New member with fluval edge (12g)

[leighaus]

Hey guys,

New member. Have some basic fish keeping in the years gone by, but this is my first 'real go' at it.

Went with the Fluval Edge 12gal for it's great design. Love the filled tank look and it doesn't take up too much space being a tall tank.

I've got some plants in and had some Mongolian gold vine in there that I had pre-soaked... Obviously not enough because it floated on me. Need to fix that up.

Im looking to house a couple of kuhli loaches, couple of dwarf sucker catfish, half a dozen blue pearl shrimp and half a dozen endlers livebearers.

Couple of moss balls in for good measure as well.

Does the final stocking sound okay?
I'll have plenty of time to read up and adjust as I go.

I also like the idea of celestial pearl danio's..

Great forum, I've got lots of reading to do.

 

[Toney]

Howdy.

Wouldn't the loaches eat the shrimp?

 

[leighaus]

Hey toney,

You might be right. I saw them coexisting in a tank on YouTube and figured they would be fine. Found a few others who keep cherry shrimp for example with loaches without issue.

I will have a lot of love plants and hardscaping in the tank, which might help..don't want to throw them to their death though... Maybe the shrimp will be a miss..

 

[Essjay]

You need more than a couple of kuhli loaches and dwarf suckers.
Kuhlis need to be in a group of at least 6. While they are not shoaling fish, they will hide all the time with less than 6, and possibly even with just six. You would also need a sand substrate.
I assume that 'dwarf sucker fish' are otocinlus? If that is what you mean, they are shoaling fish and need to be in a group of at least six - but a 12 gall tank is unlikely to be able to grow enough algae for a shoal of otos.


If you have hard water male endlers would be fine in this tank. If you have females they will breed too much for this sized tank. Male endlers come in various colours and patterns so you could have a mix.
And celestial pearl danios are fine as well in anything but very soft water.

 

[thrujenseyes]

Hello! I too have the Fluval Edge but I have the 6 gallon
I have spider wood, anubias and black fluorite.
Inhabitants are 3 male endlers, 2 otos (had 3 but only 2 survived..tough fish to acclimate and must always substitute by feeding veggies), an amano shrimp, a sunkist shrimp and a nerite snail.
I absolutely adore my little tank, but be prepared...it's a bear to get in and out of during cleaning time!
I have a little nano mag that helps wonders but haven't had to use it since the otos (last 6-7 months).
Welcome and have fun!!!

 

[leighaus]

Great tank, looks great !

I think I've revised my tank.

Given I'm not on sand, I'll avoid loaches and reintroduce the half dozen shrimp with 5 Otto's, 4 cpd, 6 endler males and a moss ball.

Thanks for the help. If I'm slightly overstocked, I'll probably drop the cpd's

 

[thrujenseyes]

Great tank, looks great !

I think I've revised my tank.

Given I'm not on sand, I'll avoid loaches and reintroduce the half dozen shrimp with 5 Otto's, 4 cpd, 6 endler males and a moss ball.

Thanks for the help. If I'm slightly overstocked, I'll probably drop the cpd's

I definitely wouldn't put the otos in a bran new tank.
They are tough to acclimate to begin with but a bran new tank isn't going to have enough algae for them...that's a lot stacked against the delicate little fish.
Maybe start with the rest of your stocking and once it's established bring them in.

 

[Byron]

I concur with others on the otos. This fish is wild caught, and almost always nearly starved by the time it reaches the store. If you have a tank that is established with common algae, this fish should settle in, but if not, it likely will die. And they do not eat any algae, so "problem" algae will not usually provide food for them.

The CPD presumably are Celestial Pearl Danio; these need a larger group, no less than 10 but that is risking it. A group of this species would fill your 12g.

No mention has been made yet of water parameters, meaning the hardness and pH. Given that most nano-type fish (suited to smaller tanks) will be wild caught, this is important to ascertain.

Welcome to TFF.

Byron.

 

[leighaus]

Hey guys,

So I did a fish in cycle and left the light on for 2 straight days ! Whoops. Thought I was helping the plants and started some nice algae growth.
Now managing 7 hours a day mixed with the moon led for broadspectrum.

was told to start with 2 danios - a yellow and zebra.. Not ideal for a schooling fish, but they seem very happy.

I have since stocked up the tank to :
5 endlers
5 oto's
2 danios
6 cherry red shrimp.

All get along really well and the plant life is doing well too. Plenty for the catfish to eat and shrimp are a great cleanup crew.

PH is 6.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 5
Hardness 24mg/L (from tap pre conditioning)

 

[thrujenseyes]

Well, It looks very nice but a fish in cycle is not a real nice way to cycle a tank...even if it was it's not cycled that fast and you've already added a full stock. So basically you're cycling your tank with a full stock.
I'm afraid to say you're going to have many issues and deaths.
Also you're now stuck with danios, and if they survive the dimensions of your tank (taller) is not good for them as they like to zoom back and forth and this tank is short lengthwise.
I feel bad for your inhabitants...especially the otos that we warned against putting in a new tank...especially one that hasn't cycled.

 

[DutchMuch]

Welcome, above comment and Byron is correct.