Hi Everyone

[nerdelish]

Hello!

I am new here and new to fish keeping. My Dad had a fish tank when I was little and I remember it with fondness. After a few years (3-4) of toying with the idea of getting a tank I decided to go for it this summer. I did a decent amount of research before starting. I am a grad student and fish keeping research was a wonderful way to procrastinate during my finals this spring.

I am currently in the middle of a fishless cycle for my 29 gallon tank. I have added hardy plants, driftwood, and lava rock to the aquarium already. Some snails came with the plants and I've left them in the tank during cycling. I am ambivalent about their presence in my tank. I figure that if they start to overrun my tank I will just buy an assassin snail.

I live in a small apartment so I needed to custom make a stand to fit the aquarium in my place. (It was also cheaper to build one myself rather than to buy one-grad students are not known for wealth). I had a friend help me build a stand. We overbuilt it to hold around 600 lbs.

Eventually I want to get:
9 Harlequin Rasboras,
9 Cardinal Tetras,
5 Blue Velvet Shrimp
1-2 Bolivian Rams (MAYBE)

I would love to have a Bolivian Ram or two because I think they are beautiful...but I am hesitant because I have found mixed information on Bolivian Rams ability to live peacefully in a community tank. I also know they tend to eat shrimp...but I figured maybe if I gave the shrimp a head start (breeding wise) and a densely planted tank/enough places to hide that many would survive.

If I get the two rams AND the shrimp I'll be at an 86% stocking level.

I was planning to start the tank with the rasboras once my fishless cycle is complete.

 

[Fresh2o]

Sounds like a good plan. I would probably start off with more than 5 shrimp. Maybe 10.


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[nerdelish]

Okay I will plan on ten.

Do I need to worry about my hitchhiking snails adding to the bioload?

 

[Nils]

Your stock seems good and with enough hiding spaces, you will be able to keep a healthy population going. I would only add a single ram because if you end up with two males then they are going to fight 24/7 and if you end up with a pair they will most likely breed and take up a lot of the tank for their territory. If you have one dominant male in the whole tank then he will have one small territory. If you want, you could still have some top dwellers, like hatchet fish. Maybe a group of 6. Other than that your stock seems pretty solid

 

[nerdelish]

I didn't know it would be okay to add a single ram! Yay!

What would the stocking order recommendation be and the timeline for adding fish? I was thinking maybe rasboras first and then shrimp...but I wasn't sure what the timeline between adds should be and/or how many to add at a time.

Hatchetfish are cool! That's a great idea. Thanks!

 

[redsea]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice, nerdelish! It sounds like you have been spending a lot of time searching!

 

[nerdelish]

Thanks redsea.

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[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. We are glad you found us here at AA.