60L stocking ideas (all help and advice welcome)

[Baldwin]

Evening all –

I am a stone cold, two-week, novice fish-keeper (well, technically, I'm not even that as I don't yet have any fish) and I want to pick the brains of you fine folk.

It hasn't started well to be honest: I have already managed to smash my tank-lid and pick up a nasty case of planaria. Brilliant. But in truth, I'm loving it. I honestly don't know why it has taken me thirty odd years to get involved.

Anyway, I have got my rocks and my wood and my plants (I am fully planted up – I think I love the plants as much as the fish), now I am just waiting for my cycle to sort itself out. When I do start to stock I am thinking as follows:

1 x Honey Gourami
6-8 Ember or Lemon or Rummy Nose or Serpae or Bleeding Heart or White Skirt tetras (I've thought about Rasboras, Barbs, Danios etc but I keep coming back to Tetras)
2-4 Cherry Shrimp
1 x Black Helmet Nerite Snail

I've got a simple set-up (picture below): no C02 or soil (standard black gravel) but I do have lots of greenery to improve water quality and provide shelter, and I will be regimented with my water-changes.

If you could let me know what you think, give me more suggestions/advice/help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
V

[Gingerlove05]

Hello and welcome
Looks like you have already made a good start, despite your hiccups along the way. For cycling there is a guide here:
http://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/guides
You may also want to look up your water hardness as this will help determine what you can stock. This can normally be found on your water supplier website.
Because the tank is small you will want to avoid the rummys as they like a lot of room to swim back and forth

[Baldwin]

Thanks! Noted, regarding the Rummys. My P.H is coming in at 7.6, but I'm not sure about the hardness measurement – I'll look. How much wiggle room is there regarding water-hardness? I have read in places that it is critical, but then in others, that it doesn't matter too much as the fish you buy locally are *generally* bred in the same conditions?

[Baldwin]

I've just checked...

[Gingerlove05]

We work on the basis that a few generations of breeding wont adjust a fish’s adaptation to hardness. If you research most species have a range, seriously fish is one i commonly use as its pretty reliable, there are a couple of others that i cant remember offhand
Ph is the measure of acidity/alkalinity where as the hardness is the measure of calcium and magnesium and other minerals that make water hard or soft it’s measured in degrees German, french, english(clark) or ppm, mg CaCO3/l. German is most commonly used in fish keeping
Ph is more a factor in breeding and the sex of the resulting fry (eg some species have more females in more acidic ph) but a stable ph is important as fish/livestock and the filter bacteria/munchers dont like swings in ph as it can shock them.

[Baldwin]

That’s all great info – I’ll investigate further. Thank you very much!

[plankton]

Welcome to the forum.
Bleeding hearts and white/blackskirts will be a bit big for a 60l, as well as the rummies needing swimming space. Flame tetras are a similar shape, but much smaller.

[Baldwin]

Thank you! Yes, I’ve just been reading about flames – they could be the one. My water hardness has narrowed it down for me (which is probably a good thing). Do you think my list is OK for volume?

[fr499y]

Welcome and congratulations on being the 1000th forum member!

[Baldwin]

Thanks!