55-gal, stocking advice?

[coolchinchilla]

Hi! Long time no see! I have a new tank and I'd like advice on how to stock it.

Doing a fishless cycle. I have some gravel, decorations and filters from an established tank to seed the colonizing bacteria. I will fill the tank with water over the weekend. I expect that it will take a couple weeks to cycle, maybe longer. I have API testing supplies.

I would like an easy to care for aquarium which is lightly stocked with peaceful fish. I'm hoping I can keep a few very low-light plants too.

55-gallon
Water: pH=8.4, "very hard"
lights: 15-watt bulb (two fixtures, each covers half the tank)
Substrate: pool filter sand

Current fish: 6 tetras and 1 plec (2.5-inch). No idea what kind they are. The tank's previous owner was going to flush them down the toilet! Couldn't let that happen. Right now they're in a 5-gallon bucket with a heater and an air stone. I'll move them to a small tank until I get the 55-gallon cycled.

Additional inhabitants I hope to get:

10 head & tail light tetras
5 cories (would like pandas)
snail (apple, ramshorn)?
red cherry shrimp
center piece fish: gourami, angel fish?

plants: java fern, sword, anachris? Which kind might work? I'm not willing to pay for better lighting at the moment. Is 15 watts just too dim for any kind of plant life?

As for the fish, i want to have fish that can handle my water, so I'm not sure an angel or gourami would fit. When I spoke to the LFS, he said all the fish are aclimated to the hard basic water of our town, including all the tetras, gouramis and angelfish. So any would work out fine. Is this a good idea? He does treat the water for the discus and rummynose tetras however.

Is this going to work as a "lightly stocked" tank? Can I have another school of fish? Will the fish eat/bother the shrimp? I love snails but I don't want millions of them. What kind would work best?

Thanks in advance!
coolchinchilla

 

[maxima423]

the gourami might be okay, and what kind of tetras are they? they might be nippy to long finned fish

as for the angel fish idea, they might eat the tetras if they are too small, and like the gourami, it depends on the tetra if they are nippy or not

i like the rest of the additions though, but what ever you do, dont get bloodfin tetras, they terrorized my 6 julii cories, they nipped them so much =[

does PFS raise your PH that much???

 

[BigJim]

First, figure out what kind of fish you already have. Post pictures here if you'd like and we'll help the best we can to identify your fish. It's best to know what you're dealing with before trying to build on it.

Apple snails will get huge. Think baseball-sized and up. Mysteries stay smaller.

Get more than five pandas. A 55g has lots of room and pandas are more fun in bigger groups. I have about ten in a 20L and they're fat and happy.

Depending on what fish you put in the tank, RCS may end up as expensive fish snacks. Even my guppies snack on RCS babies.

I'm not sure any plants would survive under those lighting conditions. A $10 4ft fluorescent shop light would go a long way in the plant department.

Your LFS guy is right. Fish are pretty adaptable. You might have trouble breeding those fish in that water, but they'd survive just fine.

If you're going to do sand, I highly recommend getting some Malaysian trumpet snails. They dig around in the sand and prevent it from going anaerobic and forming toxic gas bubbles. MTS do tend to multiply like rabbits, but controlled feeding, and a botia loach or some assassin snails will help keep the population in check. You could also stir the sand with a coat hanger during water changes.

Nerite snails would be best. They're awesome algae eaters and they breed in brackish water, so no population issues. Unfortunately, they're a little expensive and hard to find.

 

[coolchinchilla]

Thanks for the responses! This really helps. I'm getting more and more excited about my new tank.

does PFS raise your PH that much???

No. My water has a pH well above 8. Not sure, but something like 8.2-8.4. It is municipal water. Very hard water.

Apple snails will get huge. Think baseball-sized and up. Mysteries stay smaller.

There are different types of apple snails. The canas get huge like a baseball. I would LOVE to have a cana but they are now illegal to sell across state lines so I can't find any. Mystery snails are a type of apple snail -- bridgs and you can find them in the LFS. There are a jillion different colors of brigs -- yellow, blue, ivory, striped, magenta, pink, etc.

Get more than five pandas.

Cool. Will do. I love cories. They are fun.

I'm not sure any plants would survive under those lighting conditions. A $10 4ft fluorescent shop light would go a long way in the plant department.

How do I use a shop light? Just lay it on top of the tank? Should it replace the light fixtures I already have? Is there a way to use both?

If you're going to do sand, I highly recommend getting some Malaysian trumpet snails. They dig around in the sand and prevent it from going anaerobic and forming toxic gas bubbles. MTS do tend to multiply like rabbits, but controlled feeding, and a botia loach or some assassin snails will help keep the population in check.

I had MTS in the past. I didn't know how to control them so they bred like crazy. Way too many snails. Did I overfeed the tank and that's why I had a snail bloom?

Nerite snails would be best. .

I'll look for them.

Thanks guys! This really helps
coolchinchilla

 

[BigJim]

There are different types of apple snails. The canas get huge like a baseball. I would LOVE to have a cana but they are now illegal to sell across state lines so I can't find any. Mystery snails are a type of apple snail -- bridgs and you can find them in the LFS. There are a jillion different colors of brigs -- yellow, blue, ivory, striped, magenta, pink, etc.

I'm aware. Unfortunately most of the snails I've seen sold as "Apple Snails" get huge.

How do I use a shop light? Just lay it on top of the tank? Should it replace the light fixtures I already have? Is there a way to use both?

You can hang the light above the tank, make legs that rest on the tank, or just lay the light on the hood. If you do lay the light on the hood, be careful that you don't break the bulbs or (unlikely) melt anything. I'm assuming you have the plastic hoods. If you don't, I highly recommend going with a VersaTop type cover. They hold up better over time and are more flexible towards lighting changes.

If you can fit both lights, go for it. If you keep the light below two watts per gallon, you can keep the tank simple without having to seriously worry about algae.

I had MTS in the past. I didn't know how to control them so they bred like crazy. Way too many snails. Did I overfeed the tank and that's why I had a snail bloom?

Overfeeding is generally the cause. I know I'm guilty. I don't like having tons of different foods lying around, so I generally just overfeed a little on the flakes to make sure some gets to the bottom dwellers and the snails do their jobs as a cleanup crew. Now that I've got established populations, I like having a critter in the tanks that will keep the snails in check. My assassins seem to be doing their jobs.