What to do when cycle completes, and in meantime

[Yellowfire]

Hello all, I'm both new to this forum and to owning fish, but about a month ago I decided that I wanted an aquarium. I got a 40b and started the arduous task of learning all that goes into keeping fish. ( I felt overwhelmed before I even looked at fish... I lost more than a few hours reading about tank sizes and shapes and filters and substrates and... yeah. I ended up with a penguin 350 and sand substrate)

Anyways, push came to shove and I started my fishless cycle with ammonia on the 12th of this month, and the nitrite readings started to turn a satisfactory purple over this weekend (pretty much exactly 2 weeks) so I think so far I am right on schedule and everything seems to be going well. Crossing my fingers that soon enough I will be getting nitrates too. While doing all this waiting though, some questions and holes in my knowledge have become evident.

I am still a little unsure in terms of making enough shelter for my fish. I don't want to go through seemingly all the steps to make a wonderful environment for my little friends only to put them in once my cycle completes and have them swimming for cover... which they promptly find isn't there. Since I have the breeder tank, it is a rather deep in terms of front to back. Should I focus a lot of my plants in the center of the tank and leave the outsides exposed, or should I basically build up the plants from the back gradually getting less thin towards the front?

Speaking of plants, how practical are artificial plants in terms of providing enough coverage for fish? It seems like you would need a huge amount to actually create a rather dense environment. On the other hand, is it possible to have plants too close together so that fish would not be able to safely swim between? I am so clueless as to this aspect of everything .

On to my next question: What fish should I put in the tank first? Here is the list that I think is going to go in the tank eventually:

10 neon tetras
10 zebra danios
3 sword tails
6 cory cats

Is there an advantage to putting one of these in first over the others? I know these are all supposed to be peaceful fish but would any of these feel intruded upon if they had already seemingly established their territory only to find new friends later on? Also, is there a respected resource for finding out the diets of all the fish? I know there is lots of info floating around on the web what the different fish like to eat but it would be sweet if there was a single source to look to guidance for.

I think that's it... for now. Thanks for everybody's help.

 

[Masha]

You don't mention what lighting you have, so I assume you have a "low light" tank, which is normal for people not focussing on live plants.

If that is so, you can still have live plants. I'm prejudiced against fake plants, I always think the fish prefer live! also live plants help absorb some fish waste.

Java fern looks nice, is easy to grow in a low light tank. Also anubias. Thete are quite a few more.

People usually arrange the plants more towards the back and sides of the tank, with tallest plants in the back corners.

Consider adding some aquarium-safe objects as hiding places, eg a broken terra cotta pot on its side, half buried in the substrate. Driftwood also provides shelter and looks nice too.

I cant comment on the fish question, as far as I know it should not make a difference what order you introduce them

 

[Mebbid]

The order that you add the fish shouldn't matter with those particular species. In fact, once your cycle is completely finished you could just add them all at once.

As for the fake plants, I find that buying lots of them and making large separate groupings looks best than a wide assortment of random plants. They can be too close for the fish to swim between but they will still find places to hang out.

Other good decorations such as were already stated like the pots or driftwood are good choices. You could also buy lace rock and make rock formations using that. Anther good choice for rocks would be slate tiles from home depot. They can be broken up and stacked into some nice piles with caves.

 

[Yellowfire]

You don't mention what lighting you have, so I assume you have a "low light" tank, which is normal for people not focussing on live plants.

Consider adding some aquarium-safe objects as hiding places, eg a broken terra cotta pot on its side, half buried in the substrate. Driftwood also provides shelter and looks nice too.

I cant comment on the fish question, as far as I know it should not make a difference what order you introduce them

Yeah, right now my light is quite low, I just have one 17w NO fixture above the tank.

Thanks for the terra cotta pot suggestion, I will probably end up doing that.

 

[Masha]

Just check that the pot is not a used one, which might be soaked in fertilizers...probably not good for your tank. A new pot should be safe.

 

[Yellowfire]

As for the fake plants, I find that buying lots of them and making large separate groupings looks best than a wide assortment of random plants. They can be too close for the fish to swim between but they will still find places to hang out.

Other good decorations such as were already stated like the pots or driftwood are good choices. You could also buy lace rock and make rock formations using that. Anther good choice for rocks would be slate tiles from home depot. They can be broken up and stacked into some nice piles with caves.

Yeah, I've been finding that out too about the plants.

Do you know if local places usually sell lace rock like HD or lowes or anything?

Just check that the pot is not a used one, which might be soaked in fertilizers...probably not good for your tank. A new pot should be safe.

Yeah, I would be feeling pretty silly if I hurt my tank cuz of a used pot.

A question about the java fern, though. Would it get enough food solely based off fish waste? It just seems odd to me that a plant would grow happily in only sand, but maybe that's what I get after gardening for years.

 

[Masha]

A question about the java fern, though. Would it get enough food solely based off fish waste? It just seems odd to me that a plant would grow happily in only sand, but maybe that's what I get after gardening for years.

Plants like Java fern dont get their nutrition through their roots, mostly through their leaves. In fact you don't even insert their roots in the substrate you just pop them on a rock. Any part of them you put under the substrate is likely to rot.

Mine grew well with no added fertilizers - in fact they grow fantastically - but you might want to add liquid fertilizers like Seachem Flourish.

I don't know much about it though - all I know is my Java fern and anubias grow very well with little extra attention from me.

 

[Mebbid]

Yeah, I've been finding that out too about the plants.

Do you know if local places usually sell lace rock like HD or lowes or anything?



Yeah, I would be feeling pretty silly if I hurt my tank cuz of a used pot.

A question about the java fern, though. Would it get enough food solely based off fish waste? It just seems odd to me that a plant would grow happily in only sand, but maybe that's what I get after gardening for years.

I buy my lace rock at a LFS here in town but it's pricy. I think they want $3/lb If you go online you should be able to find it quite a bit cheaper,, I ended up buying 75lbs of it online for my cichlid tank and couldn't be happier.

As for the java fern you won't need anything special to fertilize it they will grow just fine from the nutrients in the water column. Just tie it to a rock or a piece of drift wood with some black cotton thread and it should grow into the rock / wood and stick there.