New to tropical fish - seeking some advice

[jonnyc88]

I have only one soft water tank out of four because of the extra work, even though there are a lot of soft water fish I want to have . Fancy guppies are a good starter fish for hard water and are hardier than many fish. Mollies and swordtails are also nice. Getting hard water fish will make keeping fish for you easier. As @Byron mentioned there are some tetras and cory that can do alright in your water. Just make sure you research or ask here for advice. Good luck.

Thanks Viking
I don't mind swapping for guppies or swordtails however it seems like they might not be compatible with catfish (corydoras) and maybe shrimp?
Also it seems that mollies prefer some salt in the tank?

 

[Retired Viking]

For the guppies I would suggest 5 or more males unless you want fry-they are like rabbits so you will have fry if you have females too. Mollies are almost as bad when it comes to fry but they do eat their own as do swordtails and they will eat guppy fry. I have a fancy guppy tank with mostly males but the LFS only sells them in a m/f pair. Tetras and cory need a shoal of at least 6 fish each. I would start with some guppies once your tank is set up and cycled. They are the hardiest fish so if you make mistakes they are the best to have. I never put salt in the tank unless I am treating an illness. I have had guppies in with shrimp-my main worry was they may go after the baby shrimp when 1st born

 

[I am a gourami]

If you plan to get a sucker fish to clean the tank be aware they will eat anything at the bottom of the tank that fits in their mouth.

 

[seangee]

Hi and .
As you mention "initial stock" it is worth pointing out this link. If you follow the method described there it is optimised for maximum beneficial bacteria production in the shortest possible time which means you can add all your fish once the process has completed. In my experience this typically takes 8-12 weeks. It can be quicker but you may need to set expectations .

The silent cycle mentioned also works, but I would not recommend adding all the fish at once using this approach. Typically you would add one species at a time (but all of your intended stock for that species), and then monitor your water for a week or two. If all goes well you then add the next species - and so on.

 

[jonnyc88]

For the guppies I would suggest 5 or more males unless you want fry-they are like rabbits so you will have fry if you have females too. Mollies are almost as bad when it comes to fry but they do eat their own as do swordtails and they will eat guppy fry. I have a fancy guppy tank with mostly males but the LFS only sells them in a m/f pair. Tetras and cory need a shoal of at least 6 fish each. I would start with some guppies once your tank is set up and cycled. They are the hardiest fish so if you make mistakes they are the best to have. I never put salt in the tank unless I am treating an illness. I have had guppies in with shrimp-my main worry was they may go after the baby shrimp when 1st born

I think the place I'm getting them sells males only so I'm good. Does guppies and cory place nice? I'm afraid that the cory will nibble at the fins.
I suppose with livebearers I need to becareful how many I get as they may multiply quickly.
Did your guppy go after the shrimp babies?

I'm still unsure of stocking, mainly on what to get for my first round of fish.
The place I'm getting from charges about £15 for delivery unless the total is over £100. That's about 30-40 fish depending on prices.
I'm tempted to get Sanke Koi Swordtail - Xiphophorus Helleri, as they look awesome but they do grow quite big. They are about £8 each.

 

[jonnyc88]

If you plan to get a sucker fish to clean the tank be aware they will eat anything at the bottom of the tank that fits in their mouth.

I did think about getting pleco but they can grow quite big. At the moment I'm really keen on Sterbai Cory which seems to be suitable for my water hardness.

 

[jonnyc88]

Hi and .
As you mention "initial stock" it is worth pointing out this link. If you follow the method described there it is optimised for maximum beneficial bacteria production in the shortest possible time which means you can add all your fish once the process has completed. In my experience this typically takes 8-12 weeks. It can be quicker but you may need to set expectations .

The silent cycle mentioned also works, but I would not recommend adding all the fish at once using this approach. Typically you would add one species at a time (but all of your intended stock for that species), and then monitor your water for a week or two. If all goes well you then add the next species - and so on.

Hi Sean!

Thanks for the link, I will have a look. We would have live plants so hopefully the ammonia levels will be controlled before we start adding fish.
The place I'm buying the fish from has considerable delivery charges unless it's over a threshold so that's why I'm considering purchasing most of the species on the first go.
Well that and also the excitement of keeping fish (or shall I say keeping water).

It looks like it's not recommended for me to load the aquarium with too many different stock on the first go.
Can I perhaps start with x10 male guppies and x10 Sterbai Corys?

Our ultimate aim to have a community tank with active schooling fishes. Ideally would have at least 4 species with 10 in each school but we do realise the limitation due to size of tank so would like to pick the most ideal combination that plays nice with each other

 

[seangee]

Yeah those shipping costs are a killer. Don't be in too much of a rush to add fish. Let the plants establish and really grow - and make sure you have lots. I am currently doing a silent cycle on an 85l tank. I have around 80% of my surface covered in very fast growing surface plants and added 20 tiny ember tetras. I still ended up having to do large daily water changes for 3 days before the plants were able to deal with all the ammonia. I also never fed them for the fist 3 days - this may be a little hard for your daughter to accept.

Just make sure you are prepared for regular testing and water changes in the early days.

All fish will eat shrimplets, the species you mention won't be a problem (ie some will survive) as long as you provide plenty of plants for them to hide in. I wouldn't add shrimps until the tank has been up and running for 3 months. Mollies and swordtails may be able to eat adult shrimps - I'll leave that to others to advise but guppies, tetras and cories will be fine.

Just spotted you sand question, my favourite is Unipac Black Limpopo sand - its what I have in the tank in my signature pic.

Here is my tank in its silent cycle. The stem plants have only been actively growing for a week. Although they had more than doubled in size I should have let them grow a full month - but I did have the insurance of masses of frogbit in 2 of my existing tanks. Fast growing surface plants like frogbit or water sprite are by far the most effective ammonia sinks.

 

[jonnyc88]

Yeah those shipping costs are a killer. Don't be in too much of a rush to add fish. Let the plants establish and really grow - and make sure you have lots. I am currently doing a silent cycle on an 85l tank. I have around 80% of my surface covered in very fast growing surface plants and added 20 tiny ember tetras. I still ended up having to do large daily water changes for 3 days before the plants were able to deal with all the ammonia. I also never fed them for the fist 3 days - this may be a little hard for your daughter to accept.

Just make sure you are prepared for regular testing and water changes in the early days.

All fish will eat shrimplets, the species you mention won't be a problem (ie some will survive) as long as you provide plenty of plants for them to hide in. I wouldn't add shrimps until the tank has been up and running for 3 months. Mollies and swordtails may be able to eat adult shrimps - I'll leave that to others to advise but guppies, tetras and cories will be fine.

Just spotted you sand question, my favourite is Unipac Black Limpopo sand - its what I have in the tank in my signature pic.

Here is my tank in its silent cycle. The stem plants have only been actively growing for a week. Although they had more than doubled in size I should have let them grow a full month - but I did have the insurance of masses of frogbit in 2 of my existing tanks. Fast growing surface plants like frogbit or water sprite are by far the most effective ammonia sinks.

That's a lovely tank! In terms of the aquascape that's close to what we have in mind but perhaps not the floating plants. However might reconsider that if they are good ammonia regulators, as long as they don't interfere with oxygenation?
We are also thinking of adding some pipes for hiding places.
My daughter wants carpet grass but AFAIK they are a bit difficult to care for. How big is the tank? Does look bigger than 85L but perhaps it's shorter but wider compared to mine. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L4Y2N9Q/?tag=)

Cheers for the recommendation of sand. We like dark-ish substrates so will consider that.

We will only add fish once the plants and water are established. We are planning to take it slowly as welfare of the fish is very important for us too.
My daugher has a small tank (30L I think or less) with shrimps in it and she is very disciplined in keeping the water right so I will have some great help

I see you are in the UK too. How's your water hardness? Mine is leaning towards hard so I'm not too sure about neon tetras.
At present our mind is set on one of the following combinations to start:

A) x10 male guppies with x10 Sterbai Corys
B) x10 X Ray Tetras with x10 Sterbai Corys
C) x5 Koi Swordtails (they are slightly larger) x10 Sterbai Corys

What are your thoughts?

 

[PhantomCarp]

I think b is the best because the Livebearers probably want a harder ph than the cories. Where as the tetras would want similar water conditions

That's a lovely tank! In terms of the aquascape that's close to what we have in mind but perhaps not the floating plants. We are also thinking of adding some pipes for hiding places.
My daughter wants carpet grass but AFAIK they are a bit difficult to care for. How big is the tank? Does look bigger than 85L but perhaps it's shorter but wider compared to mine. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L4Y2N9Q/?tag=)

Cheers for the recommendation of sand. We like dark-ish substrates so will consider that.

We will only add fish once the plants and water are established. We are planning to take it slowly as welfare of the fish is very important for us too.
My daugher has a small tank (30L I think or less) with shrimps in it and she is very disciplined in keeping the water right so I will have some great help

I see you are in the UK too. How's your water hardness? Mine is leaning towards hard so I'm not too sure about neon tetras.
At present our mind is set on one of the following combinations to start:

A) x10 male guppies with x10 Sterbai Corys
B) x10 X Ray Tetras with x10 Sterbai Corys
C) x5 Koi Swordtails (they are slightly larger) x10 Sterbai Corys

What are your thoughts?

 

[jonnyc88]

I think b is the best because the Livebearers probably want a harder ph than the cories. Where as the tetras would want similar water conditions

Thanks for the feedback PhantomCarp.

I did post my local water authority data earlier and based on Byron's recommendation I should aim for livebearers as they tolerate better to slightly harder water.
Personally the X Ray Tetras are my favourite, although my daughter has a vote too

251.25 mg/l (or parts per million) :Calcium Carbonate
100.5 mg/l (or parts per million) :Calcium
17.487 °C Degrees Clark
25.125 °F Degrees French
14.271 °dH Degrees German
2.513 mmol/l :Millimoles

 

[PhantomCarp]

Okay then I would choose whatever one you like the best. The cories will be able to handle to hard water because it’s to hard. Best of luck because you can do whatever one you want.

Thanks for the feedback PhantomCarp.

I did post my local water authority data earlier and based on Byron's recommendation I should aim for livebearers as they tolerate better to slightly harder water.
Personally the X Ray Tetras are my favourite, although my daughter has a vote too

251.25 mg/l (or parts per million) :Calcium Carbonate
100.5 mg/l (or parts per million) :Calcium
17.487 °C Degrees Clark
25.125 °F Degrees French
14.271 °dH Degrees German
2.513 mmol/l :Millimoles

 

[jonnyc88]

Okay then I would choose whatever one you like the best. The cories will be able to handle to hard water because it’s to hard. Best of luck because you can do whatever one you want.

Cheer bud. I'm happy as long I'm moving towards the right direction.
Really appreciate all the input as this would be our first large tropical fish tank.

 

[seangee]

That's a lovely tank! In terms of the aquascape that's close to what we have in mind but perhaps not the floating plants. However might reconsider that if they are good ammonia regulators, as long as they don't interfere with oxygenation?
We are also thinking of adding some pipes for hiding places.
My daughter wants carpet grass but AFAIK they are a bit difficult to care for. How big is the tank? Does look bigger than 85L but perhaps it's shorter but wider compared to mine. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L4Y2N9Q/?tag=)

That tank is 90x30x30cm. I wanted a small long tank so its perfect for what I want. The one in my signature is 100x45x45cm so holds a lot more water. My vote on your options is B but I am biased as I love tetras and corys. Most of the fish you mention naturally occur in forested areas so appreciate surface cover and very few fish like bright light (dark substrate is a good choice for this reason BTW). 3 of my 4 tanks have pretty heavy surface cover to reproduce the natural environments of their inhabitants. The low light means I have never successfully grown a carpet (despite several attempts) in a natural tank, because these usually require high light and CO2 injection. I did have a carpet years ago in such a tank but that would not suit my fish.

The plants in the middle section are Ludwigia repens. These send out lots of runners and bush readily. My intention is to keep this fairly close cropped as a "ground cover" rather than a carpet.

(Since you ask) my tap water is much harder than yours. It also contains nitrates at 50ppm which is the EU limit but not very good for fish. Since I love soft water fish I just use RO water which addresses both of those issues.

 

[Essjay]

251.25 mg/l (or parts per million) :Calcium Carbonate
100.5 mg/l (or parts per million) :Calcium
17.487 °C Degrees Clark
25.125 °F Degrees French
14.271 °dH Degrees German
2.513 mmol/l :Millimoles

The two units used in fishkeeping are ppm and German deg (aka dH). So the figures you need are
251 ppm
14.2 dH


The other thing is volume

The tank size is 145L or roughly 32gallons.

In fishleeping, gallons are always American gallons so your tank volume is 145 litres or 38 gallons (rather than 32 Imperial gallons)