Help With My 60l Tank

[deanT]

hiya everyone im new hereso bare with me,

i have a 60l tank with 7 tetras in there at the moment but im gonna get a cherry shrimp and guppies just wondering at how many of each people woul recommend?

also for my shrimp i want something like Riccia fluitans carpet plant does anyone know anything about this? isit any good? does it need any special treatment

cheers!

 

[Pleccy]

I would recommend around 10-15 cherry shrimps in a tank of that size, as for the guppies I would be careful with these as they can breed like wildfire. It would be best to stick to a single-sex group.

Riccia can be quite demanding in terms of light, it can be used as a surface plant or attached to rocks or bogwood on which it should spread fairly rapidly under the ideal conditions.

 

[Athena]

The tetras you have already, are they neons? If so, then you could put 5 or 6 male guppies in there (they don't grow larger than about 2inches).

Be aware, though, that neons are fin-nippers so don't be surprised if you see the guppies with shredded tails at some point. Might not be such a good idea really, although lots of us have done this in the past, when we were newbies. (I made this mistake myself, although I have to say that my neons have not been as troublesome as some can be, but I did notice the odd corner of guppy tail missing now and then!). I only have one male and female guppy left so once they "go" I won't restock with guppies whilst I have neons in the tank.

No idea about shrimps as I don't keep them.

Is this a newly set-up tank? How did you cycle it?

Athena

 

[deanT]

I would recommend around 10-15 cherry shrimps in a tank of that size, as for the guppies I would be careful with these as they can breed like wildfire. It would be best to stick to a single-sex group.

Riccia can be quite demanding in terms of light, it can be used as a surface plant or attached to rocks or bogwood on which it should spread fairly rapidly under the ideal conditions.

hi pleccy thanks for the reply,

for the shrimp i want something on the bottom so that can forage around or do whatever do u knwo anything good for them? apart from the riccia maybe something that doesnt spread so quickly how about java moss?

as for the guppies i dont mind havein a few fry as i also got a 10gal tank empty at the moment dont want to many just wondering how many people would reccommend i put in my 60l tank with the 7 tetras and the cherrys. mayb 1 male 2 females? would that be ok if so would that be the tank stocked then?

 

[deanT]

The tetras you have already, are they neons? If so, then you could put 5 or 6 male guppies in there (they don't grow larger than about 2inches).

Be aware, though, that neons are fin-nippers so don't be surprised if you see the guppies with shredded tails at some point. Might not be such a good idea really, although lots of us have done this in the past, when we were newbies. (I made this mistake myself, although I have to say that my neons have not been as troublesome as some can be, but I did notice the odd corner of guppy tail missing now and then!). I only have one male and female guppy left so once they "go" I won't restock with guppies whilst I have neons in the tank.

No idea about shrimps as I don't keep them.

Is this a newly set-up tank? How did you cycle it?

Athena

hi athena

they are cardinals dunno if its normall but i put them in 3 days ago they are fine swimming around enjoyin but everytime i turn the light on they hide under the filter this normall as they in new enviorment etc?

 

[deanT]

?

also any1 recommend any good lookin and good cleaning shrimp if i dont go with the cherries

 

[Athena]

Hi - sorry I don't know anything about shrimps so can't answer that... but another option would be to get a few African Dwarf Frogs - they are really interesting to keep and providing you feed them properly, are quite hardy little guys. They will forage around on the substrate - although they are looking for actual bits of leftover food rather than algae.

You didn't say whether this tank has been cycled prior to adding fish or whether you are doing a fish-in cycle.

Just wondering because if it hasn't been fully cycled beforehand and you go adding a handful more fish in one go, you could find that you have some fish deaths due to the high ammonia and nitrite levels.

Re your tetras hiding when you put the tank light on - try putting your room light on for half hour before turning on the tank lights, so that the sudden brightness doesn't shock them. You could check the wattage of your tank bulb isn't too bright, too. Any idea of the wattage on it?

Regards - Athena

 

[deanT]

Hi - sorry I don't know anything about shrimps so can't answer that... but another option would be to get a few African Dwarf Frogs - they are really interesting to keep and providing you feed them properly, are quite hardy little guys. They will forage around on the substrate - although they are looking for actual bits of leftover food rather than algae.

You didn't say whether this tank has been cycled prior to adding fish or whether you are doing a fish-in cycle.

Just wondering because if it hasn't been fully cycled beforehand and you go adding a handful more fish in one go, you could find that you have some fish deaths due to the high ammonia and nitrite levels.

Re your tetras hiding when you put the tank light on - try putting your room light on for half hour before turning on the tank lights, so that the sudden brightness doesn't shock them. You could check the wattage of your tank bulb isn't too bright, too. Any idea of the wattage on it?

Regards - Athena

the light is 15w

im doin a fish in cycle i know not to add more fish atm as im still addin bits(i.e some good advice on plants or a bed of plants for the shrimp would help) to the tank just got the cardinals in there until its all perfect to to get my shrimp and guppies was just wonderin on how many i could have in there (mixed sexes)

apart from the obvious with this fish in cycle how many times do i do a water change as the guy in store said for me not to do 1 for least 4 weeks but that so dont sound right to me but mayb wrong.

 

[Athena]

Gosh 4 weeks!! Way too long. By then some of your fish may have died off (well I guess then it means buying more from the LFS, so they benefit from this but your wallet and the fish don't )

Even on fully cycled tanks most people do a weekly water change.

Do you have a liquid test kit at all? If not, I recommend you buy one if possible. If not, you will have to take regular samples of your tank water to be tested at the LFS - a lot of hassle, which is why it's better to have your own test kit.

You need to be testing for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte levels - and do regular water changes of at least 15% until your ammonia and nitrIte levels are at 0.

Once your readings reach 0 you know that there is enough good bacteria growth in your filter to handle the waste that your CURRENT fish load are producing. So, when you add more fish, within a few days of them producing waste/urine, you will have an ammonia/nitrite spike (because your filter won't have enough bacteria growth to support the extra fish waste) - you will then need to do another water change and test your water regularly to make sure the levels drop back down to 0.

Sorry if I'm confusing you with any of this. For a more in-depth explanation of how to do it properly there are pinned notes on the forum for fishless cycling.

Regards - Athena

 

[deanT]

Gosh 4 weeks!! Way too long. By then some of your fish may have died off (well I guess then it means buying more from the LFS, so they benefit from this but your wallet and the fish don't )

Even on fully cycled tanks most people do a weekly water change.

Do you have a liquid test kit at all? If not, I recommend you buy one if possible. If not, you will have to take regular samples of your tank water to be tested at the LFS - a lot of hassle, which is why it's better to have your own test kit.

You need to be testing for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte levels - and do regular water changes of at least 15% until your ammonia and nitrIte levels are at 0.

Once your readings reach 0 you know that there is enough good bacteria growth in your filter to handle the waste that your CURRENT fish load are producing. So, when you add more fish, within a few days of them producing waste/urine, you will have an ammonia/nitrite spike (because your filter won't have enough bacteria growth to support the extra fish waste) - you will then need to do another water change and test your water regularly to make sure the levels drop back down to 0.

Sorry if I'm confusing you with any of this. For a more in-depth explanation of how to do it properly there are pinned notes on the forum for fishless cycling.

Regards - Athena

ok great help!

il get a api tester kit soon as i can but for the moment how often shud i be doin water changes and how much of the tank?

 

[Athena]

I would do a daily water change of about 15-20%. To make it easier - either one bucket or washing-up bowl full (yours is a 2ft tank isn't it?). Don't forget to use dechlorinator in the clean water.

If you notice any of your fish acting strangely, clamping fins, getting white spots, losing their colour, swimming upside down etc - it'll mean that the toxins are getting to them, and in that case do another water change asap but increase it to 50%. Oh, and obviously if they end up with disease you will need to medicate for it.

But with only 7 tetras in a 2ft tank you should be fine with changing 20% daily. Also, make sure you don't overfeed during this time.

Your filter needs to build up the bacteria which is a slow process so you don't want to do anything that will put a strain on the filter media.

Hope that's helped a bit.

Athena

ps - yes, the API kit will be a good one to get.

 

[deanT]

I would do a daily water change of about 15-20%. To make it easier - either one bucket or washing-up bowl full (yours is a 2ft tank isn't it?). Don't forget to use dechlorinator in the clean water.

If you notice any of your fish acting strangely, clamping fins, getting white spots, losing their colour, swimming upside down etc - it'll mean that the toxins are getting to them, and in that case do another water change asap but increase it to 50%. Oh, and obviously if they end up with disease you will need to medicate for it.

But with only 7 tetras in a 2ft tank you should be fine with changing 20% daily. Also, make sure you don't overfeed during this time.

Your filter needs to build up the bacteria which is a slow process so you don't want to do anything that will put a strain on the filter media.

Hope that's helped a bit.

Athena

ps - yes, the API kit will be a good one to get.

duno how big it is in foot the measurements are 60cm x 30cm x 35cm if that helps but when its all sorted how many guppies could i add with the 7 cardinals and say about cherry shrimp?

 

[deanT]

?

 

[deanT]

?

 

[Athena]

30cms = 12inches = 1 foot

So, yes, you do have a 2ft tank.

As said before, I would go for about 5 or 6 guppies (but, as mentioned before, be aware that your tetras might fin-nip the guppies!).

Athena