New Fishkeeper - Stocking A 55L Cube Tank (Aquanano 40)

[Mack]

Hi All,
 
I am brand new to fishkeeping and have set up an AquaNano 40 aquarium.
 
It's 55L (14.5 US Gallons) and measures 40cm x 40cm x 40cm.
 
It has black gravel as a substrate and some plasic plants, a cave, and is soon to have a piece of bogwood added.
 
 
My question is, what can I stock in it?
 
Ideally, I'd like some bottow-dwellers and some mid-level swimmers.
 
 
Help much appeciated.
 
Mack

 

[Livewire88]

 
There are lots of options but just bear in mind that 55L is not a very big tank, so you wont be able to keep some of that larger types of fish. What fish do you like? and is your tank cycled?
 
If you are unsure on what I mean by cycled have a look through the beginners Resource Centre http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/
 
Read through the thread which explains why and how a tank is cycled. 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/175355-arrrggghhhh-whats-cycling-new-tank-and-ive-already-got-fish/
 
Feel free to ask plenty of questions, we are all here to help 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Bottom dwellers for a tank that size would be best as shrimp...  Cories that would be suitable for that size tank - the dwarf varieties - don't generally stay at the bottom only.  They also prefer to be in groups of 6+, which would use up a sizable amount of the biospace available.  They also don't prefer gravel, especially the smallest cories.
 
 
Mid-water swimmers - here's where the fun would be... I'd try to stick to 1 inch fish that are fairly inactive in terms of their swimming.  
 
Honey gouramis can be kept as singles, and they don't get much bigger than 2 inches - and could serve as the "centerpiece" for the tank.
Microrasboras would be possibilities for the shoaling varieties.  Trigonostigma espei would be nice, a shoal of 8 or so would work nicely.
Freshwater gobies - specifically peacock gobies (or peacock gudgeons) spend a bit of time on the bottom.
Endlers (males only) would be a whole tank occupant that will move all around the tank and look quite lovely.

 

[Mack]

Here is a pic of what my tank currently looks like:
 

 
As you can see, I've now changed to sand as the substrate, as I would like some corys. What about some Panda Cories?
 
I am currently cycling the tank with Household Ammonia, and it looks quite cloudy now. Would this be a bacterial bloom?
 
 
I will have a look into your suggestions so far.
 
Thanks very much for the help.
 
Mack

 

[Livewire88]

Looks nice, 
 
If you want to keep corys you should go for either Salt & Pepper or Pygmy Corys, Pandas will be too big for your tank unfortunately.
 
And like Eagle said you would be best off with a group of 6 or more, and then your tank will be close to fully stocked. Maybe room for a small group of micro/chili rasboras to go along with the corys. 

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, I agree with Livewire on the pandas. I have panda cories, and I have an AquaNano 40, and I think the pandas are too active, even though they're small.
 
As the tank has a good filtration system, if you stick with very small fish, you can push the stocking but do remember, if you do that, that your maintenance regimen must be up to scratch, or you'll end up with very high nitrate levels. I do 40/50% twice a week on mine.
 
FWIW, I have a dozen dwarf emerald rasboras and some shrimps in mine
 
Yes, the cloudiness you're seeing is a bacterial bloom, and that will clear itself in a few days.

 

[Mack]

Thanks for all the help!
 
The tank water has now cleared itself up nicley.
 
My water company states that I have "Moderately Soft water at 2.8°dH". Is this refering to Carbonate hardness or General hardness?
 
 
I've now used my API Kit, to test my tap water:
Ammonia = 0ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 5ppm
pH = 7.4
KH (Carbonate Hardness) = 2°dKH = 35.8ppm
 
I haven't yet tested my tap water for General Hardness. When we say that a certain fish is suitable for a certain hardness, what type of hardness are we refering to?
 
My tank has been cycling for approx two weeks now, and I have been making sure that I keep adding ammonia so that it sticks around 4ppm.
 
Today, I have tested for nitrite, but found 0ppm.
 
I was expecting to have a nitrite reading above zero by now?!
 
Can anyone advise?
 
 
Cheers
 
 
Mack

 

[Mack]

I've left the tank for three days now without doing any tests (or adding any ammonia).
 
Today I tested the water and found ammonia at 5ppm and nitrite at 0ppm.
 
So it seems that my cycling still hasnt kicked off.
 
 
I have replaced half of the water and turned my heater up to 30 Centigrade (the water was previously at 26 Centigrade), and I'm now reading about 2ppm for ammonia.
 
Shall I just test it every day until it drops to zero and then bring it up to 2ppm again?
 
Does what I have done seem sensible?
 
 
Cheers
 
Mack

 

[Livewire88]

What you have done is fine, turning the temp up was a good choice. Test as often as you like and once the ammonia has cleared dose back up to 2-3ppm and then monitor your NitrIte level.
 
Patients is the key 

 

[Mack]

Excellent, thanks very much

 

[Mack]

My tank ammonia is currently still around 2ppm, so I'm spending time researching fish.
 

Mid-water swimmers - here's where the fun would be... I'd try to stick to 1 inch fish that are fairly inactive in terms of their swimming.  
 
Honey gouramis can be kept as singles, and they don't get much bigger than 2 inches - and could serve as the "centerpiece" for the tank.
Microrasboras would be possibilities for the shoaling varieties.  Trigonostigma espei would be nice, a shoal of 8 or so would work nicely.

 
I like this idea especially!
 
I probably won't look into Corys now, thanks to all of your advice. Maybe I'll go for some shrimps once I've got my fish sorted.

 

[Mack]

The honey gourami looks great, but are there any other small-ish "centrepiece" fish that I should also be looking at?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Like I said the peacock gudgeons might be worth looking at... A pair would work, I think.

 

[Mack]

My tank ammonia still hasn't dropped. It's still at around 2ppm. I haven't added any ammonia, or done any water changes recently.
 
Am I doing something drastically wrong?
It seems like I can't get the cycle started!
 
Any help much appreciated!
 
Mack

 

[the_lock_man]

Hi Mack, it could be that it's just taking a while - it often takes a week for ammonia to start dropping, but obviously in your case, it's longer than that. Test your pH - if it's low, then please raise it with baking soda (not baking powder) little by little, until the pH reaches 8.2. The other thing you can do is to get hold of some media from someone else's mature tank - swap it for some of yours, and the bacteria on their media will kickstart the growth in your filter.