# They're here. The new fish. Wish me luck.



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Got some new fish into my 20g Tank, and while I can post this over and over in different sections, I'm feeling a little lazy.

Anyway, the new ones are:

1x Bolivian Ram
3x Rainbow Platies
4x Kuhli Loaches
3x Tiger Blood Nerite Snails
5x Ghost Shrimp

And I'm adding them to ones I have now:

1x Male Betta
2x Blue Painted Moons (Also Platies)
5x Peppered Corys
1x Clown Pleco

The Betta didn't seem to care about the new guys, unlike the first set since he had to live with sharing a tank with others. He took one look at the shrimp and either didn't care, didn't see them entirely or wondering why his owner is putting a bag of empty into the tank. While everybody is getting used to the changes, the new ones getting used to the new home and the old guys getting used to the new ones, I'll have an interesting time keeping track of the shrimp, due to their clear bodies and hoping the Ram don't make things complicated any by making them disappear, and the snails because of their size and depending how often they move. So wish me luck on everything


----------



## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Your tank seems pretty overstocked 2 me. Is it planted??? Whats ur filter??? What do u do 4 water changes??? Is the tank a 20g regular or 20g long???
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

It's planted and I have a power filter designed for tanks from 20-40g, with a pre-filter attached to keep the shrimp, snails and loaches out. It's a 20g regular, and a couple of plants are growing something new.


----------



## philipraposo1982 (May 7, 2014)

LongTimeAquarist said:


> Got some new fish into my 20g Tank, and while I can post this over and over in different sections, I'm feeling a little lazy.
> 
> Anyway, the new ones are:
> 
> ...



Hi there,

Sorry to say but this tank is very overstocked and if unchanged I see some very unhappy fish in the near future.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Yeah, well the company I ordered from has a minimum purchase requirement, and sure I could of ordered elsewhere, but this was the only one I can find with Kuhli loaches.


----------



## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

I would highly recommend u get rid of the peppered cories or the kuhlis, make some more room on the bottom. I would definitely get rid of the platies (personally hate them) but they poop ALOT and breed ALOT. Just all an all not worth all the extra work. I would make the stocking list something like this 
1 betta 
1 clown pleco (hope u gt some driftwood for him or her)
2 Bolivian rams (get 1 that is the opposite sex and try to get a pair, when paired up amazing colors and behavior)
Than 7+ of some small schooling fish (ex. Embers, neons, cardinals,ect...) 
5 cories or kuhlis (not both)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Platies don't have to worry about since they are all male. The problem is I only have the one tank. I'll ask around, but there is no guarantee that anybody would have a tank with the right amount of room.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Actually the stocking isn't _terrible_ per se. If you can keep up on water changes the fish should be alright. However, it might be worth looking into rehoming the Platies but the Kuhli's and Peppered should be totally fine since they have the least amount of bioload of all those fish. The Ram will be find with the bottom dwellers although they do appreciate lots of plant cover since they can sometimes be shy 

The Pleco may also be a good idea to rehome since they are also very messy fish. But I know it's not easy to rehome fish both because I'm sure you're attached to the fish and then of course finding actual homes for them isn't always easy. But for now, just keep up with water changes for sure. If you can do twice weekly gravel cleanings that would be the best thing to keep this tank healthy and make sure that the ammonia doesn't spike if adding the new fish causes a mini-cycle.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Fish are alive and well, and seem to be getting along just fine. Right now I'm having a hell of time to find the nerite snails since they are smaller then a dime and right now I'm hoping they didn't find their way out yet, especially since I bought them to help with my algae problem.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I can never keep Nerites alive! I hope you can keep yours happy and well lol. I really wish I could keep them but every time I do they just end up dead :-/ super sad for me! But oh well.

Compatibility-wise all of your fish should be fine together, it's just the fact of all that ammonia adding up so you just have to make sure you keep it down is all.


----------



## dancelady (Apr 24, 2014)

*I'm new but have an idea*

Some are saying your 20G is overstocked, etc. I have a 20G tank, and it quickly got cloudy because I bought many Mollies from a store that was renovating and had to get rid of their fish. Had no idea about stocking, tank size, filtration etc. But I quickly went to a Goodwill to find a 10G tank, which came with filter, light, heater, etc. and it was only $3 for all that. So I moved out the ones with the biggest bioload, making both tanks safer and easier to manage. If you bought too many, instead of re-homing your fish, why not check out Salvation Army, Goodwill, local thrift stores, or Craigslist as a last resort. Then you can keep them all, see how the Betta likes it, give him the roommates he likes, and add a few more plants, too. Hope that nobody gets sick in the meantime, you have no QT tank, so everybody has to room together! I have discovered that I have snails, from some plants, but I can never see them when I am looking for them. So I am sure they are in there somewhere... 
Good luck! :fish:


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

No thrift store and I have a ten gallon tank that was replaced by the 20g, but I would have to clean out and give it the usual month for water to fully circulate and by then, chances are, the 20g will probably have plenty of room. Basically a catch 22.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

How are you cycling your tanks if I may ask? Are you doing the Fish-Less method or just letting the tank sit for a month with nothing in it?


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

I set the tank up and let the filter do it's thing for a month before I add anything living in there. And can somebody tell me if there is a best possible way to keep track of nerite snails because for something colorful and almost the size of a dime, they are a pain in the butt to locate. Last them I saw a couple of them on my driftwood and hadn't seen them since. Right now I'm hoping they're still in the tank because the last thing I need is for my boot to find them by accident.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ah, yeah that's not cycling your tank. Cycling is allowing the Nitrogen Cycle to happen and for that to happen it needs an ammonia source such as Fish Poop or an alternate if you are doing it Fish-Less you would use Pure Ammonia from the hardware store. Letting it sit for a month with nothing in there does nothing for the tank so when you add in that livestock, that is when it starts to cycle.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Yeah but this way, the filter system I have for it creates a current while at the same time sucking up things that I might have messed while cleaning out the tank.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I don't believe you are quite understanding what I'm talking about though. The filter is fine, it's good that you have it but you need good bacteria in the tank to eat up ammonia to keep your fish safe. Without those good bacteria your ammonia and keep getting higher and higher until you do a water change but even still it will climb higher and higher until the bacteria start to eat it. The more fish you add the more ammonia there is and without bacteria to eat it the fish will get ammonia poisoning and eventually it may lead to death.


----------



## dancelady (Apr 24, 2014)

Or, you could do it my way, stock it like crazy and hope for the best... no, I didn't plan this, learned later what was bad about putting in too many fish. Letting it sit for a month doesn't do too much, the filter won't have anything to work on, and it is not cycling. How about finding a couple sturdy fish that can make poop and let them live in it for a couple weeks to do the cycle -- maybe you have some that would not be too delicate? This seems to be best to have some fish and let the natural work of the bacteria get going. It could also be a QT for fish in the future, or a sick tank if any show signs of illness.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Well I did it before and it worked. Let the tank cycle itself to where there is oxygen going through it. And with the plants I would add, there would be a natural cycle going through.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Okay, see you didn't mention you had live plants before. If your tank is at least half stocked with live plants and they are actively growing (minimal to no death) you can slowly stock your tank up from that point even if the tank is only a week old. Live plants come with the beneficial bacteria and will actually eat up the ammonia before even the BB can get to it so you are actually prolonging your cycle for around 3 months time but eventually it will cycle.

Regardless, you still need an ammonia source, the plants can't produce enough ammonia by themselves unless all of them are dead and decaying. Just for future reference.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

I wouldn't know how to add an ammonia source. I just use what I have is on hand, and right now in my current tank, I'm trying to get my algae issues under control.


----------



## MaktheKnife (Apr 25, 2014)

LongTimeAquarist said:


> Platies don't have to worry about since they are all male. The problem is I only have the one tank. I'll ask around, but there is no guarantee that anybody would have a tank with the right amount of room.


If you do need to lighten the load, the platies would be fine in a 10 gallon. They are messy fish (like little aquatic panda bears), so that would help with the bio-load.

You can thoroughly clean your old 10-gallon, and start it with some of the gravel and water from you current tank (when you do a water change). If you do a 30% water change on your 20 gallon, use that to start the 10 gallon. You should be able to add fish (almost) immediately, once the temperature levels out and everything. 

Not sure if you WANT to have two tanks, but it's an option


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Considering how much it costs to keep one running 24/7, I'm doing okay, but a second tank would make my electric bill go up some, which is not good on a tight budget. Right now my water started to cloud up a bit when I added the driftwood, but with all the algae growing on the tank, I'm wondering if that's added factor. I'm hoping the snails I bought would hurry up and eat them since my pleco hasn't been doing it's job, or maybe stop throwing in algae wafers and hope it would go straight to the walls instead of the driftwood.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

You could always fill it up but not run any equipment on it or at least a heater if your house isn't warm enough. The cories like lower temperatures than your normal 80 for other tropical fish and the platies are also colder water fish so they would be just fine. That would lighten the load on the 20 to make water changes a little easier but then still you have the 10 to change too.

Pleco's aren't very efficient when it comes to algae removal I find, or at least not BN's lol. They like to lounge around a lot and get spoiled on fresh veggies :roll: the nerites at least have a taste only for algae but that's if they live. I can never keep them alive so I just have manual algae removal when it comes up.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

I have my heater at 75 and the last time I checked, my Ph levels are at neutral. The only thing I'm having trouble locating is two of my snails since they like to hang out around the driftwood, my shrimp because they are transparent and the kuhli loaches, which I see one or two popping out every once in a while until they feel adjusted to their new home.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yep, that's fine! Just saying if you set up the 10 and your house is warm enough you don't have to use the heater/filter/light if you're just keeping the fish in there temporarily is all.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Right now there is a bit of a wind storm going on, forcing me to keep the windows close and my room temp is in the 50s. Perfect for goldfish, but not so much for some tropical fish.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Haha yeah, but all the same, you've got some options if you need them though.


----------



## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

You can remove the nerites and place them in just enough water to cover their bodies, dry off their shell and put a dot of a bright nail polish on it. Let it dry then return them to the tank.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

No need, turns out the snails only come out after I turn off the tank light. While it's hard to tell if I have two or three live snails, considering the trails they leave behind, I can tell that they are taking care of the algae.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Update, everyone is getting along fine, lost a platy and a loach, but other than that, everyone is getting along swimmingly. I will be ordering a couple of more plants to the tank, and with some new plants growing in now, I should be having a nice little ecosystem in my tank. And I have my old 10 gal tank getting ready to be reused again, which should be somewhere around june or july, which would also serve as a backup tank for when I need it, especially since I've had it for almost 20 years now.


----------

