Where to Start

[perisparadise]

Hi, I have a 55-gallon tank that I'm starting up and would like to be planted and I'm thinking about the following fish:

2 Pearl gourami
2 Angelfish
10 Congo tetras
6 Leopard cories

I'd also love to get some Kuhli loaches, but I don't know if I'd have the room for them.

The tank has been up and running for sometime and it has cycled through. My biggest question is where do I begin with adding fish (are any of the above better to add first)? Also, should I have the plants in place before I add any plants? I am open to suggestions for changing my stocking of the fish.

Thanks you for viewing my post.

Peri

[Northernguy]

Welcome to the AC!
What did you do to cycle your tank?
You should have room for those fish but first I suggest you check out the free E-book on the left.It has a lot of great info.

[Sharon]

I wouldn't do two Angels, as there will probably be trouble. How do you feel about just one?

[Algenco]

I would put the small fish in first, wait a week or so on the Angels, there may be a problem if you end up with a pair, I have lots of Angels and outside of minor squabbles haven't had any problems.
The did kill 1 Cardinal Tetra, but That's not bad for a year

[mrs fishpatrick]

you can add plants before the fish if you want
welcome to the forumthumbs2:

[terrapin24h]

Welcome! You'll find this is a simply awesome site for all things fishy!

The tank has been up and running for sometime and it has cycled through.

Please define what that ^ means. What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels? pH? All very important to know before you stick critters in there :) Your stocking seems good(if not a bit light) What kind of filter are you running? The biggest worries you're going to have are the gourami attacking the angels and the angels eating anything smaller than them. I'd suggest you get a good stable community going, get the fish growing, then add your angels, and then the gourami. That *should* avoid any issues. Let us know what your numbers are and we can go from there. gl!

--chris

[perisparadise]

Thank you for your responses. Ok this is rather embarrassing but it's probably happened to more people than just me. For personal reasons the tank has been filtering since last July with the heater, filter and lighting system going since then. And yes, no fish for that time period. I did add the bio-bacteria, I think that's what it was, that I got from the dealer when I bought the tank. Also, I have been doing regular water and filter changes over that time period. I have an Emperor 400 filter hanging outside the tank and I've been thinking about getting another one, partly because I like the sound of the incoming water from the filter. It's been a couple of weeks since last I checked but the last time Nitrates were at 0-5 mg/L, Ammonia is at 0-.25 mg/L (I have a sensor that monitors Ammonia on a constant basis), and Nitrite were also at 0-.25 mg/L.

I'm fine doing only angel if that works better. I'm really not that interested in purposefully trying to breed fish, if it happens ok, but if it doesn't that's fine too. If I'm already light on stocking and if it cut it down even more by just having one angel do you have any suggestions for stocking it more?

My lighting system has a little over 3 watts per gallon and I have eco-complete substrate with some black sand over that in a few areas. I've heard that sand is really good for corries, but it can get messy?


Please let me know if there is anything else I should do to get up and going and finally get some life in the aquarium. Thank you again for your earlier responses and for reading my response and have a good day.

[lava]

perisparadise]Thank you for your responses. Also, I have been doing regular water and filter changes over that time period. That doesnt sound to good. You are not supposed to touch the filter media or do any water changes , the only thing u are allowed to do is top offs when the water lvl gets lower.


I have an Emperor 400 filter hanging outside the tank and I've been thinking about getting another one, partly because I like the sound of the incoming water from the filter. It's been a couple of weeks since last I checked but the last time Nitrates were at 0-5 mg/L, Ammonia is at 0-.25 mg/L (I have a sensor that monitors Ammonia on a constant basis), and Nitrite were also at 0-.25 mg/L. I am not much of an expert on cycling (as cycling is a big issue for me ,cuz I suck at it) but it sounds like ur tank isnt cycled o_O", wait for the other pros to come and answer though. cuz im still a noob LOL

[perisparadise]

I'm sorry to be inaccurate and confused it's not the biowheels that I've been changing, cleaning. Those I've left alone. It's the blue sponges (hope that's the right name) that I've been cleaning/changing. Thank you for the correction.

Peri

[perisparadise]

Sorry about the double post. But about the cycling. I'm not certain what's supposed to happen, but what did happen. As I recall i had a delay in my first testing after I had put the starter bacteria in and had everything set up to when I did the first chemical test. By then, the ammonia was rather high the first time I checked it. And it took quite a while longer for it drop down to 0 than what the books say its supposed to take. By then the Nitrites were at a rather high level. Over time they also fell off to 0. As I recall I think it was the Nitrites that just plummeted one testing time from quite high to the lowest level on the test card. The nitrates by then had increased although they never have been as high as the ammonia or the nitrites and fluctuate from the lowest level on their test card to the lower levels.

It's the ammonia I watch out for on a daily basis and when it begins to move from <.02 ppm to .05 ppm that's when I know it's time for another water change. I've been doing water changes about every week or every other week changing about 10-20% of the water.

One good thing about the delay is that it has given my time to practice vacuming the aquarium, which I don't think I still have the suctioning technique down yet.

Thanks again for reading my posts and have a great day.

[terrapin24h]

ok. First things first, read the free ebook offered in the frame on the left side of the screen. Your tank is not "cycled" as most people define it. In order for a tank to be "cycled" you must have several things:
1: a constant source of ammonia: this is the foundation of the nitrogen cycle. No ammonia, no cycle
2: Beneficial bacteria to eat the ammonia and turn it into niTRITE(they form once there is ammonia in the water)
3: Beneficial bacteria to eat the niTRITE and turn it into niTRATE(they form once the first batch makes enough nitrite)

Cycle basic:
fish poop-->ammonia-->(bacteria)-->niTRITE-->(bacteria2)-->niTRATE


In a normal typical stocked tank, the fish provide the constant stream of ammonia to support the cycle(which in turn makes the water safe for the fish) The trick is how to get it going in a new tank. One answer is to add a few tough fish. Said fish will produce ammonia that will build up in the water(this is why the fish need to be tough) and eventually the bacteria will kick in. The ammonia goes down, nitrite builds up then goes down, then the cycle is in place and more fish can be slowly added over a period of weeks to bring the tank up to the desired stocking level. Getting the cycle established this way takes about 2 months and can result in the death of fish

The other way to cycle a tank is "fishless" and it involves adding pure ammonia to your tank. Then the bacteria form and process it into trite and then that gets processed into trate. Once your ammonia and trite levels read 0(even though you are still adding ammonia to the tank) you do a big water change(50 %) then add all the fish all at once. My best time fishless cycling was 9 days. All this is covered in the ebook and in the cycling forum stickies in more detail than i can provide on my lunch hour :)

I think your end stocking is fine, and you should add more. How about a school of corys(6 or 7) plus a school(6 or 7) of a larger tetra(i love my buenos aires tetras). You got alot of tank there, use it :)

Feel free to ask if you have any other questions, we're here to help

--chris

PS:get yourself a proper liquid test kit if you don't have one. They are an integral part of the process of cycling and maintaining the tank. Not many people here on the board use those live meters that read ph and ammonia in real time. The consensus seems to be they don't work well

[perisparadise]

Thank you for reminding me of the details that I went through. Yes, I did add the ammonia at the beginning of the process. I think it was a teaspoon or so per day which I gradually cut back on. I'm sorry I forgot that step but yes I did add ammonia to the tank on a regular basis which was how the ammonia skyrocketed I'm sure.

My questions now is more does it matter which fish I add first and do you have any suggestions for fish to stock the tank with? For the stocking I was wondering if Harlequin Rasboras, Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish, or Cherry Barbs would work if I also have:

1 Angelfish
2 Pearl Gouramis
8-10 Congo Tetras
6 Leopard Corries
and maybe some Kuhli Loaches?

Thank you for bearing with poor memory.

[terrapin24h]

Thank you for reminding me of the details that I went through. Yes, I did add the ammonia at the beginning of the process. I think it was a teaspoon or so per day which I gradually cut back on. I'm sorry I forgot that step but yes I did add ammonia to the tank on a regular basis which was how the ammonia skyrocketed I'm sure.

So, have you been adding ammonia all along, or did you stop? If you stopped for more than about 1 day your cycled died and you have to start over. If you have been adding ammonia all along, check your nitrate reading, do a water change to lower it, and then add your critters.

Your additional stocking all sounds good to me, save for the congo tetra. I seem to recall reading somewhere that they might be nippers, which could end up not good for your gourami and angels. Double check that though, i most certainly could be wrong.

--chris

[perisparadise]

OK, sounds good and thanks for the advice.