First Timer Needs Help With Fishtank Cycling

When I stop the daily water changes do I stop dosing with prime also. Also I'm using an API testing kit am I right in thinkinkig you only use the high rate PH test if the normal PH test reads at the top of that scale, just tested mine tonight and it reads 6.0

Just use Prime when you do a water change.

Stopping the daily water changes but still testing every day is just to see if your ammonia and/or nitrite go up without daily water changes. If nitrite does go up, you need to start doing daily water changes again even if ammonia stays the same. If ammonia goes up, use that calculator to see if that still gives a reading below 0.02 - and do water changes if it does reach 0.02.
If neither go up, the tank is cycled for the fish in there now and you can do weekly maintenance water changes.


When you get more fish, only get a few at a time and test every day after each addition to be on the safe side.


Yes, high range pH tester is only for when the normal one shows the highest colour.

However, with a pH of 6, that's the lowest the normal range tester goes and it could be lower than 6 - even a lot lower.
What is the pH of your tap water, both a freshly run sample and water that has been allowed to stand over night?
A pH that low is not a problem as long as you chose fish capable of living in that pH. But if your tap water turns out to be a lot higher, we need to find out why the tank is so low.

So why is your tank pH so low?
Do you add anything to the tank other than dechlorinator? Your daily water changes mean that it can't be due to old tank syndrome.


At pH that low your filter bacteria won't grow, so even if the tank is cycled for your current fish you could have problems when you get more fish - though with that pH your total ammonia-ammonium can get quite high before the ammonia part reaches dangerous levels.

I think that besides stopping daily water changes to see if ammonia and/or nitrite increase we also need to get to the bottom of your low pH. I know the natural tendency of tanks is to become acidic, but not by that much and certainly not with 25% daily water changes.

Start at the beginning. Can you list:
Substrate
Decor
Plants (if any live ones, fake ones count as decor)
Brand of filter
Media inside the filter
Brand of dechlorinator
Any other chemicals added to the tank
Fish - species and number

Once we know exactly what is insde you tank we may be able to spot something.

Nothing stands out there. Except that if the plant is java fern it shouldn't be planted in the substrate. Maybe post a photo of it so it can be definitely identified.

My concern was that you may have had zeolite or some similar product in your filter as that would remove any ammonia leaving nothing to get the bacteria to grow. But as you have a U2, that doesn't have zeolite in it.

The fish in the tank all like low pH so that shouldn't harm them.
The fact that you have neons and rams mean your water must be pretty good as they are both delicate species which often just die, particularly if the water conditions don't suit them - pH, any ammonia or nitrite, high nitrate.


Prime and Stability shouldn't affect your pH - I needed to check that you weren't using pH down or some such chemical 




However, you do have problems.
Using the community creator and substituting 6 panda cories for 3 julii, you are 117% stocked, and with insufficient numbers of the shoaling species. You need at least 6 of everything except the rams. But as you are over stocked already, you can't add more fish.

Neons are fine in a 60 litre tank.
Julii cories need a tank at least 90 cm long - though they are probably trilineatus (false julii) which would be OK in your tank. Most shops mislabel these fish.
Rams are OK size wise, but unless you have a bonded pair you could have problems with them fighting
Galaxy rasboras are fine in that size tank but you need a lot more of them. They do better in large shoals of more than 6.
Harlequins - fine in that size tank but you need more than 2
Scissortails - these are the real problem as they grow to 6 inches and need a tank at least 120 cm long and over 250 litres.

Details on these fish here

The best thing you can do is decide which of the suitable species you want to keep and get more of them, and rehome the rest. A shop may possibly take them off you if you get other fish from them.
If you do have a bonded pair of rams they will spawn and the cories will suffer. Cories have no sense of territory and will not learn to stay away from the rams' eggs. They will be picked on by the rams.

Once you have your stocking down to a sensible level with more appropriate numbers of the more suitable fish, you may find your water problems sort themselves out.

That would still leave you over stocked, I'm afraid.

I would also rehome the cories. If they are true jullii they'll get to big for your tank. Even if they are false juliis, I would still rehome them as they are big fish for a 64 litre tank and you'd need six of them as well.

If you were to rehome the cories and scissor tails, get another neon to make six, and increase the galaxies to 10 (they do need bigger shoals) and the harlequins to 6, you would still be at 100% - and in my opinion 80% is a much more realistic figure.

What I would do is have just the rams and two of neons, harlequins and galaxies (more accurately called celestial pearl danios). You would need a minimum of 6 neons, 6 harlequins and 10 galaxies - but only 2 species not all three.

And keep an eye on the rams. If you have 2 males, they will start fighting at some point. Two females may also fight. And an un-bonded male and female may well also fight. Be prepared to take action if this happens.