they will either survive or get eaten, if your not interested in keeping them you dont have to go out of your way to feed them, just crush a couple of flakes to powder come feeding time.

they are probably too hard to catch atm, but in a few weeks/month they should reach a catchable size and not yet be sexualy mature. and if they are as friendly/dumb as my guppies it should be no probs! i dont even use a net, i simply stand over the tank with a shot glass and scoop them out as they congregate at the surface closest to me.

then all you have to do is simply give them away to friends!its amazing how many friends you make when you give stuff away for free! you could try your LFS but they usually dont buy fish till they are a sellable size.

oH! one more thing, what filter are you using? if you have some sort of power filter you may want to check it a bit more often as the fry could get sucked up in there! i'm sure if you were a fish thhe last thing youd want is to spend your first weeks alive in a filter!

I had the same problem with the 3 platys I bought to cycle my tank with. I bought them on 8/6 and by 8/7 I had close to 20 platies (those little buggers are hard to count, but most of the time I can get 15 or so). They are now almost a month old. My tank has not completed its cycle (GRRRR..lol). But when it does, the next fish I am getting will be a dwarf Gourami. he will be my centerpiece fish, and he is said to take care of my baby platies. (Just don't know if he will be able to if they keep growing waiting for the tank to cycle)! But as far as I can tell, I haven't lost one fry in the cycling process (and a bout with ich), so good or bad... the frys will survive...

Those baby platies sure are hardy little things, and it turns out I have more than I thought. The sooner I get a fish that will eat them the better (oops - that probably sounds really horrible). But anyway, I've been looking around and found a shop that stocks just about every Tetra there is and I think I may have decided on my ideal tank. So I'll ask again - Is this too many fish?

5 platies
6 Rummy-nosed tetras (I've decided they're my favourite)
6 Harlequin Rasboras or 6 Cardinal Tetras (can't decide which)
5 or 6 phantom tetras
6 cories
1 BN pleco
2 dwarf Gouramis (I could probably settle with one, but are they happier as a pair? Also could I get a pair consisting of one Dwarf and one Blue Dwarf, or are they better of being the same?)

Also, can someone please tell me what I should expect my ammonia levels to peak to? They've been sitting around 0.25mg/L for a while now and my nitrites and nitrates are still on zero. I've been using the product 'Cycle' but I really can't tell whether it's been of any use. Also, should I be waiting for my tank to fully finish cycling before I add more fish? (I should mention that I added 3 more adult platies about a week ago because my ammonia levels hadn't budged from zero, and I was getting impatient)

Anyway, that's probably more than enough questions for now. Any advice greatly appreciated.

I think you could do well with Hillstream Loaches as well/ Borneo Suckers as you call them. I have heard that they "dont eat algae" however, I put mine in a 10g Green tank, and proceeded to watch it go right to work and cleaned a 4x4 inch square to crystal clean glass in about 15 minutes. My 10g tank is now almost crystal clear between my hillstream, my snail, and my shrimp. I believe these fish do eat algae if it is present. Mine I have yet to see eat anything else, and I have provided many things, Algae wafers, shrimp pellets, zucchini, etc, and it doesnt touch them, it just keeps eating the algae.
Someone said they dont live long in a heated tank?? Well I have had mine now for more than 4 months in a fry tank, that is heated always between 80 and 82 degrees. All I see is a happy, healthy, growing Hillstream Loach that has almost double in size from when I bought it. I dont believe this is the case at all. Perhaps it depends on whether the fish is wild or captive bred. Mine was captive bred, and the LFS guy said they always keep them in tropical tanks. His Hillstreams are 6 and 7 years old and all have always been in a tank of 80F.
You could easily add 2-3 of these little guys, they are great algae eaters in my experience, easy to take care of, and very peaceful.
You could easily do 2 dwarf gouramis. I have 3 males and they get along well, but have developed a definite heirarchy. One is beautiful brilliant orange and blue, large and has huge fins. The second one is a little smaller, has smaller fins and is not so bright, kind of looks like a pastel color. The third one looks almost like a female. It has rounded small fins, it is a washed out pastel orange with almost no visible blue, and always gives way to the "Alpha" Male. The second largest does challenge the Alpha, but never wins.
You will probably find this similar behaviour if you get 2 males. You could always get a pair, a male and a female, and watch him court her and build her beautiful nests!!
I have yet to find some females for my males.
I think you have picked a fine assortment of fish, and wish you luck with them!!!


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