New To Tropical Fishkeeping

delectableteatray

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First tropical fishtank, have kept goldfish, pleco, and zebra danios before in coldwater.

58litre

DSC_0016.jpg


3 fake plants, 3 real, getting 7 new real ones.

If you're wandering, the white sack thing in the top right thing is something called nitra zorb, like a big teabag, which my lfs told me i should get after they tested my water and had high ammonia and nitrate or something like that.

Hopefully getting fish in about a week, fish i'm thinking about: Tetras, platys, guppys, amano shrim/otocinclus to eat algae, zebra danios, and pleco if i could find a variety that wouldn't outgrow my tank too quickly.

Other fish i have been interested in are pygmy puffer, phantom glass catfish, gourami, male betta and some others.

Do these look like they will be able to live with each other, and has anybody got any recommendations for other fish that i could try.
 
Hi, and welcome to the forums.

Looks like you and I have the same size tank, never hear of your 'teabag' contraption though!

I cycled my tank with 4 platys which have been fine, I got myself a liquid testing kit so I could
keep on top of the water quality which helped.

Good luck with your tank :)

Billy the Fish
 
hey guys i think i have this same tank aswell!
looking at your photo tho i dont think i have enought plants in mine, especially if your getting more.
I got a log in my tank aswell, a bit like where you have your wood planted plant. should i be getting more plants?
 
The tank looks great. I hate to sound really redundant if you have heard these little explanation and warnings (which I bet you have) but just in case you havent:
(1) The use of any substance that reduces ammonia, like your nitra zorb bag, should be used sparingly, especially while setting up a tank... cycling a tank is a natural process where you culture bacteria which breaks down ammonia (usually produced by fish waste, uneaten food, or dead matter decaying). In the ending phases of a cycling you will get a "spike" (a very high concentration) of ammonia, but the levels will eventually even out. If you use an ammonia reducer during the cycling process you will end up reducing the amount of beneficial bacteria in the end of the cycling process and the tank will need to slowly build its bacterial base.
(2) Live plants are rather hard to keep (and about as expensive as most fish). To get the results that you see in those amazing pictures that look like tiny underwater forests you usually need good high lights (for a tank of 20 gallons (US) its anywhere from $80-180, or for a 40 to 55 gallon tank its around $120-250; you also need a co2 system which costs anywhere from $30-500+; fertilizers are regularly needed ($5-15 a bottle); and if you dont get an expensive co2 system you will probably need something that monitors pH (at least a bundle of test kits)... some of the costs dont seem that bad but it builds up (I just started a new-used 20 gallon and spent at least $250 to get quality equipment, but then again you could definitely find some of this stuff for alot less). I am not trying to completely turn you off of live plants, I just would like to urge you to see how well the plants you already have fare in your tank over a span of time before you put down more money on plants (and dont worry, some people have alot of success with plants without all that expensive equipment).
(3) Your choices in fish are nice, here a little info about some of them if you dont know yet: The pygmy puffer may be a problem, a few weeks after you buy it, you will start noticing little portions of your other fishes' tails are missing and later you might start missing fish altogether (I had a pair of Figure 8 puffers, they would scratch the glass with their teeth and killed any fish that we attempted to quarintine in their tank (they were in a 20g and the other tanks were a 135g, 100g, and a 40g)). They also like brackish conditions (somewhere inbetween fresh and salt water). The tetras, danios, otocinclus, and glass cats are all schoolers, and you will need to keep quite a few together (good to have at the least 5 of a type). Ive heard that male bettas can be a little aggressive, especially with their own kind (they dont call em siamese fighting fish for nothin). Gouramis and plecos can be very touchy when it comes to water conditions (and plecos put out alot of waste), plecos also need a varied diet to do well (like algea wafers, vegetables, and driftwood (I dont know if this is needed, but they love it)- which you already have. Shimp are really cool to watch, but they have a habit of hidding really well. You should only get one sex (usually male is the only sold) of fancy guppy, because they will do it like rabbits and ruin your tanks delicate balance.

Wow, thats alot of stuff. I dont mean to sound overly critical or anything... and if I do, Im sorry. But your tank already looks great, and it looks like you will have lots of enjoyment watching all your fish.
 
Hi, thanks for all the replies everyone they helped alot

I've looked into cycling and have bought some ammonia ready to start fishless cycling when i get my test kits.

I think i will only get 3 more live plants after reading your advice

In terms of fish i have more of an idea of what i would like, but it is all still pretty rough: 4ish tetras, 2 gouramis, 4ish guppies, 2ish shrimp and something like a small pleco to hover around.

Once again thanks for all the help and i will keep you posted on what happens!

Hugh
 

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