How can I care for these fish?

Question

• 4 Dwarf gouramis

• 2 Angelfish

• 4 Blue Rams

• 4 Peppered cory cats

• 4 Otos

• 6 Congo Tetra

• 6 Black skirt tetras

They're going to be in a 50 gallon tank, with a heater, filter and aerator, I was just wondering what kind of care techniques and/or routines etc do you think I should give these fish together?

Q1) What temp. should the heater be set to?

Q2) Water hardness, ammonia, nitrate levels etc.

Q3) Lighting?

Q4) Any other general suggestions?

Answer 1

All the fish are heat loving except for the cories which tend to like cooler water but will do fine in probably 80 degrees C. All of them are soft water fish so keep the kH at around 5-7 and a pH of 6.5-7. Ammonia and nitrite should always be at 0 ppm, and nitrates generally need to be lower than 25ppm for the healthy tank that you want. Keep up with your weekly water changes to keep nitrate in check. Lighting is not an issue if it is not planted, just enough to see your fish clearly and bring out their best colors, probably around 0.5 watts per gallon. Black skirts are quite the aggressive fish sometimes and may nip the fins of your angelfish so better not buy any more. Instead buy 2 more cory cats so that they will feel less stressed because they are shoaling fish.  Give the cories and otos sinking food because they are bottom feeders, also include blanched sliced zucchini for the otos, they really love it. Feed them meaty foods at least once a week for their colors to really show. Clean your filter regularly so that the wastes will not build up. Not much to suggest anymore, just keep their water clean.

Answer 2

Temperature between 75-80 degrees will be fine. I keep mine at around 79.

Honestly I hardly measure the ammonia or anything, I just do regular water changes.

Lighting really depends on your plants, otherwise the light will mainly be for viewing your fish. I wouldn't suggest more than 12 hours a day so algae doe not become a problem.

get a filter that is recommended for a bit higher than your tank size, get some larger live plants, some snails, and create a good bit of hiding places. After that, just keep up with cleaning, but if it is a new tank, allow it to cycle 1st.

CYCLE YOUR TANK!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

1 - Approx 25C (77F). Dont believe whats written on the heater, check the tank temp and adjust the heater up or down to suit,

2 - Hardness and pH, just use what comes out out of the tap (as long as it's sensible values). Try and keep the Nitrate level under 30ppm, ammonia and nitrite should be zero.

3 - depends what plants you have. If you dont have live plants you only need lights so you can watch the fish. If you are growing live plants then the lighting level is more important.

4 - learn about the aquarium nitrogen cycle, thats the most important thing about maintaing any tank.

Daily, feed the fish. I try and feed mine twice a day.

Routine maintenance should be each week. Clean the glass, vacum the gravel, change some of the water (20-30%) and rinse out the filter elements in old tank water (if needed). Top up with fresh water (with some water conditioner added). Thats about it.

Have a read of the link below, it explains the Nitrogen cycle that helps control the ammonia level,

Ian