Stocking and design help for newbie

[Gandhisarmy]

Hello to anyone reading this and happy 2021

I'm new to this hobby, that has already slightly become an obsession. I recently bought a 60lt tetra halfmoon tank for a present for my 3 year old. I've wrecked my head about it ever since , and think it's time I find someone who knows what they're doing.

I have black gravel, a airstone, 2 large white stones, a large piece of driftwood with java moss growing on it , a hand pull of spangles, 4 moss balls and a lotus bulb in my tank .

I am on day 22 of my fishless cycle using dr Tim's method and think I'm coming close to the end . Ammonia and nitrite at 0.5ppm and nitrate at 20ppm. Ph a steady 7.4

I wanted a betta fish community at the start, but fear my water movement may be too wild for that .. I'm looking for stocking ideas that would suit my tank and an honest opinion of if I have too much in the tank and would it be better to get rid of the wood and just go with plants. Or am I just looking at it too much lol

Any help would be greatfully appreciated

Thanks from an irish newbie

 

[DancingBetta]

I will always recommend Bettas
Are the bubbles making the flow strong or the filter? You could always turn off the bubbles and leave the bubbler in there (because Groot)
You could put some Cory Cats in there. You could probably have some tetras or, of course, Snails and shrimp.
(But my favorite is a betta)
Beautiful tank! Good luck!
I am Groot.

 

[Gandhisarmy]

Lol thanks for the reply.. tbh I didn't think I had a problem with flow till I put the floating plants in there and the hob filter just beat them up every time they floated over to them . So I put a baffle on it to stop them being drawn to it . Since then I've noticed how much movement there is on the top and the floaters are pinned in the back corner.

I've ordered a air control valve to calm the bubbler down and some tubbing that I plan to stick around the hob filter to stop the spangles getting to where the water falls in , and I'm hoping that'll work !!
Do you think I can keep a betta and a small school of harlequin Rasbora in my tank ?
Or maybe some danios with mates if it's too much water movement for a betta ?

Thanks again for the reply

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum A good starting place for planning what fish to keep is understanding your water hardness, if you dont have a gh test kit you can get this info from your water companies website. You might just know if you have hard or soft water too dependng on if it effects your appliances with limescale etc?

Wills

 

[Gandhisarmy]

I'm pretty sure I have hard water wills, I thought only ph mattered .
How does my water being hard effect my stocking options?

 

[heatherpooreks]

Some fish prefer or thrive on different water hardness. I love danios for your grandson. You can get bright colors to actively swim in that tank. I would put in 6-8. Love your landscaping.

 

[Gandhisarmy]

Thanks so much ... I'm not sure about the wood ( got it out of the river by my house ) and came close to taking it out and just using plants a few days ago . I may keep it a while till my lily starts to grow .

I've been thinking about gold zebra danios, if I cant keep a betta . But I was afraid that I could only have the one type of fish in the tank then .

 

[Gandhisarmy]

My cycle has seemed to have stalled and the last of the ammonia and nitrite doesn't want to leave , on the plus side tho this gives me time to finally sort out how to stock the tank .

 

[heatherpooreks]

I have a female betta with my danios. Watch to see if she nips, but females can be in a community.

 

[Gandhisarmy]

O wow , would have thought that impossible , from what I hear daniosare hyper and everywhere in the tank.. thanks for the info definitely food for thought. Is it a much bigger tank than mine you have them in ?

 

[mcordelia]

This tank is beautiful! I love the scape!

I think the shape might be a bit challenging for stocking as surface area matters as well, but definitely some of the smaller species of fish (depending on which ones go with your hardness) are worth considering!

I hear you on the pH thing, I was out of the hobby for ~15 years and back then it was all pH, now hardness trumps pH from what I have learned!

Be patient with the cycle thing, it can sometimes take a while. Which fishless cycling method are you using?

 

[heatherpooreks]

O wow , would have thought that impossible , from what I hear daniosare hyper and everywhere in the tank.. thanks for the info definitely food for thought. Is it a much bigger tank than mine you have them in ?

I have 5 danios and a female betta in a 10 gallon tank. They are busy.

 

[Gandhisarmy]

This tank is beautiful! I love the scape!

I think the shape might be a bit challenging for stocking as surface area matters as well, but definitely some of the smaller species of fish (depending on which ones go with your hardness) are worth considering!

I hear you on the pH thing, I was out of the hobby for ~15 years and back then it was all pH, now hardness trumps pH from what I have learned!

Be patient with the cycle thing, it can sometimes take a while. Which fishless cycling method are you using?

Thank you so much , for your kind comments..I'm cycling using dr Tim's bacteria and ammonia.. any suggestions for what to put in my tank?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Nice little tank for a first time try!
You could easily keep a betta and some smaller size fish in a tank that size (about 16 US gallons), but bettas don't like alot of flow, so the bubbler would have to be toned down alot, or turned off...

Have a look at chili rasboras, celestial pearl danios, and ember tetras...

 

[Slaphppy7]

Also, a snail or two would be fun in that tank, kids usually like them, as do many adults...