New Tank, And What Goes In It

After 2 years the media will have well and truly dried out so there will be no viable bacteria left I'm afraid.

Rather than do a fish-in cycle, which is not very pleasant for the fish concerned and hard work for the fish keeper, why not do a fishless cycle instead? Much simpler as no water changes are needed and no fish suffer. Step by step instructions can be found here
If for some reason you still want to do a fish-in cycle, instructions are here. A fish-in cycle is easier if you heavily plant the tank before getting fish.

I would not use the rather delicate dwarf gourami to cycle a tank with - and I would caution that these fish often have an incurable disease by the time they reach the shop tank. Honey gouramis are healthier and in a 60 litre tank you could have a male/female pair. I wouldn't use honey gouramis for cycling with either.


Unless your tank is very long for a 60 litre, it is too small for a swordtail, which needs a 75cm long tank, though some suggest a 120 cm tank. These are big, fast swimming fish. A platy would work, but I'd rather see a group of them. While they are not a shoaling fish, they are sociable and prefer to be in a group.
However, the other fish on your wish list prefer soft water while swordtails and platies prefer hard water. Do you know which type you have? Your water company should have that info on its website somewhere. If it is soft, I would leave out all livebearers; if it is hard I would avoid gouramis and south American cichlids.


I don't think any plec is suitable for a 60 litre tank. Does your dislike of shoaling fish include corydoras? A shoal of one of the dwarf species would be suitable.

I would go for the smaller apistogramma rather than the larger bolivian ram, but I'd get a pair rather than just a single fish.



I'm afraid I'm wrecking your wish list  if you could find out the hardness of your water we could offer some suggestions for you.

Just because people keep swordtails in nano tanks doesn't mean they are right. Many fish are kept in tanks which are too small for them to exhibit their natural behaviour.

With your soft water I'd stay away from all livebearers no matter how small.


If you are interested in dwarf cichlids, the tank is too small for more than one species, and for more than 1 male 1 female of the same species. But it does leave you with a wide range of options. A pair of honey gouramis would be fine with dwarf cichlids and soft water as one type tends to keep to the bottom of the tank, the other to the top. Dwarf gouramis would be OK instead of honeys if you could manage to source disease free specimens (the usual advice is to buy only from local breeders).

That gives you 4 fish. The only other fish I can think of that would go with those are shoaling fish, which you don't like 

Otos need mature tanks and re happier in groups of 6 or more. Barbs tend to be happier in shoals too. Have you considered dwarf puffers?

...and dwarf puffers are better in medium/hard/very hard water.

Some options of fish suitable for soft water are in my 'Community Creator' (see my 'footer' to this msg), if that helps provide any inspiration.

Although I love dwarf puffers I know they're not exactly community fish

Although I love dwarf puffers I know they're not exactly community fish

They are if you chose the right tank mates.  I like the fact they always come to the front to eyeball you when they spot you in the room, makes me smile every time.

So what go with dwarf puffers then?

I have a 125L species only tank for my dwarf puffers.
I'm not sure that a dwarf puffer in a 60L community tank is really feasible because they need a lot of room for such little fellas, but Fiona is the best person to advise on that.
 

A fishless cycle route is definitely a good choice - keep us posted on the cycle's progress (ammonia/nitrates/nitrites readings) as it will be interesting to see how that goes.

Glad that you've got some new ideas on potential fish. Have you thought about which types of barbs to have? Lots of people on this forum have or have had the fish you mention, so I'm sure they'll be able to provide you with advice and tips.

As far as the water reading hardness goes, that is quite a difference between the two readings. I've noticed that the GH reading on the Tetra test strips are much, much higher than with any other test eg JBL test strips or the Aquality liquid-based test kit which I have for GH, with the latter two being much more in line with the water company's results. What test kit are you using? Given the difference, I'd be inclined to try another test type.