Hi, new member with a 29 gallon tank. c:

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Aneamals

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 23, 2014
Messages
180
Location
Puerto Rico
Um, hi haha. I don't really know what to say.
Well, I'm a beginner fish owner, only ever had a betta when I was like 9. Like I said, and as it says in my signature, I have a 29 gallon tank and I'm planning on keeping freshwater tropical community fish. The tank is still cycling, I had a lot of problems starting the cycle 'cause fish flakes wouldn't produce any ammonia. But now I'm using raw shrimp, the ammonia has risen, so I'm really happy about that. c: Still waiting for the next part of the cycle, nitrite.
I'm planning on adding 4 male Platies, 8 Cherry Barbs, 2 Amano Shrimp, 2 Nerita Snails, and 1 Dwarf Gourami. I don't really want to breed anyone, as I'm still a beginner and don't want to kill all the babies by accident. I'm a little worried how I'm gonna control that with the Cherry Barbs, but let's see.
Hopefully the cycle finishes before university starts which is in a few weeks, so I can have at least 2 Platies in the quarantine tank. XD
 
Oh, never mind, I'm going to add 5 Amano Shrimp now. Just found out they like to be in groups. Maybe I'll take 1 Cherry Shrimp out and make it 7, I don't have a lot of filter power for any more.
 
Oh, never mind, I'm going to add 5 Amano Shrimp now. Just found out they like to be in groups. Maybe I'll take 1 Cherry Shrimp out and make it 7, I don't have a lot of filter power for any more.
I meant, I'm taking 1 Cherry BARB out, not Cherry Shrimp, my bad. XD
 
What you could do is go to a hardware store and look for a janitorial grade ammonia (100%) and use that. Make sure it has no fungicides and other additives, it is much more reliable. I'm going to assume you know how to cycle? If not I can help point you in the right direction.

A helpful site you could use before you stock and to help you make plans is

aqadvisor.com

EDIT: I wouldn't get the Dwarf Gourami as they can be a little aggressive with the shrimp and may eat them or just kill them. You can also get a few more shrimp and feed them some bottom feeder food if you are interested in them. Shrimp have a low bioload so you have some leniency. You could do 10 no problem. :)
 
Oh yes, I did use aqadvisor. Thanks. cx It's super useful.

I find the raw shrimp is working. But if I find any more problems, then I will try to find pure ammonia. It's, at least, providing ammonia. But, I do think I know how to cycle. I read a WHOLE LOT about it. Hopefully, I'm doing everything right. XD It is my first time.

I did read about Dwarf Gourami being big shrimp bullies, but I also read that with bigger shrimp, like Amanos, they would leave them alone? I don't really know anymore. I guess, if it's too dangerous, then I'll kick him out.
 
They might be but most Amano's you buy will be juvies so they are a little on the small size. If you want to see them a lot get a group of them and not get the DG. Also Amano's are a tad expensive (atleast in my experience) so it is worth not getting the DG then getting more Amano's.

Since it is your first tank, you should add fish slowly and add some easy to care for plants as they can make taking care of the tank a lot easier (anubias, anarcharis, marimo moss balls, and java sword come to mind)

Start stocking lightly. Like when your cycle is finished put half the group of cherries (make sure you get the right M:F ratio! i like 1:3 or 1:4) in first and in a week or two add the platies. In a week from then, add all the Amano's and rest of the cherries.

Just a BTW if you get a marimo moss balls, your Amano's can turn blue from the specific algae that tends to grow with marimo moss balls in the tank. Looks pretty awesome.

Dose some CO2 if you get a planted tank and remember to use a the correct spectrum bulb. Amano's and Cherries look epic in planted tanks. :)

A good 5 dollar investment is to get an aquarium background at petco or petsmart to keep the sunlight out.

I'm rambing... lol.

Best of luck, Raymond.
 
I did think about that, and thought of adding the Dwarf Gourami last, maybe after a really long time, to let the Amanos grow. But, you know what, I think it's best to forget about him. I'm really scared for my shrimp now. XD

I don't know if I'm going to put any real plants for now. But I was tempted on the Marimo moss balls. And now that you said Amanos can turn blue from them, I'm even MORE tempted hah. Let's see what I end up doing. XD

Oh, I was thinking of adding the Platies first, but if you think Cherries first is better, then I'll do that. I was also thinking about adding only male Cherries, as I don't trust myself with breeding yet, since I'm a total fish newbie. XD But I don't know... maybe I could try taking care of fry if they ever mate. Maybe it isn't too complicated.

Ah yes, I do have a background on my tank. XD

That's totally ok, I love when people give me a lot of information I want to know. Feel free to ramble! c:
 
Oh sorry I was wrong lol. Platies tend to be more hardy. Slipped my mind >_>
So I would add two platies first then cherry barbs (1 male and 4 females) then two more platies and finally cherry barbs (1 male and 3 females) and then Amanos. Sorry XD

Also, dont worry about getting male and female barbs. It is really fun for you to watch them spawn and they get incredibly pretty (males turn very bright red and females a tan orange color). In fact since they are egg layers a large majority of them will probably be eaten by the platies, shrimps, and also the parents LOL. So I doubt you will be able to raise them unintentionally. A plus is if you do have some fry that survive and grow up, you could sell them to your friends or something. But once again, most egg laying species won't successfully go from egg to fry to juvie adult without being eaten first.

You could always gravel vacuum them out too (the eggs). Typically the parents (and tank mates) eat them so you should be okay.

I think it would be worth it just to see the cherry barbs display colors and do their dance.
 
Oh and male cherry barbs only "light up" in the presence of females. Later on you should take on plant keeping. Major fun, even the easy ones!

Also, keep your pH near neutral. 7.0-7.5 is probably best as platies and amanos enjoy harder water. You shouldnt worry about that though. Your tap is probably plenty hard.

When your cycle finishes you should do a gravel vac (i assume you have gravel because i am a substrate racist and most people have gravel XD) to clean out the shrimp and fish food residue.

A nice set up would be to have a few bunches of anarcharis planted together in a corner of the tank with a few caves and rocks for them to swim around. You can do little pvc caves for the fish to swim through and for the shrimp to hide in if they feel the need. Plenty of hiding places makes them come out more!

I'm not sure what you are going to feed your platies and cherry barbs (floating pellets for tropical fish are the best because they are easier to measure the amount you feed and it is better for the fish in my experience), but you should grab some algae tablets or bottom feeder tablets and drop one in the tank (in around the same place) every week so the Amanos have a steady food source. If you end up getting a lot you could drop them more frequently.

Assuming you have a HOB filter, put filter floss or panty hose over the intake so the shrimp dont get sucked in (they usually live in the filter for a bit till you check XD) and if you dont see a shrimp for a few days, they might just be hiding or eating the plant decay (if you decide to go planted).

Best of luck! - Raymond (PM me if you need anything or have more questions!)
 
Ah! Ok then 2 Platies first it is! XD Amanos and Snails last.

Ok, I think I'll let the Cherry Barbs spawn then. XD At least all the fish will have a free snack. 8I

Let me research on plant care, and the beginner plants you recommended me. Maybe I can include them in my tank eventually. c: They sound pretty fun indeed.

Yeah, my water ph is about 7.5, and it's also really hard so I guess I'm good there. XD

You are right, I do have gravel LOL. Will do! I already have the gravel vacuum.

I already bought some fish flakes that have spirulina and garlic, and some freeze-dried bloodworms. I'm also planning on feeding them live bloodwroms as I easily get mosquitoes laying eggs in the tank LOL. The freeze-dried bloodworms is to get the fish to get a taste for them, and then eat them away every time the mosquitoes lay eggs in the tank LOL. I also do plan on getting algae tablets eventually too. XD Thanks for the advice!

Ok, filter floss or pantyhose on the filter intake got it!

Thanks tons for your help and advice!
 
Oh man! I just read a whole bunch of nitrites today! And 0 ammonia! In fact, I'm even reading a little bit of nitrates! I can't believe it! I'm so glad! Maybe I will be able to have 2 Platies before university starts.
 
Back
Top Bottom