# Fluval edge 12 gallon stocking-does my list work?



## eutimio

I know this is a cichlid forum more than anything else but i know there are ppl here that can help me correctly stock my 12 g fluval edge

I've got live plants(anubias,vals,hornwort,crypts,java moss,moss balls) and driftwood.

I was thinking to stock it with:
10 celestial pearl danios
7 or 10 red cherry shrimp

Is that too much?
The tank is cycled I'm just dosing ammonia til my fish go in.
Any good advice is appreciated.thx


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## AfricanLove

IMO I would skip the danios and get more shrimp like 10-15. They will soon populate your tank. I would throw some Nertrite Snails in there also. That's a 17x10x17 If I am not mistaken, So stocking fish is a little more difficult. Think that is a smaller foot print then a 10 gallon so, I would either go with a smaller group, or my personal favorite just shrimp.


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## NJmomie

I am biased on the celestial pearl danios. I think they are very pretty and a big group would look great in a heavily planted tank. I don't know how they would fare with the shrimps though. Please post a picture when you stock the tank.


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## AfricanLove

If I remeber someone saying that celestial danios are to big for even a 10 gallon foot print


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## eutimio

Today I introduced a group of 5 CPD's along with 5 red cherry shrimp into my tank.the CPD's measure between 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch.
I dont see how a 10G footprint would be too small for CPD's...i could see how that rule would apply to territorial fish but these fish arent..The shrimp are all over the moss and plants while my CPD's swim all over the place.so far so good they seem to get along.ill post pictures tomorrow


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## AfricanLove

Just be ready to get rid of some RCS because they breed like nuts if they don't feel threatened


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## DJRansome

From an article in Tropical Fish Magazine:



> A tank of 10 gallons or more would be perfect for a group of them. In a larger tank you really get to see some of their interesting group dynamics, and subdominant males have a place to get away.


Sounds like they can be territorial.


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## AfricanLove

DJRansome said:


> From an article in Tropical Fish Magazine:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A tank of 10 gallons or more would be perfect for a group of them. In a larger tank you really get to see some of their interesting group dynamics, and subdominant males have a place to get away.
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds like they can be territorial.
Click to expand...

And back to the edge has a smaller foot print


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## rupertoooo

I see no issue with your stocking. I have a 7.5G Nano with CPD's and Golden Sunset Shrimp.


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## pablo111

There's actually a pet store that only sells shrimp and CPD's near me called Shrimp Fever. CPDs are the only fish they recommend for housing with shrimp, as they do not bother the shrimp at all. I think you made good stocking choices.


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## eutimio

Finally took some pictures.Hard to take a good shot of the CPD's but im trying..still learning how to play with my camera...
Any constructive advice or comments is welcome.Im sure it will look better in a couple of months when the plants will grow bigger..also looking to fill up the gaps in between with some java fern and smaller merino moss balls...hopefully it wont look too overwhelming..
I added 3 nerite snails today ..not sure if i should add more...
5 red cherry shrimp
5 CPD's
theyre doing really well at the moment..
again..not sure if i should add more fish or shrimp ..the tank looks empty most of the time since the CPD's are kind of swimming in the lower water column...
*** been told to buy some Paskai or Paska's rainbow fish(not sure about the exact name)..they are yellow with a blue stripe along their back and grow no more than 1"1/4 and they are peaceful also.The manager at the LFS told me in his opinion those are the only fish that he would put in with the CPD's and shrimp..do you guys feel the same?
ok enough with the talk ...enjoy


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## rupertoooo

Personally I would not add other fish with your CPD's. In regards to your Rainbow question I am not sure how familiar you are with the Pseudomugil Genus of Rainbows but they are not for the beginner. The Paskai and Threadfin in particular are two of the more fragile of the group and are very demanding. They are extremely picky eaters but have found *LIVE BABY BRINE* to be their food of choice. Personally I would not attempt to house Pseudomugil unless you plan on hatching your own live brine or have a source to obtain them and even than you may still have to offer other types of small live food as they may turn their nose to the brine. As I previously stated I would stick with CPD's species only however if you are stone set at adding another fish take a look at one of the Licorice Gourami's as they would be a good match.


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## Robin

Your edge looks great. 
I've had one running for a couple years now. I've got a betta, five white cloud minnows--(very nice fish--bright orange yellow, not white), and two albino bristlenose along with a few easy plants--black eco-complete substrate, and rocks from the rocky coast of Maine. 
I thought it was a beautiful tank even before I put water in it. It's is easily my favorite tank, (sorry cichlids!!). I've got it positioned so sitting on the couch I can look right through it and into my 90 gallon tank. Really helps when my husband has got the SYFY station on and I need to look away from the TV. (NOT scary--just irritating!)

Love the branches you've got in there and will be interested in hearing how the danios work out.

Robin


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## NJmomie

I think your tank looks great. Love the branches and moss you have scattered in there. Be careful with the moss balls...mine gave me Cyanobacteria and it was a pain to get rid of. Robin, I also find myself staring at my Fluval from across the room mostly when my husband has control of the remote and wants to watch three shows at one time.


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## eutimio

thank you all...the tank now has 8 CPD's and 6 paskai rainbowfish 5 red cherry shrimp and 6 nerite snails...before you jump at my throat for overcrowding my tank let me explain what happened.I had some extra manzanita wood which i knew the manager at the lfs wanted because we've talked about it before...he said he will pay me the price of the wood in fish only so i got the 6 paskai rainbowfish and 2 more cpd's as well as 3 more nerites...all in exchange for the wood.
I knew i wasnt supposed to put more fish in but gave in...contrary to whats been said, my paskai's eat baby brine shrimp as well as crushed NLS pellets..
They are all small like 3/4 to 1"..they also seem to get along well with the cpd's and shrimp..
i also noticed a baby shrimp in my tank today which is kind of unusual(*** read that shrimp get intimidated and dont mate in tanks where fish are present)..
all is well so far ...but should i expect something bad to happen soon like deaths or fights between the 2 species?
tested the water tonight too..ammonia 0..nitrite 0..nitrate <5ppm..


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## AfricanLove

I could dir see some shrimp deaths because if the tank not being established bit as will set. And when I say established I don't mean cycled


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## Robin

> before you jump at my throat





> he said he will pay me the price of the wood in fish only so


Ha ha: let him who wouldn't have taken the fish in trade be the first to jump at your throat!!

I can't speak to how the two species will get along--the concern of course is that in a small tank an aggressive tank mate will do more damage quicker/easier so you need to be extra vigilant. 
Other major concerns with over-crowding any tank is that it's harder to keep the water quality up--more fish=more waste. Doing more frequent partial water changes and gravel siphonings should help with that. And don't over-feed! One small feeding a day and only as much as they can eat in less than a minute. 
Also when you have lots of fish it can be harder to notice the early symptoms of disease which is key to diagnosing and treating--so again you just have to watch your tank more. 
A dead fish stuck behind a rock/decoration may not be so quickly noticed in an over-crowded tank and few things will foul your water quicker, (ammonia spike), then a dead fish.

I would love to see a picture with the new fish

Robin



> I also find myself staring at my Fluval from across the room mostly when my husband has control of the remote and wants to watch three shows at one time.


 :lol:


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## AfricanLove

AfricanLove said:


> I could dir see some shrimp deaths because if the tank not being established bit as will set. And when I say established I don't mean cycled


I hate typing from my phone, Let me Re type this.

I could for see some Shrimp deaths in the future because of the tank not being established. This is what I have been told by long time shrimp keepers. They told me to wait before I put shrimp in my tank. But we will see. And when I say established I don't mean cycled


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## eutimio

Anyone has any experience with water lettuce?
The leafs are supposed to stay on top of the water but since the edge is built so stupid but so nice in the same time, I had to push mine under water completely..they are going to melt aren't they?
The good thing is that the fish feel safer now with some floaters on top.. At least for the time being..


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## AfricanLove

I belive they will melt I know frogbit will


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## eutimio

As some of you were expecting it, I had 5 deaths so far and all 4-5 hours after a 40% water change.I always use prime.
I checked the PH in the tank after I did the WC(yesterday) and it read 7.6...I knew that is not the true one and checked again today to find out it is 6.4.
All I could think of is that the ph swing killed my fish.
I put a bowl of water out tonight to check the ph tomorrow night after it sat for a while.
Thinking if the difference is so big I should leave the water out before doing water changes ..what do you guys think?
Also should I intercalate the tap with RO water like 2 WC with tap and 1WC with RO?...
Im confused as last year when I had my 150G cichlid tank my tap water after I'd leave it out for 24 hrs would read PH 8.2 ..does the ph in the tap water change over time ?


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## AfricanLove

I have had a similar problem where I tested the PH in my tank 8.2 and tested my tap 7.6 I couldnt figure out why


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## DJRansome

pH in tap water can change especially if you have municipal water.

It can also change from when it first comes out of the tap until it sits on the counter for 24 hours because some gasses can escape.

And really you want to test your KH instead of your pH.

pH can also change in the tank over time if there are too many dissolved organics (like you hae a high nitrate reading).


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## eutimio

Ok I tested all the parameters one more time
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0...used to have 160ppm at the end of the cycle
I did some WC the past few days and the plants might have used the rest..anyhow, I bought some flourish nitrogen to supplement my plants cuz they stopped growing from not having anything to feed on

Gh-4 
Kh-2

That is pretty low I guess..
I've got some crushed coral from my LFS to add to my HOB to stabilize the ph by raising the alkalinity a little..now I guess I have to test frequently so I know when exactly the coral needs to be replaced...

I tested the ph in the water I left to sit out in 2 bowls
One bowl had water 48hrs old in it-it tested PH 6.8
The other bowl with 24 hrs tested PH 7.4
The tank water tests PH 6.4 and it's been constant for the past 2 days..I've got some manzanita driftwood in there..plants decaying from time to time so that might be lowering the ph as well...

Hope I got it down right...leave the water out and aerate it to match the PH in the tank as closely as possible..
Raise the KH a little by adding crushed coral to stabilize PH

Anything else that I should be looking at?
Thanks guys for all the help! Really like this forum!


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## DJRansome

What pH do you need for the danios? I've heard just aerating the water works...try an airstone in a new bowl and see how quick you can get the pH down, like minutes maybe. triscuit just adds the water from higher above the water level and that is enough aeration in triscuit's tanks.

If you do have to raise the pH, use baking soda to raise it and crushed coral to stablize it.


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## eutimio

Hey guys all is well with my tank all the plants are growing I even got a huge Madagascar lace that grows under stock LED lights of the edge(crazy)
Anyway, back to the fish, I'm left with 5 cpd's, 2 red cherry shrimp and 3 nerites
My cpd's hide all day long and the tank looks empty most of the time..I know it's a small and weird tank but I'd like to get a few small fish that actually swim around and stay in the upper part of the tank and also be a good match for the CPD's..ideas?


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## rupertoooo

CPD's will definitely benefit by adding an active fish to the tank. If you can get your hands on some Gold Ring Danio's they would be an excellent addition to a Nano setup. They would definitely help reduce the shy nature of your CPD's.


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## NJmomie

Post some updated pictures eutimio...
Seems like you can add a bit more to that tank...
Do the CPD's prefer to be in a group...I wonder if adding more of them will "bring them out". I have been on the look out for them in NJ but cannot seem to find them in any stores.


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