Stocking new 44G.

[Inspiire]

Hello all,

I am starting up a new 44G freshwater tank. I originally planned to do African Cichlids, but decided against it because my tank really isn't big enough to house fish of that level of aggression. I had guppies before, but they got old pretty fast.

These are roughly the tank demensions:

32" long, 16" wide, and 20" tall. It is a taller tank, more verticle space than horizontal.

So, I have turned back to tropical fish. I have it sort of planned out in my head how I would like my stocking to go... I don't want to overpopulate, but I want a good variety with nice looking fish.

This is my plan so far:

6 Black Widow Tetras
3 Black Marble Angelfish
2 Network Corydoras
4 Black Swordtails (1M/3F)
6 Black Sailfin Mollys (2M/4F)

21 fish, which is closer to the limit, because these fish are bigger.

I like this out of all the plans I came up with. I know that there isn't much color, but my substrate is real pale white. I think the dark colors will make them pop away from everything else. I will have to watch the angelfish, make sure they aren't bullying the other fish. Other than that, I believe it will be a pretty nice small community tank.

Since my tank is newly set up, I would add the Corydoras first. Then 3 Black Widow Tetras, followed by 3 more a week later. Next would be the 3 female Swordtails, followed by the male a week later. Then, I will add 3 female Black Sailfin Mollys, followed by the 2 males and 1 more female a week later. Lastly, I would add the 3 Angelfish a week after the Mollys.

I think that would allow the bacteria to catch up enough to handle the bioload.

Suggestions/thoughts?

[OscarFan]

I would increase the cory school to 8

[Inspiire]

I think I'm going to remove the Swordtails from the plan.

6 Black Widow Tetras
3 Black Marble Angelfish
4 Network Corydoras
6 Black Sailfin Mollys (2M/4F)

[Goodbye]

I think I'm going to remove the Swordtails from the plan.

6 Black Widow Tetras
3 Black Marble Angelfish
4 Network Corydoras
6 Black Sailfin Mollys (2M/4F)

I think your plan sounds good! You should get a few more of the network cories. Maybe a total of 6-8 of them. They prefer to live in schools. Other then that, I think you are off on the right track!

Good Luck! thumbs2:

Agassizii

[jaysee]

The angels will certainly help keep the molly population down, but will they be able to handle 4 breeding females? I think cutting out the swordtails is a good idea - that's was a lot of livebearers.

I agree, 6-8 corys.

[Inspiire]

The angels will certainly help keep the molly population down, but will they be able to handle 4 breeding females? I think cutting out the swordtails is a good idea - that's was a lot of livebearers.

I agree, 6-8 corys.

I really don't want a breeding set of Mollys, but I figured I had too. I really only want the shape and finnage of the males. Can I house 6 male Mollys without unneeded aggression?

So for the upper levels of the tank I have the Black Widow Tetras as they tend to stay in the upper/middle section of the tank.

For the mid-section of the tank, I have the centerpiece fish, the Angels.

For the bottom of the tank I have the small school of Corydoras.

And to liven up each level I have the Mollys, as they tend to swim around everywhere.

My tank is really officialy cycled yet. Ammonia reads 0, and Nitrites read 0. Nitrates also read 0 so far. I have two very small (2") Darters that hang out at the bottom. They are the only fish in the tank, so of course Ammonia isn't that high.

So, if I add fish in very little amounts in very wide-set increments, will the tank slowly cycle itself? I will, of course, add the hardiest fish first such as the Corydoras and the Black Widow's.

I would slowly stock. Something like this:

3 Corydoras - 1 Week - 3 more Corydoras - 1 Week - 3 Black Widow Tetras - 1 Week - 3 more Black Widow Tetras - 2-2.5 Weeks - 3 Sailfin Mollys - 1.5-2 Weeks - 3 more Sailfin Mollys - 2 Weeks - 3 Black Marble Angelfish. End of stocking, except if I lose a fish or two.

Comments/Suggestions?

[jaysee]

3 angels might be a bit...ambitious for a 44 gallon. Since you are cycling with fish, can you get your hands on some used media from the LFS? Those numbers indicate your tank hasn't begun to cycle yet. Are you using test strips or a liquid kit?

If you can get that used media, you have the right idea about the stocking schedule.

[Inspiire]

Should I stick with 2 Angels instead of 3? I didn't want just one, because it might like another of its kind. So, I thought if I had two, I didn't want one beating on the other. Hence, the number 3. Not just one, not unequal aggression, everyone's happy.

I might can get some media from the LFS. Wonder if I can buy a used filter? lol

Thanks for the suggestions...

[jaysee]

they shouldn't charge you for used media, but if they do I'd still get it. If you can get enough in your filter you'll skip the cycle process.

I don't know a lot about angels, so perhaps someone else can jump in here.

[Inspiire]

When I get the used filter media, do I just replace it with my current filter?

Just put the filter in a bag of tank water until I get home and put it in my tank?

What about when I need to change filters?

Thanks for the replies!

[jaysee]

yeah, they should bag the media like they bag fish. I would do my best to get the used media in front of the your media. What kind of filter do you have and what kind of media are you currently using?

[Inspiire]

I think I've got the cycling thing down.

I'm having serious debate on what to put in the tank. I wanted cichlids because they are very active and fun to watch with an interesting personality.

On the other hand, I wanted a community with a few different species...

I really like Angelfish, but I really like the Yellow Labs too...

Can I house 2 Angels with 3 Yellow Labs? My instinct is telling me that its not the best idea... and that its overcrowding.

I also thought about having just a tank of Angels... but I think it might become a bit boring...

I'm just confused one what to get.

Which would you do and why?

[Inspiire]

Just checked water parameters again!

Ammonia reads: 0ppm
Nitrite reads: 0ppm
Nitrate reads: 5.0ppm

Does this mean I am cycled?

[jaysee]

Those are the numbers you want! If it holds steady for a couple more days I think you're in the clear.

I would get another tank :hmm3grin2orange: The good news is you won't have to go through all this cycling again.

44 is an odd size. What are the dimensions? In the end, you have to be the one to decide if you want to house a few schools of smaller fish or just a few bigger fish. The shape of the tank may help you make that decision, and it will certainly help me make a suggestion.

[Sharon]

Hang on...tell us exactly what you've done to cycle the tank.

Also, if you want Angel fish, I'd go with just one.

[Inspiire]

I also thought that 44 gallons was an odd size. It is a taller tank. I thought I read somewhere that they were considered "show tanks?" It has nice wood trim that goes around all the edges, and has a matching cabinet. Its all real wood also.

Demensions: 32" long, 16" wide, and 20" tall.

Until I took this tank down, I didn't know about the cycling process. If I knew about it I would have saved the filter media out of it before I took it down... Prior to me taking this tank down, I set up a 6G with a few small darters. Most of the fish survived after about a month, so I figured it was cycled. So, after I put the 44G back up, I took the filter out of the 6G and put it in the 44's filter. I then removed a large rock and some substrate out of the 6G and put it in the 44G. I then put the remaining 2 darters left in the tank. Its been running like that for about 2 1/2 weeks. I checked water parameters this morning and thats what they were then. I'll check them again tomorrow.

I'll try to post a picture of it.

[megastealer]

I thought you needed a constant source of ammonia or the ammonia eating bacteria will die off and the cycle will stop, leaving the leftover nitrates in the tank correct?

That might explain why everything is 0 except for a small amount of nitrates..

[Inspiire]

There is a constant supply of ammonia. I have two fish in there that came out of the same tank the rock, substrate, and filter came out of.

Can I remove the rock and substrate now without damaging my bacteria colony?

What do I do when I need to change the filter? Isn't that where most of the bacteria is held?