need advice

[darksheep]

hi

ive recently got a new 3 ft tank, 90 cm long, 35 cm wide, 45 cm hieght.

ive havent got a filter or heater or light as of yet but that shoudnt be much of a problem.

what i would like to no is:

ive never been able to successfully grow live plants, what kinda bottom mixture would they grow best in. i was thinking some kinda sandy bottom with gravel on top.

Secondly and most important, is the fishes, i wanna set up a comunity tank where i have fishes that swim on the bottom, some in the middle and some on the top and if possible a couple of groups of skooling fish.

My biggest issue is compatably so im pretty much cluesless what to put in with out one fish eating the other

the fish i wanted to put in are neon tetra or Cardinal Tetra(preferred) , only cause they are very colourful, maybe few guppies, some kinda shark(red tail black shark?), usual algae eaters any suggestions would be greatly apreitated

 

[Alia]

My answer will boot your thread back up to the top, so you can get more opinions.

I have a similar sized (I think) 29 gallon aquarium with a number of plants thriving in it, including 2 types of java fern, melon sword, ozelot sword, crypt. wendtii, corkscrew val., bolbitus, anubias, moneywort, hornwort, and perhaps one or two others.

I use a substrate called flora base which I buy from Drs Foster & Smith online. They have lots of other substrates. I bought this because it was supposed to keep the pH between 6.5 and 7 and I wanted a neutral pH without chemicals. (It was successful for a while, but I didn't use enough, I don't think).

I also invested in a compact fluorescent light, 65 watts, which is probably a bit stronger than I need for this tank. I had it on twelve hours a day and the algae was prolific. I have cut the light back to 5 hours a day. I don't use
cO2 or anything like that. When I put the plants in I used a little liquid fertilizer.

As for fish, I'll start with the red-tailed black shark. As it is a bottom dweller, can grow to 5", and has a territorial nature, I personally would let him (her) have the bottom to him(her)self, with some hiding places.

I've never had any "algae eaters". My two little cinnamon (honey) gourami have eaten almost all the algae outbreak off of my plants. I wouldn't get any a.e. that would get large or compete with the shark for space.

I think cardinals are mid-level fish. Get a nice-sized school of them and your middle will look awesome. Read up, though. Make sure your tank is well established with no water issues, that the fish have been at the lfs for two weeks or more with no signs of disease, and that you don't add more than 6 at a time. I've read that they are sensitive at first, but once they settle in they are hardy.

For your upper level, maybe some nice pearl danios? The long finned variety is very pretty. I had pearls once and they were quite beautiful.

To finish it off, if you can find some small but colorful and friendly wider bodied fish, like a dwarf gourami or a black skirt tetra (people have different experiences with these -- I find that in a group they are delightful). These fish swim at all levels and will add an interesting dynamic, as well as a new shape.

Take your time with the cycling and the plants and add your fish gradually, least territorial first to most territorial last, and I believe you will be very happy with the result. Good luck!

 

[modernhamlet]

Here's a little reading to give you ideas...

Good plants for a first planted tank:
http/www.aquamaniacs.net/ProvenPerformer...aticPlants.html

Substrates:
http/home.infinet.net/teban/substrat.htm
(if you don't want to read that tome, I suggest a 1-2" laterite or flourite base with 1" of your choice of substrate on top)

Fishes:
My first suggestion would be to decide what kind of tank you want to have. Do you want a calm, peaceful community? An active and boisterous, but peaceful community? A semi-aggressive community? Only when you have a vision for what you want the tank to be can you make decisions on fish. For example, you have to understand the temperment of the shark you're considering and make your other stocking decisions with that in mind...

Good luck!

 

[jams.alaskan]

You've gotten some great advice. It is sooo fun to decide who goes in - enjoy it.

ALASKA