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gullkeeper

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Hello all

Got a 190 litre tank which has been running for a week. It's got gravel from a mature tank dangling in a net in it with 6 danios. I've got a few plants and a piece of mature bog wood from my other tank, just wondering how long until I start to see changes in Ammonia and Nitrite tests and if it's normal for the water to still be a bit cloudy after 7 days. And any other useful info you may wish to add.

Cheers

Lee TUFC
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. :hi:

Since you have seeded it from other tanks, you shouldn't see a really big spike but you will definitely have some ammonia and nitrite present. Just do water changes (daily if necessary) to keep the levels as low as possible. As for the cloudy water, it could be from the gravel not being cleaned enough or a bacteria bloom from where the tank is cycling, most likely the latter. It should clear up in another week or so.
 
Hi gullkeeper and welcome to the forum. If you have any questions go the beginners section and they are all kinds of people who are more than glad to help you out..I look forward to seeing you around.
 
Cheers

Water still cloudy and the ammonia and nitrite readings are still zero. Maybe the danios aren't working hard enough!!!
 
More than likely, the 6 danios (and the gravel from the cycled tank) have already cycled the tank to handle their waste. You did seed the tank so that would have put bacteria in to start. You are probably ok to add 3 or 4 more small fish (do some research and try to find some that you like that are pretty hardy). I wouldn't get too many more at onlce though. The slower you go, the easier it will be to keep the ammonia and nitrite spikes in check.
 
Hello there guys, got my first fish tank today after seeing my brothers. :D

Was very happy and fully prepared to begin cycling when i realised that the tank i bought had a gravel filter which i really don't like the ideo of, therefore i will begin cycling in a few days when my power filter arrives.

My tank is 30-35 gallon (i do know the actual one but i just can't think of it right now), with a 100W heater and very nice bright light. I'm using used gravel, which i have cleaned loads with hot water, removing furry stones.

I've got a few live plants and the fish i'm thinking of are as follows

4 x Guppies (1Male + 3Female)
4 x mollies (unsure about type, 1Male + 3 female)
10 x Tetra (unsure whether to mix types)
5 x Tiger Barbs/Checker Barbs
1 x Betta (They are so cool but the ones i see in shops don't even compare to the pics on here)
2 x Loaches (cullie or clown)

I think that fills it but i want to get hermitt crabs as well.

Well that's it for me so i'll leave you all to read interesting stuff :thumbs: Bye
 
I've got a few live plants and the fish i'm thinking of are as follows

4 x Guppies (1Male + 3Female)
4 x mollies (unsure about type, 1Male + 3 female)
10 x Tetra (unsure whether to mix types)
5 x Tiger Barbs/Checker Barbs
1 x Betta (They are so cool but the ones i see in shops don't even compare to the pics on here)
2 x Loaches (cullie or clown)

Most of the forum members would agree with me when I say your playing with fire with bettas, tiger barbs, guppies, tetras, and mollies in the mix. I know that many want to keep all the fish, but your combination above will possibly spell disaster. The betta will bother the guppies and mollies because 1. They occupy the same tank area 2. The guppy males will remind Mr. Betta of another betta, making him angry and desire to inflict pain on Mr. Guppy. Tiger barbs like to nip pretty long fins, which belong to Mr. Betta and Mr. Guppy, so that is a no no. Let me see. Oh yes, tetras like to nip too, and that's bad for Mr. Betta, and if they're small enough, Mr. Betta will inturn terrorize them. Clown loaches can get to 12inches or more, and both Kuhlis and Clowns like to be in groups of 3 or more. I stress the more of 3 or more. Best Clown loaches I've ever seen were in a zoo exhibit in Miami, FL, and I swear I will never keep Clowns after seeing them in the setup they were in, which was as close to their wild habitat as they will ever get, and I can never hope to duplicate. I don't recommend mixing schools of tetras. It looks silly and you their natural behaviors will not come out that way.

I know everybody wants to keep every kind of fish, I do too, but mixing so many species just doesn't work out in the long run. I know there are tons of people here who say they are successful, and probably are, but the fish will be happier and live longer, if you consider this advice.

For a tank your size, aim for fewer species. Build a pretty school of one small tetra species, say 10-15. One could also do this for the small rasbora species. These fish will occupy the middle to upper portion of the aquarium and school beautifully with such numbers. For the bottom, have a nice school of corydoras, like 6-8, or if you like kuhlies, a school of 6. Build the schools slowly. You could probably for character, add a trio of dwarf gouramis (male, 2 females) for color as the last addition (Wait 6 months, please, they like mature tanks) if you go Asian species (rasboras, kuhlies). Or if you chose to go the Americas (tetras, corydora), a trio of swordtails (male, 2 females), or even the guppies you liked (male, 2 females), would round out that tank nicely. You, with minor adjustments, here or there with numbers would probably be understocked, or right where you should be, and you have a tank with a lot of movement and beauty.

I'm sorry my reply was so long, but I saw your list of fish, and didn't want you to make any mistakes stocking and end up with a tank that you were not satisfied with.
 
I agree with what lljdma06 has said. Bettas in community tanks can be a real problem. They just don't mix well with other long/big finned fish. They are also terribly susceptible to fin nipping from other faster fish since they are pretty slow swimmers. Also, that will be too many fish for a 30 to 35 gallon tank. The general rule of thumb is 1" of adult fish per gallon. I'm too lazy to do the maths on your stocking list but I would roughly guess that it is somewhere near 70" to 80". Good luck.
 
Thanks for the advice man. I guess that the tiger barbs may be a bad idea. What about checkers cause they're more friendly. The main reason that i like the setup that i have written, is that my brothers tank contains a similar setup with no problems, that tank also has a couple of dwarf gourami and a red tail shark.

On the issue of the loaches, i have changed my mind and am researching into bristol nose's or a siamese algea eater. I intend to give my fish plenty of plantage (resembling an underground jungle so that if any issues with the fish they have somewhere to hide or stay away from the action.

As for the betta, i intend to cycle a small amount of water (as best i can ) to create a very small tank for the batta if problems arise. I have also had a word with a LFS and he says that he will be happy to refund any fish if there are problems.

I am really interested though, in how people have got such spectacular bettas, as the ones i have seen around don't even compare. thanks
 
Hi again guys.

I've done my cyling and no am sarting to get my fishies, YEAH

I've done a lot of thinking/research and i think lljdma's advice was sound

I will there fore go with his advice. Thanks again man.

Tomorrow i shall get my first fish, and due to the life of the tank i shall go for 3-4 platties
and leave them for a week, before beginning the long task of stocking up the tank.
I believe after that i will go with the kullies unless anyone can suggest any cool bottom fish :hey:

Thanks again for the help guys. I'll be getting some pics soon for you to see how your advice pans out.
 

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