New to tropical fish - seeking some advice

[Byron]

Didn’t realise Corys like to swim so high in the tank. Always thought they are mostly at the bottom.
The tetras on other hand seem to prefer hiding at the bottom on the tank in the plants.
Wonder if I should turn the flow down a bit.

The non-nano species of Corydoras are substrate filter feeders and in their habitats then tend to remain on the substrate because that is where their food occurs. Most streams and creeks are relatively shallow, so there is not much except open water between the surface and the substrate, and the fish will naturally remain on the latter which is also safer from a predator perspective. In an aquarium, they soon learn than predation is not so likely, and with all the available surfaces they will naturally explore these, browsing for microscopic foods.

Paracheirodon innesi (neon tetra) tends to inhabit darker waters, and down among branches, vegetation, etc. They may move up to some degree as they settle, but this species is by nature going to remain in the lower half.

As for the flow, I cannot tell what it is like, but you do not want too much.

 

[jonnyc88]

The non-nano species of Corydoras are substrate filter feeders and in their habitats then tend to remain on the substrate because that is where their food occurs. Most streams and creeks are relatively shallow, so there is not much except open water between the surface and the substrate, and the fish will naturally remain on the latter which is also safer from a predator perspective. In an aquarium, they soon learn than predation is not so likely, and with all the available surfaces they will naturally explore these, browsing for microscopic foods.

Paracheirodon innesi (neon tetra) tends to inhabit darker waters, and down among branches, vegetation, etc. They may move up to some degree as they settle, but this species is by nature going to remain in the lower half.

As for the flow, I cannot tell what it is like, but you do not want too much.

Thanks for the info
Neon tetras seems more settled now. I’ve given them some flakes.
Fed Corys with a pellet too. They seem to prefer the side glass near filter suction area. Not easy to video them as they scramble and hide if I approached the side glass.

Tetras also seem happier with tank lights off. They seem to explore more.Hopefully they are just adjusting however might consider doing something with the lights.

 

[seangee]

The best thing for tetras is floating plants. In the wild they live in forested areas and feel vulnerable without cover. I have noticed this with my cardinals. Half of my tank has heavy plant cover and half is mostly open. they spend most of their time in the covered half. The plants also filter or dim the light, which increases their security. I have pepper corys too, and they love nothing more than foraging in the roots of the floating plants for food.

 

[jonnyc88]

The best thing for tetras is floating plants. In the wild they live in forested areas and feel vulnerable without cover. I have noticed this with my cardinals. Half of my tank has heavy plant cover and half is mostly open. they spend most of their time in the covered half. The plants also filter or dim the light, which increases their security. I have pepper corys too, and they love nothing more than foraging in the roots of the floating plants for food.

We do have some floating plants,I believe they are water lettuce but need to check with my daughter as she is the expert in this area
Only a few in the tank at the moment and most of the time they clump together due to the flow. You can see some in the video near the heater.
However they seem to be thriving as there are more of them now.
Love the pepper Corys. They are so cute and active. A bit shy at the moment though.

 

[Byron]

The current does not seem excessive. What you can sometimes do is aim the flow into an end wall so it dissipates more as it moves down the tank. I agree with seangee too.

 

[jonnyc88]

For our next addition to the tank, assuming everything goes well after few weeks, is x10 Odessa Barb – Puntus sp. and 8 more Panda Corydoras.
I've been researching and looks like they should be compatible to the Neon Tetras however not too sure about the Corys.

We would also be getting Nerite Snails in the future. Will this be an issue with the Barbs?

For the plants we plan to get some Hornworts as they can be both planted and also float.

 

[Byron]

For our next addition to the tank, assuming everything goes well after few weeks, is x10 Odessa Barb – Puntus sp. and 8 more Panda Corydoras.
I've been researching and looks like they should be compatible to the Neon Tetras however not too sure about the Corys.

We would also be getting Nerite Snails in the future. Will this be an issue with the Barbs?

For the plants we plan to get some Hornworts as they can be both planted and also float.

The fish should be OK, no idea about snails though cyprinids like barbs are less likely an issue than would be some of the loaches.

For floating plants, I would look for some of the more substantial spcies, like Water Sprite, Tropical Frogbit.

 

[seangee]

For floating plants, I would look for some of the more substantial spcies, like Water Sprite, Tropical Frogbit.

Water sprite can also be planted, and is quite attractive when it is. This is it in the foreground

 

[jonnyc88]

Thanks both for the advice
In regards to plants I'm going with local shop (Pets At Home in the UK) as other suppliers don't seem to have the plants we want.
I've gone for some Salvinia Auriculata as floating and more Heteranthera Zosterifolia to fill the right side of tank.

In regards to fish I think we'll go for x10 Odessa Barbs ,x10 Cardinal Tetras and x8 Panda Corys which completes our fish stocking for the tank,

 

[seangee]

Check out K2Aqua on eBay. Seems to have quite good stock (in the circumstances). I only discovered him recently on the advice of another member here. Plants were first rate and no hitchhikers.

 

[jonnyc88]

Tetras seems to be preferring the botto half of the tank when the lights are on. I've got some floating plants on the way and hopefully once my other plants grow a bit taller they will be more confident to swim higher.
I've had a look at other LED lights and they are not cheap!
Shame mine doesn't dim.

 

[jonnyc88]

So today roughly after a week I noticed loads of white flakes at the bottoms of the tank. To me they look like decomposing plant matter.
I plan to suck them up best I could later.
Fish seems healthy, Corys are bit shy and avoiding their pallets.
Any ideas what they are?

 

[Byron]

I have never seen anything looking like that.

 

[jonnyc88]

I have never seen anything looking like that.

It’s indeed strange. Definitely not fungus, looks a bit like a cross between shrimp shell or decomposed plant material. There are 2 or 3 tiny shrimps in the tank so I don’t think it’s that.

 

[jonnyc88]

Still trying to get my feeding right. Currently I feed twice a day with flakes and pellets for the Cory.
Neons seems to be very eager with the flakes, normally finishing most within 5 minutes. There are minor amounts left on the substrate.

Corys are very shy and it’s hard to get the pallet feed right. I’ve now adjusted to 1 or 2 max pallets a day and although they don’t normally finish in few minutes I find the pallets are normally gone next day (pallets melt to form mound of powder)

I suppose I will try to limit my feed to ensure minimal leftovers. I am thinking of skipping feed for a day in a week.

Still trying to figure out what the white fluffy flakes are. I suspect it could be decomposing flakes. They seem to accumulate daily so not really bothering to clean them for now.