First tank ever and I need help

I strongly agree with what was said above about not adding both fish and ammonia at the same time.
I also thought about getting a molly but than I read that they have high bioload (they poo a lot which means dirty water ) and while they are usually peaceful, some of them may be aggressive to other fish as they get older. I've never had one, so owners of mollies correct me please, but this is what I read.
If you are only looking for a fish for the cycle, you can do it with the swordtails.

Another idea: your tank is quite big, maybe you could get goldfish instead of tropical fish? They grow quite big and can live for a long time, yet are easy to care for. (but have high bioload as well) Here's an old thread about goldfish in 55 gallon

 

Ok so I'm on my way to Petco going to buy the Brooklyn stand. I read somewhere that Molly's are hardy enough to withstand a cycle and can actually speed it up? Is this true and if so how many should I buy?
Also when I get home and fill the tank with tap water and some safe start and ammonia, how long after can I add them into the water? I saw where you let them sit in the water while still in the bag.
Do I turn the heater on?

I fear this advice is coming too late but:

If you are going to use Tetra SafeStart to cycle your tank, you either add SafeStart and fish at the same time. or you add SafeStart and ammonia at the same time...not both fish and ammonia.

But here's the advice I really fear is coming too late. When using SafeStart you need to wait at least 24 hours after a water conditioner was used before adding the SafeStart. Using it less than 24 hours after a water conditioner was used, can cause the SafeStart to fail.

If you are cycling with SafeStart and fish, here is what you want to do:
Fill tank with conditioned water
Wait 24 hours minimum
Add acclimate fish and add to tank
Immediately pour in an entire, well shaken, appropriate size bottle of SafeStart
Do nothing but lightly feed fish for the next 14 days (no water changes, no adding and chemical...nothing)
On day 14 test and it all worked correctly...congrats, you're cycled.

Best of luck!

 

I guess last night I just got excited, but nothing went as planned.
Good news is I didn't get any fish to add to my tank with ammonia, which means I'm not a dish murderer; however, on the downside I still don't have a tank stand. Everything in Petco was priced WAY higher than their online store which has free home delivery.
I swear with all the fish cycle pages I've read I was still confused, but with the responses I got to my latest post I'm pretty sure I got it now. Special thanks to jdhef, put it probably as simple as it gets.
Once again thanks to all of you who've taken the time to respond to my dumb/rookie posts.

 

Your posts aren't dumb. Feel free to ask any and all questions you may have, that's what we are here for.

Did you try asking at the Petco store if they would honor their on-line prices? Sometimes a store will, but you gotta ask.

 

I asked, but they said they couldn't price match. I'll just have to order the items online and wait for delivery.

 

I asked, but they said they couldn't price match. I'll just have to order the items online and wait for delivery.

If you have a Petsmart near you you could check to see if they honor their online prices mine does.

Sent from my KFFOWI using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Petsmart doesn't have the Brooklyn stand :/ thanks for the suggestion though.
While at Petco, I saw air pumps by the fish supplies. Is a pump necessary?

 

Not necessarily, but if you have an air-powered filter you will need it, plus you can run some fun stuff like air curtains and animated divers and other decorative objects with it

 

No it can be beneficial if the surface of the water is rarely disturbed but normally that's nlt the case with hob filters

 

Not all the time your filter provides surface agitation which puts air into the water build if you are treating a sickness with the heat and salt method you will need it because the hotter the water gets the less air it holds so it depends though I Would recommendation you get one in case your filter goes out so you can provide oxygen until you can get a new filter but if that happens make sure you get a new filter as SOON as possible. But if you get a air pump you'll have to get tubing and a suitable air stone for your tank most air pumps don't come with tubing and air stones.

Sent from my KFFOWI using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Having an an airstone or some kind of bubbles is helpful and is usually a must need. Some hob filters or spray bars won't help if the water level is too high (usually we keep it high so that we don't get the noise of the water trickling). A fish in a tank with just an airstone can last a long time if you subtract stress than a fish with out one.

 

I love love love that pallet look!

 

What are you thinking for stocking now? Be sure to discuss that on this forum before you buy any fish as you have a lot of incompatibilities to deal with in the fish that you were interested in. Most of them aren't suitable to be kept together.

 

Rummy nose tetras would be cool

 

How reliable is the site <aqadvisor>
I put in all my aquarium info and chose fish I had previously listed. It then gave me warnings of what wouldn't work. I took out a few fish and adjusted quantities. I ended up with this...
It only recommends adding extra filtration. If I say I add an extra Penguin 350 all is good. What do you guys think?

 

Aquaadviser isn't all that reliable. People can use it as a starting point and then ask here. I have seen it be incorrect with temperature compatibility, as well as amount of fish. I'm not an expert on stocking though, I shall let others weigh in on that.

I do know that tiger barbs tend to be on the aggressive side, and most people do them in larger groups around ten or so to curb the aggression.

 

How reliable is the site <aqadvisor>
I put in all my aquarium info and chose fish I had previously listed. It then gave me warnings of what wouldn't work. I took out a few fish and adjusted quantities. I ended up with this...
It only recommends adding extra filtration. If I say I add an extra Penguin 350 all is good. What do you guys think?

There are many many mixed opinions about Aqadvisor. I think it is a great tool to give a general idea and possible cautions. However don't think that because aqadvisor says it's fine that it is indeed fine and vice versa.

I'd say put your list on here to have it ripped apart by savages.

 

The Dwarf Puffer is 100% not suitable for the tank, and I believe most Killifish aren't good for community tanks either. The Acara and the Bolivian could be okay but you'd have to keep an eye on it as Acaras can be quite aggressive (depending on the fish) and they have a size advantage on Bolivians. If you want Tigers I would make them the only school in the tank, they are VERY nippy, and if not kept in a large enough group they'll harass other fish as well.

Denison Barb's (Red Lined Torpedo) are large and would only fit in this tank if they were the only school. Note that their max temp is 77F.

 

I second the dwarf puffer is not compatible and I would never put tiger barbs in with my rams due to chance of nipping. I am not familiar with the others so not able to advise on the rest.

 

No stand :/

Any opinions on this? Was thinking of just a simple one to get going. Then maybe spruce it up a bit by covering it with pallet wood and end up something like this...
Do you guys know if the extra space on the right hand side is just for looks?

That looks awesome!

 

It could be hiding filtration. Usually a size like this tank uses canisters.

 

How large of a group should I be considering for tiger barbs beau? When I do purchase a school of them do I purchase them all together so they know each other?
Alphonsus, so two Penguin 350 wouldn't be enough?

 

I would do a minimum of 10 Tigers, you could probably do up to 12.

 

Will it just be tiger barbs? If so make it a school of 20! You should be able to purchase them all at once or you could do 10 one week then the next week get another 10. 2 Penguin 350 would be enough! I meant that the spot next to the tank for the pic with the stand is probably housing a canister.

 

Will it just be tiger barbs? If so make it a school of 20! You should be able to purchase them all at once or you could do 10 one week then the next week get another 10. 2 Penguin 350 would be enough! I meant that the spot next to the tank for the pic with the stand is probably housing a canister.

For some reason I was thinking Tiger Barbs were a lot bigger! 20 would be a great number, should limit nippyness towards outsiders as much as possible.

I would probably add 10 at a time unless the tank had already been cycled to a fairly high bio-load.

 

Absoloutly no to the dwarf puffer they need a species only tank as they will nip and harass anything else in there. Saying that I have a couple in a species only tank and they are an absoloute pleasure to keep and well worth it as there personalities really shine through...something to think about when you catch the MTS bug (multiple tank syndrome) you WILL catch it.

 

I've been reading on tiger barb compatibility and it seems there is none. They aren't compatible with anything really "cool" because of how aggressive they are.
So that being said I'm back to the drawing board. This is taking a whole lot longer than I thought it would :/

 

You're doing warm water fish, right? What about a big group of flashy tetras? I have black neons and glowlights and they're both beautiful creatures! I've also seen a tetra that was dark with an iridescent green patch over the eye. Looked just like a glowlight only...not. Great description, huh? Then there are cardinal tetras! They're like bigger, pinker versions of regular neons

 

I've been reading on tiger barb compatibility and it seems there is none. They aren't compatible with anything really "cool" because of how aggressive they are.
So that being said I'm back to the drawing board. This is taking a whole lot longer than I thought it would :/

This is a fun time to enjoy and learn about the needs and compatibility of the fish you are interested in! It is much better to go through this process than to have a tank full of cool fish that are totally incompatible which is a disaster that we all have experienced and regretted not properly researching first.

That is why so many are quick to tear apart your list. We just don't want you to go through the agony, lol.

P. S. Warning! This is how MTS sets in. You realize that two "got to have" fish don't get along or one needs to be in a species only tank so you gotta set up another, then another, and so on.....

 

I suggest going back to the drawing board and making a new list of fish you might want. Find different schools of fish you might want and we will help decide which are compatible and how much. As mentioned above best for you to decide and tell us your ideas for us to break down than to go and pick them out for yourself and then have the tank collapse in a week or 2 or even a month for the lucky ones. My first tank lasted 3 months but it was poorly stocked and I was more "hands on". Which is how MTS set in. Luckily I have my parents who only allows 2 tanks but when I finish college and get my own house, boy people will come to my house instead of the aquarium, LOL.

 

That's a beautiful tank

 

Yea I'm already wishing I had an empty garage to line the perimeter with fish tanks. Some day........ When I have experience and the money.
How about this list:
Yo yo loach, Cockatoo dwarf cichlid, Peacock gudgeon, Congo long fin tetra and maybe a school of swordtails? Or is that not a school type fish?
I'm not really liking the idea of say 1-2 breeds of little schooling fish filling the tank. Unless I was more knowledgeable and was able to have a planted tank with a giant school of guppies or neon tetras.
I'm aiming for more of a variety and at the most one school or none at all.

 

Swordtails don't school they shoal although it won't look like much in a small tank they would just spread out

 

Yea I'm already wishing I had an empty garage to line the perimeter with fish tanks. Some day........ When I have experience and the money.
How about this list:
Yo yo loach, Cockatoo dwarf cichlid, Peacock gudgeon, Congo long fin tetra and maybe a school of swordtails? Or is that not a school type fish?
I'm not really liking the idea of say 1-2 breeds of little schooling fish filling the tank. Unless I was more knowledgeable and was able to have a planted tank with a giant school of guppies or neon tetras.
I'm aiming for more of a variety and at the most one school or none at all.

Yoyo's can be aggressive if you only have one, they need a school of around 5 or more to establish a pecking order and get to be quite large. They may also be a little destructive, digging up plants and things as they look for food. They would also take up a lot of your bioload capacity. Instead, consider the Zebra loach, Their markings are different, but the yoyo's markings change as they get larger and don't read yoyo any longer. zebra's don't grow as large either so you could have 5 of them quite easily, they do still hunt and eat snails.

If it were my tank I'd probably do either 2 peacocks or 2 gudgeons as opposed to 1 of each. (I haven'y kept those 2 before though so don't know a whole lot about them)

The Congo tetra's are beautiful fish, they would be a great addition, they grow quite large for tetra's so I personally wouldn't keep more than 10 of those probably about 8. They are also pretty darn expensive, hopefully you can find them for less than $10 per fish or if you do pay that, ensure it is a reputable source and not a chain store.

I'd stick to 1 or 2 male swordtails so you don't overpopulate the tank with babies, 55 gallons should leave enough room that the 2 males can avoid each other.

Overall that would make a descent stocking that covers all areas of the tank, I can't say if they are all temperature compatible or not though so that would need looked into.

 

The metal stand you show is fine. I have a 55 gallon as well, my stand is a very heavy duty wood stand purchased at petsmart, the 55 gallon was kit from there as well. I no longer use the heater or filter that came with the kit as they were . As far as bettas in a community tank I currently have about 22 fish in my tank, one is a female betta and she gets on just fine. I tried a male but it did not work out for him as he chased everyone else lol, he is back in his own little tank. I try to keep friendly type fish lol, I have a rainbow shark, he is awesome, I have glofish tetras because they add a lot of color to the tank. I have a school of bleeding heart tetras 6 of them, I have mollies and platys. I also have 3 angels. I run two filters on my 55, I have Aquaclears one is the 110 and one is 70, overkill but it keeps my water crystal clear. My heater is an aqueon pro and it works great. Good luck its so much fun.

 

DanB80TTS Since the zebra loach you recommend hunt snails could I get some of the self breeding snails to keep them happy? Yea I checked out the temps and seem to all be around the same level.

 

DanB80TTS Since the zebra loach you recommend hunt snails could I get some of the self breeding snails to keep them happy? Yea I checked out the temps and seem to all be around the same level.

They'll eat the food you put in the tank, but they do like to eat snails too. If you wanted to feed them snails, pet stores usually will give you pest snails for free. They'll eliminate bladder, pond, ramshorns and even MTS.

 

If they don't give you snails for free get a 10 gallon tank or 20 gallon tank and put some snails (pond, Malaysian, any fast breeding snails or snails known as pests), add driftwood and plants so that the snails feel more natural and start breeding.