[TurtleFish]

I have no previous experience with fish. I do however have a turtle in a 25 gallon tank. I am setting this up as my turtle ete fish before. I have read a lot of info and cycling,stocking info. I set my tank up on Monday (30 Dec) and added bio start , turtle water and fish food . I did some water changes and added sand .I have a heater and a filter that has a sponge on the end . it does 400 litres an hour. No room for ceramic rings or anything but I guess the sponge will do that . I have a diy trickle filter in my turtle tank canopy .

The tank is 2 feet by 1 foot by 1 foot . I want to add java fern and anibus . I want to add something like ,

6 pigmy Corys
6 neons ( or other fish that are easy to get and look good)
Maby snail if I can find one
And shrinmp if I can find some
3 platies \ guppies

Thanks in advance,
P.S where I live only common fish are available

 

[SeaHorse]

Just be very aware that turtles hunt all the time!!! I don't think that the Corys or shrimp will be safe.... especially since they are not fast moving.

I really don't advise this, and I hate to be a downer!! Will you be separating turtle and fish from each other or all in one tank swimming freely together? How big is the turtle? If it is a wee hatchling things may be ok for a little while but it is only a matter of time. Not to mention the stress on the fish from having a predator in the tank with them.

So sorry to have to give this kind of advice.

 

[willow]

i would have said the same thing,so two meanie greenies;-)

 

[TurtleFish]

The turtle is the 25 ! The fish will be in the 15 ! ......SEPERATED !:shock:

 

[SeaHorse]

Oh thank goodness. I missed something obviously in your first post. I'm sorry!!
ok starting over!!!

Now that list sounds awesome!! Remember cycling a tank can take 6-8 weeks unless it is heavily stocked with plants to take up ammonia. Also Prime water conditioner neutralizes ammonia and Nitrites so having some would be a good idea. Also get yourself a water testing kit if you don't have one yet so you know where you are in the cycle until you are thru it.
Start slow with adding fish, adding them all at once will cause an ammonia spike. Prime can be used in an emergency situation at 5x the strength.

Good luck. Post pics when you can.

 

[TurtleFish]

I got some pretty cool rocks from the sea, I'm washing them frequently and pouring boiling water over them as they have many round holes , they look like asteroids. I will be getting plants soon and while I'm getting them i need to get a thermometer ,, water testing kits and a background . I'm going all natural so I'll have a bit of the amazon in my room :lol:

So 6neons and 6pygmy Cory's will be fine ? And I was wondering if I could put something like a red tail shark as a center piece , iv red that betas and gouramis can be aggressive so I dont want stressed fish , thanks for repying

 

[TurtleFish]

6 pygmi Cory's
8 rasboras
1 scarlet basis ?

 

[SeaHorse]

The Cory's and Rasboras are fine but I'm not sure about the Scarlet Badis. I'm just not familiar with them. The Red Tailed Shark IS aggressive and will out grow your tank.

 

[Chesh]

Hey Turtlefish, welcome to TFK!!!

You've gotten some good advice so far. . .

Some of the fish you're looking into getting may be more sensitive, and need water that is on the softer side, so if you're not sure the hardness of your local water, I'd recommend you contact your local water supply company, or get a test kit that measures gH and kH, and decide on stocking from there. A softwater fish won't be very happy in hard water, and it's far easier to stock for the water that you have in your tap, rather than trying to alter it to suit the fish - especially as a beginner!
ook into that
Along the same lines, you may want to look into those "asteroid" rocks - with your water testing kit in hand! Some rocks can effect the water hardness so you might want to double check...

I'm also not terribly familiar with the Scarlet Gems, but they're gorgeous fish! I know they're shy, and need very good water to stay healthy. I'll see if I can find one of our members who keeps these beauties to pop in and give you some input based on experience. . .

Good luck to you, and please do keep us updated on how things go!

 

[TurtleFish]

Thank for relpying , so should I fill a bucket with water and drop the rocks in , leave it for a day and then test it ? And I assume I have soft water as in my previous aquarium I have never gotten calcum residue on heaters and aquarium walls ,(I have read this is caused by hard water) I'll check it out when I get a test kit. I'm frequently washing and pouring hot water over them to be sure they are fine.

 

[Boredomb]

The stocking list you list would be fine in a 15 gallon tank depending on the species you are wanting. There are several Rasboras species. Do you know which ones you are wanting? Also the Pygmy Corys I assume those are the ones you are talking about just to be clear there are 3 that fall into the class of dwarf/Pygmy corys. Pygmy corys just being one of them. Each a lil different in size tho.

The Scarlet Badis are really pretty fish!! I had some once. They are a lil tricky tho. They are really picky eaters. I had to have live food cultures for them cause I couldn't for the life of me get them to eat prepared foods and I know others have had the same issues with them. So before I would get them I would definitely ask the store what they are eating before buying them. If they are prepared foods already them great. There shouldn't be an issue if not then. Be prepared to have live food cultures for them such as black worms or any other micro worm cultures. Daphnia will also be accepted usually.

All these fish are sensitive to water qualities also. So knowing what the hardness if your water will be good. Also means a cycled tank is a must for them. Clean water is too soo water changes should be done on a regular bases.

 

[TurtleFish]

Can you suggest any other center piece fish (mayby red tail shark ) ? The corys , I'll just get the ones that stay small , I dont mind which ones as where I live the range of fish isn't too big . for the smaller fish I was thinking to get the ones that are orangey and yellow with a black triangle in the middle (herlequin rasbora)

I want to get some anibus and java fern to help with water quality , can u suggest any other plants ? I didnt put and fertiliser into my sand by the way

 

[Chesh]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the lil' Scarlet Gems, BDM! They're such gorgeous little fish, I miss seeing them in your tank! One day, I'm going to get going on live cultures and bring some home. . . I AM! ^_^

TF, your list is VERY similar to what I was looking into when I first set up my tank, though I ended up going in a different direction, ultimately. I love Harlequin rassies, and have seen a good number of beginners keeping these, so they seem to be a good choice.

For a centerpiece fish you could maybe look into a Bolivian Ram - I have these, and adore them! Perhaps a Dwarf Gourami, though you'd have to double-check compatibility, I think they'd be okay with the others on your list. . . I'm sure the others will have more ideas for you to consider - there are SO many fish in the freshwater 'sea!'

I *personally* would still get the Gh/Kh test kit, or look into asking about the local water hardness - even if you've never seen limescale, better safe than sorry! If you have a good local fish shop they may be able to test your water for you. On this side of the pond, the API kit for gH/kH is only around $7 - and worth every penny!

I did a bucket test before I added rocks that I collected from nature to my tank (as well as scrubbing/rinsing/soaking them quite thoroughly - which it sounds as if you're already doing!!). I tested the water from the tap, then added rocks, and tested daily for a few days. My rocks had no effect on the water chemistry, but a forum friend did the same thing, and her water increased in hardness quite quickly with the rocks she had found, so it's definitely a good idea to test. She had soft water fish who would have been very unhappy had she added those rocks to her tank! ^__^

 

[TurtleFish]

Thanks for the advice , my next step is getting some things from fish store. If anyone could advise me on plants that would be great. Thanks in advance.:thankyou:

 

[beaslbob]

stay away from the red tail sharks. They are real meanies.

you might also take a look at the link in my signature. Just to get some ideas.

my .02

 

[Chesh]

*nods* What Bob said!
You definitely don't want a red-tailed shark in there! They get pretty big, are aggressive, and if I'm remembering correctly, they need at least a 4 foot tank. Not ideal for a small community tank like what you have. Hopefully someone will be by with more suggestions on a 'centerpiece' fish for you...

As far as planting is concerned, Java Fern and Anubias are both lovely plants that are VERY easy to grow, don't require very much lighting, and will do well with minimal fertilization. These plants are rhizome plants, so they will attach to your rocks or driftwood - you don't want to bury them in the substrate. They're slow growers, though - so they won't do very much to help you with water quality.

The quickly growing stem plants and floating plants are the best for that, provided they're healthy and have enough lighting and nutrients to thrive. There are many to choose from, I've had good luck with Cabomba, Anacharis, and Hornwort under moderate lighting, and for easy-to-grow floaters you can look into WaterSprite, Frogbit, and Duckweed. That's only a few to get you started, there are many, many more stems and floaters to choose from - and don't forget to look into those gorgeous rooted plants, like Amazon swords and Cryptocorynes, too! ^__^

Plants are a lot of fun, and not as difficult as they may seem - but you do have to make sure to have the proper full-spectrum lighting, as well as the right nutrients for them to thrive. If you haven't already, I'd suggest that you read over this article;
A Basic Approach to the Natural Planted Aquarium Part1, part 2, part 3, part 4,
and maybe check out some of the threads in the Beginner Planted Aquarium area - there's a lot of good information to be found to get you off on the right foot!!!

 

[SeaHorse]

One Gourami might be ok.... I know they can be aggressive to their own kind so 1 Blue or Gold (same species) OR say a Pearl. The "Kissing" gets way too big but a Pearl might be nice. They like to interact with humans and their "feelers" will reach out and touch the glass as if to touch you. I love fish that know I'm there!

(Someone correct me if Gourami is not ok with the other 2 species!)

 

[Chesh]

Thanks for your thoughts, Seahorse! *hugs*

More research is needed here, but I don't think these fish are well-suited to a smaller 15 gallon tank. . . Pearls can get close to 5 inches, and if I'm not mixing my common names up, Blue and Gold gourami are Trichopodus trichopterus - also called Three-spot gourami, and can sometimes grow a bit beyond the 5 inch mark. . . I *think* they both need a three foot tank at minimum - but I could be wrong! I haven't kept either yet (looking forward to getting Pearls for my 125 one day!)

A great site that you can use to help get a general idea of compatibility as well as stocking levels is AQAdvisor.com - it isn't perfect, but I found it to be very helpful when I was just starting out with stocking my first tank. . .

 

[TurtleFish]

I dont think I can get dwarf corydorus. So can I get like 3 bronze cordorus instead of 6 dwarf ones ???

 

[Chesh]

I think they'd be much better suited to a beginner than the little guys - the dwarfs are more sensitive to water conditions, from what I've read.
Double check me though! I haven't gotten to keep Cories, yet!