New To All This

[nez2768]

hi guys & girls,
John here form lisburn N. Ireland, just new to the forum and purchased my first tank a Juwel rekord 600 (63 litres). Started off with 5 platys and 5 neon tetras and will be adding more fish in the next week or 2. I would really like a black red tail shark & clown loaches but reading on here there are probably too large for my tank size. Are there any sharks and loached suitable for a communty tank my size?
many thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

No sharks, I'm afraid! You could think about pygmy chain loach as your tank is quite small; lovely fish with very nice markings.

 

[Roseanna]

Hello and welcome

I'm also new and from ni too! Lol

 

[nez2768]

Hello and welcome

I'm also new and from ni too! Lol

Hi Rossanna,
NI taking over the forum llllllllllllooooooooooolllllllllllll
on a serious note, what is your aquarium set-up?

 

[Blubble37]

hi NEZ...

I'm afraid that sharks are a miss on that one... BUT!!!

You coulkd pop 2 or so Kuhli loaches in with your stock and it should Be ok

Did you cycle your tank?

and what filter are you using (the built in filter or a different one?)

 

[nez2768]

hi NEZ...

I'm afraid that sharks are a miss on that one... BUT!!!

You coulkd pop 2 or so Kuhli loaches in with your stock and it should Be ok

Did you cycle your tank?

and what filter are you using (the built in filter or a different one?)

thanks Blubble37, i will have a look at adding Kuhli loaches, not sure what you mean by "cycling" the tank though i have a built in filter and have just changed the top white poly filter after just over a week.
many thanks.

 

[TropicalJuwel]

Cycling a tank is when you run a tank to build up the good bacteria in your filter to break down fish waste and dangerous toxins to fish, the best way to do this is a fish less cycle which is where you add an ammonia source to build up the bacteria before you add any fish the other way is to do it with fish in but this can be very dangerous to fish and isn't advisable to newbies to fish keeping as it needs lots of water changing and is generally hard work. Look under theyour new freshwater tank and beginners resources to find out more indepth.

Any other problems just post them on here, theres plenty of people to help.

 

[laura120381]

hi there and welcome to the forum!

please read the beginners thread on fish in cycling. although fish-less cycling is preferred, you can cycle your tank with fish in it. you have a lot of hard work and water changes ahead of you though!! do you have a water test kit? if not i would seriously advise getting on. i would recommend the API Master or the Nutrafin Mini Master kits. I would advise against buying strip tests as they are notoriously unreliable. go for liquid tests.


please don't add any more fish just now until you read the beginners section. As flutter said, there are unfortunately no sharks suitable for your tank. you can look into the suggested loaches when your tank is fully cycled and stable. perhaps you might like to think of adding a few more neons as they are happier in bigger groups. use the time whilst your tank is stabilising to research what kind of fish you might like. feel free to post your water parameters as well as any stocking ideas etc you may have and we will all be happy to give you any help and advice we can.

good luck withh the cycle!

L

ps - do not change your filter media. it needs time to mature and develop the bacteria needed to break down harmful chemicals. ::

 

[Old Betta]

Welcome, everyone here appears to be friendly and only too happy to help out and give sound advice.

I would suggest Kuhli Loach (if for no other reason than I would like one for my aquarium) however they grow 7cm to 10cm in length when fully mature...and they are more active in the evenings and low light.

So a lot depends on your setup...

I would seriously suggest 4 or 6 algae shrimp to help keep your aquarium clean...mine are doing a great job so far.

 

[nez2768]

thanks thats a great help from you all, tropical Kuwel yes i have a Juwel record 600 tank with Juwel filter leavving all but the white poly filter in which is supposed to be changed approx weekly? so i am cycling with a few hardy fish to start, Doing my first water change tomorrrow about (10-20%)? and will add nutrafin. Visiting my local TF store layer in the week with a water sample for testing

 

[dh058977]

Whatever the 'white poly filter' is I would suggest taking it out and sticking with sponges. You really dont need to be changing media that often, rinsing your sponges in tank water now and again is enough, keep them until they are falling apart! If you are cycling fish in (which I guess you are if you still have your fish?) then you need to be doing regular large water changes, much more than 10-20%, more like 80%. If you havent already, get yourself a liquid testing kit and keep an eye on your Ammmonia etc. Good luck and welcome.

 

[colleen0309]

You have alot of work ahead of you, but don't get discouraged. We are here to help. Good morning and welcome to the forum!

 

[nez2768]

just another silly question....i know to keeo the heater on continuosly but do i keep my Jewel filter on 24 hours a day?
many thanks

 

[colleen0309]

The only silly questions are the ones you don't ask! I am unfamiliar with that particular filter, but I don't know of any filter you turn off. As far as I know, you need to keep it running. If not, you won't build up the bacteria you need and if it does not have the water running through it, the bacteria can't get to the ammonia and nitrite to eat it and they will starve to death and your tank will never cycle.

 

[nez2768]

The only silly questions are the ones you don't ask! I am unfamiliar with that particular filter, but I don't know of any filter you turn off. As far as I know, you need to keep it running. If not, you won't build up the bacteria you need and if it does not have the water running through it, the bacteria can't get to the ammonia and nitrite to eat it and they will starve to death and your tank will never cycle.

thanks Colleen, thats what i thought & i have been keeping it on