New 26 gal tank

[hursab]

I have a new 26 gal tank

My goal is to have sharks.

It seems that the bala shark will grow to fast before I can get a bigger tank in about two years.
There for I am thinking about a red tail shark.

I am think not more than 12 fish.
a school of hardy fish cherry barbs (6)
red tail shark (1 or 2)
catfish (2)
alga eater (2)
ghost shrimp? to look cool and feed shark?

also plants.

All suggestions are highly appreciated.

[Lab_Rat]

Hello and welcome to the AC. Unfortunately all of the "shark" type fish I can think of really need a 48" long footprint as they are active fish that like to cruise the bottom of the tank. I wouldn't put a RTBS or a rainbow shark in less than a 55g (or a 40g long if you can find one). The balas would need a tank of 125g+. Can you possibly get a 55g tank?

[hursab]

First thank you for the welcome.

I dont have much room or frankly the money to up grade yet.
I was hoping that the sharks would grow slow enough so that in a year+ I can get a tank upwards of 100 gal.

I read that they grow about 1/2 inch a month depending on feeding.
I dont want to deprive them.

I was hoping I could by some time in my 26 gal until then.

[mac]

Hey and welcome,

It is kind of hard to tell how much a fish will grow. More because of different environment and factors in each tank, and fish.

My RTS has grown from 1.5 inch long to 6 inches in the space of 5 months, and he was in a 50g tank. Now he is in a 100g and he has grown a lot more.

As for shark choice, you are very limited to 0, in a 26g tank. Now with a up-grade that is a different story. Ohh and a tip I have learned the smaller the tank with Rainbow Sharks or Red-Tail Sharks the more aggressive they tend to be.

Just a thought have you tried looking for a second hand tank set up. With a good search you can find nice tanks of 125-150g for next to nothing.
Also if room is a bother, have you thought of seeing how much room you may be able to spare, and then see if you can make a tank to fit in the maximum length width and hight that the space can take. If you can find the room to then hold a 100g tank, even in a odd shape, get a Glazier to make you one. They don't cost overly much. IME half to 70% of LFS and PTS.

Just some thoughts.

mac

[Lab_Rat]

Maybe hold off on the shark type fish until you can get a larger setup, and go to the LFS to see what catches your eye for the 26g. Cherry barbs are very nice community fish and corydoras catfish are also nice. A centerpiece fish to go with them and you're set. You could do 6 cherry barbs and 6 corydoras in addition to a centerpiece.

[Deleted User]

Congrats on your tank and welcome here [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Sounds like you are getting some good stocking advice [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Lady Hobbs]

You need to scrap the idea of more than just sharks. I believe that tank is only 24 inches long? How about the cherry barbs now and saving up for a larger tank to get the others. Plant it if you wish and get 1 alage eater.

[hursab]

Thank you for all your advice,

Today I decided to get 3 rasboras and 4 ghost shrimp along with plants and a new cave that the shrimp seem to like a lot.

As far as my red tail I shall wait until I am about to upgrade.

I think my next step will be to add catfish to the mix.

I am not sure if I should get more rasboras, they really like hanging out together.

Thanks again.

[Lab_Rat]

Rasboras are nice fish and do best in groups of 6 or more. Did you cycle your tank? If not, it's best to fishless cycle the tank. This sticky here will tell you the basics: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

If you already have the fish and did not cycle I'd try to return the fish for now and do a fishless cycle. If you cannot return the fish then you will be doing a fish in cycle. [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] If this is the case, I would try to get Tetra Safe Start as some people report good results with it. The other products don't seem to do much (though Stability is fairly decent).

[hursab]

Check it out.17296

[hursab]

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

I knew there was a reason I felt like I was putting the fish into early.
Anyways, I am going to go with the WITH fish cycle.

I have read that the best ways to control Ammonia is with frequent water changes and bacteria boosters. I also have live plants to help control the toxins.

I am thinking about 10% water change everyday to help for about a week.

Any suggestions would be wonderful.

Thanks

[Lab_Rat]

If you can, get some Tetra SafeStart to hopefully instantly cycle your tank. It's a little expensive but better than dead fish. Another option is getting used filter media from someone locally, that will instantly cycle your tank.

Test kits (preferably liquid) are essential for knowing what stage your tank is in cycling wise. I like the API test kits, the master test kit should have everything you'd need. Live plants will help, as will the frequent water changes, to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels in check and hopefully prevent any deaths/damage to the fish.

[hursab]

Why do you prefer a liquid test kit?

[Lab_Rat]

Test strips are notoriously inaccurate, especially once the bottle has been open and exposed. Liquid tests are much more accurate.

[MonkeyPox]

If you can, get some Tetra SafeStart to hopefully instantly cycle your tank. It's a little expensive but better than dead fish. Another option is getting used filter media from someone locally, that will instantly cycle your tank.

Test kits (preferably liquid) are essential for knowing what stage your tank is in cycling wise. I like the API test kits, the master test kit should have everything you'd need. Live plants will help, as will the frequent water changes, to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels in check and hopefully prevent any deaths/damage to the fish.

Good advice. Seachem's Stability is another good option to consider.

[hursab]

I am worried that my water temp is no good for my fish.

I had set my heater to about 87 to start actually heating the water.
I turned it down to about 81 so I would boil my fish over night.
It ended up dropping a few degrees over night.

How bad is this for my fish?
Hopefully some fine tuning will have it set properly soon.

Also any suggestions to adding store bought "spring water"' for water changes.
I plan to get a few bottles then use them to distill water until it is time for the next water change.

[Lab_Rat]

87 degrees is way to hot for most freshwater fish (more of a discus temp). Aim for a temperature of 76-78 degrees for the rasboras, 80 would be ok too. You may have to tweak your heater a bit to get the right temp, but try to avoid drastic temperature swings as it is not good for the fish. No need for spring water from the store, just use a good dechlorinator for tap water if you have city water (Prime is a great one, takes care of chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals).

[Taurus]

Congrats on the new tank. When you've established a biofilter, do consider adding more rasbora. For a center piece fish, a dwarf or honey gourami would be nice, but let's get the biofilter established first.

I have used Seachem Stability with success. But if you can, get your hands on some used media (gravel or filter material) from your local fish store and put it in a mesh bag, then place it in your aquarium, it would help a lot in establishing the biofilter.

[mac]

Are you meaning you had to turn the heater up that hot to get it working? In that case it is faulty. Not a proper thermostat, or simistat.

mac

[hursab]

Yeah I have it cracked to full to get it to heat the tank.
I think I threw out the receipt though. :/

I have gotten a liquid test kit and the results are as follows:

temp 73 and rising
amm .25
no2 0
no3 5

the ph was kind of high I suppose 7.7
I wonder if this is effecting my plants they are either getting eaten by by shrimp or wilting.

I am still trying to figure out the cycle, but it appears the goal is to have 0 amm and no2?

hopefully I am doing everything right.
Thanks everyone for your help and input.

[Lab_Rat]

The tank is not going to heat rapidly, so if you put the heater in then cranked it after 15 minutes because the temp wasn't rising rapidly then you didn't give it time to work. Be sure to keep an eye on your temp though, don't want to fry your fish.

Did you read the stickies on cycling? The goal is 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 10ppm nitrate or so. The nitrate is the end product of ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate. The fish produce the ammonia from their waste, you need to culture a biofilter of bacteria to do the rest of the conversions. The ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish, the SafeStart or Stability may help add some of the good bacteria you need for the conversion of ammonia to the end product of nitrate. Since you have fish in the tank during the cycle you will need to do partial water changes every other day or so to keep ammonia and nitrite at minimum levels so your fish don't die.

Live plants are a whole different ball game. They will help the cycle in the sense that they will use up some of the nitrogenous wastes, keeping the levels down a little. They do need their own nutrients and proper lighting. I doubt your pH is making them wilt, your pH is fine.

[hursab]

I ran the heater for 1 day and a half on 80 before deciding to crank it to full
since then its have been warming up about 0.4 F an hour. The heater is max rated to 26 gals, which is the size of my tank, so I expect it to be a little slower.

I did read the cycling posts, but it wasn't to clear.
Thanks for clearing that up.

[mac]

IME the heater which are more sized for like what you say max size tank 26g, are really not that optimal.

Getting a heater of twice the wattage, will one heat up faster, and be on much less and for much short times than a small one.

Which A saves power, B lessons the wear and tear on the heater.

mac

[Taurus]

:goodpost:

[Taurus]

You do know it's ok to mix cold and hot tap water together to get the desired water temperature before you put water into the tank? This also holds true for water changes. Just remember to use a water conditioner such as Aquasafe, Prime, Start Right, Stress Coat, ect. for chlorine and chloramine.

[hursab]

17317
Good news everybody!

My fish are doing fine.

Bad news is this heater isn't cutting it.
It is too cold outside. (my fountain was frozen this morning)
Last night the temp was almost 75 no it has dropped down to 72.
That cannot be good.

Time to switch them out, If I can.
Any one looking for a nice small tank heater let me know.

[Lab_Rat]

Try a Visitherm Stealth heater. They've been great for me.

[Taurus]

Another :goodpost: by LR. You're on a role. :wink: