Hi everyone... advice please

[jojo71]

Hi and thanks in advance for reading this.....

Have just got my first aquarium, have bought a 56 lt tank. I've fitted the filter, thermometer and small air stone, decorated with round gravel, ornaments and plastic plants.

My pet shop advised me to fill the tank, leave it for 3-4 days before adding fish. I left it a week and tested with a 6 in 1 test. all results were fine, so bought 7 guppies. they're been in for 4 days and appear happy. Two were fighting the other day (well i guess this is what they were doing as they were bashing each other with thier fan tails) they've settled down now!

Not knowing any difference at the time, I am by default cycling my tank with fish! I am doing regular water changes to keep the ammonia at a low level and am using Tetra Aqua safe and Tetra Easy Balance. Have also got some Stress zyme.

I'm thinking that i should not add any fish for another 3-4 weeks to allow the tank to cycle properly?

So three questions;

1, does what, i've done sound ok?
2, do i need real plants to help with the cycle?
3 and when the time comes which fish would work best with the guppies?

I like mollies, but worried they will fin nip, also like some of the cory's and barbs, which would be best?

Thanks for your time and look forward to hearing back from you.

Jo

[promise]

Answers are as follows

Question 1
You are putting the fish into an un-cycled tank and will have to keep a close eye on the water readings daily, Cycling with fish is a way of getting the BB colonized on the Filter media but also hard on fish.
stop using the easy balance it has a PH buffer in it and unless you aim to constantly be playing around with your PH it will do a lot of harm to the fish
Here is the link to "cycling with fish"
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=36492

Question 2
Real plants will help with the cycle as in keeping the amm and trites down but you have to have a heavily planted tank to make any real impact, they will however relieve some of the fishes stress providing them with cover

Question 3
wait till you have a cycled tank.
but a small school of cories would work, 56l is too small for mollies IMO and the same with barbs


Welcome to the forum

[jojo71]

Thanks for the advice Chris.

Much appreciated, will continue to enjoy my guppies on there own for now.

Jo

[promise]

Something i forgot to say in the last post, you will have to do daily water changes.
also the test strips really aint that great i would advise going for a liquid test kit
API master test kit is the one most widely used by people on here there are others but im not sure of the names.

Glad to be of help.

[SkipW]

Sounds like you did some reading about cycling, if not, you can find info on this site.

I'm guessing that you are testing with the "test strips"? Get a good liquid test kit, they are more accurate and cheaper in the long run. API Freshwater Master Kit seems to be the most popular.

Keep ammonia and nitrites under .25ppm if you can.
Be prepared to lose a few guppies during your cycling. A smaller tank is harder to cycle because things can go wrong very quickly.

Real plants will help control nitrates, but not really help with cycling. You're not there yet. But adding them now shouldn't hurt anything.

Mollies work well with guppies but I don't think you have a big enough tank to add many more fish. Unless you currently have all male guppies, you're going to need a bigger tank. Guppies and Mollies will multiply if males and females are mixed. If you have any females, there's also the chance that they are already holding.

Don't plan on adding any more fish until a week or two after your cycle is finished.
Completed Cycle is:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: Should be rising. Try to keep below 40 ppm, below 20ppm is better.