My Tank is Cycled--now stocking :)

[*Sarah*]

I'm so glad that my tank had cycled. Ammonia and Nitrites 0! So, I added 2 sailfin mollies and 2 more Red Wag Platy's yesterday. That's all I"m gonna put in until the filter has caught up. I can't wait to get my tank fully stocked. I think I'm going to add 5 more Neons next.

So anyway, that makes my fish count in a 40 Gallon as:
2 Emerald Sunset (or moonlight I think) Gourami's
5 Red Wag Platys
2 Sailfin Mollies
3 Blue Male Guppies (and I think I'll give 2 to a friend and get 3 females...)
4 Neon Tetras (will get more soon for a bigger shoal)

Plan to add:
5 more Neons
3 more Sailfin Mollies
possibly 2 more Gourami's (however i'm a bit disappointed with the male I have right now, because he stays hidden most of the time, and he's the prettiest fish in my tank!)
3 Female Guppies
2 or 3 Japonica Shrimp

How does this all sound? What kind of bottom feeder could I get? What would you all recommend? Any other suggestions on my tank?

[Chrona]

A siamese algae eater to help the shrimp would be good. Make sure it's the right species though. It should have a single black stripe with no white strips above it. Other similar species get very territorial when they get big.

Or you could get some Cories and let the shrimp take care of the algae.

Also, I've always liked Cardinal Tetras better than Neons. You have to acclimate them really slowly, but they do fine after that.

[Incredulous_Ed]

I don't think keeping the neons with the livebearers is such a good idea. The neons require soft, acidic water, while the livebearers need hard, alkaline water.

[cocoa_pleco]

ditto with ed

[Nautilus29]

If you are looking for a fish to help out with algae go with the otto cat. They only get up to 1.5 inches and they do a heck of a job with algae.

and eds right about the neons.

[*Sarah*]

Thanks for the responses :) Unfortunately, I got neons before I knew any better. I have 4 of them that I'm not sure what to do with. SO, I thought instead of somehow getting rid of the ones I have, it would be good to increase their numbers...does that make sense? I have a friend I could give them to, but she also has the same town water, so their conditions wouldn't improve. What else could I do with them? Euthanize them? The store won't take them back.

As far as the algae eaters..what if I have no algae? lol. I haven't had any at all, but can I get one and feed it algae flakes? I'd hate to get one only for it to starve. I do like the looks of many of them though.

Again, thanks everyone!

[cocoa_pleco]

most people dont want algae naturally growing in their tanks, but only if you have livebearers, crayfish, or plecos and some cats do you feed algae wafers.
I guess keep the neons, they may get used to your water.
do not euthuanize them. The only time to do this is if a fish is extremely sick like severe bleeding, tumor, or 2-3 diseases at once.

[twiztid1980]

In the wild the neons water would be soft and acidic but if captive bred they were probably raised in hard alkaline water and depending on the LFS more often than not they are in alkaline water there as well.

[cocoa_pleco]

lfs's dont really give a crap and usually put fish in whatever tapwater they get, so chances are your neons are used to your water

[*Sarah*]

Should I stick to the 4 neons I have or should I get more to make a bigger school of fish?

[jeffs99dime]

Should I stick to the 4 neons I have or should I get more to make a bigger school of fish?

they prefer to be in a school of 12 or more, ideally

[*Sarah*]

I was thinking about adding 4 more to make 8 total. The problem is my hard water...

[cocoa_pleco]

8's a good number. most cichlids and livebearers like hard water

[Rue]

Our water (city or country) tends to be VERY hard...300 ppm...

I've always had Neons...I don't know what their average aquarium lifespan is...but I've had them up to 2 years...if not more...

[cocoa_pleco]

thats a good life, since neons like soft water, but i guess if the neons were in hard water at your lfs, theyre used 2 it

[*Sarah*]

Ok, that makes me feel a lot better. I hope mine are fine. I lost some when I was cycling my tank (again...before I knew better) but 4 survived, so I figured I may as well give them more buddies so they're more comfortable. Thanks a lot guys, I think they'll be my next additions.

[Lady Hobbs]

Congratulations on the cycling the correct way and adding fish in small amounts at a time. You have learned well. Lots of neons together look very nice and they preform better with more of them and make a much prettier school. I have 6 (one died this week) and they tend to hang close to the bottom. I think if I had more I'd see more activity from them as well. I have mine with black skirt tetra's and I worry sometimes the tetra's rob all the food before the neons get any.

[*Sarah*]

Thank you Hobbs. Unfortunately I had to learn the hard way, but after reading up on the internet about how to properly care for firsh, I think I will be much more successful this time around. I wish I'd known about fishless cycling before starting this tank up, and if and when I do it again I will try that method. That way none of the fish will have to suffer.