Our first tank

Hello
I thought I’d post a picture of our first ever tank that we started setting up a few weeks ago.
Since a week ago it is now the home to 3 zebra danios and 3 leopard danios which seem to be enjoying their surroundings.



I’m doing weekly water tests at the moment with the latest being today.
Ammonia is 0.25ppm, Nitrite is at 2.0ppm and Nitrate at 20ppm which sounds normal at this stage according to the test manual any way (hope that’s right).

I haven’t done any water change as yet and believe I shouldn’t for now?

After another 5-6 weeks (possibly longer now due to isolation) I’m hoping to get a few additional fish, particularly some sort of cat fish/loach that is a bottom feeder? Any recommendations for one that would be happy on its own in a tank this size (57 litre)?

I'm gonna get right to the point alhough i am not the best person to ask, Ammonia and nitrite are high. they should ALWAYS. Under ALL circumstances be 0.0ppm. Nitrate is half of the maximum so that is fine. As for space i don't know, as i have no experience with keeping any of the fish you listed, Reccomandations for bottom feeders: Depends, is the tank high or long? If it is long go for some small Corydoras. but keep in mind buy like 4-5 of these guys. If it is higher go for a loach (As they swim more then cory's do). I've heard great stories about Kuhli loaches so check those out. I hope someone else gives you advice too, as i said i'm not the best person to tell this.

FishyLover1000 said:

I'm gonna get right to the point alhough i am not the best person to ask, Ammonia and nitrite are high. they should ALWAYS. Under ALL circumstances be 0.0ppm. Nitrate is half of the maximum so that is fine. As for space i don't know, as i have no experience with keeping any of the fish you listed, Reccomandations for bottom feeders: Depends, is the tank high or long? If it is long go for some small Corydoras. but keep in mind buy like 4-5 of these guys. If it is higher go for a loach (As they swim more then cory's do). I've heard great stories about Kuhli loaches so check those out. I hope someone else gives you advice too, as i said i'm not the best person to tell this.

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Thanks for your advice regarding the bottom feeders
The tank is a Fluval Flex 57l so is pretty square (not much difference in height vs length).

Should I be concerned about the current Ammonia and Nitrite levels then? I wasn't originally too worried as the API Freshwater testing kit states that these gradually climb in a new tank before dropping to 0.

You are cycling, so its normal to have these readings during a cycle.

Id do a 50% water change at this point to get that nitrite down.

Anytime during cycling your ammonia or nitrite go above 1ppm, do a 50% water change.

When you get readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5-20 nitrate, you are cycled and can keep to just regular weekly water changes.

I would opt for a pygmy corydoras species in your tank. They do better in smaller spaces than the larger cories do. BUT! I would wait a few months after the tank is done cycling as corydoras do better in a mature tank, rather than a freshly cycled one. Also, gravel isnt ideal for corydoras OR kuhlis, so for these you would have to switch to sand.


Keep in mind as well that zebra danios are cold water fish, so other fish need to be temperature compatible too.

I wouldn't add much else, aside from 10-12 pygmy cories. Danios are pretty fast and active, so many of the fish that do better in the smaller tanks may get stressed by their activity levels.


Another issue is zebra danios also tend to pig out on food, so feeding tiny cories may pose a problem because danios will often eat all the food given... care should be taken. Feeding the cories at night is a solution to help.

I agree with @NCaquatics you need to do a large water change 50% at least to 75% to get the ammonia/ nitrite level down. It is harmful to your fish's gills. Adding live plants will also help keep down the ammonia level. Fast growing floating plants like anacharis, hornwort and water sprite are easy to care for. You can plant them in the gravel or just let them float. They absorb what they need from the water. You do have a nice looking tank.

Hi, the simple solution to making sure the corys eat is to drop in an algae wafer. The Corey's love them and are oblivious to others at feeding time and surprisingly no one pushes them about whereas the other fish like gouramis and Angels try to dominate the food, yet leave Corey's alone.

Ps. Yes a lovely looking tank.

Thanks for the advice, guidance and nice comments guys

I shall be doing a 50% water change in the morning then, and will keep doing that whenever I see a spike in the ammonia or nitrite levels.
At the risk of sounding slightly dumb, but when adding new water to the tank is it okay to be cold when adding it in or should it be a bit warm so it matches closer to the water already in the tank now? Or just let the heater do it's job?
The tank temperature is currently set to 24/c (75/f) and I had read about the danio's prefering a cooler climate I didn't know they were considered a cold water fish (which I'm also now confused about)? The shop we purchased them from recommended them to us for our new tank as well as being in the tropical fish section.

I agree with the members above. Ammonia and nitrite will stress out your fish. Stressed out fish can be bad because it can make them susceptible to illness. You'll also be pleasantly surprised how happy your fish will be after a water change! Great looking tank too!

75F is fine. Just no higher than 77 for them sorry for the confusion. Technically theyre subtropical fish, not truly coldwater, but they like 68-77F for temps which is cooler than many other kinds of fish.

Algae wafers shouldnt be a cories main diet as they are carnivores more than herbivores. Shrimp pellets are more ideal.

And zebras will often still gorge themselves on those and wafers. Mine did to the point of making themselves sick. I had to rehome mine because they would outeat the other fish no matter what i tried.

Try to get the water round about that of the tank so as not to give a thermal shock. I run both hot and cold taps open fully until bucket is nearly full then add dechlorinator, throw in a digital thermometer and adjust with hot or cold to get it just right. Leave for a few mins , check , then use it. Bit of a pain , but hasn't let me down.
I here sudden shocks can give them bent spines. As for temperature , my danios do fine at 26 and were fine at 30 ( boil wash to get rid of ich ) tho don't no about long term.

Sorry for any confusion, all my fish like the wafers and I agree it shouldn't be their only diet, as mine forage for flakes at feeding time , plus anything else they can find. My point being at least if your worried they are getting something, although I don't think you need to worry. I gathered a small amount of moss earlier and put it in a dish....... I was amazed to see all the micro bugs darting about.
All being well your tank is a living entity and not a sterile area so don't worry. I should have said that first, I apologise.

Guppy10 said:

Try to get the water round about that of the tank so as not to give a thermal shock. I run both hot and cold taps open fully until bucket is nearly full then add dechlorinator, throw in a digital thermometer and adjust with hot or cold to get it just right. Leave for a few mins , check , then use it. Bit of a pain , but hasn't let me down.
I here sudden shocks can give them bent spines. As for temperature , my danios do fine at 26 and were fine at 30 ( boil wash to get rid of ich ) tho don't no about long term.

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Thank you I'll do it the way you've said then.


On a different note, once the tank is cycled what fish would be nicely suited with the six danios?

It seems there's different advice/opinions everywhere you look regarding which fish go with others but I've read that they do well with honey gourami as well as tetras, mollies and guppies?

Also, a lot seem to favour shrimp I've noticed, would they do okay in a tank like this?

Obviously as already stated I won't be adding any more tankmates for a while, most likely a few months now, but in the meantime it'd be nice to get some ideas.

Danios don't mix with gouramis and sedate tetras. Danios are active fish which stress sedate fish with their fast swimming behaviour.

Mollies and guppies are hard water fish which suffer in soft water while most tetras and gouramis are soft water fish. And mollies need a bigger tank than 57 litres as they are large fish. (Actually danios need a 90 cm tank because of their fast swimming).

Do you know how hard your water is? Look on your water company's website for hardness - you need a number and the unit of measurement rather than some vague words. The unit is important as UK water companies tend to use units not used in fish keeping so we need to convert the number.

Once we know your hardness we'll be able to suggest fish, though there are very few active fish that would be suitable for a 57 litre (15 gallon) tank simply because active fish need more space.

Water information for my area is:

The water in your area is very hard.