# Need advice: good begginer fish and plants?



## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

Hi, I've started my first fish - 100L - tank last week, trying a fishless cycle on it with pure ammonia (p.a. grade)

Now I know cycling can take weeks to finnish, I'd like to know a bit bout what fish you'd recommend to a begginer.
I was thinking something along the lines of 1 betta, an algae eating catfish of some sort, and some schooling fish perhaps tetras? 
Guppys look nice but I've read they don't go with a betta due to nibbling? Any other ideas would be appreciated.

So far I only have fake plants but I was thinking bout adding one or two live plants.
Preferably long and thin growing ones, not needing lots of light ( I currently have the light that came with my tank set). 
Another thing is I have 1-2mm fine gravel and don't intend changing it. 

Also, can I add plants while cycling, after cycling, before the fish, after the fish, ...?

Here's a pic of the tank atm, any ideas on positioning the plants or moving the ornaments would be nice


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

nice tank =) don't know anything about ammonia except there's a spike in the tank in the first few weeks. the betta will be fine alone in that tank.6 cory's will do well with the fine sand. but tetras in there with the betta.you better check the fish site of the forum to see what kind you want in there not very advisable in a betta tank though some have done it but umm.... up to you.


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

You can add plants anytime, and they will help with the cycling.

May I reccomend hairgrass? It likes fine gravel.

Actually, many plants would do well in that gravel...
Echinodorus species that are smaller would work... I think Echinodorius Barthii...










Ooh, and Echinodorus Augustifolia var. Vesuvius!









For the foreground maybe hairgrass...








Java Moss loves low light...

What kind of fixture do you have? You might be able to just replace the bulb...

Wait a minute. 100L? That's 26 gallons, give or take, right?

Seems like you'll be severely limited with a Betta... There's many fish that are "easy", and if you cycle first there are dozens more...

If you genuinely like the Betta, then sure... You could get a male and 6-8 small corys or loaches... But tetras could be dangerous.
You could try 8-10 Cardinals, but many tetras will either nip the Betta or get eaten..


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

I agree. Betta is really a stand-alone fish, deserving of its own little home (not too little). Other fish almost always cause trouble, either for the betta or the betta for them. Corys on the bottom are fine with a betta.

That is very nice gravel, with live plants you will have a very beautiful aquarium. I certainly would not change that; good natural colour and small which is excellent for plants.

100 litres is about 25-26 gallons [some of us think better in gallons;-)]. That has good possibility for some shoals (groups of 6+) of small/medium fish like characins (tetra, pencilfish, hatchetfish), cyprinids (rasbora, smaller danio), catfish, even a gourami or pair or a pair/trio of dwarf cichlid for slightly larger centrepiece fish. Depending upon your water parameters (hardness and pH).

Have a browse through our fish profiles (second tab from the left in the blue bar at the top), many suitable species will be under the characins, cyprinids, catfish sections.

And welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum.:wave:

Byron.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

Oh I love that gravel. Nice looking tank. If it were me, and it isn't, I would get a half dozen smaller species Cory's and a Betta or skip the Betta and go with a few Rasbora. I would also add some live plants. It is amazing how much different the live plants look in comparison to fake. I started with fake for a few weeks and then changed. I love how the real plants look.


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

I'd set up a southeast asian biotope. 

5-6 crypts (which like low light) and a few shoals of rasboras...


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## PrettyKitty187 (Nov 29, 2007)

depending on the fixture, a full spectrum light would not be that expensive, mine was around $10 and corkscrew val is a good plant, just stuck mine in and it went to town...

and loaches are good fishies  algae eater can get pretty crotchety with age though (at least mine has :|) may I recommend mystery snails for algae consumption? (although they don't quite get along that well...or at all with loaches...they turn into dinner...)


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

Yep 100L is about 26g

Ok, the betta is out of the scenery in that case. Only thought of it since I've seen a set up like that in the store.
I'm looking for a community tank or something peacefull, with non-aggresive fish. How would all- male group of 6-8 Guppys function? Is it even ok to have one-sex only? 

I went looking for javamoss, but it's nowhere to be found under that name. Don't know the translation for it. I found 1-2-grow! plant called Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, and planted it on the empy parts of the aquarium. Buying the Vallisneria spiralis 'Tiger' to replace the hugeo-o plant on the left back side of the tank today.

The light i have is a T8 that came with my Capri set, or so this site says...

Ferplast - Capri Aquariums


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

*Platys*

Platys are nice colourful fish also gupps are nice, u could have quite a few in your tank. Or something like tetras and some cleaner fish there also a good idea/????


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

If you are looking for some non aggressive cleaner fish, I would suggest the Otocinclus. You could have 3-4 in there once you have algae build up. If you don't have algae they might starve. You can also feed them algae wafers, which I did in the beginning until my tank got a bit of algae. They are cute as can be, stay small and are non aggressive. They are busy little cleaner fish and like to be in a group. 

Be careful not to mistake them for Chinese or Siamese algae eaters which can get aggressive. Here is an Oto ( Otocinclus)









The Neon Tetra's are very pretty and you could just get a school of those. They stay small are quite colorful and would look amazing in your tank. Where in the world did you find that nice small, light colored smooth gravel? If I could find that, i would have to get a few Cory's.


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

The gravel is by Akvastabil and this one is called Orbit. It seems quite dark to me without the lighting tho.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

Ah, probably not something I can get locally then. It looks wonderful with the light though and you will have your light on when viewing the tank any way. Your tank just looks like such a peaceful place to live. If I were a small fish, I would like to live there.  ha ha

Can't wait to see it with a few plants and some cute small fish.


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

*Update*

I've added the two plants I mentioned, the grassy like one mostly not visible so far.

I want to replace the fake red one with some sort of Anubias, but since i'm still at cycling the tank, I don't want to overplant the tank. I'm not adding any nutrition for the plants, so if I should, what do you recomment I should use?


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

You can add as many plants as you like. That will actually shorten the cycle process not be an issue for the plants. People on here most recommend Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive supplement for the planted aquarium. Also, if you have any root plants like Swords, you will want to add some root tabs around it. The Flourish you only add once or twice a week as needed. It is relatively cheap as you don't need to use much at all. Your tank is absolutely beautiful and is going to be even more so as those real plants are planted or added. I love seeing the progress. Nice Job!


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

I've decided to try a more naturall appearance so I changed some decoration today. I also got a nice seashell, but after reading up ppl tend to disagree wether it's ok to put it in a FW tank or not. The shell is about 5inch x 3 inch x 3 inch and my water has pH 7,5 ish. What do you think?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

MukiTheFish said:


> I've decided to try a more naturall appearance so I changed some decoration today. I also got a nice seashell, but after reading up ppl tend to disagree wether it's ok to put it in a FW tank or not. The shell is about 5inch x 3 inch x 3 inch and my water has pH 7,5 ish. What do you think?


That looks good, I do like that substrate. Live plants will really look nice.

Forget the shell. Shells are calcium and will slowly leech into the water, which will raise hardness and pH. You have a lot of options with a pH in the low 7's, but higher and your options will be limited.

Anubias attaches to wood or rock, not in the substrate, just in case you didn't know. A nice plant for back corners as it needs shade.


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

*Still cycling...*

I'll skip the seashell to be on the safe side.

I do know bout Anubias barteri nana to grow on wood and rock surfaces, but does that go for all of the Anubias species? The pet store i went to only sells the Anubias nana allready plated on a rock for 20€ which seems a bit over the top to me. 

The store had 2 other species of the Anubias (forgot the other part of the name), but I was told those were to be planted in the ground :hmm:? I will look for one I could attach to the fake driftwood when I get the time.

Ah yes and my light is a poor 18W T8 so is it possible Anubias might like it if it's put somewhere in the mid section of the tank rather then a shaded place?

Any other plant and set up advice would be welcome, since I've never done any aquascaping what so ever.

Thanks for the answers!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

MukiTheFish said:


> I'll skip the seashell to be on the safe side.
> 
> I do know bout Anubias barteri nana to grow on wood and rock surfaces, but does that go for all of the Anubias species? The pet store i went to only sells the Anubias nana allready plated on a rock for 20€ which seems a bit over the top to me.
> 
> ...


I've never heard of any Anubias species that should be planted in the substrate. These plants have a rhizome from which the leaves and roots grow, and if buried in the substrate the rhizome will rot. The rhizome should be attached to an object. The roots growing from it will reach down into the substrate on their own.


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## LisaC144 (Oct 22, 2009)

All anubias needs to be attached to driftwood, rock or decoration. Never planted in the substrate. If it is buried in the gravel, it will eventually rot. 

Crypts would be a nice addition to your size tank. I love the Red Wentii Crypts, as it adds some nice subtle color to the tank. Pgymy chain swords would also make a nice foreground plant.


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

Its a really nice tank, nice set up to! Any definates on what tour going to stock it with??


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

As for stocking, I was thinking bout building the community round a group of bout 7 fancy Guppys.
A Bristlenose Pleco for the bottom, or some midget otos instead. Would they clean the bottom even tho they're middle to top dwellers?
How would a single Dwarf Gourami work with that?


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

As i am not an expert i cant give you sound advice but im getting a 94 litre tank and this is my stocking list:
3 honey gouramis female
6 corydoras's
clown pleco
4 guppys male

I was going to get a bristle nose but the bioload would be to large


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

What are the dimensions, of your tank?? AN the make and filter if possible??


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

MukiTheFish said:


> As for stocking, I was thinking bout building the community round a group of bout 7 fancy Guppys.
> A Bristlenose Pleco for the bottom, or some midget otos instead. Would they clean the bottom even tho they're middle to top dwellers?
> How would a single Dwarf Gourami work with that?


Otos I would hold off on until the tank is established. They may not live if there is no algae for them, they feed on algae in their habitat; while they will in time become accustomed to sinking foods, veggies, etc., at first they are likely half starved (otos are all wild caught) and without good algae frequently die. So wait and see on those. And no, they are not much for cleaning the bottom. They graze plant leaves, wood, rock, the tank glass--all for algae.

A pleco--be careful here. Some are 3-4 inches, but many are much larger. The common pleco is 18 inches and would destroy your tank. Also, they produce a lot of waste. Nothing again plecos, I have a beauty in my 115g, but not something I would grab first off. The BN plecos are nice.

I would be careful about a gourami in with guppies. The gourami may become the target of nipping, or the gourami may go after the guppies.


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

My plan to start introducing fish is after the tank is fully cycled, then I'd add one species of fish per week or so.
For algae eaters I meant either oto or bristlenose pleco (common pleco I read gets huge so sticking to smallest I can find) and even then only adding them after i see algae build up. Should there be no algae I might just skip these two and think of some other bottom dweller.

What fish exactly I'd put in is all still in the air since I hadn't bought any and would have to be hunting the ones I wanted round the shops for few days after deciding what we want anyway.


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

thefishboy said:


> What are the dimensions, of your tank?? AN the make and filter if possible??


u can see most of that info under my aquarium tab under my name on the left...

Otherwise it's Ferplast Capri 80 you can find that set on Ferplast site


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

Byron said:


> Otos I would hold off on until the tank is established. They may not live if there is no algae for them, they feed on algae in their habitat; while they will in time become accustomed to sinking foods, veggies, etc., at first they are likely half starved (otos are all wild caught) and without good algae frequently die. So wait and see on those. And no, they are not much for cleaning the bottom. They graze plant leaves, wood, rock, the tank glass--all for algae.
> 
> A pleco--be careful here. Some are 3-4 inches, but many are much larger. The common pleco is 18 inches and would destroy your tank. Also, they produce a lot of waste. Nothing again plecos, I have a beauty in my 115g, but not something I would grab first off. The BN plecos are nice.
> 
> I would be careful about a gourami in with guppies. The gourami may become the target of nipping, or the gourami may go after the guppies.



Hmmm my aim with gourami was to have a somewhat larger fish in the middleish section, that wouldn't be aggresive. That was the one I found, to have similar demands with water and it's said to be peaceful. Any other idea for it's place then?

Cheers


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

MukiTheFish said:


> Hmmm my aim with gourami was to have a somewhat larger fish in the middleish section, that wouldn't be aggresive. That was the one I found, to have similar demands with water and it's said to be peaceful. Any other idea for it's place then?
> 
> Cheers


A honey gourami might be better from the perspective of a gourami, and in your 26g (100 l) tank you could have a small group. The problem though is still that from the guppies; they can be nippy with any fish that has flowing fins (angels, gourami, betta etc).


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

Thnx for the dimensions urs seems to be smaller than mine!!? Even though urs is more capacity but smaller?
Mines 94l and 80 by 35 by 40 (eheim aquastar 80)
@ Byron i was just wandering because u seem one of the knowledgable people on here, would my stock list be ok??3
honey gouramis female
6 corydoras's
clown pleco/ bristlenosed pleco
4 guppys male


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

thefishboy said:


> Thnx for the dimensions urs seems to be smaller than mine!!? Even though urs is more capacity but smaller?
> Mines 94l and 80 by 35 by 40 (eheim aquastar 80)
> @ Byron i was just wandering because u seem one of the knowledgable people on here, would my stock list be ok??3
> honey gouramis female
> ...



Did u calculate our dimension and why not? You'd see mine is in fact smaller. But I measured it, manufacturers dimensions tend to make rounder numbers on size.


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

I think a BN pleco would be fine, but don't buy it from the store that told you to plant anubias "in the ground". That store might try to sell you a common pleco as a Bristlenose.

I would reccomend buying online from a reputable source if possible.
A Clown pleco would be fine as well.


My only concern is that the cories and pleco might be competing for space on the bottom of the tank... 


Also, be warned. As Byron said, Guppies and Gouramis can both tend to be nippy. I would choose cories or a pleco so they have ample space, and add some peaceful fish... Perhaps schooling fish...
10 Cardinal tetras perhaps? (They normally like acidic water, but if they're captive bred they are usually fine.)

Or a large school of celestial pearl danios?








In 2008 the scientific name was changed to Danio margaritatus while the trade or common name remained Celestial Pearl Danio. Might still be listed as Galaxy Rasbora in many stocklists though.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

> @ Byron i was just wandering because u seem one of the knowledgable people on here, would my stock list be ok??3
> honey gouramis female
> 6 corydoras's
> Clown Pleco/ bristlenosed pleco
> 4 guppys male


I would not mix guppies with gourami, as I've previously mentioned.

Re the gourami, with the Honey Gourami you can have a male and two females in a 20g, that would be more interesting than 3 females as you will see some natural behaviours. As noted in the profile, this works with this species unlike the others in the genus.

I would not have two pleco in a 20g. The clown is nice, 4 inches max (I see this info is missing from our profile on this species), but note it does need wood (real) and shade (lots of plants including floating plants. Also, it is very secretive. And it does not do much on algae, if that is your thinking.

The BN is better at algae, but until you have some I wouldn't include this fish. It may decide to go for your plants, as another member wrote only yesterday.

From the fish you list, a nice 20g could be 3-5 Honey Gourami (male & female), 5-6 corys, and the clown pleco. Lots of plants, all these fish need plants. This is only a suggestion using the fish you name, nothing more. With 3 honeys (one male/2 female) a group of 5-6 rasbora of the Trigonostigma genus is another option, plus the corys & clown. Or instead of the rasbora, a group (6) of one of the small/medium tetra from a species that prefers quiet water (rather than an active swimmer). Lots of options and variations.

Byron.


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

Ok thank you people are saying so many differant things!
I was going with

5 corys
3-4 gouramis
samlle group of danios and maybe cherry barbs
and a pleco wen the algae has built up maybe


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## CaliforniaFishkeeper (Jun 29, 2010)

thefishboy said:


> Ok thank you people are saying so many differant things!
> I was going with
> 
> 5 corys
> ...



Ultimately it's your choice. We just provide options that we think will work for you, and more importantly, keep your fish happy and healthy for a good long time.


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

Well i knoe every1s trying to help but thats wat I wanted but every1s saying its not good for my tank


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## CaliforniaFishkeeper (Jun 29, 2010)

thefishboy said:


> Well i knoe every1s trying to help but thats wat I wanted but every1s saying its not good for my tank


Well do you care more about the tank or the fish that will live in it? Pretty much everyone here is willing to sacrifice some of their stocking hopes and dreams for the well-being of the fish. Rightly so. In fact, not doing this is what has cost me many fish lives. Losing a fish is much worse than being without a fish in the first place.


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

I know i want the fish to be happy


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## CaliforniaFishkeeper (Jun 29, 2010)

thefishboy said:


> I know i want the fish to be happy


let's take this back to your threads... this is borderline thread hijacking.>.>


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

ok


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

*Not quite there yet...*

It's been a few days but I still haven't decided...

I thought about replacing the guppys with Harlequin Rasboras. There's so many different oppinions whether or not Betta would do ok with these.

I was thinking a school of about 7 rasboras, 5 dwarf cory's and a male or female betta (maybe one that's been in a tank with other fish at the LFS?).

What are the odds of that working out?

No matter what compatibily chart site I go to, after googling up the species, either the water parameters don't fit, or the fish are said to be aggresive in the end.:?

I'm yet to find a community set-up that'd cover all aquarium levels with perfect compatibility and to my liking.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

I can't help you with the Betta thing as I have no experience with them yet. I just wanted to encourage you to keep researching and thank you for taking your time to do so. So many people decide they want something and even though it simply will not work out, they do it. It always ends the same... fish deaths. It is true that with so many options, and differing opinions, it is overwhelming at times. 

Once you have made your selection, you will hopefully be very happy with your tank for many years to come. Do you have any fish in your tank yet?


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

Inga said:


> I can't help you with the Betta thing as I have no experience with them yet. I just wanted to encourage you to keep researching and thank you for taking your time to do so. So many people decide they want something and even though it simply will not work out, they do it. It always ends the same... fish deaths. It is true that with so many options, and differing opinions, it is overwhelming at times.
> 
> Once you have made your selection, you will hopefully be very happy with your tank for many years to come. Do you have any fish in your tank yet?



I'm still trying to get the tank to cycle so there's no fish yet. Got water, added ammonia, playing the waiting game now.

I'm reluctant to add any fish untill it's decided what the final stocking would be anyway. I do not plan to throw em all in at once, just to have a final setting.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

MukiTheFish said:


> I'm still trying to get the tank to cycle so there's no fish yet. Got water, added ammonia, playing the waiting game now.
> 
> I'm reluctant to add any fish untill it's decided what the final stocking would be anyway. I do not plan to throw em all in at once, just to have a final setting.


Good plan to not add them all at once. That could end poorly. Is this a planted tank? If you have a lot of plants in the tank, you can add a few fish right away. Plants, cycle a tank almost immediately. This is assuming you have quite a few plants in the tank, not just one or two. I am sorry that I do not remember what fish each person on here is thinking about or if they have plants or not. 

Just food for thought ;-)


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

Inga said:


> Good plan to not add them all at once. That could end poorly. Is this a planted tank? If you have a lot of plants in the tank, you can add a few fish right away. Plants, cycle a tank almost immediately. This is assuming you have quite a few plants in the tank, not just one or two. I am sorry that I do not remember what fish each person on here is thinking about or if they have plants or not.
> 
> Just food for thought ;-)



Currently there's about 6 of Vallisneria spiralis "tiger" and 1 anubias nana. The Lilaeopsis brasiliensis rotted off :roll: Not something I'd call a planted tank yet.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

LOL No, probably not, but it is a start. Keep up the good work and you will get there. What other plants are you thinking of adding? Are you getting them at a local store? chainstore or privately owned?


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

*Update*

MY fish tank is about to be cycled I think, so I'd like to hear some thought of the next stocking plan 



9 Harlequin rasboras- Would it be ok to add all nine at once, since I'm doing a fishless cycle? or do i stick to 3-4 fish per week?
3 Otos - adding a week later- I have a nice amount of brown and green algae, would feed with waffers too tho
4 panda cory - adding a week after otos - for bottom dwellers and cleaning up behind others
Betta, added last, from a community tank in fish store, with back-up plan to keep it seperately should he be a problem.

I also added a piece of driftwood, some JavaMoss, relocated the Anubias nana and my tiger plant is about to take over half the tank. 



> LOL No, probably not, but it is a start. Keep up the good work and you will get there. What other plants are you thinking of adding? Are you getting them at a local store? chainstore or privately owned?
> ​


Im thinking of finding a nice tall plant for somewhere in the center of the aquarium, but am yet to find one that has similar needs to the ones i have now.

I'm buying the plants at a chainstore. There's 3 different chainstores all over the country, but so far none of them had any real knowledge bout plants or fish. The reason I'm not buying at some privately owned expert store...is that there is none. Maybe going abroad to see if the situation is any better but you can imagine that's not a very handy solution.

So my plan is to get info on the nets, find latin names, write them down and find them on the tags under the fish store aquariums hoping they didn't get it wrong. Same goes for plants.

updated pic of the cycling tank:








Cheers!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

We have fish profiles, second tab from the left in the blue bar at the top; all fish you mention are included, and in fact most of what you will find in any fish store in the way of tetra, rasbora, catfish are in our profiles. Each has info on requirements, compatibility, numbers needed, etc.

I still do not recommend a Betta in a community tank. Fish in store tanks may behave one way, but when settled in a "quiet" tank turn out quite different. They are not community fish.

A few more plants, then you could add fish with no worry about cycling; in well planted tanks there will be no cycle.

Byron.


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## LisaC144 (Oct 22, 2009)

I agree with Byron on a few more plants and you will be okay regarding your cycle BUT please keep in mind that does not mean 20 fish at once. You still want to pace yourself, add fish slowly, and check water parameters daily for the first few weeks. Looking good so far.


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

*Cycling done*

My tank finnished cycling with no additional plants, tho the vallisneria is now practically covering the whole lenght of the back of the aquarium. 

Last night I added 5 Harlequin Rasboras, and they are much more active then in the store. Which was a pleasant surprise, they also have very nice colours, orange-silvery around the black triangle. Eating well, shooting around the tank.

Today I tested the water, no2=0 nh4=0, gonna check these every night for the first week.

As I said before I don't intend on dumping in all the fish I plan to have, but how many is a good amount to prevent mini-cycles?

Another 4 rasboras would almost double the load so I thought maybe 2 in a week and another 2 next week. On the other hand, won't the BB die off if I started off too small?

Tank size 100L / 26g


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

Remember, the bacteria isn't important if you get more plants. 
Also, they won't die off, their population will just reflect the amount of fish. Adding fish slowly gives the bacteria time to reproduce.


Perhaps a small swordplant? 

Hairgrass or echindorus tenellus (chain sword) would look nice in the foreground, some crypts or swordplants for the back. (Good swords would be E. Augustifolia, E. Ozelot, E.Osiris, and possibly E. Blehiri Compacta)

Perhaps some moss on that wood to soften it?


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

redchigh said:


> Remember, the bacteria isn't important if you get more plants.
> Also, they won't die off, their population will just reflect the amount of fish. Adding fish slowly gives the bacteria time to reproduce.
> 
> 
> ...



I actually do have the java moss on the wood, but I'd definately try to find the chain sword like plant for the foreground. I only seen Tropicas plants in the stores, but I'm not sure if my lighting would suffice for this plant? Their profile says it needs sufficient lighting.Plant Details

Is 1 x 18 watt sufficiant for this plant do you think?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

MukiTheFish said:


> I actually do have the java moss on the wood, but I'd definately try to find the chain sword like plant for the foreground. I only seen Tropicas plants in the stores, but I'm not sure if my lighting would suffice for this plant? Their profile says it needs sufficient lighting.Plant Details
> 
> Is 1 x 18 watt sufficiant for this plant do you think?


Most plants wil grow faster and/or thicker with more light. But most of them will grow fine with moderate light. I have the pygmy chain sword in my 115g and 90g tanks if you care to look at the photos, and that is moderate (many would say "low") light, and they are growing very well.


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## bigrift (Aug 30, 2010)

just to add my 2 cents watch the chain stores as they offten sell plants that arnt aquatic plants yet will live in water. my exp with plants like this has just led to money waisted as after a few months they tend to die off but not always. its good your looking up the plants you want in the tank first then going to look for them i wish i had done the same in the first place lol. tank looks great btw cant wait to see more pics =)


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

Here's the tank 3 days after adding the first 5 Harlequin rasboras. 


2 of them are very nicely coloured, quite reddish all over the body. One of them is the biggest fish and one the smallest.

Other 3 are more orangy-grayish on the body. All are eating well, swimming around, but one of these three looks like a mood swinger. It would separate from the group and look really pale, then if I feed them it gets the triangle nice and dark again only to change it in a matter of minutes back to pale etc. etc. They do chase eachother around... Is this just stress or what :-?

Also I noticed they have reddish gills, but I'm not sure if it's just how they are? I found a pic of the same looking rasbora here http://www.google.si/imgres?imgurl=http://www.discusmadness.com/images/Discus%2520Tips/Harlequin.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.discusmadness.com/discus-FYI.html&usg=__AgRw954DbyFTkbVUpPRin-snBnI=&h=125&w=150&sz=16&hl=sl&start=17&sig2=LeYxUnH-OuvSsh9yWs4F_A&zoom=1&tbnid=SXhm8hA2KmgU1M:&tbnh=100&tbnw=120&ei=BCCiTJjWOInAswa1htmKBQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dharlequin%2Brasbora%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dsl%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:slfficial%26channel%3Ds%26biw%3D1405%26bih%3D651%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C266&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=244&oei=_x-iTKW7DMnIswaUhPSKBQ&esq=2&page=2&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:17&tx=77&ty=33&biw=1405&bih=651 but it does not mention it being poisoned or anything.

We'll probably take a trip abroad after I failed to find the chain sword plant in any of the stores here, hopfully finding it there.

Also, I'll be away next week for 4 days, which means noone will be doing the water tests that time. Do you think adding another 2 rasboras before I go would be too risky? That would mean adding 2 rasboras a week after the initial 5 rasboras, should the water stay OK for the next 3 days. Or maybe adding 1 :hmm:and then another 1-2 next weekend etc.

p.s. yes the water is treated with Tetra Aqua Safe before adding it to the tank on water change.


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## LisaC144 (Oct 22, 2009)

Tank is looking good so far. In my opinion, I would wait until you return to add more fish. I never add fish before leaving for a trip because I like to monitor all fish with any new additions.


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## bigrift (Aug 30, 2010)

LisaC144 said:


> Tank is looking good so far. In my opinion, I would wait until you return to add more fish. I never add fish before leaving for a trip because I like to monitor all fish with any new additions.


 
totaly agree with this i would wait also.


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

*Nearly there now...*

It's been awhile since I updated this, so here's my latest set-up. 

I now have 7 harlequin rasboras and 3 oto's (wether affinis or vittatus I ain't sure). They do take care of the algae tho.

Added cabomba and what I think could be foxtail, upgraded the lightbulb to "freshlife" by Ferplast (after the pic was taken)

Ordering pygmy chain sword and 1 cryptocontsomething wendtii this week.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Nice change. More plants, more plants needed:lol:.

Byron.


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