Is It Time For A Few Fish?

I also get a much lower PH on a test strip than on a liquid-based test kit or than my water/utility company suggests is the PH for my postcode.

Just to help us to determine if your tank is/has cycled at all, or if this is just the same as if you were taking a reading straight from the tap, how heavily planted is your tank (number of plants, volume of tank, etc.)? Ordinarily, there ought to be a nitrate reading in a cycled tank. What is your nitrate reading from the tap?

Since you are doing a silent cycle using plants rather than bacteria to take up ammonia you shouldn't see much, if any, variation in ammonia nitrite & nitrate. The pH will vary during the day. Plants make CO2 24 hours a day which dissolves in water to form an acid. But when the tank lights are on, plants take up CO2 and convert it into carbohydrates. The amount of CO2 in the water builds up when the lights are off so the pH drops slightly, reaching the lowest point just before the lights come on. Then the plants take up CO2, the amount of acid drops and the pH rises to a highest point just before the lights go off.

I have soft water and my pH is 7.5.


I would get the harlies, all of them, and monitor ammonia and nitrite for a good few days afterwards. If they both remain at zero, get the next species 2 weeks later and again monitor those levels.


The trouble with cories is that they have no concept of territory. Kribs, and similar territorial bottom dwelling fish, will decide on a territory which could well include the entire bottom of the tank. The cories will wander into this territory and be chased out. But because they have no concept of territory they will wander back and never learn to stay away. This results in cories being picked on continually.
So I would say either cories or kribs, not both.

Male bristlenoses are also territorial but this centres on his chosen cave, particularly after spawning. Without a female he will still guard his cave but not as vigorously as when there are eggs or fry. Female BNs are not territorial.

I would get half now and half a week later