First Ever Fish Tank!! Any Advice Welcomed!!

A previous poster's suggestion to stock slowly and see how the tank evolves is right on. I would pick one school to go with your GBR, clown pleco, and (possible) dwarf gourami. See how you like it, give yourself some time to watch the tank. You may decide you want a second school, or you might want to up the existing one.

Myself, I kinda wish I had stuck with one schooling fish in my 55. Their behavior changed when I added the second school... I don't see the same spawning and playfulness with my barbs now that there is another school in there.

 

You would only be overdosing Prime if your ammonia or nitrites were Over 1.0 and you could Not do a water change.

Just to clarify, when you say "overdosing Prime" you just mean adding more than a standard dose if the situation requires it, yes? ("overdosing" makes it sound like a bad thing, lol!)

 

I will definitely keep asking questions! And keep bombarding the information lol, I don't mind! I am so exited to learn something new and find myself constantly checking the forums for things I might not know or could do better. All you guys are a big help!

 

I will definitely keep asking questions! And keep bombarding the information lol, I don't mind! I am so exited to learn something new and find myself constantly checking the forums for things I might not know or could do better. All you guys are a big help!

I second that hooked-worm77 !

 

Just to clarify, when you say "overdosing Prime" you just mean adding more than a standard dose if the situation requires it, yes? ("overdosing" makes it sound like a bad thing, lol!)

Yes, I mean dosing more than the normal dose (ex the 5x standard dose as mentioned above). I did not mean to imply overdosing Prime was a bad thing. Thanks for catching that!

 

A previous poster's suggestion to stock slowly and see how the tank evolves is right on. I would pick one school to go with your GBR, clown pleco, and (possible) dwarf gourami. See how you like it, give yourself some time to watch the tank. You may decide you want a second school, or you might want to up the existing one.

Myself, I kinda wish I had stuck with one schooling fish in my 55. Their behavior changed when I added the second school... I don't see the same spawning and playfulness with my barbs now that there is another school in there.

So now I am thinking of starting with just the raspboras as my mid level schooling fish to see how they do when my tank is right. I got some information from another poster that they would probably shoal with cardinal tetras. I'm thinking 6 or so of each and a GBR to go with my pleco and corys. How does that sound?

 

If ammonia + nitrite is higher than 1 ppm, do a 50% water change and dose prime and stability for tank volume. Test again in 24 hours.

The reason why this works is because prime, in addition to removing chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals, also detoxifies ammonia and nitrite up to 1 ppm for 24 hrs. This keeps the fish safe while still leaving ammonia and nitrite to feed your bacteria.!

Actually Prime will detoxify more than 1ppm ammonia+nitrite! The recipe of 2dr/1ppm/gal (or 1ml/10 gal) can be used to neutralize ammonia/nitrite up to 5x the basic dose of Prime, which means you're covered for up to 5ppm ammonia/nitrite.

I've seen different understandings of Prime dosing from established members on the forum, which his why I'm exploring this very question in a thread right now: Question About Prime + Ammonia Experiment

Would love to hear your thoughts if you have different information!

 

So now I am thinking of starting with just the raspboras as my mid level schooling fish to see how they do when my tank is right. I got some information from another poster that they would probably shoal with cardinal tetras. I'm thinking 6 or so of each and a GBR to go with my pleco and corys. How does that sound?

I think that could work. But again, I'd wait to decide on the cardinals until the other fish are already in and you've had a chance to watch the tank for awhile. You may enjoy the dynamic without an extra fish species mixed in there

 

I think that could work. But again, I'd wait to decide on the cardinals until the other fish are already in and you've had a chance to watch the tank for awhile. You may enjoy the dynamic without an extra fish species mixed in there

I think you are probably right. I just have that feeling of having a somewhat empty tank and wanting to fill it with fish. I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas to get here and I need to remember to pace myself and take it a step at a time.

 

I think you are probably right. I just have that feeling of having a somewhat empty tank and wanting to fill it with fish. I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas to get here and I need to remember to pace myself and take it a step at a time.

Well, the other way to fill the tank with fish is to add more rasboras! It might not sound as exciting, but the bigger the school, the more interesting their behavior will be. There is also a purple variant of the harlequin rasbora, if you can find it... you could mix that with the regular ones for more variety.

 

I just have that feeling of having a somewhat empty tank and wanting to fill it with fish. I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas to get here and I need to remember to pace myself and take it a step at a time.

Lol, the inverse of this feeling is "dear god, let the carnage/disasters stop, I just want living fish in my aquarium, I'll do anything". I would say most of us experience this at least once in our fish keeping careers, and it's helpful to remember when you feel yourself getting carried away . Any time you add fish, you risk the stability of your system. Disease, compatibility, etc. So you should do so with great care and deliberation. <3

 

The schools get more interactive as they get larger. I have quit a few Cherry Barbs and Neon's right now, it's interesting to watch how the fish interact with their own kind.

 

...the bigger the school, the more interesting their behavior will be. There is also a purple variant of the harlequin rasbora, if you can find it... you could mix that with the regular ones for more variety.

Also neon blue, galaxy, and emerald dwarf rasboras! How cool would that be- a large school of many different types!

 

I didn't know there were so many variations of raspboras! Will they all school together? And yes I remember killing a few of the first fish I got because I didn't know of the nitrogen cycle and it was terrible. So I will take it slow from here on out!

 

No they won't all school together as they're all different species

 

Also I read something that raspboras like planted tanks with some open area to swim around. Will my tank be ok seeing how I 9nly have take plants and they aren't that dense?

 

Fake or live plants are fine, as long as they have somewhere to hide if they need to they'll be ok.

 

No they won't all school together as they're all different species

That's too bad! Sorry for leading you down the path hooked-worm77 I've never kept rasboras! Good to know about the types, though!

 

As far as schooling goes they like to be with their own species. However some fish of the same species can have different colors and still School together, such as:

Harlequin rasboras and black/purple rasboras.

Skirt tetras: black skirt, white skirt, as well as the glo variety; these also have long donned variety which are the same species as well.

Zebra danios and glo danios (cold water though)

Bronze corys and albino corys (as long as both are aeneus species)

Tiger barbs, albino tiger barbs, and glo barbs

I'm sure there are several more, but these I can think of off the top of my head. If you are in doubt, you can always look them up and find their scientific name. If they are the same species they School together!.

 

Well I decided to go with a school of 9 rasboras, thinking of adding a similar school of cardinal tetras down the road

 

One thing to add and sorry if this is a double post but when testing for nitrate make sure to really beat the living tarnation out of the 2nd test bottle it seems to give wrong readings without a really violent shake ... I thought my tank was not cycled but it was it was just the test kit giving bad readings so I shook it and hit the sides on a table then it gave a better reading

 

That's a very good point, I forgot to do that my first time doing it and got a wrong reading. Corrected that and got a better reading next time. And for me, I like to take in a sample of water while getting new fish so I can have an extra set of eyes on it to confirm what I'm seeing.

 

Hey everyone, I had another question. If I wanted to start adding some live plants to my tank, what would be some good starter plants that would work in my gravel substrate? Looking for ideas on background, mid and foreground plants please.

 

Some good starter plants are Java Fern, Anubuis, Amazon Sword, and Water Wisteria. All can be grown with low light with some liquid fertilizer.

 

Would I have yo get new lights or would the standard lights that came with my tank be ok?

 

It depends on the lights that came with the tank, but for the most part other then the Amazon Sword the rest of those plants do well without a bunch of light. The Amazon Sword maybe happier with some more lighting if yours is marginal.

 

And what about needing to change substrate?

 

I have Black Diamond in my tank, the fancy substrates that are sold for planting would have cost a fortune for 150lbs. I use liquid fertilizers, root tabs are in the future when I get around to making some up.

 

So I don't need sand or anything like that? Small gravel will work? And what about anchoring them?

 

As far as anchoring them the Java Fern and Anubuis are a rhizome type plant, they can be tied to driftwood. With gravel you bury the roots but leave the rhizome exposed, that's the green stem the leaves grow off of. With Amazon Sword and Water Wisteria you can plant them with the roots and part of the stem in the substrate. I have had all of these with gravel and now sand.

 

Personally, I'd maybe go with a Bolivian Ram instead of the GBR. The reason is because the GBR preferred water temp is 82-86, contrary to many sites for some reason. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's likely that it will be duller colored, and less active than you want. Bolivian Rams, however, prefer your tanks temperature. Good luck with the tank!