New Member

[KAB28]

Hello, my first post.



I live in the United Kingdom (Devon)



I am just starting out in keeping fish. I decided to chose a tropical freshwater over coldwater aquarium as there is a wider range of fish available. Rightly or wrongly I have chosen to use live plants too.


Currently I am at the stage of purchasing the equipment I need to set up the tank. Based on lots of (often conflicting) advice I have so far:


Fluval Flex 123, placed on a sturdy dresser (The Fluval supports looked poor and very expensive for PDF)
x2 Aquasky 23W LED lights (Total 2900 lumens)

Aquael Ultra heater 150W
Some Dragon rocks


At this stage I am not getting a CO2 pump & decided against substrate heating.



Substrate:

ADA Amazonia Regular substrate
ADA Power Sand Advance


Plants:

Ludwigia Palustris


Ludwigia repens 'Rubin'


Hygrophila Siamensis 53B ( 1-2-Grow )


Bacopa Caroliniana ( 1-2-Grow )


Sagittaria Subulata ( 1-2-Grow )


Taxiphyllum 'Flame' ( 1-2-Grow )


Taxiphyllum Barbieri ( 1-2-Grow )


Marsilea Crenata ( 1-2-Grow )


I am still undecided about fish, but currently thinking of some bottom feeders to start and after some weeks, and quarantine, some Cardinal neons.

Any thoughts on the above setup or fish suggestions welsome

Thanks.

 

[SaraB]

Fluvel flex 123...is 123 the amount of liters it holds?

I highly reccomend corydoras as bottom feeders. If you get a group of at least 6 then you will find them very fun to watch.
Cardinal tetras are a good looking fish. Again you will need a group of at least 6.
For those plants you may need to fertilize.

 

[KAB28]

Thanks SaraB,, yes the tank is 123 Litres/ 32 gallons in volume.

Corydoras are on my shortlist.

When it is recommended to get a certain number, like 6, do people tend to get extra is case of deaths? If numbers fell from 6 to 4, would that greatly stress the fish?

 

[SaraB]

People reccomend numbers like 6 because it's the minimum for them to display schooling behavior. Since your tank is 123l/32g you can actually add more cardinals if you wanted. With schooling fish the more the merrier.

 

[DrWho42]

hello! welcome to the forums!

 

[1midniterider]

Welcome aboard. Please make sure you cycle your aquarium and get a test kit, many use the API Master Test Kit. Check out this article on fishless cycle.