HELP! 40 gallon planted community tank

[koi18]

i just started a 40 gal planted fish tank yesterday and i want it to be a community tank.

i've bought 14 pink zebras to help with the cycle. now my question is:

if these fishes survive the cycle what other fish should i put in the community?

i was thinking of putting in neon tetras and a male and female beta.


any suggestions and advices will be much appreciated. thanks!c:

 

[rufioman]

You put fish in there without it being cycled? If there's no established bacteria in there those fish will probably die. My advice is rehome the fish and try to get your tank going otherwise. You can get some established media from someone in your community or cycle it the manual way. Good luck.

:cheers:

 

[To3kn33]

+1 or be prepared to go atleast 50% water changes daily. You got a test kit? I did the same with my tank when I first got it..... But I have learnt all I know off here so good luck!
Tony


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[constevens]

You put fish in there without it being cycled? If there's no established bacteria in there those fish will probably die. My advice is rehome the fish and try to get your tank going otherwise. You can get some established media from someone in your community or cycle it the manual way. Good luck.

:cheers:

Not everyone does fishless Cycles. I dont and havent in 33 years of the hobby. You cant tell someone their fish are going to die just because the tank is cycled. I havent lost any fish to a cycle of a tank in more then 20 years. Not being rude. Just saying.

To the OP. You will need 2 test kits. The ones I recommend are from API. They are liquid test. You will want Ammonia and Nitrite tests. I would recommend to test the water a couple to 3 times a week. Start off with Ammonia as it will be the first to show. Watch as it rises some. Dont let it get to high. If you get to 1.0 on the test do a 50% water change. Keep watching the Ammonia. You should also at this time test for Nitrite. you should see Ammonia go down to nothing as well as start to see the Nitrite rise. Again dont let it get to high. See it get to 1.0 do 50% water change. Once the Nitrites gone your good to go. What do you have for filtration? Also if your doing live plants adding as many live plants as possible can help with a cycle. Even plants help in the creation of the bacteria as well as they will consume Ammonia.

As far as your fish. I would to add fish only after it cycles. Then go for small groups of schooling fish as well as some nice dwarf cory cats, and dwarf family of pleco like the Bristle nose. You can put a betta in. BUT probably not more then one. Not even a male and female. Most cases they dont do well with each other.

If your doing the live plants and want them to be successful you need to normally have specifc plants for specific light, fert and substrate needs. Or you need to add the specifics of better light, fertilization and a proper substrate for them to grow.

Of course you may already know all this but its all basics of the planted tank and fish in general.

 

[koi18]

Not everyone does fishless Cycles. I dont and havent in 33 years of the hobby. You cant tell someone their fish are going to die just because the tank is cycled. I havent lost any fish to a cycle of a tank in more then 20 years. Not being rude. Just saying.

To the OP. You will need 2 test kits. The ones I recommend are from API. They are liquid test. You will want Ammonia and Nitrite tests. I would recommend to test the water a couple to 3 times a week. Start off with Ammonia as it will be the first to show. Watch as it rises some. Dont let it get to high. If you get to 1.0 on the test do a 50% water change. Keep watching the Ammonia. You should also at this time test for Nitrite. you should see Ammonia go down to nothing as well as start to see the Nitrite rise. Again dont let it get to high. See it get to 1.0 do 50% water change. Once the Nitrites gone your good to go. What do you have for filtration? Also if your doing live plants adding as many live plants as possible can help with a cycle. Even plants help in the creation of the bacteria as well as they will consume Ammonia.

As far as your fish. I would to add fish only after it cycles. Then go for small groups of schooling fish as well as some nice dwarf cory cats, and dwarf family of pleco like the Bristle nose. You can put a betta in. BUT probably not more then one. Not even a male and female. Most cases they dont do well with each other.

If your doing the live plants and want them to be successful you need to normally have specifc plants for specific light, fert and substrate needs. Or you need to add the specifics of better light, fertilization and a proper substrate for them to grow.

Of course you may already know all this but its all basics of the planted tank and fish in general.

Thanks for your reply guys!

To answer your question regarding my filter, i've got a precision PF-850 power filter.

i initially bought 4 zebra danios to help start the cycle of my 40gal, but because of my dad who was constantly bugging me(in his defense, he doesn't know anything about the cycle and he told me he wants to see fish in my big tank) i bought 10 more zebras. now my problem is: i know i'm gonna have HUGE ammonia and nitrite spikes in these coming days and i know i'm gonna lose fish even if they're cheap i don't wanna dead fish. i don't also have the testing kit coz it costs TOO much here. i DO have a PH testing kit.

i figure that i need to do constant water changes (40-50%) almost everyday or every 3 days to ensure that the fish survives(this is what i did with my other tanks which now is cycled completely and have fish living).

my other question is: if all the 14 danios survive the cycle, what fish types should i put in with them? or is my tank right now overstocked?

thanks again guys!

 

[Sunn]

personally i think people are a bit overcritical about fish-in cycling. i did a fish-in cycle on my 20g with some black neon tetras and they were totally fine..you just have to keep up with changing the water. but 14 fish is another story, you're gonna have to change a lot of water on that..

 

[cicrush13]

Not everyone does fishless Cycles. I dont and havent in 33 years of the hobby. You cant tell someone their fish are going to die just because the tank is cycled. I havent lost any fish to a cycle of a tank in more then 20 years. Not being rude. Just saying.

+1 to that. I've done it both ways but you can't always predict that someone's fish is going to die in a cycle.

14 fish seems like a lot so this can change how quickly the cycle goes. I would be prepared for some ammonia very quickly.

Now to answer your question, when you say pink zebra danios do you mean the red/pink glo-fish?

To your stock plan if you keep the pink danios, I would not put neons or bettas in with them as they are very very very very active and are notorious fin nippers.

I'm not sure what 40 gallon tank you are talking about either. Is it a 40 high, 40 long (breeder)?

If you want a planted community based on neons, I would look to add cory catfish (at least 6-8 of them since they school as well) and maybe a pair of blue rams or gold rams to help contrast the neons.

What do you have for substrate and for lighting for the plants?
Any thoughts on what plants you might want to keep?

Sorry for all the questions, but I love a good planted tank (guilty of 2 60 gallons myself).

 

[SMinNC]

...my other tanks which now is cycled completely and have fish living).

Something simple you can do, since you have other tanks already...
Get a media bag.
Fill it with some substrate(gravel?) from one or both of your established(cycled) tanks.
Put somewhere in your new tank.(lay it right on top of your substrate in the 40).

Then when the cycle is done, you can remove the bag and empty it back into the tank it came from.
OR
If you have the same substrate in both tanks. Just add some from the cycled tank, to the new one. And just leave it since it's the same.
Just to add... if you have the "perfect" amount of substrate in your cycled tank. And just can stand to loose any. First, take some out of the new tank. Then some out of the cycled tank. Then switch which tank each goes into.
This is so you don't end up taking back half of what you just put in.

 

[koi18]

+1 to that. I've done it both ways but you can't always predict that someone's fish is going to die in a cycle.

14 fish seems like a lot so this can change how quickly the cycle goes. I would be prepared for some ammonia very quickly.

Now to answer your question, when you say pink zebra danios do you mean the red/pink glo-fish? yes that is it

To your stock plan if you keep the pink danios, I would not put neons or bettas in with them as they are very very very very active and are notorious fin nippers. do you think that i should return them to my LFS?

I'm not sure what 40 gallon tank you are talking about either. Is it a 40 high, 40 long (breeder)? it is a breeder..

If you want a planted community based on neons, I would look to add cory catfish (at least 6-8 of them since they school as well) and maybe a pair of blue rams or gold rams to help contrast the neons.
how about this:
3 Flying Foxes

1 Bristle Nosed Catfish

7 Neon Tetras

1 Male Betta
2 Female Bettas


What do you have for substrate and for lighting for the plants? my LFS gave me the advice of applying liquid fertilizers because i opted to not have a soil substrate.
Any thoughts on what plants you might want to keep? i have a java fern, water sprites, fountain plant and a japanese rush

Sorry for all the questions, but I love a good planted tank (guilty of 2 60 gallons myself). the more the question the more i learn.. thanks a lot!

THANKS GUYS!

 

[koi18]

Something simple you can do, since you have other tanks already...
Get a media bag.
Fill it with some substrate(gravel?) from one or both of your established(cycled) tanks.
Put somewhere in your new tank.(lay it right on top of your substrate in the 40).

Then when the cycle is done, you can remove the bag and empty it back into the tank it came from.
OR
If you have the same substrate in both tanks. Just add some from the cycled tank, to the new one. And just leave it since it's the same.
Just to add... if you have the "perfect" amount of substrate in your cycled tank. And just can stand to loose any. First, take some out of the new tank. Then some out of the cycled tank. Then switch which tank each goes into.
This is so you don't end up taking back half of what you just put in.

nice! but i can't do this because my other tanks are smaller.. this is my first time doing a big tank.... thanks for your reply, i appreciate it a lot..