Advice needed: Starting a new tank

[Lucky]

Hi everyone, I started my first tank over 3 years ago and since I am going to be moving soon, I am planning to upgrade my tank as for my new apartment. I currently have a 10g tank with guppies and neocaridina shrimp but in my new apartment I'll be getting something between 40-60g. I need some advice for stocking the tank and I was hoping I could get help here.

I am attached to my colony of guppies and shrimp so making sure whatever lives in the tank won't wipe them out is the priority. With that in mind, I had a few ideas for additional species that I could include in the tank. I'm not saying I want to do all of these but I would like to have some variety within the tank.

- Panda Corys

- Super red bristlenose plecos

- A single halfmoon plakat betta

- Neon tetras

I am open to any other suggestions but I definitely want smaller fish so I can have some variety. I should also mention that the tank will be planted so any suggestions should be plant safe. I also like breeding fish but I'm not looking to do it for profit or work with anything too demanding. I am going to be starting law school so I would like to keep things relatively low maintenance (that includes under-stocking the tank a little to give me more wiggle room if i miss a water change). Thanks.

[Isaac M]

Hello @Lucky, first of all, I wish you the very best in law school!

Before I get into stocking, I wanted to mention that this would also be a great time to add the filter or filter media you will be using in the new tank into the 10 gallon. This will help with instantly cycling your tank when you set up your new aquarium. 

Also, to minimize maintenance while in school, I would recommend adding pothos to the aquarium for the removal of nitrates. You can add it above the aquarium with the roots in the water, this will help remove nutrients in the water while also minimizing any plant trimming you will need to do. I would also add a larger floating plant like salvinia or frogbit or dwarf water lettuce. I would stay away from duckweed as it will increase maintenance by constantly needing it to be removed from the aquarium. The other floating plants will need this as well but its less messy and faster with larger plants. 

The only fish I am concerned about in that list is the betta as it may predate on the shrimp. If the aquarium is heavily planted and has rock piles, you can possibly get it to work but it is still a risk. But panda corys, guppies and neon tetras with shrimp sounds like a great aquarium to me. 

[Lucky]

On 5/8/2021 at 5:35 AM, Isaac M said:

Hello @Lucky, first of all, I wish you the very best in law school!

Before I get into stocking, I wanted to mention that this would also be a great time to add the filter or filter media you will be using in the new tank into the 10 gallon. This will help with instantly cycling your tank when you set up your new aquarium. 

Also, to minimize maintenance while in school, I would recommend adding pothos to the aquarium for the removal of nitrates. You can add it above the aquarium with the roots in the water, this will help remove nutrients in the water while also minimizing any plant trimming you will need to do. I would also add a larger floating plant like salvinia or frogbit or dwarf water lettuce. I would stay away from duckweed as it will increase maintenance by constantly needing it to be removed from the aquarium. The other floating plants will need this as well but its less messy and faster with larger plants. 

The only fish I am concerned about in that list is the betta as it may predate on the shrimp. If the aquarium is heavily planted and has rock piles, you can possibly get it to work but it is still a risk. But panda corys, guppies and neon tetras with shrimp sounds like a great aquarium to me. 

Great thanks for the advice. I'm not moving for a few weeks but I added 2 small sponge filters a few weeks ago and I was planning to use them to kick start the cycles on my new tank and the quarantine tank I'll be setting up for the new fish. I'll also have the tank running for about 2-3 weeks before I add anything and since it'll just get my current 10g stock at first, I'm not worried about anything crazy happening.

The tank will definitely have a good amount of wood/rocks/plants so the shrimp will have a lot of cover but I also have a 4g tank on my desk that currently houses shrimp. If I end up getting a betta and it causes problems, I can move the shrimp to the main tank and make the 4g my betta home. 

I've tried to avoid floating plants for now because I'm worried about lighting at the bottom of my tank and I'm not a huge fan of their look. I guess pothos would probably be the best option then if I'm having trouble with nitrates. 

 

[Patrick_G]

My initial thought is some Ember Tetras to contrast with the Neons. I’ve seen a few tanks with that combo and they look so cool! 
I also love Otocinclus Catfish and Amano shrimp. They’re super fun to watch and do a great job helping with algae control. 

[Isaac M]

@Lucky sounds like you have a great plan in place. Yeah, if you do not like floating plants then I would stick to the pothos and other riparian type of plants. Fast growing stem plants work as well but again, trimming them will add to the maintenance. 

Like @Patrick_G mentioned, you can also include some algae eaters to help with the aquarium. Otos, snails, hillstream loaches and others that are similar would do great. You can do Amano shrimp with the neos but amanos are very aggressive, especially around feeding so just keep that in mind.