Fishtake Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 I've had a 40 breeder setup for about 2 weeks now. Fluval Stratum capped by pool filter sand. A big piece of bog wood and some Seiryu stone. I have 2 pots of anubia in there and a couple borneo ferns. I also have 2 pothos plants (very small) and a couple prayer plant snippings in there. Fluval 307 canister filter Fluval Plant 3.0 I just ordered more plants from aquarium coop (2 ludwigia, 2 ferns and a sword) so i am going to fill out the plants more. I've been dosing the tank with leaf zone every time I've done a water change (had quite a bit of tannins), and I've been dosing with QuickStart. My water tests look great and I'm sitting around 8.0 Ph. Can/should i start adding some life to the tank now? i was thinking either shrimp or a little team of cory's. I'm wanting to go towards either Apistogramma's or Chindongo Saulosi in the tank eventually but i want to make sure that I've gotten the tank to do it's maturing properly before i put in my feature fish. P.S. I've had tanks before but they were either guppies or Betta's and they were all in tanks 10 gallon or below. So this is my first real dive into the hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jovius Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 First, welcome to the forum! We are glad you are here! Second, have you cycled the tank yet? If you don't know what that is, that mean you dose your tank with beneficial bacteria and feed that bacteria with an ammonia source so that the bacteria establishes enough to handle your fish. Some people do "fish in cycles", but I can't recommend that because I believe it's not healthy or comfortable for our wet friends 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishtake Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 Hey, Thank you and I've started cycling. I've added API QuickStart to the tank and re-dosed every massive water change (3 so far, a lot of tannins from the wood). So my understanding is that it should be cycling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 On 7/24/2024 at 8:59 PM, Fishtake said: My water tests look great and I'm sitting around 8.0 Ph I wouldn’t worry about a ph of 8 much. It just means you have hard water. The majority of people do. More important are your gh and kh numbers. They can determine what you can put in. You have to avoid things like apistos, German blue rams, discus, and most wild caught South American fish. Local raised fish of all sorts are going to be your friend. As well as all livebearers, African species, and Central American fish. but for now the most important numbers are your ammonia and nitrites which need to be zero. the chidongo would be great. As well as any other Africans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 You could setup a great species only breeding tank or get a couple other dwarf Mbuna and make a really colorful tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishtake Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 Awesome that is good information to have. I tested my water before i did a massive water change (75%) ammonia and nitrites were sitting at 0 at that time. nitrates between 0 and 5.0 ppm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishtake Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 So since I'm not dosing ammonia and completely relying on my Stratum layer to slowly leak ammonia how long should i wait before putting in something like shrimp? Should i wait until I'm seeing some actual algae? I'm about to put in 5 more pots of plants this Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 (edited) shrimp, you want to wait a couple of months. they really need an established aquarium so they can graze off of everything. with your substrate, you will have to go by your ammonia tests. when the tank is keeping it at zero/near zero then its fish safe. a more normal gravel substrate, and i myself would have already had fish in it. Edited July 25 by lefty o 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Shrimp need a certain amount of funkiness in the tank. They don't do well on a new pristine tank. You, of course, realize that shrimp also limit the type of fish you can have. Mbuna would definitely appreciate the snack. 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Anything pretty much will eat anything that fits in there mouth. I am looking at breeding shrimp in a second tank knowing full well that unless the shrimp have a big enough colony it will be gone almost immediately. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishtake Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 Awesome thanks folks, Will wait another week and get my new plants settled in before considering which cory's i want to splurge on. After that I'll get my dither fish and then whatever i decide to be the show pieces 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefhugger Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 I highly recommend looking at beginner tips on Aquarium Co-ops site. Here's a link explaining tank cycling. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/pages/help-center#/collection/5204/article/26211 Lots of reliable information here. Understanding the relationships between ammonia, nitrites and nitrates is essential, and Cory communicates information clearly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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