Fish Advice For 125L Tank

[da7thson]

Hi All,

1st time poster and 1st time fish keeper. I've got on order a Juwel Rio 125L fish tank and it should be with me tomorrow.

I'll be looking to install live plants in there and keep fresh water tropical fish.

I'm really after a bit of input into the fish to keep as the more i read the more contradictory information i find and i've actually started to get a little dispondant about the idea now so need some help.

I got the biggest capacity tank i wanted to commit to in terms of spend , the tank and stand set me back £250 and as a starter hobby i didn't want to commit to much more without having that feedback that i really want to do this long term, but didn't want a tiny tank with just a couple of fish in.

Idealy i want a nice veriety in the tank covering bottom feeders to ones in the middle and top of the tank with different charateristics. After doing lots of reading i think i (based on 2.5cm per 4.5 l) i'm looking at around 70cm of fish, which having collonies of say tetra at one level and somthing like mollys at another and then some alge eaters, this pushes me well over this.

So i'm really stuck on what would be best for the size of tank giving me the verity, diveristy and enjoyment back from the hobby. So over to you, i really need help on what you would do with this size of tank in terms of fish types and quantities but please bare in mind i'm an absolute beginer and need something easy to look after.

Thanks for reading and i appreciate any feedback you have.

Thanks

Andy

 

[ZoddyZod]

Firstly, please read all you can about 'cycling' in the beginners section. This will REALLY help you setting up your first tank!

There's LOADS of options for a 125L tank. Have you been to any fish shops to get an idea of what you would like, or researched any of the many websites out there? I would recommend making a shortlist of fish you might like to keep. For a very basic rule, I would not consider any fish that gets to larger than 6 inches in length for a 125L.

Once you have some ideas.....come back and tell us and we can advise!

 

[da7thson]

Firstly, please read all you can about 'cycling' in the beginners section. This will REALLY help you setting up your first tank!

There's LOADS of options for a 125L tank. Have you been to any fish shops to get an idea of what you would like, or researched any of the many websites out there? I would recommend making a shortlist of fish you might like to keep. For a very basic rule, I would not consider any fish that gets to larger than 6 inches in length for a 125L.

Once you have some ideas.....come back and tell us and we can advise!

I am going to do a fishless cycle and have all the test kits already, just need to get the ammonia from tesco tonight.

I did want to get:
Black phantom Tetra
dwarf neon rainbow
Platties
and an alge eater of some kind (pitbull / bristle nose / rubber nmouth pleco).

But the quantities people recommend to keep them (5+, 6+) pushes me over the calculated value when fully grown, hence why i need some advice.

Cheers

Andy

 

[KittyKat]

First, please fish-less cycle before you even start thinking about fish.

Second, what are you tap water parameters after water has stood in a glass for 24 hours?

I got the biggest capacity tank i wanted to commit to in terms of spend , the tank and stand set me back £250 and as a starter hobby i didn't want to commit to much more without having that feedback that i really want to do this long term, but didn't want a tiny tank with just a couple of fish in.

So I am currently running a project, which is admittedly on a much smaller scale, but you might want to have a look at http/aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/costs/ I update it regularly, so it might be useful for you.

Idealy i want a nice veriety in the tank covering bottom feeders to ones in the middle and top of the tank with different charateristics. After doing lots of reading i think i (based on 2.5cm per 4.5 l) i'm looking at around 70cm of fish

..and now you can close your eyes and toss that rule out the window, because it's probably the most useless rule for beginners I have ever come across

[…] which having collonies of say tetra at one level and somthing like mollys at another and then some alge eaters, this pushes me well over this.So i'm really stuck on what would be best for the size of tank giving me the verity, diveristy and enjoyment back from the hobby. So over to you, i really need help on what you would do with this size of tank in terms of fish types and quantities but please bare in mind i'm an absolute beginer and need something easy to look after.

The classing SA blackwater, bogwoody, planted:
* 10-25 tetra of one species (cardinals, lemons, whatever)
* 10 Corys of one species
* 1m 2f Apistogramma (one of the harem species such as cacatuoides or agassizii)

..or a SE Asian:
* 10-25 rasboras of one species (harlequins, hengeli, espei, whatever)
* 1m 3-5f honey gouramis OR a pair/school of a peaceful and rare Betta/gourami
* 10 dwarf chain loaches OR 10 khuli loaches

Both setups should have sand.

Mollies are hardwater fish, tetras are software fish. You should not "need" algae eaters, because if you manage your lighting well, you will not have algae. If you really *must* get them, get some a lot (3-6 months after full stocking is complete) later and think Otos.

 

[da7thson]

Idealy i want a nice veriety in the tank covering bottom feeders to ones in the middle and top of the tank with different charateristics. After doing lots of reading i think i (based on 2.5cm per 4.5 l) i'm looking at around 70cm of fish

..and now you can close your eyes and toss that rule out the window, because it's probably the most useless rule for beginners I have ever come across

The classing SA blackwater, bogwoody, planted:
* 10-25 tetra of one species (cardinals, lemons, whatever)
* 10 Corys of one species
* 1m 2f Apistogramma (one of the harem species suck as cacatuoides or agassizii)


Mollies are hardwater fish, tetras are software fish. You should not "need" algae eaters, because if you manage your lighting well, you will not have algae. If you really *must* get them, get some a lot (3-6 months after full stocking is complete) later and think Otos.

Thank you so much! I've been really really worried about the numbers, since reading it several times in the last week (since i placed the order for the tank), ive been really worried i should have bought a bigger thank and it's a waste (its a lot of cash for a tank) and the typical bogwood / planted type thing is what i'm after, plus i'm REALLY supprised and excited about the quantity of fish you are talking about in the above example!

Thanks you once again

Andy

 

[KittyKat]

Idealy i want a nice veriety in the tank covering bottom feeders to ones in the middle and top of the tank with different charateristics. After doing lots of reading i think i (based on 2.5cm per 4.5 l) i'm looking at around 70cm of fish

..and now you can close your eyes and toss that rule out the window, because it's probably the most useless rule for beginners I have ever come across

The classing SA blackwater, bogwoody, planted:
* 10-25 tetra of one species (cardinals, lemons, whatever)
* 10 Corys of one species
* 1m 2f Apistogramma (one of the harem species such as cacatuoides or agassizii)


Mollies are hardwater fish, tetras are software fish. You should not "need" algae eaters, because if you manage your lighting well, you will not have algae. If you really *must* get them, get some a lot (3-6 months after full stocking is complete) later and think Otos.

Thank you so much! I've been really really worried about the numbers, since reading it several times in the last week (since i placed the order for the tank), ive been really worried i should have bought a bigger thank and it's a waste (its a lot of cash for a tank) and the typical bogwood / planted type thing is what i'm after, plus i'm REALLY supprised and excited about the quantity of fish you are talking about in the above example!

That's *such* as cacatuoides/agassizii, made a typo before

Numbers depend on the tank, the set-up, the species. I give 10 as a minimum for schooling fish because they live in 100s and 1000s in the wild, not 5s and 10s.. so for me 6, if the absolute minimum and 10-20 is the realistic minimum. When it comes to these, I suggest that you stock 10 tetras first, then the Apistos, then the Corys (I recommend you pick one of the smaller to medium species such panda or bronze, for example) and finally top up the tetras if you feel comfortable with the tank and are not having any problems.

Plants also help to allow larger numbers of fish.. 13 fish (70 cm) is actually a surprisingly conservative estimate. If you like, try it with the 10 tetras and 3 Apistogramma.. those will give you the 70 cm right away, and you'll get the feel for the tank without any bottom feeders, then a month later (once you start yearning for more fish), add the Corys (5 at a time, over a couple of weeks), keeping in mind that they will need feeding and do NOT eat #105###. You will notice how the behaviour of all fish should change at this point.

If you do go for that option, you will be looking at leaving about 1/4-1/3 of the sand at the front of the tank bare, for the Corys, and at adding a few pieces of bogwood and some caves for the Apistos. The bogwood will make the water go brown: the fish will like that, and it will stop leaching over time.

 

[the_lock_man]

just need to get the ammonia from tesco tonight.

Just spotted this - when you're at Tesco, make sure that the ammonia is a solution of only ammonia, no other chemicals or ingredients. Give the bottle a shake, and if it foams (like a kid's bubble mixture bottle would) then don't buy it. If the bubbles disappear immediately (as though it were only water) then it's probably fine.

If the Tesco's one isn't any good, pop into your local Homebase, their Basics range has ammonia which I have previously used for cycling.

 

[KittyKat]

just need to get the ammonia from tesco tonight.

Just spotted this - when you're at Tesco, make sure that the ammonia is a solution of only ammonia, no other chemicals or ingredients. Give the bottle a shake, and if it foams (like a kid's bubble mixture bottle would) then don't buy it. If the bubbles disappear immediately (as though it were only water) then it's probably fine.

If the Tesco's one isn't any good, pop into your local Homebase, their Basics range has ammonia which I have previously used for cycling.

..or OP can just read the list of ingredients

 

[the_lock_man]

just need to get the ammonia from tesco tonight.

Just spotted this - when you're at Tesco, make sure that the ammonia is a solution of only ammonia, no other chemicals or ingredients. Give the bottle a shake, and if it foams (like a kid's bubble mixture bottle would) then don't buy it. If the bubbles disappear immediately (as though it were only water) then it's probably fine.

If the Tesco's one isn't any good, pop into your local Homebase, their Basics range has ammonia which I have previously used for cycling.

..or OP can just read the list of ingredients

Ok, smarty......

 

[da7thson]

Cheers Guys,

No luck getting ammonia so far. Tried one Sainburys and two boots stores (even though its on their web site) and non of them sell it. When i asked in Boots the woman knew the product but it had been removed from their shelves and they don't sell it any more. I read somwhere i can use some raw fish or a prawn, is that the case? Would be useful if i could as i'm going away on holiday for a week in a couple of weeks and that would keep the cycle going (i think).

On the plus side, my tank and stand has arrived today (YAY!!!), got a phone call saying its sat on the drive on a pallet and its too heavey to bring inside should be fun when i get home.

Cheers

Andy

 

[KkAaNnEe]

I would only recommend using ammonia, its messy and not accurate to do it any other way, plus it takes ages mate

 

[the_lock_man]

Cheers Guys,

No luck getting ammonia so far. Tried one Sainburys and two boots stores (even though its on their web site) and non of them sell it. When i asked in Boots the woman knew the product but it had been removed from their shelves and they don't sell it any more. I read somwhere i can use some raw fish or a prawn, is that the case? Would be useful if i could as i'm going away on holiday for a week in a couple of weeks and that would keep the cycle going (i think).

On the plus side, my tank and stand has arrived today (YAY!!!), got a phone call saying its sat on the drive on a pallet and its too heavey to bring inside should be fun when i get home.

Cheers

Andy

Yes you can, but it's harder to control the level of dose.


Like I said, Homebase sell it off the shelf.
Click here

 

[KittyKat]

No luck getting ammonia so far. Tried one Sainburys and two boots stores (even though its on their web site) and non of them sell it. When i asked in Boots the woman knew the product but it had been removed from their shelves and they don't sell it any more.

You need to order it on their website, and it gets delivered to the shop, where you pick it up. From what I've heard, they never have any in stock nowadays.

I read somwhere i can use some raw fish or a prawn, is that the case? Would be useful if i could as i'm going away on holiday for a week in a couple of weeks and that would keep the cycle going (i think).

Yes you can, but it's harder to control the level of dose.

And it's smelly. But it's a good option if there's no one to test and dose the water.. but in a couple of week, you should still be ok to dose right before you leave and come back to double 0s without much harm done.

On the plus side, my tank and stand has arrived today (YAY!!!), got a phone call saying its sat on the drive on a pallet and its too heavey to bring inside should be fun when i get home.

Not surprised, I can't lift anything over a 60 litre on my own! The biggest I've done was a 420 litre, but I only managed to shimmy it along, when on a stand.. had to get the men to carry it for me

By the way, you can cycle without a substrate, but I do strongly recommend that you use (play) sand for the setup. It gives one a LOT more options in terms of fish!

 

[fluttermoth]

Boots do sell it, you just have to oder in online and have it delivered, either to you or the store to pick up (I don't think you have to pay any delivery charges if you do it that way).

 

[da7thson]

Cool. Check the store finder for homebase and the nearest one to me is 20 miles away, so i've ordered the Ammonia online from Boots and it should be with me by Monday.

As i am going away on holiday for just over a week (in just over two weeks time), do i overdose the tank with ammonia before i go away to keep the bacteria alive long enough for me to add more on my return, or just add a regular amount before i leave to make up the amount in the tank to 5ppm?

Cheers

Andy