New nano tank...stocking help please!

[rshock]

Hi all,

I purchased and setup my first tank at the end of May after a TON of research online and reading a number of books. I know there are mixed feeling about the tank I have (Fluval Edge) but the research I have done suggests it can work well if it is properly maintained and stocked.

I am currently able to convert 4ppm Ammonia (Ace Hardware brand) in a 24 hour period to 0ppm Ammonia > 0ppm Nitrite > Nitrate. My current Nitrate levels are high but I will take care of that with a large WC before adding stock. I am using API stress coat de-chlorinator and have a API freshwater master test kit that I use on a daily basis.

I have been having minor issues maintaining pH as my tap water is ~7.6. I have noticed some drops in pH during cycling, going from as far as 7.2 to 6.6 in 24 hours towards the end of the cycle. I have been adjusting via WC and API pH up. I have also had a diatom problem but my research indicates that it will clear up with regular wc's after some time.

As for stocking, I really wanted neon tetras when i started but I realize that is a bad idea now. So i did more research and found that a good choice would be galaxy rasbora/celestial pearl danio. I think they only grow to approx. 1" and are not a true shoaling fish so they can handle a smaller tank unlike the neons. I intend to maintain six in the tank.

My questions are...should i get an algae/waste eater for the tank such as amano shrimp, ghost shrimp, etc? What is a good number for my small tank? Are there compatibility issues with the CPD's?

Lastly, does anyone know what feeding amount/type/routine I should follow for the six CPDs?

Appreciate the help!

 

[emerald76]

I think you could get 6 celestial pearl danios with one scarlet badis or male guppy and a breeding colony of red cherry shrimp
Just heavily plant the tank as all of the above options besides the guppy are vey shy
Feeding routine-
As much as they can eat in staple crushed flakes in one minute or until they lose interest once a day except for Friday and Saturday- you can treat on friday or continue with the staple food and fast them on saturday

 

[rshock]

Thanks for the advice emerald.

I have a few plants but wanted to wait until my cycle was complete before changing anything. Things are stable enough now I think to add some more. Any suggestions?

Is there anything out there besides shrimp that would work in such a small tank for algae control. From what I read Otos and some other common algae eaters won't work in a nano tank.

 

[absolutangel04]

Is your tank 6g? Can you please tell us what the dimensions are? That helps with stocking advice.

 

[rshock]

Yes it's 6 gallons 23L. I put it in my signature but the ad made it hard to spot. Tank dimensions are 16.9" x 10.2" x 8.8" high.

 

[librarygirl]

PH fluctuations are common during cycling. It should level out once you stop adding ammonia and add fish; the process of converting so much ammonia can cause PH to crash especially with softer water. When you have fish, you'll want to keep it stable but adding PH adjusters can be a slippery slope. You might want to leave out your tap water for 24 hours and then test PH; sometimes PH can change as it gasses off (example; out of the tap, my PH is 8.4, but it degasses down to 7.2 which is what my tank's PH is). You can also add a few pinches of crushed coral or argonite to the filter to help buffer the water and keep the PH stable.

I have CPDs; great little fish! They should be OK with shrimp but not sure whether they'll go after shrimplets. For a tank that size you could also add a snail (a nerite would be great; they stay relatively small, keep the tank clean and can't breed in freshwater; I have 3 in my 40G and they are fun to watch).

For nano fish you'll want to feed them a variety but make sure the food isn't too large for them either. I feed New LIfe Spectrum or Hikari micro pellets (.5 mm size). Once or twice a week I'll give them some crushed flakes or frozen food like daphnia, shrimp or bloodworms. I feed once per day.

Some other nano fish are ember tetra and chili rasbora, which are more common in case you can't find the CPDs.

CPDs can be shy especially at first. Give them hiding spots (plants, etc) to make them feel secure and you'll see them more. Mine come to the front of the tank when they see me now. They also like the water a bit cooler, so a temp of 72-75 degrees would be good.

As Mumma suggested, the dimensions will help us give specific numbers and some further stocking advice. Good luck!

 

[absolutangel04]

Ok, cool. Thanks for that info.
Yes, cpd will be fine in a tank that size. 6 would work out great IMO. Red cherry shrimp are fun little guys to keep, they will make live babies and are actually pretty active. Another option to go with the cpd (besides the scarlet badi like emerald said) is a sparkling gourami.
There really aren'y any algae eating fish I recommend for a tank that small, but you could get a nerite snail. They are pretty, eat algae, have a low bioload, and don't reproduce in freshwater so you don't have to worry about over population.
RCS are good little cleaners though, and they will eat some algae too.
For feeding, that is up to your preference. I feed my fish everyday, some people feed every other day. Make sure not to over feed though, because that fouls up the water quickly.
CPD can be shy and would really benefit from a planted tank, and so will rcs. CPD won't east adult rcs, but they will eat shrimplets sometimes. The rcs make so many babies though that it doesn't really matter. Keep in mind a fish like a scarlet badi to sparkler will eat more shrimp babies too, but they won't eat adults either.
EDIT: Good call with the pH library girl I forgot to mention that. Also, I am not Mumma. But, I forgive you.

 

[librarygirl]

Ok, cool. Thanks for that info.
Yes, cpd will be fine in a tank that size. 6 would work out great IMO. Red cherry shrimp are fun little guys to keep, they will make live babies and are actually pretty active. Another option to go with the cpd (besides the scarlet badi like emerald said) is a sparkling gourami.
There really aren'y any algae eating fish I recommend for a tank that small, but you could get a nerite snail. They are pretty, eat algae, have a low bioload, and don't reproduce in freshwater so you don't have to worry about over population.
RCS are good little cleaners though, and they will eat some algae too.
For feeding, that is up to your preference. I feed my fish everyday, some people feed every other day. Make sure not to over feed though, because that fouls up the water quickly.
CPD can be shy and would really benefit from a planted tank, and so will rcs. CPD won't east adult rcs, but they will eat shrimplets sometimes. The rcs make so many babies though that it doesn't really matter. Keep in mind a fish like a scarlet badi to sparkler will eat more shrimp babies too, but they won't eat adults either.
EDIT: Good call with the pH library girl I forgot to mention that. Also, I am not Mumma. But, I forgive you.

Oh geez sorry, long day!!!

 

[rshock]

Thanks for the input!

I will definitely check the tap water today and see how the pH stabilizes when left out for 24 hours. Had not thought to do that yet.

I had actually been trying to decide between the chili rasbora and CPDs and went with CPDs mainly because they seem much harder to find. Should make my tank a little more unique. Plus when I upgrade to a larger tank, I am hoping to attempt breeding them.

I like the ideas for feeding, I guess i will have to play around with the schedule at first to figure out what works. Really do appreciate the input there.

The temp on my tank is currently 78-79 degrees, mainly do to leaving the light on a lot during cycling (which also explains the diatom issue). I might need to get a small fan to keep the temp down if I need to drop 3-6 degrees before adding the CPDs. I expect that my lwc before adding stock will help towards that end.

I like the ideas regarding RCS and a nerite snail. I would want to avoid breeding the RCS but I could probably give the offspring to my lfs if they did breed. So would the following work?

1 sparkling gourami or 1 scarlet badis or 1 guppy

And

6 CPDs

And

3 RCS and 1 nirite snail (or one of these?)

I thought that would have been pushing the limits on stocking. Will that work?

 

[emerald76]

That will work you can have both the shrimp and snails however your shrimp will breed but they have a tiny bioload

 

[librarygirl]

Yep, sounds good to me too. The other fish may go after shrimplets so they might keep the population in check but if not you can try to sell them.

 

[rshock]

Sounds like the community would keep each other in check, excited to see how it will turn out. Picked up some additional plants today that are more dense than the amazon sword and other small bunches I currently have. The plants and slate rocks should provide plenty of hiding spaces. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[rshock]

So I was researching the suggested fish and came across a dwarf gourami. I like the fish a lot but have concerns since the edge has such a small surface area and the dwarf gourami is a labyrinth fish. I have seen numerous posts all over the web of people that have successfully kept bettas in an edge despite also being labyrinth fish.

Possibility or not a good idea?

 

[librarygirl]

I don't think a DG in an edge is a good idea; they're more active than bettas and can get aggressive when they are cramped.

 

[rshock]

Ok thanks. I'll avoid the dwarfs for now, maybe my next tank.