[OmegaKeeper]

hi all

im new to fish keeping and i need some advise, i recently purchased an elite 60 liter tank and i plan for it to be a planted tank with micro gravel substrate, bog wood and a bubble wall and stock it with small shoaling communal fish.

ok so 1st question is i plan to have 2 filters in it 1: a basic sponge filter (air pump) and 2: a smart internal filer that does 600L/H, so is this to much filtration and or will it create to much current in my tank?

2nd question: what are the best/easiest plants to have in it? (i don't really like the plants that need to be weighted/tied down)

3rd: the fish im planing on getting are ether:

Top:
harlequin rasbora OR neon rainbowfish OR (?zebra danio?) x5

Top/Mid:
rummynose tetra OR ember tetra x5

Mid/Bottom:
cherry barb OR any other mid/bottom barbs x5

Bottom:
dainty cory OR pygmy cory x5

ok so that would be 20 small fish, what do u recommend i get or are there better fish ive not listed and are the numbers ok?


Sorry for the long questions but id greatly appreciate any advise u may have for me.

thanks

 

[jaysee]

Welcome to the forum

The neon rainbows and danios are way too big and active for such a small tank. For a ~15 gallon tank, I would only go with the dwarf corys, a school of ember tetras and a centerpiece fish, like a dwarf gourami.

On a 60L tank, you should only need one filter. 600 L/h is plenty. Internal filters don't hold too much media, but there will be plants in the tank so the combination ought to be able to handle that bioload just fine.

 

[OmegaKeeper]

ty for the info, im not sure about the gourami there a bit to big for me (lol) i like would like lots of small fish over 1 big fish. here is a link to a site that calculates what fish u can have in ur tank:

AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

is this info accurate cause it says that i can do this?

 

[jaysee]

Dwarf gouramis are pretty small. If you want to go smaller there are sparkling gouramis.

I was not able to see your aqadvisor link. I remember when the guy first made that site. It's just a tool - just because it says something is okay doesn't mean that it will be okay. There's more to stocking than algorithms.

 

[OmegaKeeper]

ahh i c, right well do u no if gourami shoal and what level of water they prefer? ill see if my LFS has them.

 

[spreadtoothinly]

You could also look into honey gourami, I think that is a type of dwarf... They were suggested to me as a gourami suitable to a small tank.
Just another idea. Good luck with your tank!

 

[OmegaKeeper]

just back from my LFS and ive decided against gourami they r just a little to big for me as i said, i think im definatly getting the harlequins and the cories so it comes down to cherry barbs or rummynose tetras or both. ive also found out that my tap water is VERY acidic can i use bottled still water to nutrify it?

 

[spreadtoothinly]

Personally, I like the cherry barbs. But whatever you like! How acidic is "VERY acidic"?

 

[BWG]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm waiting to hear what you mean by very acidic as well. My aquariums all run in the low 6s or below and my fish are fine. I chose the fish for that though. It's much easier than trying to mess with your water.

I'm personally a fan of nano fish and big shoals of them. I'd personally recommend against 4 shoals in a tank the size you have. That's just me though since I feel it looks more natural. I'm going to hold off on suggesting/picking fish though until I hear about your water.

 

[OmegaKeeper]

its the highest it can go on the api test kit, think its 7.5 or 7.6 and strangely there was no reaction to the ammonia test the water stayed clear :$ don't no what happend there lol (water from my 12 liter gold fish tank, not related to my 60liter btw)

yeah cherry barbs are nice but i read that they can be a bit nippy?

 

[BWG]

Your water isn't acidic then, not even a bit. It's mildly basic, perhaps even more. Do you have a high end ph test?

Did you test straight from the tap?

 

[OmegaKeeper]

ahh no not from tap from another tank, so 7.5 is ok then odd that thats the highest the test gos lol

 

[spreadtoothinly]

Do you have the high range pH test? It usually comes with the kit.

 

[OmegaKeeper]

oh no it was the LFS that did the tests, ive done a 25% water change so i hope that would help and ill get it tested again net week, anyways lets get back on topic,my 60l tank: as i said i wona use micro gravel (2-3mm) im thinking 6kg should be enough for a nice substrate for the plants? (its a 60x30cm tank if any1 wants to do the calculations) and im prity much gona get all the plants in the beginner guide on the main page. any suggestions?

 

[jaysee]

yeah cherry barbs are nice but i read that they can be a bit nippy?

Generally they are not, but they can be when improperly kept (too small of a tank, too small of a school). I would not get them for your tank.

 

[OmegaKeeper]

just got some ph test strips and my tap water is 7ph and my small 12liter tank is about 8ph, 6-8 would be around neutral ph so i think im ok with 50% tap/50% bottled water (treated with safe water of course) for my 60liter tank.

i think ur all right that 4 shoals might be to much so i might do this:

6x harlequin rasbora
6X cherry bard OR rummynose
6x dainty corys

so instead of 20 fish in 4 shoals its 18fish in 3 shoals, would this be more acceptable?

 

[Oxon Fish]

I have Harlequins and they are mid tank dwellers not top (or at least mine have been for last 7 months)

I have not had fish for long but 18 fish in a 60l tank sounds a bit busy, once you plants establish there won't be a lot of room for them.

I have a 90l tank and the most I have had at one time is 13 fish and 3 shrimp, and that was just about comfortable for the fish. The tank could cope water quality wish due to the plants, but think it will be a bit cramped.

Anyway, I am sure someone with better experience than me will let you know.

 

[OmegaKeeper]

yeah using the 1inch rule u should get 15-16 fish max in a 60liter but with over filtering and plants u could get more shoaling fish in there happily i would think. and cause im trying to get fish that like different levels of water should help also but im just guessing there.