Stocking My 15.8 Gal (59.8L) Tank

[TrickySpot]

Agreed! But I think as an industry/hobby we should boycott the sale of silver/bala sharks....we can argue/debate for days whats best ; but lets agree at least what is not suitable?

 

[sawickib]

I think we can haha 

 

[carmstrong]

ok boys, ur too funny!
 
I've decided to try the fish-less cycle and hoping to start it tomorrow. 
 
I will let you know my progress.
 
In the meantime, this is what i'm thinking of getting for fish.
 
I'm thinking small to start, but I think 6 CPDs (Celestial Pearl Danios) should be a nice addition to the snail and the ADF frog... from there, who knows  

 

[sawickib]

Thats awesome carm! CPD are beautiful fish, im sure it will be awesome when its all ready!

 

[carmstrong]

Thats awesome carm! CPD are beautiful fish, im sure it will be awesome when its all ready!

 
Can't wait to see.. but being patient

 

[carmstrong]

So i'm getting closer to being able to stock my tank, but in the meantime i've been doing some research on which fish I can add. 
So this is the list i've come up with, if i've chosen wrong please let me know:
 
2 - ADF (African Dwarf Frog)
2 - Mystery Snail
5 - Harlequin Rasbora
5 - Cardinal Tetra
2 - Ghost Shrimp
 
5 - Zebra Danio (can I add these to a 15gal tank? Online it says they can be stocked in a 10+ gallon)
 
Thats about all I've looked into so far, let me know your thoughts and if these fish are compatible. 
 
Thanks!

 

[sawickib]

No sorry zebras cant be added to anything less than 4ft due to their activity level.
 
Ok so lets go off the rest of your list.
 
2 - ADF (African Dwarf Frog) - As long as they can get food these are totally fine, they may be out-competed 
2 - Mystery Snail - these are fine they do produce a large bio load but that just means you need to keep up on water changes
5 - Harlequin Rasbora - I would choose between these or cardinal tetras and get a centerpiece fish, but if you choose these id do like 12
5 - Cardinal Tetra - I would up their school to 10 without the harlequins
2 - Ghost Shrimp - I would get about 6-8
 
I would advise getting some more live plants and mosses for the shrimp they seem to appreciate them, ex.) marimo moss ball, anubias, java fern, and java moss are all easy ones.
 
 
Ok some centerpiece fish, all that comes to mind atm is peacock gudgeons, o shucks you can only get petsmart huh.... Well i would still stick to one type of schooling fish and get more of the one school.

 

[carmstrong]

Thanks Saw, 
 
So If I went with the following:
 
2 - ADF (African Dwarf Frog) - (I would hand feed them)
2 - Mystery Snail - 
12 - Harlequin Rasbora
6 - Ghost Shrimp
 
What would you suggest for a centrepiece fish?
 
I have a Marimo Moss ball already and a few Java Ferns. They are propagating so I should have some more soon. I'm also going to pick up some Anubas plants too.

What about Bamboo shrimp? how many of those can i keep?

 

[sawickib]

Actually you might be pretty well stocked with those fish, ill wait for another member to chime in.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Would suggest Honey Gourami as centrepiece, they should be fine with harlequins.
 
Not so sure about ADF with gouramis though, not heard of that combo so cant really comment on that side of things.
 
Gouramis will eat shrimps though

 

[sawickib]

Do you think a honey gourmia will? I mean theyre really tiny, but you can try it easily. Ghost shrimp are pretty cheap so not much of an issue there.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Gouramis can peck at the shrimps, but worth a try with a few ghost or amanos, may well be ok but not guaranteed.

 

[carmstrong]

I'm thinking i'll stick with this:
 
2 - ADF (African Dwarf Frog)
2 - Mystery Snail (maybe 3) 
12 - Harlequin Rasbora
6 - Ghost Shrimp
 
and go from there  
 
Now to wait for the tank to be cycled 

 

Now, what if my pH is reading 8.8?
 
what causes a high pH?
 
I tested my water from the tap and it read 7.4 on the high test scale (Bottle)
 
what can I do?

 

[Ch4rlie]

Got any rocks in the tank or gravel substrate?

 

[carmstrong]

This is the substrate I have Here
 
Here are some PICS of my tank now.
The brick is just holding down my driftwood as it saturates with water. 
I have a Marimo moss ball and a few Java Ferns
 
I also included pics of the algae growth or whatever it is in my tank. 
Its been uninhabited for a while now so stuff is starting to grow.
 
PIC 1
PIC 2
PIC 3

Other PIC