Noob with a Big Tank

[Dbrs4me]

Hello, I've done a bit a research and found a bargain on the internet and I've set up a 75 freshwater gallon tank. I am really just looking for advice on how best to proceed. The tank is set up, it just your basic big rectangle. I have a wave maker, a heater, it's between 75 and 76 degrees F. I have a Marineland c360 canister filter, a skimmer and a bubbling rock stone. There is a large ornament that looks like a tree stump and 10 silicone plants in the tank. I had my water tested before I added any fish, I know I need to go thru the nitrogen cycle. At that time there was 0 ammonia ppm, 20 nitrate ppm, 0 nitrite ppm, 150 ppm hardness, 0 ppm chlorine. A total alkalinity of 120 and a pH of 7.8. With knowing I had neutralized the chlorine I added 11 fish, a 3 inch pleco, 4 zebra danios and 6 neon tetras just to get the nitrogen cycle started. I am going to test the water again tonight, I can post if there are any big changes I'm concerned about. I've noticed the tank seems to have a pretty good current running through it, just an observation. Given what I've mentioned, have I set off any red flags for anyone? I'd really like to get a good community to work with that I can ask questions of that will be a little forgiving of my lack of experience. As I learn more I promise to put it back into the forums.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

[utahfish]

Neons and zebra danios shouldnt be kept together. Zebras are fast erratic swimmer while neons are peacful slower swimmers and erratic swimming patterns of the danios will stress the neons out and also the zebras will out compete the tetras for food.
Id stick with either similar sized tetras and rehome the danios or rehome the tetras and put other fast swimming fish with danios.
But not both together

 

[Dbrs4me]

Wish the pet store would have been nice enough to tell me that.

 

[utahfish]

Wish the pet store would have been nice enough to tell me that.

Pet stores dont care about much except your money either that or they dont know or dont care.
Also your water hardness at 150 is almost 9DGH which is on the harder side of water danios will be ok with moderately hard water but tetras need DGH around 6 and below so id stick with hard water species like live bearers guppies mollies platys ect. The pleco will be fine in 9 DGH as well theyre pretty adaptable. Though 9 isnt super hard GH

 

[JuiceBox52]

Pet stores usually know next to nothing, sadly most of us learned that the hard way

 

[utahfish]

Wish the pet store would have been nice enough to tell me that.

Some other fish that may do well with zebra danios in that big if a tank.
Tiger barbs are adaptable and can do well in your water., also a shoaling fish so buy a group. 1 rainbow shark or 1 red tailed shark.
White cloud mountain minnow and rainbow fish. Maybe smaller loaches or even corydora should be fine.

 

[Dbrs4me]

I suppose I shouldn't let this frustrate me. I'm very excited about the tank and have already enjoyed it with the few fish I have it. How do I go about re-homing fish when I don't know anyone else that has any?

I was thinking about getting some clown loaches. I was wondering about gourami. I am learning to ask first and buy second.

 

[JuiceBox52]

I suppose I shouldn't let this frustrate me. I'm very excited about the tank and have already enjoyed it with the few fish I have it. How do I go about re-homing fish when I don't know anyone else that has any?

I was thinking about getting some clown loaches. I was wondering about gourami. I am learning to ask first and buy second.

Ask the pet store if they will take them back. Make it very clear that you bought them on account of their misinformation

 

[utahfish]

I suppose I shouldn't let this frustrate me. I'm very excited about the tank and have already enjoyed it with the few fish I have it. How do I go about re-homing fish when I don't know anyone else that has any?

I was thinking about getting some clown loaches. I was wondering about gourami. I am learning to ask first and buy second.

See if the pet store will take them back.
Clown loaches get pretty big and need ti be in shoals i wouldnt put them in anything smaller than 100 gallon look for smaller loaches. Zebra loach ,Yo yo loach,botia loach, chain loach all 6" or under.

 

[utahfish]

Gourami might be fine with danios, danios arent generally nippy but they are so hyper active they stress a lot of slower fish out and gouramis are slow moving and both danios and gourami inhabit the top of the tank so would be up to you.

 

[JuiceBox52]

I would say probably no, because the activity level would stress the gourami

 

[Dbrs4me]

What are shoals? Schools?

 

[JuiceBox52]

Shoals and schools are similar. Schooling fish hunt together and stay much closer than shoaling fish. Most freshwater fish are shoaling, not schooling.
Shoaling fish live in large groups of their own kind in the wild, but they dont hunt and are generally looser groups.
Social fish are neither of the above but still need a few other of the same type of fish

What are shoals? Schools?

 

[Tez_20]

I am really just looking for advice on how best to proceed.

Nice to hear you have loads of oxygen going in for your fish while it's doing the cycle and if you get ammonia spikes and nitrite keep doing water changes every day of 30% with the size tank you have, as i had to do this with my 60 gallon it helps the fish to cope and if nitrate exceeds over 20 also do it.

 

[Tez_20]

I would say probably no, because the activity level would stress the gourami

your right on this score as when i added danios my sparkling gouramis kept well out the way.