Tank is Cycling, how to properly stock

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OwduaNM

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Messages
108
Location
Geneva, IL
I have my tank cycling currently, trying to follow the well laid out tips on these forums.

Tank:
Aqueon 36g bow front
2 x Aqueon Quietflow 30 (200 gph ea)
Rounded gravel substrate
Fake plants
Some bubbling decorations
Driftwood
Single fluorescent bulb

Stocking plan:
6-7 Black Cory (if I can find them for sale) [Corydoras schultzei]
8-12 Emperor Tetra [Nematobrycon palmeri]
6-8 Celestial Pearl Danio [Danio margaritatus]
3-5 Sparkling Gourami [Trichopsis pumila]
1-2 Starlight Bristlenose Pleco (again if I can find them for sale) [L183]
2 Apistogramma borellii
1 Pearl Gourami

Per AqAdvisor, at adult sizes this tank would be ~100%-120% stocked with plenty of filtration.

A couple of questions.

1) Will there really be an issue with the Sparkling Gourami and the Pearl Gourami? The Sparkling gourami are only ~1" in size and the Pearl Gourami is much larger.

2) Any suggestions on where I can find some of the rare fish above?

3) Finally, and most importantly. Once the tank has cycled, I know that I need to introduce the fish gradually (only a couple every 3-4 weeks). But which fish do I start with? I am worried that starting with the schooling fish is adding too many at first, and I am not really sure which of the above are more suitable to be the first fish in a tank.



Thank you all for your help!
 
Try asking a local place around you to order them for you. Not petsmart or petco, but somehwere you can develop a relationship and get good quality stuff. You should start the tank with what you can get around you. This way you dont have to overspend on shipping and have them die if you have a problem. New tanks are volatile. The sparkling gourami should be fine, pearls are usuing very docile. I would suggest only 1 pleco, 2 would be unnecessary. Also, with the apistos if you get a pair and they mate then you could have problems, so I would suggest just 1 of those as well. As for the order of adding them I would go with the tetras first> pearl gourami>cory cats>pleco>CPD>sparkling gourami>apisto adding a 2-3 fish every two weeks should be fine. Make sure you get a API master liquid test kit to keep up on your parameters.
 
Try asking a local place around you to order them for you. Not petsmart or petco, but somehwere you can develop a relationship and get good quality stuff. You should start the tank with what you can get around you. This way you dont have to overspend on shipping and have them die if you have a problem. New tanks are volatile. The sparkling gourami should be fine, pearls are usuing very docile. I would suggest only 1 pleco, 2 would be unnecessary. Also, with the apistos if you get a pair and they mate then you could have problems, so I would suggest just 1 of those as well. As for the order of adding them I would go with the tetras first> pearl gourami>cory cats>pleco>CPD>sparkling gourami>apisto adding a 2-3 fish every two weeks should be fine. Make sure you get a API master liquid test kit to keep up on your parameters.


Thank you for the advice. I am using the API test kit. Right now it is showing trace amounts of ammonia but 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates. I recently realized that I need to dose more often (I'm using fish flakes for dosing as I don't really know anything else to use)

I will drop the Apisto's to one. Maybe if I can convince my wife down the road to get a bigger tank I can have a pair.
 
That is way to many gouramis in 1 tank. You might be able to pull off 2 But the tend to be territorial and will fight with each other. Only 1 pleco in a tank of that size. They have a high bio-load. But other than that everything sounds great.
 
That is way to many gouramis in 1 tank. You might be able to pull off 2 But the tend to be territorial and will fight with each other. Only 1 pleco in a tank of that size. They have a high bio-load. But other than that everything sounds great.


Do sparkling gourami really fit that style? I know that multiple mail gouramis together is not a good thing, but the sparkling gourami are teeny tiny and from what I have read are much more peaceful than the standard gourami. I kept them years ago, but have a very faint memory of how friendly they were.

I will continue to do research on them and will drop the numbers down if they will be an issue.
 
First of all, I would check your tap KH/GH, so it will be easier to maintain perfect parameters ranges for your fishs, I mean, you optimally should select fishs that fit your tap hardness.

You can also stock fish that doesn't fit the tap parameters, the important point here is stability of parameters and a good acclimatation.
 
First of all, I would check your tap KH/GH, so it will be easier to maintain perfect parameters ranges for your fishs, I mean, you optimally should select fishs that fit your tap hardness.

You can also stock fish that doesn't fit the tap parameters, the important point here is stability of parameters and a good acclimatation.


Thank you, that website has been very helpful this far!

What kind of testing kit do I need to check the KH/GH? I have the API master test kit, but it only checks pH, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite.
 
API GK/KH kit, it's a two in one. Bought mine for 11$ on eBay. It doesn't need to be precise for FW tanks, so API is ok.
 
API GK/KH kit, it's a two in one. Bought mine for 11$ on eBay. It doesn't need to be precise for FW tanks, so API is ok.

My GH/KH testing kit is on its way. I already have Seachem brand Acid Buffer and Alkaline Buffer, both of which are said to adjust the GH/KH along with the pH.

I found this article on another forum to be very helpful.

Important: Understanding PH, KH, GH In Home Aqauriums - pH - 113548

I noticed that when I was using a neutralizer, the pH would just go right back up in a couple of days and this article explains why that happens.
 
Try asking a local place around you to order them for you. Not petsmart or petco, but somehwere you can develop a relationship and get good quality stuff. You should start the tank with what you can get around you. This way you dont have to overspend on shipping and have them die if you have a problem. New tanks are volatile. The sparkling gourami should be fine, pearls are usuing very docile. I would suggest only 1 pleco, 2 would be unnecessary. Also, with the apistos if you get a pair and they mate then you could have problems, so I would suggest just 1 of those as well. As for the order of adding them I would go with the tetras first> pearl gourami>cory cats>pleco>CPD>sparkling gourami>apisto adding a 2-3 fish every two weeks should be fine. Make sure you get a API master liquid test kit to keep up on your parameters.


Well, tank is finally cycled. Looked everywhere for Emperor Tetras, but couldn't find any. I settled on Longfin Zebra Danios (4x) so far. I will add more in about 2 weeks, but now I need to shuffle my stocking plan a bit. I did ask the LFS to order emperor tetras and CPDs.
 
I only got 4 to start because I don't want to overload the tank. I did not think I could add more than 4 per two weeks.
 
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