Thinking about getting tank for number 1

[NoWittyName]

I'm a very happy 130l tank mummy but am thinking of getting smaller tank for number 1 to have in his room. We were looking in my aquarium book today at fish and thinking about the ones we have at present. I was saying I love the character of the corys and then wondered if you can have a tank with just corys?

What do you reckon?

Brilliant!

Ooh, it's too hard to choose... odessa barbs and pygmy chain loaches maybe, with loads of SE Asian plants.

I love the idea of a little shoal of mini corys, one slightly bigger colourful fish like a dwarf gourami (going on your previous recommendation I think!) and then perhaps another little shoal of something mini.

When we've got the tank up and running we'll go along to the aquatics shop we've used so far and get their advice too - they seem to have been great so far.

Actually with a tank that size you have even better options- I'd be tempted to go with the corys and instead of dwarf gouramis you have space for a pair of cockatoo cichlids.

Thanks. Will show them to my son. He likes the look of bolivian rams. Would that also be a pair?

Yes, they are best kept in pairs or small groups of one male and a few females (depending on the size of the tank). They do get a bit larger though, I had a pair in my 180l when I had it and I wouldn't have risked any smaller than that. Also cichlids are very territorial so in a 96l I would only keep one species.

Have just seen that they grow to 10cm as opposed to the cockatoo cichlid which says it grows to 7cm...(well, I haven't got a cockatoo cichlid sitting here telling me how big he grows but you know what i mean ). Will point my son in that direction.

Another BIG question...what on earth do you do if you're going away for almost 3 weeks?!?! I have people who could come in to feed the fish, but I don't know anyone who would know how to perform a water change. What should I do?

You can get this stuff called Nitrate minus which is meant to lower nitrate and add buffers to the water. IIRC the label says you can use that instead of water changes for 6 months but obv that is a really stupid idea. Ideal for when you go away though, or if you're ill and can't manage a water change that week. You could measure out the right amount and just get someone to dump it in the tank.

Fantastic - was so worried I was going to have to accept poorly fish on my return! Will definitely get some of the stuff. (Not going away for few months but have been worrying about it!)

E-bayed it and bought it!