New Tank Stocking Questions

[shrike37]

I am just joining the aquarium hobby for the first time and I'm nearly 3 weeks into the fishless cycle of my tank (ammonia is dropping at a rate of 2ppm per 24 hours) following this guide: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

Tank parameters are as follows:

29 Gallon Rectangular Tank
Aquaclear 50 (HOB) Filter (no carbon)
Finnex 24/7 Light
2 Aquapro 100W Heaters
Gravel Substrate (finer grain than average gravel) @ 2-3.5-inches deep
Driftwood and Rocks
I am planning to do a "low-tech" planted tank
pH 7.8
Hard Water (I don't know the numbers, but it is definitely hard)

My tentative fish load-out is:
7 Neon Tetra
5 Black Phantom Tetras or 5 Pristella (x-ray) Tetras (haven't decided which species)
1 Red Dwarf Gourami
2 Guppies
1 German Blue Ram (leaning towards not getting it due to my tank's water having too high of pH and hardness)
1 Bristlenose Pleco
3 Cory Catfish
1-3 Amano Shrimp (maybe)

My tentative plant load-out is:
Java Fern
Amazon Sword
Bacopa caroliniana
Anubias barteri nana
Staurogyne repens
Brazilian Pennywort

My questions are:
1. Do you see any potential problem(s) with any of the above stocking plans?
2. Do you have any alternate suggestions for fish?
3. Do you suggest I phase my fish purchases? If so, how?
4. How soon after fish should I start adding the plants?
5. What temperature do you recommend for my tank?

Thank you so much for the help!

 

[martin.webcat]

If you have hardvwater i would rather suggest you go for some shelldwellers and without plants. The other sensible option would be to have livebearers as they reside in hard water.


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[littlefish4]

I have a planted tank with relatively hard water. I think your plan looks good. Most of your plants are hardy which will help.

 

[littlefish4]

I would consider cutting your stocking down a little though. Maybe pick either the cories or the pleco as opposed to the cories and the pleco.

 

[Fishobsessed7]

I would also recommend getting plants before the fish.

I would also suggest getting one shoal of tetras rather than two.

 

[stevenht]

Rams are hard to keep. Just lost my GBR "Bubba" to ick the other day and all my other fish are completely healthy now. Just get your feet wet (pun intended) and then get a Ram. It's nothing personal but if you're new to the hobby, they can be very tempting to get and almost everybody recommends them. They mention that they're hard to keep but they never go into detail about how hard they actually are. They need soft water. If I had a Ram, I would be worried if my pH was close to 7.

 

[shrike37]

I would consider cutting your stocking down a little though. Maybe pick either the cories or the pleco as opposed to the cories and the pleco.

Is there a particular reason for picking only one or the other species? Do they not get along or will one out complete the other species for food? Or do you just mean the tank is generally going overstocked and these are the first that should be cut?

 

[shrike37]

I would also recommend getting plants before the fish.

I would also suggest getting one shoal of tetras rather than two.

What is the reason for getting plants first? Wouldn't the plants want to see the nutrients from the fish (hence adding the fish first), or is there something I am missing?

Is the reason for picking one or the other shoal of tetras due to overstocking, or will they not get along well?

 

[shrike37]

Rams are hard to keep. Just lost my GBR "Bubba" to ick the other day and all my other fish are completely healthy now. Just get your feet wet (pun intended) and then get a Ram. It's nothing personal but if you're new to the hobby, they can be very tempting to get and almost everybody recommends them. They mention that they're hard to keep but they never go into detail about how hard they actually are. They need soft water. If I had a Ram, I would be worried if my pH was close to 7.

Yea, although the Ram would have been a beautiful centerpiece of my tank, you are probably right in that it isn't worth the difficult living conditions for the fish.

 

[littlefish4]

Is there a particular reason for picking only one or the other species? Do they not get along or will one out complete the other species for food? Or do you just mean the tank is generally going overstocked and these are the first that should be cut?

Generally overstocked. I was just using the cories vs pleco as an example.

I would suggest using aqadvisor.com. It's very helpful for stocking your tank

 

[Fishobsessed7]

The plants will use the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate during the cycle. Sometimes in new tanks you will get ammonia spikes when adding new fish and the plants can help with those.


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