lots of questions for a new planted tank

[Mr.Shortround]

First of all; a preemptive thanks for everyone's help. This will be my first tank and I'm slowly coming up to speed on all of this.

Right now I have a 28g bowfront with flourite substrate chilling in my living room. (no plants or fish yet) It has a penguin 150 bio-wheel filter on it. For lighting I am using a Coralife 65 watt 6,700K PCL, giving me 2.3 watts per gallon setup. If need be, I will use a DIY C02 setup, but I'm planning on starting without the CO2, is this correct?

I was planning on going with a package of plants from sweet aquatics to start with. (and find out what I like) the package includes:
1 Potted Sword
2 Potted Foreground (can be substituted for microsword portions)
1 Bare Root Anubias
2 Bunch Plants
5 Vallinernia
1 Aponogeton Bulb with sprouts
2 Bare Root Cryptocorynes
1 Potted Cryptocoryne
1 Crinum Thaianum
1 Java Fern


Are there any issues I should be aware of with these plants?
For the fish themselves, I was leaning towards picking from this list http://www.elmersaquarium.com/c106community5barbs.htm


From that list I was thinking about some combination of:
5 or 6 Tiger Barbs (or cherry barbs depending on overcrowding?)
1 Keyhole Cichlid
1 Praecox Rainbowfish
3 Kuhlli Loach
1 Redtail Shark
1 Bristlenose Pleco


I went to two LFS to see the fish in person and find out if I liked their personalities, etc. At each store I recieved conflicting information.


1st store:
Tiger barbs/all barbs don't work with planted tanks, they will eat my plants; Cherry barbs might be ok but are not reccomended.
The other fish will be fine.

2nd store:
Tiger barbs/all barbs will eat my plants
The loaches will dig up the roots of the plants
The shark and pleco will not work with plants and will knock everything over
For my tank, I need at least two filters. the one I have is not enough.


Ok... so I've searched online and cannot find anything about tiger barbs eating plants, plecos and redtailed sharks knocking everything over, etc. Does anyone have a straight forward answer to all of this? :help:




Assuming that at least some of that list works in my tank, I'm planning on doing a silent cycle. Should I start with the barb fish or the pleco or the ... for the cycle? ( I know the loach's require an established tank and are not suitable for cycling)

[jptjpt]

Here's my take: I would not put Keyhole cichlids in there. Tiger barbs and Praecox rainbows are highly active fish that would startle/stress your keyhole cichlid. Praecox rainbows should be kept in groups also, not just one. The redtail shark, as it grows bigger, can become aggressive. I have no experience w/ Plecos; someone else can help you with them. So go with a group of Praecoxs or Tiger barbs, not both. Maybe a couple of cories instead of the redtail.

[Luvbugz]

I think you got a lot of bad info at the LFS. Alot of planted tank people keep cherry barbs in their planted tanks. The bright red against the green of the plants make an awesome looking contrast. Tiger barbs are considered semi agressive and are notorious fin nippers. They should never be kept with fish with long fins or peaceful/timid fishes as they can bully them to death. Certain plecos can be kept in a planted tank. Alot of planted tankers have bristlenosed plecos. They tend to help a little with algae control and stay on the smaller size; about 4 - 5 inches. They only problem is sometimes your bristlenose may rasp at broader leaved plants such as amazon swords.

I wouldn't go with the red tailed shark. They can get too big and usually aren't very good community tank mates.

My personal favs for planted tanks are: tetras, rasboras, cherry barbs, rams, cories, bristlenosed plecos, snails and red cherry shrimp (of course the shrimp can't be kept with fish that would see them as food)

[Luvbugz]

Oh I forgot about otos! They do a decent job with algae control and stay really small like 2 - 3 inches. They esp. love diatoms which is that lovely brown looking algae that usually shows up right after you cycle your tank.

[jpappy789]

I would highly recommend Co2 for that setup, but it's probably not necessary at first. That can be straightened out later, although 2 Potted Foreground (can be substituted for microsword portions) and 2 Bunch Plants could really mean anything. With your lighting you should be ok, as I doubt they would send you something really demanding in a package like that...otherwise the plant list looks fine.

As for the stock:

5 or 6 Tiger Barbs (or cherry barbs depending on overcrowding?)- you need at least 6 to keep nipping at a minimum. The larger the group, the more tendency they have to ignore other fish and stay in their own group. Cherry barbs are a better option as they are more peaceful and have great color. I would go with 2 males and 6 females (males have the dark red color in breeding). Also, they do better in smaller spaces than the tigers.
1 Keyhole Cichlid- although smaller and peaceful, this tank might be to tight. Not sure.
1 Praecox Rainbowfish- must be in groups of at least 6. A single praecox will not last long.
3 Kuhlli Loach- I would say 5-6 minimum. Loaches are highly social fish.
1 Redtail Shark- Not great for a community setup, especially with other bottom dwellers like loaches, as they get more aggressive with age. Not only that but at 5" they will become cramped.
1 Bristlenose Pleco- a good addition as long as you remember to feed some fresh veggies. They are pretty gentle with most plants.

I would go with:

8 cherry barbs OR 8 praecox rainbows (not enough room for both IMHO)
5-6 kuhli loaches
1 BN pleco

for now. I'm not experienced with keyholes so I can't make that call. I will say that a pair of honey gouramis would fit right in and would be a great centerpiece.

[Mr.Shortround]

Thanks for the info everyone. I think I'm going to start out with the Cherry barbs and the bn pleco.
Later I will add the loaches and a centerpiece fish. (tbd later, but I like the idea of a honey gouriami)

It also sounds like the 1 filter setup will be fine? if that's not the case please let me know.

[jpappy789]

I like 2 filters for precautionary measures- if one fails you have a backup, but it's certainly not necessary.