New Tank Advice

[Az3rix]

Hello guys!

I am a beginner and I am about to be gifted a 55 gallon tank. So I was hoping you guys can give me some good tips or any advice for the types of fish, plants, filter, or anything really.

For the fish I have planned for this tank is:

10 Pygmy Corydoras
10 Albino Corydoras
10 Harlequin Rasboras
10 Celestial Pearl Danios
5 Amano Shrimps
5 Cherry Shrimps

I plan on adding the shrimp much later once the tank is established and it has some good grub for them before I start supplementing shrimp pellets for them.

For the filter, I plan on using a Tidal 75. The filter media is the basic media that comes with it and a few more additions like bio rings to support the beneficial bacteria more.
I'm already planning on adding the pre filter sponge on the intake and adding sponge in the surface skimmer it comes with to help make it a bit more shrimp friendly later on.

For the substrate, I am planning on using just pool filter sand (or possibly play sand) and using the Aquarium Co-op Root tabs and their liquid fertilizer to keep the plants fed and healthy. I rather have black pool filter sand for the aesthetic, and because I've read dark colors help fish but I haven't found any good black pool filter sand. Though, I am fine with the color of pool filter sand just because I want to make sure my Albino Corydoras won't get their bellies and barbels messed up.


When it comes to the plants I have the following:

Regular Plants:
Corkscrew Vallisneria (A Few)
Dwarf Sagittaria (A Few)
Red Root Floaters (Enough to Start)
Java Fern and Windelov Java Fern (A Few)
Red Dwarf Lily Bulb (2)
Anubis Nana (A Few)
Red Melon Sword (A Few)

Carpet Plants:
Dwarf Sagittaria or Java Moss. Not sure which one yet, any advice? (Enough to Start).

Since I am using the Tidal 75, I am planning on adding a float ring on top for the Red Root Floaters so it has less of a change of clogging up the skimmer.

For the lighting, I am just going to use the hygger 42w light for it since I am not planning on it being a high tech planted tank, just an easier one to deal with.

I'll probably add an airstone just to help with oxygenating the tank and adding a cuttlefish bone later on for the shrimp too.

I'm already planning on doing a fishless cycle to get it started and only adding fish a couple of months or so later once the beneficial bacteria is established.

What do you guys think? Are the selected fish for it good? I feel the only issue is having the Celestial Pearl Danios and the Pygmy corydoras since they are both the mid and bottom dwellers. Would that be too much space being occupied mid? Is this overstocking? I plan on adding plants and decorations, mostly for the corydoras. Any other options for fish? Any other advice for the fish?

Also are the plant selections good for beginners? I don't plan on using C02 for this tank and just relying on the subpar lighting and the root tabs and the liquid fertilizer to keep up with their growth and all.

I tried doing as much research as I could and any advice or tips for either the fish, plants, substrate, or the tank in general would be greatly appreciated!

I attached a picture of what the 55 gallon tank looks like. It's not the exact tank, but it is pretty much similar to the photo.

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

 

[Az3rix]

Hey there!

Thanks for that helpful information. From what I've gathered, the tank dimensions are 48x13x20.

I actually recently tested my water and it shows a water hardiness of 133ppm with a pH rating of 6.7. It's the reason why I went with the fish selection that I did. It should be a good basis water parameter for them, and with what you mentioned, it seems good for them too.

 

[MaloK]

The only thing I can add is, while you can put Amano Shrimps and Cherry Shrimps together without harm, I can tell by experience that the amano's wont be happy with cherry shrimps in the long run.

I suggest going with more cherries instead.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I'm already planning on doing a fishless cycle to get it started and only adding fish a couple of months or so later once the beneficial bacteria is established.

This is the wrong way to do it. If one does a proper fishless cycle you can stock a tank fully in one go. Do it gradually and you just turn a fishless cycling into a fish in one.

There is another advantage to stocking fully in one go, if possible. It means your tank can be both Quarantine and then the final tank for the fish. Do it as you plan and you should use a Q tank for any added fish. My rule for Q is tank raised fish need one month and wild caught import s need 3 months. This means that amount of time without any issues. If I have to treat fish in a Q tank, when they recover, the time starts over from 0 again.

But that is my way. I have some tanks with $1,000s worth of fish in them, I will never risk wiping them out because I did not Q a fish or two I wanted to add to the tank. In all the years I have bred the B&W plecos, it has always been in a species tank. I am not willing to risk the health or life of a fish I might have spent anywhere from a few $100 to as much as $1,000 because I wanted to add a few tetras etc. which may have cost me under $1 each wholesale or imported.

Also, over the years of the many 100s of fish I have bought, fewer than 20 came from a retail store. And most of them went into my first tank or two. After that they were mostly bought from breeders or as imports. In 24 years I have only had Ich in a tank twice. Both times it came in on store or auction bought fish that showed no symptoms when they were purchased. I learned from this.

edited for typos/spelling

 

[Az3rix]

This is the wrong way to do it. If one does a proper fishless cycle you can stock a tank fully in one go. Do it gradually and you just turn a fishless cycling into a fish in one.

There is another advantage to stocking fully in one go, if possible. It means your tank can be both Quarantine and then the final tank for the fish. Do it as you plan and you should use a Q tank for any added fish. My rule for Q is tank raised fish need one month and wild caught import s need 3 months. This means that amount of time without any issues. If I have to treat fish in a Q tank, when they recover, the time starts over from 0 again.

But that is my way. I have some tanks with $1,000s worth of fish in them, I will never risk wiping them out because I did not Q a fish or two I wanted to add to the tank. In all the years I have bred the B&W plecos, it has always been in a species tank. I am not willing to risk the health of life of a fish I might have spent anywhere from a few $100 to as much as $1,000 because I anted to add a few tetras etc. which may have cost me under $1 each wholesale or imported.

Also, over the years of the many 100s of fish I have bought, fewer than 20 came from a retail store, And most of them went into my first tank or two. After that they were mostly bought from breeders or as imports. In 24 years I have only had Ich in a tank twice. Both times it came in on store or aution bought fish that showed no symptoms when they were purchased. I learned from this.

Hmmmmm okay, I get what your saying. I will definitely look into that more and give it a try. Thanks for the helpful information!

 

[Az3rix]

The only thing I can add is, while you can put Amano Shrimps and Cherry Shrimps together without harm, I can tell by experience that the amano's wont be happy with cherry shrimps in the long run.

I suggest going with more cherries instead.

Oh, I see. I know Amano Shrimp can get pretty aggressive when it comes to feeding time and all, but I didn't think they would be unhappy with Cherry Shrimps. I've had Amano Shrimp before, I might as well just get 10 cherries for this tank and try something new. Thanks again!

 

[Back in the fold]

An ambitious project for a first aquarium . I like your choice of fish and I like the plant selection and substrate you’ll be using . I’m not into shrimp but I’m warming to the idea . They seem to do better in heavily planted aquariums when they have to share space with fish from what I read around here on this forum . If it was me and I had your water and that extensive plant selection I would leave out the Celestial Danios and double up on the Rasbora Het’s in hopes of them spawning but that’s just me . I hope you’ll post pictures of this aquarium when the time comes .

 

[MaloK]

Oh, I see. I know Amano Shrimp can get pretty aggressive when it comes to feeding time and all, but I didn't think they would be unhappy with Cherry Shrimps. I've had Amano Shrimp before, I might as well just get 10 cherries for this tank and try something new. Thanks again!

For me it was the opposite the Cherry shrimps are a lot more dynamic an faster than amanos and when the number of cherry shrimps rose the poor amanos even if a lot bigger where outnumbered and harassed to death.

 

[Essjay]

Hmmmmm okay, I get what your saying. I will definitely look into that more and give it a try. Thanks for the helpful information!

This is the fishless cycling method TwoTankAmin wrote for us, once it is complete you can get all your fish straight away. -

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Az3rix]

This is the fishless cycling method TwoTankAmin wrote for us, once it is complete you can get all your fish straight away. -

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Sounds great, I will give this a look right away!

 

[Az3rix]

An ambitious project for a first aquarium . I like your choice of fish and I like the plant selection and substrate you’ll be using . I’m not into shrimp but I’m warming to the idea . They seem to do better in heavily planted aquariums when they have to share space with fish from what I read around here on this forum . If it was me and I had your water and that extensive plant selection I would leave out the Celestial Danios and double up on the Rasbora Het’s in hopes of them spawning but that’s just me . I hope you’ll post pictures of this aquarium when the time comes .

Thanks for that! It is a very ambitious project, haha. It would actually be my second tank. I had a betta tank a while back once I learned the proper care for them. That one was a solo 10 gallon tank. I wanted to do one a bit bigger and since big tanks allow for more wiggle room for beginner mistake, I felt the 55 gallon was a good starter, and it was the right one I was getting gifted. And hmmmm, I was thinking about that too with doubling on the Rasbora's but I'm not sure if I want to deal the possibilities of baby ones as I am still easing back into it. So I might just stay with both the Celestial Danios and the Rasboras, but if you think otherwise, I would gladly like some tips on it!

 

[Back in the fold]

Thanks for that! It is a very ambitious project, haha. It would actually be my second tank. I had a betta tank a while back once I learned the proper care for them. That one was a solo 10 gallon tank. I wanted to do one a bit bigger and since big tanks allow for more wiggle room for beginner mistake, I felt the 55 gallon was a good starter, and it was the right one I was getting gifted. And hmmmm, I was thinking about that too with doubling on the Rasbora's but I'm not sure if I want to deal the possibilities of baby ones as I am still easing back into it. So I might just stay with both the Celestial Danios and the Rasboras, but if you think otherwise, I would gladly like some tips on it!

You won’t have to worry about an unmanageable outbreak of fry should the Rasbora’s spawn because most will get eaten and if you’re lucky a very few might grow up in there if the plants are thick enough . Not really a concern . Fish like the Harlequin Rasbora’s look very nice in large groups and settle into their groove and you see their true behaviors when they aren’t looking over their shoulders at other fish . They won’t even care about your Corydoras since they’re bottom dwellers . You might want to be certain that your plants are all rooted well before introducing the Corydoras so they don’t dig around and uproot them . Whichever way you go you will have a nice aquarium . A 55 is a nice size for what you’re doing .

 

[Az3rix]

You won’t have to worry about an unmanageable outbreak of fry should the Rasbora’s spawn because most will get eaten and if you’re lucky a very few might grow up in there if the plants are thick enough . Not really a concern . Fish like the Harlequin Rasbora’s look very nice in large groups and settle into their groove and you see their true behaviors when they aren’t looking over their shoulders at other fish . They won’t even care about your Corydoras since they’re bottom dwellers . You might want to be certain that your plants are all rooted well before introducing the Corydoras so they don’t dig around and uproot them . Whichever way you go you will have a nice aquarium . A 55 is a nice size for what you’re doing .

Ah okay, yeah that was one of my main worries so thanks for clearing that up! I actually might do just that, get 20 Harlequin Rasbora's and save the Celestials for another tank I plan on doing in the future. I havent worked with Rasbora's, so it'll be nice to see them in a large group displaying their true behaviors like you mentioned.

 

[fishorama]

My 1 try at CPDs was lesser. They were very shy, maybe if I had a lot more than 8 or so? I love harlequin rasboras! Very hardy in most any tank parameters. All your other tankmates sound good except maybe amano shrimp. I've never tried keeping them, so I don't know.

I would get more than 10 pygmy corys. They're tiny & oh so cute. You will be charmed by their antics. (OK, I love most all bottom-ish fish. Get more!) I will say almost all schooling or shoaling fish are best in bigger groups. It's hard not to want more species when you have a fairly large tank, but I'd go with more of each species rather than a few of each. They are much more fun that way than the "minimum of 6". Go for more!

Another genus of plants I love are cryptocorynes.. Easy to grow with a root tab fert near their roots. Many species & colors are available. Try some, you won't be sorry!!