Tank mates

[ANELSON84]

Finally got our new house settled and picked up a 29g tank kit from petsmart. I am starting the cycling and doing research on tank mates when it gets going. My question is would 4 corydoras and 20 neon tetras be too much for this tank? I think if I keep the ph around 7.2-7.5 and temps at 75°F I should be ok? First time fish owner here so I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks for any help! Plants in the tank are fake. One thing at a time. Lol

[BettaPenny]

Tank looks great!
You're in the right place for advice, as you'll soon find out.
I'm new to the forum but not to fish keeping - (I'm "old school) so I'll watch this from the sidelines & learn along with you.
Welcome, BP

[ANELSON84]

Thanks! Aside from a betta when I was a kid, this is my first tank so I have a lot to learn. Lol I'm in the pool industry, so water chemistry comes easy to me. At least I have that going for me!

[SaraB]

Nice looking tank. There are articles here to help with your cycling if you have any questions.
Corydoras are a catfish and don't really have scales so are sensitive to bad water. 4 should be fine but a school of 6 with maybe 15 neon tetras would be better. Just keep up with your weekly water changes and everything should be fine.
Remember to add fish slowly like 3-6 at a time (then wait a week) to not throw off your new tanks balance.

[jocelynmeyer]

Just wanted to pop by and say that I think your tank looks great! Can’t wait to see updates after its cycled and you’ve added fish!

[kashif314]

Great looking tank. Yes you can add but corys messed with my planted tank. Not because they were eating plants. They move in a way that it disturbs plants rooted. I hope its not the case with your tank and yes the number of corys and neons you planning to add are fine for your tank. Neons don't produce heavy bioload so in my opinion you can add more neons even.

[1midniterider]

Nice looking setup...

[shacker66]

Beautiful

[ANELSON84]

Thanks everyone! Makes me feel a bit better about where I am in the hobby. Lol so I tested with the master kit last night and the ph was showing close to 7.6 (blue) so I tested with the high range ph to make sure and it came up at the low end around 7.4. I'm assuming my ph is somewhere around 7.5 - 7.6? Temps are holding at around 78°f. The topfin aquarium starter stuff for cycling did absolutely f#$k-all so I ordered some other stuff and I'm going to try that. My ammonia was only showing about .25 and I know I need to get it up to start to get nitrites and nitrates. I gave myself about a month before getting fish to get a handle on the tank and maintenance, etc.

[Leeatl]

Hello to a fellow Georgian ,
You have gotten some good advice so far . I will add that you need to read up on fish less cycling and then get some pure ammonia to do it . It is easy , but takes a lot of patience as it does not happen over night...lol As far as your fish selection I would say Cory cats are a very good choice . I have kept live plants and Corys for decades and have never had a problem with them disturbing plants . They are some of the best fish to watch . As far as the Neons go I would say to go with Cardinal tetras instead . They look the same but are much hardier . The Neons have been over bred to the point that they are weak and then add in Neon tetra disease and you have fish that don't last . There are many types of Tetras . Take a look at this link to see what you can have......
AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor
Hope this helps some....

[ANELSON84]

Well **** thank you! That's really great advice. I'll check into it.

[ANELSON84]

Got the air pump set up. Fluval Q1. 2 lines with check valve and control valves. Do I need to turn down a line? A bit dirtier today.

[ANELSON84]

So the cloudiness went away. I didn't wash the substrate. Added ammonia yesterday and got the ammonia levels up to about 5ppm. Added fritzyme 7 bacteria starter. Using the add and wait method, but I figured a bit of a jumpstart couldn't hurt. Going to test ammonia tomorrow when I get home and add ammonia of needed. Added a micro sword plant as I learned plants help with nitrates and they don't require co2. Thanks to everyone posting and helping me!

[Leeatl]

Try to keep ammonia at 4 ppm or a a bit under . Too much will stop cycle or kill what bacteria you have developed.You are ok for now, just FYI for the future.

[ANELSON84]

Thanks. Will do.

[ANELSON84]

Got a couple anubias nana, moss balls, and a java fern. Tank is still cycling fine I think. Really can't wait to get some fish in there!

[ANELSON84]

Looks like I have hair algae? Tank is about 3 1/2 weeks old now. Ammonia is 0, nitrites are about 5 ppm, nitrates are maybe 5ppm? I'm ok with the algae as I'm going to put amano shrimp in soon. Just wanted to make sure that I'm right on the algae. Any help is appreciated! Just cleaned the glass for the picture, but I think I had some diatom algae on the glass. It went away like dust when I cleaned the glass and was brown. Attachment 314064Attachment 314065

[Leeatl]

If you have nitrites you are not yet cycled . When cycled you will have 0 ammonia,0 nitrites,and some nitrates . Do not put any livestock in till cycled and I wouldn't put shrimp in for months cause the tank needs to buildup a biofilm and algae for them to eat . Tank is still very young , you have get plants,light,ferts,etc balanced and then the algae will go away . Just takes time , patience and experience . The brown is probably diatoms and will go away first....lol

[ANELSON84]

Thanks! I didn't know I had to have the biofilm. I was thinking king I could add shrimp after it was cycled and feed them with algae wafers or shrimp food. I know I still have a little ways to go before it is fully cycled. Just starting to get my fish list together for when it is finally cycled.