Starter Fish?

[jo_85]

Hi everyone, thanks for the help so far. As im half way through my fishless cycle I have started visiting LFS's looking at fish. As i only have a 48ltr tank i am looking for smaller fish that dont grow too big. I like neon tetras as i had a big group in my old 180lrt tank and they looked beautiful in groups. But after reading up i get the impression they need to be added about 6 months after the first fish have been added so the tank matures. So i've been looking at Harlequin Rasbora's but these again need to by kept in shoals? Are these fish good starter fish? How many can i add at first? I was thinking of only adding 2 to start but all the fish i like do better in shoals. I also like danios and get the impression these are good hardy fish to start with? Not sure if these need to be kept in shoals or if 2 would be ok? Thanks for any input

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Danios should be kept in groups of 6 or more...However I'd be tempted to say get 2 and then add more; although I dont know if it would be recommended by others. If you plan on getting 2 to begin with then you could always get a shoaling fish and add more fairly soon.

Is there any reason you wouldn't want to add say 6 of the fish at once? or is it just for the bio-load?

 

[jo_85]

If it would be safe to do so I would add 6 at once, just wasn't sure if it was best to add little at the start? This is my first time doing the fishless cycle, I was very inexperienced in my first tank and believed the LFS when he said i could add fish straight away and obviously lost half the stock. Suppose im just worrying from previous experience. Once the tank is fully cycled would it be fine to add a shoal of 6? Would make things a lot easier for choosing! Thanks

 

[Miss Wiggle]

once you've completed a full fishless cycle the filter will be able to process 5ppm of ammonia into 0 ammonia and nitrite within 12 hrs. this means that your filter is able to cope with a full tank of fish stocked to a sensible level around 1" per gallon.

if you only add a few fish then not enough ammonia will be produced to support all the bacteria you have developed through the fishless cycle, this means some of the bacteria will die off due to a lack of food. so then when you add more fish you will need to re-grow this bacteria so you'd only be able to add a small amount of fish at a time and build up gradually otherwise you'll go back into a fish-in cycle.

it's recommended to add most of your stocking straight away when the cycle is finished only leaving out sensitive fish which need a mature tank.

your tank is around 12 gallons so you can safely stock around 12" of fish to start off with (remember this is calculated on the adult size of the fish, not the size they are when you get them).

the harlequin rasbora's would be a perfect starter fish and a very nice choice, the danio's are very active and I'd suggest your tank may be a little bit small for them, they like a lot of swimming room.

what other fish did you want in the tank?

 

[jo_85]

Thanks Miss Wiggle, that all makes sense now! Not too sure on other fish, need to research smaller ones that i will be able to get from LFS. I like tiger barbs but they grew really big in my last tank so will stay away this time. Any ideas on ones which won't grow much bigger than 1 inch and i can look them up, any suggestions would be a big help if i'm going to stock up in one go.

I really like the rummy nosed tetra, are all tetras sensitive?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

most tetras are quite hardy and suitable for new tanks, neon's are one of the most delicate due to years of inbreeding as they're a popular fish.

have you looked at the various microrasbora species?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I agree with Miss Wiggle, in that Danios need a larger tank, ideally a 4-footer (due to activity levels).

Given that Harlequins reach 4cm, its a very close call whether they are too active for a 48l too. They do much better in groups of ~8+, which gives you 12" of adult fish straight off, before thinking of adding anything else.

You need to find your "must have fish" that you know for sure is suitable for a 48l and they find suitable tankmates that like the same conditions (temp, water flow etc.). Some suitable fish that spring to mind are things like...

• Hengels Rasbora
• Chilli Rasbora
• Coffeebean Rasbora (looked very similar to Chillis, saw them yesterday for first time)
• Sawbwa Barb
• Celestial Pearl Danios
• Forktail Blue Eye Rainbowfish (Miss Wiggle might get jealous, as she wants some but also want Angelfish that will eat them at some point
  
  )
• Emerald Dwarf Rasboras
• Kuhli Loaches (?)
• Indian Red Tail Squirrel Loaches (well an unclassified relative, Aborichthys sp.1 and sp.2, that reach <5cm as adults, but these guys need a "hillstream loach" setup of high flow and <22C for oxygen-rich water)

 

[jo_85]

Thanks for the suggestions, will look them all up and have a read about them. Starting to wish i got a bigger tank but no where to put one!

 

[waterdrop]

Really like those suggestions from NOTG - definately some good ones to work on, with the reward that some of them are smaller and help you with the small tank size. If nothing seems to be working out and you return to thoughts of harlequins I will simply chime in that I now them of them as even hardier for a first introduction group (so, even hardier than danios and better for your tank as the danios would need more horizontal space as said).. if you did do harlequins then it seems to me that 6 would be a good first stocking size and would pass as the ultimate size of your harlequin grouping in a 12.7G, leaving room for either some centerpiece slightly larger fish or a whole shoal of a different species. The tough part though is that I agree 8 would be even better but the 12G is limiting. WD