Hello from Hong Kong!

[joeychizzle]

Hey, what's up guys. I'm glad to be a part of this sweet forum. I've always had a love for aquariums but only recently decided to engage in this wonderful hobby.

I spent ages deciding on whether I wanted a saltwater or freshwater aquarium, but eventually decided on freshwater, since I'm a complete beginner and saltwater seems like much higher maintenance.

I was looking around the local pet fish markets, which are a famous tourist attraction (Google it guys, there's like a whole block dedicated to marine pets of all types.), bit the bullet and decided on a 10 gallon tank, but then for some reason I got a 4.6 US gallon tank.

It's been cycling for 9 days, with some sort of pinky nail sized white gravel substrate and those hollow cylindrical stones which apparently aid in bacteria production. I've got a 2.5 inch wide marimo moss ball, a little pad of dwarf baby tears sitting inside a hollowed out crab shell, some random pale cone shaped shell with spotted lines, a half submerged 2 inch wide tuft of dwarf hairgrass chilling in a isolation box until I figure out how to tie it down and stop it from floating, some pebbles I borrowed from a friend's established tank, some floating plants that have roughly 3 inch roots and grow stupidly fast, and a pretty standard water pump. I keep forgetting to buy the test kids for ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. I can't/won't post a pic because my tankscaping skills are basically non-existent. I don't think a co2 pump is needed yet - the existing levels of CO2 ppm appear to be enough.

In my noob excitement I bought a pleco, 6 neon tetras, four black and white angel fish, four rainbow guppies and a goldfish. Yes, stupidly overstocked, now that I've spent some time reading these forums. I was so sad and mad when everything died

I've decided to finish cycling the tank then get some red cherry shrimp and maybe a small crab and a couple of snails. Perhaps a dwarf puffer or two at max.

Sorry for the long first post.

If you guys have any tips, constructive criticism or whatever, it would be appreciated.

[Anders247]

Welcome to the forum!
Sorry for your losses.
I would not do a crab with cherry shrimp, most crabs are brackish anyways. What type of crab were you thinking of?

[joeychizzle]

Originally Posted by Anders247

Welcome to the forum!
Sorry for your losses.
I would not do a crab with cherry shrimp, most crabs are brackish anyways. What type of crab were you thinking of?

I was thinking perhaps a mini fiddler crab but the land access and brackish requirements are putting me off.
Are there any freshwater crabs that are fully aquatic? I would love to see a couple of them scuttling around.

If not, I'll just settle with a bunch of ghost shrimp to learn the ins and outs of shrimpkeeping then I'll pop in some red cherries. Maybe an otto and a crayfish (I think the crayfish will bully the shrimp like mad though)? I'm worried about the low bioload killing the cycle.

[Anders247]

Yes, Thai micro crabs are, but they are so shy and they are rarely seen in aquaria when you get them.

Fiddler crabs would eat cherry shrimp, and they wouldn't work together anyways.

And that tank is too small for otos. They also need a group of 6+.

[joeychizzle]

Originally Posted by Anders247

Yes, Thai micro crabs are, but they are so shy and they are rarely seen in aquaria when you get them.

Fiddler crabs would eat cherry shrimp, and they wouldn't work together anyways.

And that tank is too small for otos. They also need a group of 6+.

Thanks for the advice!