Hi

I am new to fishkeeping & have just ordered a new Fluval Roma 125 Acquarium.
I will not be putting any fish in until the Nitrite Cycle has been completed - but am not sure how many fish the tank could eventually hold. I would like to stock with (building over a few weeks):-

4 Zebra Danios
5 Lemon Tetras
6 Neon Tetras
2 Dwarf Gourami
3 Guppy

Does this seem realistic - only there are so may different opinions on the intranet ?

Hi and welcome to FK,

A general rule of thumb for initial stock is 1 inch of fish per gallon of actual water (excluding tail) at projected adult size. Your 125 litre tank will probably actually hold 100 litres of water after displacement by gravel, ornaments etc., is taken into account. 100 litres is 22 gallons, so you can have 22 inches of fish. The rule isn't exact, as for instance 22 one inch fish have a lower bioload than fewer large fish, and other things like need for swimming space need consideration, but it's a starting point.


From the list you've posted, you need to remove the Zebra Danios as they are not tropical fish and prefer a considerably lower temperature than the others you've listed. The others are all fish who prefer soft water with a pH around 7 or under except for the Guppies who need hard alkaline water.

The best thing to do now is to test the pH and hardness of your tap water so you can consider species' that prefer the kind of water you have. Test pH twice: once straight from the tap and again after it's been standing in a clean cup for 24 hours to see if it changes (it often does). When you have those results post them here for suggestions.

I see you posted a question about ammonia for cycling on the Fishless Cycling article:

Quote:

"Pure" isn't a brand name, it's just that you need to be sure the ammonia you buy doesn't have any other additives. Some can contain other ingredients or perfumes and aren't suitable. Ammonia is harder to get these days, but is usually available at Homebase, at Boots (but only online) and on eBay and Amazon.

Thanks for response. No doubt I will need further guidance whilst undertaking my tank cycle - is the general forum the best place to post ?

Yes