JstJake

I've got a 84 litre tank, with two plants, and soon a few 'hiding place' rocks and caves. I've got my 'new tank syndrome' cycle started and I'm aiming to add fish in two weeks, these are the two types and how many I of each I think i need..

6 zebra danio's
2 yoyo loaches

two other fish, possibly angel fish?

I've been told to add fish sparingly, a few a week for example, which should i add first? the danio's because their hardcore? Also should I add the whole shoal? or just say three at a time? One more thing, would these two be happy 'tank-freinds'??

also as for the two mystery fish i want to add,maybe you could offer suggestions.... obviously something that will be happy with the other tank mates, reasonabley hardy, and comfortable in the space I've got--I really don't want to overcrowd--

ok thanks very much for any help you provide, it's appreciated!

Jake

platy ben

maybe have the 2 yoyos but take away 1 or 2 danios so then you would have room for a shoal of about 5 neons or something?

I would add the shoal of zebra danios first

Then the 2 mystery fish, or the next shoal of fish if u go with my idea

then last the yoyo loaches

Lucy

Hi JstJake Welcome to Fish Lore

Before you begin adding fish, I noticed that your tank is 2 days old and you're not sure of your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings.
I'd suggest you get a test kit, the API master kit is highly recommended and very accurate. Please avoid the strips, they're not accurate and will be a waste of money.
A cycled tank will have readings of 0 for both ammonia and nitrites with some nitrates showing.

How did you cycle the tank? Unless you've used Bio-Spria (Tetra Safe Start) or seeded it with used filter media, there's no way it can be cycled so quickly.


Good for you, for asking about how your stock should be added. It's so easy to just go buy some, dump them in and hope they all get along.

jdhef

If you are intending to use fish to cycle your tank, most people here would consider that cruel and recommend cycling fishless.

I was unaware of fishless cycling, and used Danio's to cycle my tank (on the advice of the salesperson at PetSmart). If you do decide to cycle with Danio's, you really should do daily 50% water changes and use a product such as Prime as your water conditioner/dechlorinater. Prime will make the ammonia and nitrites non toxic to the fish for 24 hours, at which time you will be doing another water change with Prime. It will take longer to cycle your tank this way as opposed to going fishless.

For instant gratification use either BioSpira for Freshwater or the new version of BioSpira, Tetra Safe Start. With BioSpira/Safe Start you just pour in the product and add your fish right away. Don't test the water or do any water changes for 7 days and your good to go.

Shawnie

great advice everyone! but I dont think the tanks big enough for angels by themselves so I wouldnt add them as the "mystery" fish ...its about 22 gallons and that would cause angels fins to be stunded and not be nice n beautiful...

JstJake

thanks for the advice,

I'm not adding the fish now, I'll put the danios in, in about two weeks, so I'm doing whats called a 'fish-less' cycle, with the nitrogen.

To accomplish this, all I have done is added de-chlorinated water, to my tank plus a couple of live plants (not sure which, they just look nice!) and a cap full of this product called 'safe-start' which says it can make my tank inhabitable after 7 days...I'll give it 14 to be safe. (I'll get a reading kit this saturday)



About the fish, I'm pretty much set on yo-yos and I need 6 danios (they like at least that number according to the guide here)
I was just wondering if it was possible to add anymore fish to this set-up??

I'm not really sure about which fish to get though, obviously I have room and compatibility issues, but if any of you guys have any suggestions that would be great!

thanks again, Jake

Blub

We all advise a fishless cycle round here - we can help you with whatever questions you may have.

So you want 2 Yoyos and 6 Danios. That would actually be fully stocked! Personally, I would get 3 corrys instead of the yoyos, and use the extra space for a trio of male Platys or Guppys.

Oh, and well done for researching before buying fish! Try find you local Maidenhead aquatics - they are a great chain fish store in the UK - you won't find a better fish shop! And, Practical fishkeeping magazine is great for reading.

Lucy

If you used Tetra Safe Start, I believe you're supposed to add the fish right away, the bacteria in it will die off without a souce of ammonia (fish waste).
If I'm wrong on this, please, someone correct me

Blub

You can add ammonia to mimic the fish in there. SafeStart doesn't always provide an instant c ycle and often exposes fish to ammonia and nitrite.

JstJake

ok so getting corrys would open the door to a bit more variety in the middle to top region of the tank?

as for which species of cory, the pandas, and bronze look appealing, any suggestions??

Also you specified 3 male platy's, I definatley don't want 'fry'--but will the boys be fine with each other?

ok thanks very much, I think your revised 'stocking list' for my tank is a big improvement, I'll be looking for the forementioned fishshop around norwich!

platy ben

3 male platys or male guppies would be find, personally i prefer male guppys to male platys.
Panda corys are nice, and they stay small

JstJake

You sir are absolutley correct, I think guppies would be awesome...so my final tank team is; (in the order of adding)

6 zebra danios (what about the sex of these fish??)
3 male guppies (I'll try to find some sweet looking species, suggestions welcome as usual!)

And finally 3 corries, once again, not sure on species, probabally pandas


you guys are great, so much better than the fish shop!

Jake



***sorry almost forgot, is it ok to add all 6 danios at once? once my N-cycle is complete??******

Blub

Panda corys are smaller than bronzes - you could probably get away with 4.

Your stock plan looks great! I'd get 3 danios, then in 2 weeks time, 3 more danios, then in 2 weeks time the guppys then after 2 weeks the corys.

JstJake

Ok Hatchet, that sounds like a plan to me. I'll stick to that kind of timeframe, thanks for that!

Does the sex of the danios matter? I mean all boys or all girls, because you know, I don't want any pregnent fish on my hands, as much as I'll preach contraceptives and marrige first, I fear mixing the two genders will cause nothing but trouble!!

Sorry for asking so many questions, I just want my tank to progress 'swimingly' I suppose!

thanks again, Jake

platy ben

Its hard for 2 danios to succesfully have babiesi n a communtity tank for atleast 2 reasons:

They dont normally pair off and mate when kept in a group

If a female did lay eggs the eggs would be eaten.

platy ben

Sounds like an awesome set up!

Good luck and i hope it all goes smoothly

snakehead95

no way should you keep that many fish in that small of a tank. if i were you i would have 2 yoyo loaches and maybe five neon tetras. as for the mystery fish, the only thing you would have room for is a couple of 1-2 inch fish.

JstJake

6 zebra danios 2 inches x 6 = 12 inches
3 male guppies 2 inches x 3 = 6 inches
3 corries 2.5 inches x 3 = 7.5 inches

total 12+6+7.5= 23.5 inches of fish

My tank is pretty much 22.5 (u.s) gallons,


=1.044 inches of fish to every US gallon

Not sure if thats too much? if it is too much, I suppose I should just not get that third panda corrie, they do ok in pairs if I remember correctly??

If I did then I'd have 0.93 inches of fish per us gallon (If all grow to maximum size)


This is tough!

but thanks for advice, as I said before obviously the health of my 'future freinds' is paramount.