Who gets introduced first

[eccrush]

Hello all. I am new here, but have been reading the board over the last couple weeks.

I just bought a 55 gallon setup. I am getting ready to put the water in this weekend and hopefully the fishies in 2 weeks.

I hope to do a community tank with neon, and or purple emperor and cardinal tetras. A pleco, not sure on the species yet, kind of depends on availability when I am ready to introduce him, and 2 angelfish (again not sure on the species as we have a limited variety in Milwaukee ).

I have been researching the setup, and compatability over the past 2 months and I am finally ready to take the plunge, but my ? is when I do, who should I introduce first. Who is more likely to withstand getting the nitrogen cycle started?

Thanks in advance for any advice

[Menagerie]

[center:1b10d539a3] Welcome to AA, eccrush! [/center:1b10d539a3]
Most people recommend a fishless cycle--in a tank that large, you would need a lot of fish. Neons definitely need a cycled tank. Plecos are hardy, but you probably only want one and that would take forever to cycle I have seen a post in which Allivymar said she has cycled her tank with angels, but I can't recall if that was on purpose or if that was before she knew better. Many of us have done things without knowing what we were doing
I don't have experience with those tetras. You may have read this thread; it discusses hardy fish:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=22722

[patryuji]

If you can't get "seeded" filter material from a friend or the store (provided they have healthy tanks) fishless cycling is the best way to do it. Now that I *know* a bit more I would never force a fish to go through the nitrogen cycle again. If you do cycle with fish you should be ready to change the water every other day or every day once the ammonia levels begin to climb...and then continue to do water changes that frequent when the nitrite climbs.

I would introduce the most aggressive fish last and the smallest fish first unless the smallest is the most aggressive...that is just me though.

[BrianNY]

A big key to success is patience eccrush . You've already shown you have that by doing the research. Patryuji is correct. The best way would be to seed the tank with some media or gravel from the [acronym:c4f6343bdc="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:c4f6343bdc] (from the tank your first purchase comes from). If that's not possible, add 3 or 4 fish a week. You'll have a painless cycle that way.

[abomb]

Whats up im from milwaukee@!!!!!!!!! where u at? I have some media i could give u if u need to cylce. Post a reply and ill get back to u. IM in the dorms eastside !!!! Represent

[Andydg]

If you can find it try and get some Bio-Spira, the freshwater stuff is on back order for a year but I've heard some stores have it. If you can't find that get something called Bio balls from you [acronym:0b0db81806="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:0b0db81806]'s tanks if the tanks are healthy.

[eccrush]

Thanks for all the advice.

I think I will go for a fishless cycle. I'll see if I can get some media or gravel from a [acronym:90b196b76b="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:90b196b76b]. I don't think it would be much of a problem.

Abomb, I am in Oak Creek, but I hang out on the East Side all the time! I might be moving their in August I can be found at Landmark just about every Sunday night! Any help would be greatly appreciated

[mikemou]

allow me to share with you my newbie experience on starting a new 55 [acronym:59b57adf96="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:59b57adf96]. i, too, want a community tank showcasing neons and cardinals.

cardinal(no pun intended) rule # 1: know your water and be 100% sure it's in exceptional condition to start with. my first failure was most likely due to untreated tap water which contains chlorimine(sp?). 20 lives were killed in about 20 mins. it's a huge defeat.

secondly, always keep your fish in the tank. i konw, this sounded like a duh...? but i lost 4 cichlids because i put them in a vase for about 15 mins while doing water change and i think they died of suffocation(sp?). i sort of lost most of my patience after this inccident.

also, it might not be a bad idea to start with hardy fishies, regardless how you cycle the tank. i lost neons due to an ich attack. they are picky about everything. and i'm told cardinals are even worse.

right now i'm in the second week of a fishy cycle, with 2 zebra danios and 2 tiger barbs. i know how unwelcome the fishy cycle idea is on this borad, but this is the fourth try in about two months to start the tank and over $70 worth of bio-spira had went down the drain. i had to play cheap.

good luck!!!