Stocking a 16 Widescreen

[Nils]

So a little background: I got a great Christmas present from my mom, a 16 gallon LED Widescreen from Aqueon, and I am currently in the process of beginning to cycle it. The filter that came with the kit is a cruddy Power Flow 10, so I am going to get an Aquaclear 30 instead. I thought it would make sense to let it run on a seeded tank for awhile, and then fill the new tank with water, and then put the filter on the new tank. Would that make the cycle shorter because I have seeded material in the filter with beneficial bacteria already? Also, the new substrate will be sand, the lights are LEDs, they are really bright, and I will be doing moderately planted with no fakes. There will be several pieces of driftwood in there, thought it would look really cool and natural. Might do a tree like piece of wood that has moss hanging off the sides, I don't know yet. I'm not dosing CO2 in any way, it's too confusing and I don't have the space. My stocking list is: 3 Julii Cory's, 3 Peppered Cory's (Cory's are going to be the first in there), 7 Marbled Hatchetfish (Going to be one of the last), 6 Harlequin Rasbora's (Going in after the Cory's), and last but not least, 5 Amano Shrimp (These are going last) Please let me know anything that you would change or anything wrong with the stocking list.

Thank you!

Nils

[Ricky 1]

Your right with seeding your new filter, I would put water in from the old tank and put some old filter floss in your new filter, this way you would be ready to go.........

[PNWaquarist]

If you already have the corys, add one more of each species. If not, just do six of one species. They strongly prefer to shoal within their own species and will feel more comfortable this way. The rest of your stocking list and the order looks good. Wait 3-4 weeks before adding a new species. I would wait until your tank has been cycled for 2-3 months before adding the hatchets. They're sensitive to ammonia and nitrites. Also be sure that there are no gaps in the lid that they can jump through.

Your filter idea sounds good. Let the AQ 30 run on your established tank for a couple of weeks and then transfer it over to your new tank. The new tank will definitely cycle faster.

[AlecFish]

+1 PNWaquarist. Cories don't school together with different species so, find one you really like and get a bunch of those. Make sure the tank is fully cycled before you add anything to the tank. Once you think your good add a bit of ammonia, if it goes away in a couple days your good, if not. The bacteria is still growing.

As far as stocking goes 16 gallons isn't a lot. With your intended stocklist you're gonna be a little overstocked which is OK. You have to keep up on your water changes and watch your parameters closely.

I'd consider stocking your tank a little differently. Micro fish.
Fish that stay super small about "1. Which means you can keep large numbers of them and makes for an awesome looking layout.


Schooling fish, I'd pick one and get 20-
Ember tetras
Boraras brigittae
Dwarf pencilfish
CPD's ( Celestial Peal Danio)
Bottom feeders, again one species for a large group-
Pygmy cory
Cory hastatus
Clean up crew, as many as you want-
Snails (Nerites, ramshorn, etc.)
Amano Shrimp
Cherry shrimp
Otocinclus

I feel like if you go this route with smaller fish, but larger numbers you'd be in a better position for water parameters and it would look much better IMO.

[Nils]

I already have the Cory's from my 10 moving to the 16, which are 2 Peppered and 2 Julii. I have to take down the ten, so that's why I'm moving them. Yes, I was going to add one to each group. Ricky, I might siphon out 6 gallons from the 10 because I already have 10 gallons spring water, which helps because ether is no chlorine or other nasty stuff in there. I definitely want to go with the hatchets, and Harley's look cool, but I guess I could swap the Harleys out for something else. What would you guys stock using the 7 Hatchets, 3 Julii's and 3 Peppers already in place?

Nils

[Nils]

What kind of single or pair fish could I put in to replace the Harlequins? I want a fish with personality, something nice that will interact with the others and its surroundings. Could I possibly do a Bolivian Ram?

Nils

[Nils]

Could someone please answer?

Nils

[Brookster123]

No bolivians rams.. few corys, 6-8 small shoaling fish and a centerpiece, a dwarf gourami...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

[Nils]

Alright sounds cool, probably gonna go with 3 Julii's, 3 Peppered, 7 Marbled Hatchets, One smaller centerpiece fish, and 5 Amano Shrimp. I think that sounds good.

Nils

[Coursair]

A Honey Gourami is more peaceful.

I already expressed my opinion on a mishmash of Cories. But I understand you already have some of each.




Smoke Signals Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[Coursair]

Originally Posted by Coursair

A Honey Gourami is more peaceful.

I already expressed my opinion on a mishmash of Cories. But I understand you already have some of each.

Harlequin Rasboras are a great choice. Nano fish species are cool, but harder to find in some areas.

Luckily I'm within an hour of 3 stores that carry Nano fish as all 3 stores also do planted Nano tanks.


Smoke Signals Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

Smoke Signals Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[Nils]

Finally went out today to get some play sand, 50 lbs. I got a big piece of driftwood too, no plants yet but I'm currently letting it seed on the 10. Can I start putting the plants and sand and stuff in the 16 already without having a filter on it? Also, I went on aqadvisor and I put up 3 Julii's, 3 Peppered, 5 Amano Shrimp, 7 Marbled Hatchets, and one Bolivian Ram. I could swap the Bolivian for something else if I have to. What are the main reasons for me not being able to keep a single Bolivian in there?

Nils

[PNWaquarist]

A single Bolivian will be fine, but wait a few months after your tank is cycled. They don't do well in new tanks. Ditto for the hatchets.

You can add the sand immediately, but I'm not sure how plants will do without a filter.

[Nils]

Alright thank you, I thought I could do a Bolivian, and I would wait for my tank to cycle. I think I'll leave the plants until I actually move my Cories, that way all the plants from the 10 will be in there and I will add the plants from there. As far as sand goes, how am I supposed to rinse sand to get rif of clay and stuff?

Nils

[Nils]

I found rout how I'm going to rinse all the sand, going to be fairly easy I hope. I have decided on keeping just the Cories with the Bolivian, with my filter I can't support much more. My dad made me run the Aqueon 10, (I know it sucks) but I'm not using the original filter cartridges, I'm using Fluval Biomax, hopefully that adds to filtration a bit. Anything I need to know about Bolivians? Also, since I am taking out the Hatchets, could I do two Bolivians? I'm guessing that they are very similar to GBR's, but I just want to make sure.

Nils

[Brookster123]

Originally Posted by Nils

I found rout how I'm going to rinse all the sand, going to be fairly easy I hope. I have decided on keeping just the Cories with the Bolivian, with my filter I can't support much more. My dad made me run the Aqueon 10, (I know it sucks) but I'm not using the original filter cartridges, I'm using Fluval Biomax, hopefully that adds to filtration a bit. Anything I need to know about Bolivians? Also, since I am taking out the Hatchets, could I do two Bolivians? I'm guessing that they are very similar to GBR's, but I just want to make sure.

Nils

Hey bud, bolivians get fairly large for that tank. One would be ok, i just don't see much fun in that, they interact with the different sex. One may be kind of boring actually. Where as a gourami would do it's thing regardless...they're funny like bettas..that's filter will be ok in a lightly stocked tank. Just keep up on the frequent water changes.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

[Nils]

I see your point Brookster, I understand that they sou;d love to be in a pair, but I am going to have tons of hiding places, and Cory's are pretty social, so i think they'll be ok. I love gourami's and they look beautiful, but I hear they can get aggressive and I don't want to do that to my Cory's. Anyway, I have plenty of time to still decide, and yes, I'm doing one main piece of driftwood with plenty of plants around, maybe some smaller pieces off to the side. One comment you put earlier in a discussion was "I heard of lava rocks doing funky things in smaller aquariums." Why do you say that? I haven't heard that anywhere before, I'm thinking it may interfere with pH levels and the such.

Nils

[Nils]

So I rinsed the play sand real well, but I 'm scared that there will still be some debris left over. Is this alright in my tank? Or will the water be contaminated because the play sand still has some stuff that makes the water cloudy? I just don't want to fill it with spring water and have to dump it all away again because sit costs money.

Nils

[Ricky 1]

It will have no detriment to your tank water, put your sand in first pour the water over a upturned plate that should help......

[Nils]

I put the play sand on the bottom layer, and then I out black sand and a little bit of gravel mixed in on top of the play sand. I'm guessing colors will show up better against black, and I like black. Hopefully going to fill up the tank later today and hook up the filter. Other than that, we're good!

Nils