Tons of Questions!

[LaurenE]

Hello,
I am going to be starting up a 60 gallon (or at least I think that that is what it is) soon, and I have alot of questions. First of all, I have heard many different ways that you can cycle a tank and I was wondering if anybody recommends a certain one? Second of all, I would like to use sand as the substrate for my tank, but I am unsure of what kind is best to get and where to get it. And thirdly, I am wanting to add 2 Bolivian Rams, 2 bristlenose catfish, about 15 cardinal or neon tetras, about 10 rummy nose tetras, 6 marble hatchets, 8 zebra danios, 5 panda cory cats, 3 chinese algea eaters, and maybe an upside-down cat or two. Does this sound good, or am I missing something. What do you think? Thanks for you help.

[garfieldnfish]

Scratch the Chinese Algae Eaters. Not good community fish. They stop eating algae once they mature and attack fish to inlude each other instead.

[Lexus]

have 6-8 pandas

[LaurenE]

Ok thanks for the advice. I will definately take your advice and scratch the algea eaters and I will also add more pandas. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? Thanks.

[MyraVan]

That is way WAYYYYY too many fish for a 60 gallon tank.

I don't have sand as a substrate, but I hear that sand used for sand-blasting works pretty well and is very cheap.

Some people recommend fishless cycling, but it sounds like it's something easy to get wrong. Since you want to add zebra danios eventually, I'd suggest starting off with them. They are exceedingly tough fish. Get your 8 zebras, and start building up the bacteria!

[LaurenE]

Ok, thanks for the info. What would you suggest then?

[MyraVan]

I think your original description (minus the Chinese algae eaters and with 6-8 of the cories) has a good number of each of the fish you wanted, but has too may diifferent types of fish. I'd suggest looking up adult sizes of each of these things using Google, and then adding up the total inches for each group of fish you have. As examples,

8 zebra danios x 2" for each fish = 16" for the group
2 bristlenose catfish x 4" for each fish = 8" for the group

Then select your favorite of the groups you mentioned, and add up the inches for the groups, until your sum comes out to 60" or less. Or possibly a bit more, but if you put much more that 60" of fish in it won't be the best environment for your fish, and if something goes wrong it can go wrong much faster. Please note that 1 inch of fish per gallon of water leads to a tank that doesn't really have that many fish in it, compared with many tanks you see in pictures, or in many tanks in the shops.

Of course you can't add all at once! Using google again, rank all the groups you've decided to go for in terms of toughness. For example, zebra danios are really tough and are a good candidate for going in first. But panda cories are pretty fragile and should be put in much later. After each addition of groups, make sure your ammonia and nitrite levels are down to zero before adding the next group. That's what I would suggest!

[LaurenE]

Thanks, I will do all of the math and recalculate my want list. Thanks a bunch!

[LaurenE]

Hey, I just added it all up and without the u/d cats, it comes out to be alittle over 70. I will probably drop the hatchets and maybe a few neons, but I am not sure yet. Thanks for all of your help. Also, I have one more question. Will all of the fish I have chosen be compatible water wise?

[mrmoby]

Another option for you would be to add the fish slowly, so you get an idea how big they will grow. I have found that my fish tend to run a little smaller than what be given as their adult size. I too would also recommend the zebras as a good cycling fish. They can certainly deal with a lot!

[LaurenE]

Thanks, I was planning on addign the fish slowly, as I am in no rush. Also, I want them all to be able to acclimate to their new tank before they have to deal with the stress of more fish being added. I do agree as well with that some fish do not reach most stated adult sizes. Thanks for the help.

[MyraVan]

Also, I have one more question. Will all of the fish I have chosen be compatible water wise?

I don't know, as some of these fish are ones that I've never looked into, as I've never wanted to keep them. Most fish, especially farm bred ones, are very adaptable, and can adjust to any sensible pH, softness/hardness, etc, as long as it's stable. However, without looking them up myself, I wouldn't know if you happen to have chosen a type of fish that isn't quite so adaptable. Again, Google is your friend! Also you'll want to check if there's any problems with personality, like for example, tiger barbs shouldn't be mixed with fish with long fins because they will nip them, and angelfish will eat many smaller fish! I don't recall reading anything like that about the fish you want to keep, but the web pages about the fish will warn if there are any problems like that.

I have to admit that I love doing this kind of research. My house is filled with tanks full of happy fish, in my mind!

[LaurenE]

Thanks for the info. I have been doing tons of research, but I was just wondering if I missed something. I am pretty positive that I only picked ones that were compatable behavior wise. Thanks again for your help.