Looking for stocking suggestions

[savagurl92]

hello just want to say i started this hobby mid December 2016 & started out with a 10 Gallon then got more tank syndrome

so still new to this hobby and learning as i go

my equipment so far

Tanks:
10 Gallon = Empty
10 Gallon = Empty
30 Gallon = Guppy/Cory tank
36 Gallon Bow Front = Juvinile Angels/Pleco/Rainbow Shark tank
40 Gallon Tall = Empty
55 Gallon = Empty
55 Gallon = Empty

FYI:
the angels will be moved when they pair off in 6 months and ill be re-homing the two that do not
pleco will also be re - homed at some point and the rainbow shark will be moved to another tank

may move my 6 albino corys to one 55 and my other 6 green corys to the other 55 and add some different live bearers in with the guppy's though i do not want cross breeding so what fish would that be?

so my questions are

what are some cool stocking lists for my tanks not limited to just fish inverts are cool to

what i am looking for but not limited to:

something to breed in the two 10 Gallon Tanks?

something to breed in my 40 Gallon Tall?

some big fish for one of the 55 Gallons maybe a shark tank that be cool

lots of small fish to breed for the other 55 Gallon ? non live bearer already have the 30 gallon for that

so far i was looking at

German Blue Rams pair their really pretty
maybe a pair of discus
maybe a pair of convict's
would like to try a pair of mouth brooder's

i saw a cool puffer fish a while ago i do not know the name of it though )= but it eats snails pretty big eyes are kind of in the top sides of head i guess

might do cherry red shrimp in the guppy tank

also what type of plants can i do

i recently purchased some Najas Grass ( Guppy Grass ) comes tomorrow got it for the guppy tank
and i have some wisteria already

any suggestions are much appreciated and mostly need them for when i stock my tanks sometime next month
i want to do it right this time save me some pain and headaches for sure

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

It will help if we have your water parameters for the source water, specifically GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) and pH. These you can ascertain from your municipal water authority if on city water. You have fish requiring quite different parameters in your list, and it is always easier to select fish suited to your water than going down the not-always easy road of adjusting parameters.

Byron.

 

[KrystaK]

Welcome You are dealing with some fish that are out of my depth but I'll offer my opinions and advice where I can.

As far as your live bearers cross breeding Guppies can cross breed with Mollies (I think) and definitely Endlers. And Sword tails can cross breed with Platys. But putting Platys and Guppies together or Endlers and Sword tails together won't produce cross breeds.

With the number of tanks you have you can do a whole bunch of different stocking, which clearly you have thought a little bit about. I agree with Byron, you need to consider your water chemistry before you really get into considering your stock; because you want your fish to thrive, not just survive.

While you can breed just about any live bearer in a 10 gallon tank I would not recommend it. Why not use the 10 gallon tanks as nursery tanks for fry (because live bearers will eat their fry and if you want to keep any a nursery tank is a good idea). You could also use your 10 gallon tanks as hospital or quarantine tanks. It's always a good idea to have a spare 10 gal around.

Invertebrates like shrimp are great fun to watch; I really enjoy having an active bottom dweller community and Cory's and Shrimp are always on top of my list when considering bottom dwellers, they don't bother each other.

The types of plants you can row depend on what sort of light set up you have and how willing you are to introduce CO2 and trace elements/nutrients. It is essential you get the right lighting for your tank or else you will just be wasting your money, bcause plants require certain types of light in order to carry out photosynthesis.
I have a standard T22(live plant) bulb on my 30 gallon tank (it runs for about 9 hours day) with no supplementing at all and in said tank my Anubias Barteri do very well. Java fern are also very easy to care for plants. Rotala is another easy to grow pant, though I have found it requires more light than I provide (my hood only has space for 1 bulb). Vallisneria is another easy to grow plant, it spreads very rapidly and comes in dwarf varieties as well, but it tends to melt if severely disturbed. You should really check out the planted section of this forum, they're super helpful over there and very knowledgeable.

You seem to be moving into this hobby at full speed. Have you cycled your tanks?

Hopefully you get someone who can help you more with your larger tank ideas, I stick to smaller tanks myself

 

[savagurl92]

thanks good to be here

ill try to answer both your questions best i can

PH=7.0 had my LFS test it the other day forgot the other parameters but i can go again and ask them again

my lfs store did say my water was perfectly fine no issues which never had a fish die on me so i assume its true
the lfs is really nice one old guy and his daughter run it especially it being a 5 minute walk from my home

anyway

as far as hardness for my state found a website that says its slightly hard @ 3 grains
but who would i call i googled this municipal water authority but couldn't find one in my area
i live in Fall River , Massachusetts if this helps

any way for me to test my Alkalinity

ill be buying the
API Freshwater Master Test Kit
next month as well

the only tanks that are cycled are one 10 - the 30 and the 36
the rest are currently cycling which is why i wont stock until toward the end of next month is that good or do i need to wait longer if so how long? i can wait not a big deal not rushing this time learned my lesson

light bulbs i have:

one 10 gallon has a led light from aqua culture as it came with the kit
the 36 gallon has a aqueon t8 18 inch 15 watt full spectrum light

the 30 gallon has a well its kind of like a black light but does not make white shirts glow like a black light would and its more blue i guess idk what kind light it is came with the tank on craigslist when i got it my wisteria grows fine in it though

also i got two spare bulbs just bulbs no hoods atm
one looks generic no name or any details on it is a couple inches bigger then the 18 inch
and i got one 18 inch 15 watt aqueon 8000k Pre Heat

other tanks do not have any lights yet so they get window light right now ill be buying the lights beginning of next month
was going to get a plant grow light at Walmart its like 8 $ 15 watt florescent 24 inches long is that okay ? if not
what lights can i get

also i will keep one 10 gallon as a quarantine tank really good idea

as for the other one do not need a fry tank at this time my guppy's do not eat each other thankfully
and happy to report i woke up at 12 am this morning and my guppy's had her 2nd spawn of 11 fry well so far
her first spawn was a month ago and she 13 good timing i guess lol

so maybe ill start a shrimp colony in it be easier to manage them in a 10 gallon and then i can move some to the other tank later on good idea? or should i just leave it empty just in case? or maybe just grow some plants in it?

and yes i def want some Rotala indica to cover my filter looks nice to
i like the look of dwarf hair grass for my carpet like plant can i do this one in gravel or should i switch to sand?
and ill be looking into those plants as well as checking the plant forum

as for co2 wont guppy grass take in nitrates and produce co2? at least what i heard as for a co2
system what would the pros & cons be?

good to know about the live bearers ill do platys and guppy's i never did like the idea of hybrids personally
maybe ill add a couple endlers to a 10 gallon ?

ill take any advice or suggestions good to make preparations now so i can avoid headaches in the future (=

hopefully i covered all your questions you both asked if not sorry i blame it on being to early

 

[Byron]

On your water, I tracked down some data but it doesn't have GH and KH (or pH), so you may have to call them. Here is what I found
http/www.fallriverma.org/images/CCR 2015 final for publications.pdf

my lfs store did say my water was perfectly fine no issues which never had a fish die on me so i assume its true

This doesn't tell us anything, and is common for stores. When you get them to test your water, always ask them for the specific numbers of the various tests, and write them down. I suspect they tested ammonia, maybe nitrite and nitrate. What they consider "fine" may not be. And fish can still live in less than ideal water, but can develop health issues years later. Bottom line, without numbers for tests, we are lost. The API Master Combo test kit is a good one, it has pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

GH and KH must be identified at the start, but once you know these numbers for your source water (tap) you don't need to bother with them again unless you are specifically targeting them; by this I mean you are deliberately doing something to lower or raise the GH/KH/pH. You don't want to get into this, not yet anyway. But you do need to pin down the GH/KH.

Assuming "3 grains" means grains per gallon (gpg), 1 gpg equates to 17.12 mg/l (milligrams per liter) which is the same as ppm (parts per million). The hobby uses the latter unit (ppm), along with dGH or dKH, each of which is 17.9 ppm. So, 3 gpg would be 51 ppm, or almost 3 dGH. This is soft to very soft water. So right away, we have someone saying you have "fairly hard" water while these numbers, if accurate, are very soft/soft. This is why you need to pin down the GH/KH. Try to get this from the water authority, or ask the store to do tests, but remember to be specific and write down the numbers they give you. There is no need to waste money on a test kit, as once you know the GH/KH you won't need to test again.

Assuming the water is on the soft side, you should forget fish requiring moderately hard water. This would be all livebearers (guppies, endlers, platy, swordtail, molly). These fish must have mineral in the water and will not last long without. Some shrimp may also have problems, as there will be insufficient calcium for their exoskeletons. Soft water fish, like the tetras, rasbora, most catfish, gourami, danios will thrive. Again, this assumes the data we have is accurate.

Turning to the light for plants, a couple observations.

the 36 gallon has a aqueon t8 18 inch 15 watt full spectrum light

The T8 tube is fine, it will give you sufficient light for low and moderate light requiring plants. The Aqueon full spectrum tube is one I am not particularly fond of (I have two) and my plants do not grow as well under this as they do under other tubes. With this fixture, you could get a Life-Glo tube (made by Hagen) or a ZooMed UltraSun tube. Same length as the Aqueon, but both of these are very good light. I use them over all my single-tube tanks now.

and i got one 18 inch 15 watt aqueon 8000k Pre Heat

Don't use this. The 8000K refers to the colour temperature of the light, and this is very "cool," meaning lots of blue but little to no red. Plants need red light to photosynthesize, so this light will likely mean a tank of algae. All light is composed of colour wavelengths; these are measured as degrees Kelvin, and referred to as the colour temperature (no relation to temperature as we think of it normally). "Cool" light is high in blue but low in red, "warm" light is higher in red and less blue. Sunlight is around 5000K-6000K, and the best plant light is in this range. The two tubes I mentioned earlier are 6500K which is ideal.

was going to get a plant grow light at Walmart its like 8 $ 15 watt florescent 24 inches long is that okay ? if not what lights can i get

Forget this. So-called "plant" lights, like so-called "aquarium" lights, are high in the red and blue, but this is weaker light and it can cast an odd goulish hue in the tank. Some people like this, others like me do not. But it is the intensity that is the main issue. The two tubes I mentioned before are about double the intensity and they provide a true rendition of colours of fish and plants.

Byron.

 

[savagurl92]

okay so my GH is 12 and KH is 5 according to a guy at the Fall River City Water Department if this is the place you were talking about

and i put the 8000k bulb in my show/display tank and i will put the full spectrum one in the tank i grow plants in
until i get the new lights

so with this gh and kh what am i limited to?

 

[Byron]

okay so my GH is 12 and KH is 5 according to a guy at the Fall River City Water Department if this is the place you were talking about

and i put the 8000k bulb in my show/display tank and i will put the full spectrum one in the tank i grow plants in
until i get the new lights

so with this gh and kh what am i limited to?

If you live there, then we can assume these numbers apply. You should confirm the unit they are using though...12 likely refers to degrees (dGH) and 5 to dKH. Which is moderately hard, so livebearers and shrimp should have no issues.

 

[savagurl92]

If you live there, then we can assume these numbers apply. You should confirm the unit they are using though...12 likely refers to degrees (dGH) and 5 to dKH. Which is moderately hard, so livebearers and shrimp should have no issues.

yes the unit is dGH & dKH so know knowing this what are other fish besides live bearers and shrimp?
what kind of stocking can i do for the rest of my tanks ?
also are my corys / angels / rainbow shark / pleco all okay to keep ??

 

[TekFish]

The two most common Badis, the Chameleon Fish (Badis Badis) and the Scarlet Badis (Dario Dario) would be fine in that water. You could devote one of the 10G as a breeder to the Scarlet Badis.