an introduction...and a few questions

J

jake26

New Fish
#1
Aug 1, 2009
4
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#1
first off, hello, my name is jake. i am from sarasota, florida(so if anyone knows a good LFS around here..im tired of petco...)

i just got my tank started about a month ago. so far the current inhabitants are 5 zebra danios and 4 tiger barbs. no hostility..yet. after reading and looking i regret buying the castle in there but when i started the tank, i thought a castle would be nice, but now, i love the way planted tanks look. when i learn more, i will absolutely be into planted tanks. my tank is a 26g Bowfront.

anyway here is a (cell quality, sorry) picture



see, it looks empty!

and i have a few questions.
what else do i put in? i want a pleco, i guess, because i need an algea eater and i hear that chinese are a little on the angry side. but i dont want a fish that will be too big. any suggestions?

i am also thinking about adding a school of tetras.. i loove the way neons look but i am torn vetween schools of small fish, or a big fish. i like the small fish more.

i love reading the site and hope to continue to learn!
 

misterking

misterking

Superstar Fish
#2
Aug 12, 2008
1,124
0
0
Manchester, UK
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#2
Welcome to the tank!

I'm guessing by the fact that your tank's been set up for a month that you've not read up on cycling a tank properly (although if you have I'm sorry!). Do you own a test kit for the water? If not, I personally, and many more forum members will reccommend investing in the API test kit. They can be quite expensive (I seem to remember a few on here having bought one for around $30) but worthwhile. Then you can test your ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and pH easily and therefore see if your water's suitable for adding more fish when you want to.

Most beginners are best off following a "1 inch of full-grown fish per gallon" rule of thumb - therefore, you can comfortably house 26 inches of fully grown fish. So far you've filled roughly 15 inches of this. In terms of plecos, go for the smaller kinds - a bristlenose or rubberlip pleco would work well in your set-up. They get around 6 inches, taking you up to around 21 inches. On top of this you could probably get away with a school of 6 neon tetras if this is what you want to go for, so your plans sound good to me.

Just make sure your water is perfect, and read up on cycling a tank properly if you haven't already, befor adding the neons. Mass breeding of neons has led to some becoming quite hard to keep alive until established in your tank.
 

S

stacic8679

Medium Fish
#3
May 18, 2009
95
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0
indiana
#3
I would suggest a couple otocinclus catfish (ottos). They are good algae eaters and don't get huge like some plecos. Make sure you are completely cycled before you put them in though. From my experience they aren't the heartiest of fish. Need good water and don't handle nitrates that are too high either. I have a 23g and I have a dwarf gourami as my "centerpiece" fish. Only one though as they can be territorial. They don't get too big 3" maybe. Really pretty fish. Hope all goes well. Get other people's opinions also though as I am pretty new to the fish world. MOst of what I have learned came from the people on this site. It's really good. Welcome

Staci
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#5
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#5
jake26 said:
i want a pleco, i guess, because i need an algea eater and i hear that chinese are a little on the angry side. but i dont want a fish that will be too big. any suggestions?
Click to expand...
You are right that the fish sold as the Chinese Algae Eater can get aggressive. They also would get too large for your set-up.


Others have suggested the bristle nosed pleco and the rubber lipped pleco, as well as the Oto cats. All three suggestions are good for you due to the size of your tank and the fact that you want to do live plants in the future. All three types are gentle with plants and can help keep algae off the plants.

Otos are sensitive initially, but if you make sure you pick out healthy individuals, you should do ok. Also, make sure you actually get Otos and not another fish that looks similar when small (such as the Chinese Algae eater).

The plecos get larger (4-6 inches) and the Otos stay smaller (2 inches), but Otos should stay in groups of 3 or 4 to be comfortable. I have kept all three and I like the Otos because I keep very small fish and they fit into my scale better. A group of 5 full grown Otos are less of a bio load than 1 adult of the two plecos. But nothing beats the whiskers on a bristle-nose pleco! What a clown!
 

R

robinanne

Medium Fish
#6
Apr 12, 2009
91
0
0
florida
#6
hi! i love my rummy nose tetra's the best. they don't look so great in the store but when you get them home and they relax they really color up. dark grey bodies with red tail tips and nose's. :)
 

J

jake26

New Fish
#7
Aug 1, 2009
4
0
0
#7
thank you everyone for the suggestions.

i didnt know about cycling the tank, but i let the tank run for about a week before i put the fish in. i brought a sample to petco and they told me everything was normal. then of course i read forums and learned the proper way... oh well, next time, i havent lost anyone yet(knocks on wood).

i like the look of a lot of the tetra's. watching a school of cardinals, rummynoses, or black skirts was hard to choose

i bought a pleco, since i couldnt find any otto's locally. im not sure on the breed. i will get a picture tomorrow.

do you think my tank is stable now, since i more or less jump started the cycle? i would like to buy a school of tetras in the near future, just to complete the tank

thanks again.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#8
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#8
jake26 said:
do you think my tank is stable now, since i more or less jump started the cycle? i would like to buy a school of tetras in the near future, just to complete the tank
Click to expand...
Not sure what you mean by this. What did you do to 'jump start' the cycle?

It takes 4-8 weeks normally do do a fish-in cycle. Running the empty tank for a week did nothing to cycle the tank. Until the cycle is completed, you should not add more fish.

If the pleco you bought is a common pleco, it will grow to 2 ft long or more and quickly outgrow your current aquarium. A picture of it can confirm what type of pleco it is.
 

Violet

Violet

Large Fish
#9
Jan 24, 2004
318
0
0
Toronto, Canada
Visit site
#9
Something that might look nice in your tank, and something I have recently fallen is love with, are nerite snails. They don't breed in captivy very easily (or at all, I'm not sure) so you will not be overrun. I am not sure how they are with plants, so maybe check on that. I find that although their colours are not "vivid" in the same way, say a bright yellow apple snail is, they are beautiful jewel tones with unusual patterns and an interesting and quite lively (for a snail) addition to a tank.
 

N

NEWfishBIGpond

Small Fish
#10
Jun 24, 2009
40
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#10
I just got my tank cycled and had rummynose and neons in it. I was very successful although I did lose a couple rummynose. They are not the hardiest fish, that is for sure. Once you get your tank settled and they are happy they are really cool fish w/ fire red noses. Also they are a good indicator of how the health of your tank is (by their colors). I would also recommend a Gourami. Awesome fish, but if you have zebra danios and tiger barbs I would be careful. I have read they can get after the Gourami and stress it out. Maybe look at the Rams. They would probably do well w/ your fish after you get it fully cycled and are an awesome display of color.
 

N

NEWfishBIGpond

Small Fish
#12
Jun 24, 2009
40
0
0
#12
You need at least a 20h gallon tank for the Rams. That is what I have read on several forms/links.

Cycling...First you need a good/accurate test kit. API is what was recommended to me and that is what I use. Great kit.
While cycling you want to test for ammonia,nitrite and nitrates. First Ammonia, which is produced from your fish. After some time the ammonia levels will creep down to zero because the nitrites will have been established. This will take the majority of the time during the cycling phase, and these levels will peak before going down. During this time your tank will probably be somewhat cloudy. Finally to the last leg of the cycle. Nitrates will form and you should see that your tank has cleared up and nitrate levels will slowly creep up. Again once you are here your tank has "cycled". The most important part is not to add fish as it will complicate things and frequent water changes are necessary to keep a safe enviornment for you fish. I did a 30% water change weekly. I have read you don't want to do more than 50%. 30 was great for my fish and they never got too stressed, kept the numbers in the safe ranges. The hardest thing is to be patient until it has finished cycling, then get fish. Trust me, I just went through it. Good luck.
 

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