Need any advice for a beginner

[shopey464]

First off thanks for replying.
I need any advice for me starting a tank. I will be getting a 40 gallon tank size as I heard that its easier to start bigger. For the fish I am thinking about some Black Kuhli Loach 2 or 3 and 5 diamon tetra. I need to know if these are good fish for a beginner and any suggestions on what would be a good fit for a tank like this. I am looking more for quantity of fish than size but i would be fine with both.
I also need to know how long I should wait for the tank to cycle before i start adding fish. I have also read places that you can cycle the tank faster by adding a fish? Is that a good mathod or is it risky? Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[Delapool]

Hi, welcome

Some articles to get started.


http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

 

[sinibotia]

I would recommend fishless cycling. I've found it to be faster and much, much easier.

Also, kuhli loaches are great fish if you're just starting out but at least 5 is best as the prefer to be in groups! They'll be much more active this way generally. They're some of my favorite fish so I hope you get a kick out of keeping them as well.

 

[Pseudomugil]

My tank cycled literally in 2 days. Sometimes it takes 2 weeks. Or 3 weeks. It all depends on bacteria and stuff.

6 diamond tetras and 6 kuhli loaches would be fine, but you could have a lot more fish in there!

I'd say go:

8 diamond tetras
8 kuhli loaches
5 neon dwarf rainbows
2 German blue Rams (as centerpiece)

That would probably be fine.

 

[sinibotia]

My tank cycled literally in 2 days. Sometimes it takes 2 weeks. Or 3 weeks. It all depends on bacteria and stuff.

6 diamond tetras and 6 kuhli loaches would be fine, but you could have a lot more fish in there!

I'd say go:

8 diamond tetras
8 kuhli loaches
5 neon dwarf rainbows
2 German blue Rams (as centerpiece)

That would probably be fine.

German blue rams may not be the best option for a beginner. They can be sensitive to water quality, so the kinds of beginner mistakes that everyone has made can cause them to go belly-up in no time.

Some type of gourami might be good to look into. Keyhole cichlids are another good option!

 

[shopey464]

Thanks for the feed back! One other question, I'm going to be adding live plants, should I do that right away when I first set it up or will that slow down the cycle process?

 

[dcutl002]

Thanks for the feed back! One other question, I'm going to be adding live plants, should I do that right away when I first set it up or will that slow down the cycle process?

Put 'em in! The more the better.

 

[shopey464]

I mean should I put them in before or after the cycle process? Or doesn't it really matter?

 

[dcutl002]

Put 'em in! Plants love the cycling process.

 

[shopey464]

Ok thanks!

 

[Delapool]

One other is that if you are tossing up between tank sizes, go for the larger one. Once you have a tank, it is the one constant until it is stripped back down.