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Stocking a 35 gallon Tank

6K views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  MBilyeu 
#1 ·
I have recently decided I wanted to get into aquariums and I believe I have pretty much over thought the process.

Anyways I recently purchased a used 35 gallon tank. It has sat empty for a few weeks(still does). The guy selling it also threw in some gravel but I don't believe it has been used for quite a long time. I have found a local lfs store that I think will be the place I purchase everything and they seem to be a wealth of knowledge. Definitely puts petco and other box stores to shame.

I would like a peaceful, planted community tank. So far I have decided that I would like a school of 3 or 4cory Cats and a (6+)school of some type of Danio's. Other than that I am on the fence. I think my tank can handle another schooling fish. The local lfs said that I could go with either Tetra's or some non aggressive barbs. I would rather go with something that aren't tetra's because I would like a different shape then the Danio's. From what I know they look around the same, if I am wrong feel free to tell me.

Would my tank be able to handle 3 types of schooling fish?

Would there be a fish that I can put there in as a loner that would work well in the tank? From what I have seen betta's might not like the active tank, red tailed sharks are too aggressive and could be territorial, BGK's are aggressive and get bigger than my tank can handle, etc.

I have a million questions but I will leave it at here for now. Thanks for any advice.
 
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#2 ·
Bleeding heart tetras or Lemon Tetras would be pretty fish in my view. Rosy barbs or cherry barbs might also interest you. The bleeding heart tetras you find in most pet stores do not do this fish justice. They can get to two inches maybe three and are beautiful. Gold whitecloud minnows would look nice as well.Hope some of these interest you. I would spring for a substrate designed for plant growth were it me ,to provide the plants with their best chance from the start.
 
#3 ·
I was thinking that I was going to have to spring for a new substrate anyways. The guy just threw it in because he had no use for it.

I think the Bleeding heart Tetra's would be my first choice. Second would probably be the cherry barbs. When you said that the bleeding heart tetra's in the local lfs stores don't do it justice what do you mean? Do you mean that they will look better at home with better care or that I should look elsewhere to purchase it?

So should my tank be able to hand 4 cory cat's, 7 danio's, and 7 tetra's?
 
#4 · (Edited)
My apologies, I meant that you very seldom see adult Bleeding heart tetras in the stores. In my view they get better looking and spot gets larger as they mature.Your plan should work well.Weekly water changes,and not overfeeding are the key. PS you aren't talking about large danios are you?
 
#8 ·
Would there be a certain order these fish should go in the tank when it is fully cycled. I have heard that you shouldn't put more than a 3-4 fish at a time. That will be fine for the cory's but would the tetra's and dani's be ok going in half of a school at a time?
 
#9 ·
Once your tank is cycled, put the whole school of danios in first. They are extremely hardy and if for some reason it creates a mini-cycle, they will be able to handle it. Then you can split the tetras up 4 then 3 about 4 days apart if you see no ammonia after the first 4 are added. You will probably want to add the cories last IMO.
 
#10 ·
Now that I am thinking about it, there should be no reason why you couldn't add the whole school of tetras at once either. We are talking about extremely small bioloads here in a suitable size tank.
 
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