Aquarium people
 

Are there any people left here who keep aquariums? I've got one of my 55g
tanks ready for tropicals. The Orandas are all outside enjoying a 720g
above ground pond or tank. All I have in the 55 are 2 clown plecos, 5 ottos
and a regular pleco. I think I'll get small fish this time to replace the
large goldfish.
--
RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

Aquarium people
 

"Tynk" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Sep 1, 11:04�am, "Reel McKoi" wrote:
Are there any people left here who keep aquariums? I've got one of my 55g
tanks ready for tropicals. The Orandas are all outside enjoying a 720g
above ground pond or tank. All I have in the 55 are 2 clown plecos, 5
ottos
and a regular pleco. I think I'll get small fish this time to replace the
large goldfish.


Sure are!
I'd like nothing more than to talk about fish on a tropical fish
group.

What type of tropicals are you thinking of adding to the 55g?

I like Tetras but my water is hard and alkaline. I'm going to do some
research and see what'll thrive in water with a PH of 7.2 to 7.8. I don't
want cichlids again unless I can find some small peaceful ones locally. We
have some good petstores here now I want to check out. I'm not going to
rush into anything.

What's the tank set up like?

It's got a Aquaclear filter and a lot of real plants. There's a large piece
of real driftwood for the plecos to rasp on. There's a fine brown gravel on
the bottom with some rocks. It kind of looks like a lake bottom.

Plants, driftwood, gravel, etc...or more like a Cichlid tank, mostly
rocks and caves, etc?

A few nice rocks but no caves. I'm going to look at small active colorful
peaceful fish. I like clown loaches but they can get large. I know I want
a small school of corys.
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

Aquarium people
 

Reel McKoi wrote:



I like Tetras but my water is hard and alkaline. I'm going to do some
research and see what'll thrive in water with a PH of 7.2 to 7.8. I
don't want cichlids again unless I can find some small peaceful ones
locally. We have some good petstores here now I want to check out. I'm
not going to rush into anything.

I have kept tetras in my hard, alkaline water - bear in mind a lot of
them are already acclimatized to the local water before you get them
from the LFS but IME you will also have some losses......right now, in
my hard as chalk water I have Neons, Cardinals, Rummy noses, Glowlights
and Embers - strangely enough, the Cardinals have done the best, even
though they are supposed to be more sensitive to water conditions but
then maybe they are hardier - who knows......

The best cichlids for hard high pH water are Africans (Mbuna etc) but
IRRC you have kept these before so need no warnings on their
personalities.......If you are looking SA cichlids then avoid Rams etc -
these really do not thrive in these type of water conditions - you might
get away with some angels though - again these fish, because so popular,
are acclimatized to a variety of conditions and although your water may
not be optimum for breeding you could probably keep some for display....



What's the tank set up like?

It's got a Aquaclear filter and a lot of real plants. There's a large
piece of real driftwood for the plecos to rasp on. There's a fine brown
gravel on the bottom with some rocks. It kind of looks like a lake bottom.


More plants the better IMO but you also need to make the decision as to
whether you want a great planted tank or are not too fussed about your
fish uprooting stuff.......the driftwood will help soften the water and
lower the pH to a certain degree - my tank with loads of driftwood has a
far lower pH than out of the tap or any other tanks with less....


A few nice rocks but no caves. I'm going to look at small active
colorful peaceful fish. I like clown loaches but they can get large. I
know I want a small school of corys.

A small group of Clown loaches should be fine in a 55 gall tank and yes,
they are fun - one of my favourite fish :-) - go for at least 3 and 5 if
you can......if they get too big then you might need to trade them in
but I doubt that will be anytime in a hurry......I also love cories but
IME you need to ensure that you get the right balance with bottom
feeders and competition for food - loaches and plecs will outdo them and
the poor things will go hungry....

With CLs, Plecs and Cories you need to provide hiding spaces - whether
caves built with stones/rocks or driftwood with hollows - my guys get
the driftwood option - nothing funnier than seeing 3 over large CLs
jamming themselves into a driftwood hollow with just their noses poking
out.....

There are also many other options open to you - Rainbows thrive in hard
water - Boesmanis, Reds - not threadfins though......Gouramis do well,
live bearers like Mollies and Platys and if you can find them female
bettas (not the drab ones - keep an eye out for those that are just as
attractive as males - it you see them buy them - you don't get to see
them very often). Rasboras also do great - so if you are looking for
small, schooling fish and don't want to risk tetras these are an option
- if you can find the flame rasboras they are a very vivid orange - look
like they are basking in the glow of a real fire hence the name......

Let us know which fish you decide on

Gill

Aquarium people
 

"Tynk" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Sep 1, 1:28�pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:

What type of tropicals are you thinking of adding to the 55g?

I like Tetras but my water is hard and alkaline. I'm going to do some
research and see what'll thrive in water with a PH of 7.2 to 7.8. I don't
want cichlids again unless I can find some small peaceful ones locally. We
have some good petstores here now I want to check out. I'm not going to
rush into anything.


My tap is harder than yours (8.0) and I have had many batches of Neons
reach their maximum growth size in it. They didn't seem to mind it a
bit. They went through their spawning rituals and all.

* I haven't had them survive for more than a few months for me. They just
kind of fade away. And that's with a good variety of the better foods on the
market. Head and Tail lights are another that didn't live very long. Cherry
barbs live several years so they're on the list for sure. I'm sure there are
new fish on the market since I've bought tropicals some 6 years ago. A few
colorful male platties from my 10g will be added. They're about the size I
want.

With your tap water they'd be a nice choice. Cardinals, I have no
experience with in this hard water (I've had them before but this was
yrs before moved here and we had better water before).
With the way your tank is set up a large school of neons would look
spectaular!

* They probably would if the darn things would live here more than a few
months. I'll probably weaken and get 3 small clown loaches if I see healthy
ones. :-) They've always been a favorite of mine.

A few nice rocks but no caves. I'm going to look at small active colorful
peaceful fish. I like clown loaches but they can get large. I know I want
a small school of corys.

Pandas make a lovely display against the greens of the plants and
browns of the driftwood and gravel.
They too did fine in my hard water.
German Blue rams or the yellow Bolivian Rams are peaceful, colorful
cichlids, however check if they can handle your level of hardness.

* No, they die after a few months. One of the biggest problems I've had
with Rams is feeding them. They were all poor feeders. They would refused
to go to the top to eat. The corys and others would get all the food.
Like the Neon's; the Rams would fade away. :(

My water is too hard, or too high in something they can't handle.
They are so beautiful though.
Ditto with Kribensis.
Festivums are calm, but not very colorful.

* They do well in my water but get pretty big.

Angelfish would also do quite nicely in your tank.
Imagine a pair of breeders raising fry on their own.
It's wonderful.

* Angels, some SA cichlids and the African Lake cichlids do great in my
water, but I've had serious problems with them wanting to breed in the past.
They get aggressive and go after the other fish. You know how that goes.
The African Cichilds spawned constantly as did the Angels...... I was
always overrun with fry. And boy do some of those African's get big and
aggressive. :(

That's why this time I just want fish to LOOK at and enjoy. I don't want to
see fighting or have to worry about how to dispose of unwanted fry. Any
live bearers will be males only. :-))

Now the other 55g is clean and empty. It's just sitting there. I have no
plans for that one yet.
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

Aquarium people
 

"Gill Passman" wrote in message
...
I have kept tetras in my hard, alkaline water - bear in mind a lot of them
are already acclimatized to the local water before you get them from the
LFS but IME you will also have some losses......right now, in my hard as
chalk water I have Neons, Cardinals, Rummy noses, Glowlights and Embers -
strangely enough, the Cardinals have done the best, even though they are
supposed to be more sensitive to water conditions but then maybe they are
hardier - who knows......

Gill, I may try only 2 each of a few of the tetras (I know they need to be
in small schools) since I love them, and see what happens. If they do well I
can always add more over time. I would be heartsick if I bought 6 or 12 of
something just to watch them fade away as they did in the past. That was
very discouraging. Very disappointing since when I lived in NYC with it's
soft slightly acid water these little guys lived several years. And by using
dolomite in our tanks, the hard alkaline water fish also thrived. When I
moved here to TN it was a whole other ballgame.

- you might
get away with some angels though - again these fish, because so popular,
are acclimatized to a variety of conditions and although your water may
not be optimum for breeding you could probably keep some for display....

I'm going to skip angels for this tank because they get large, and once they
pair off you have WWIII on your hands.

It's got a Aquaclear filter and a lot of real plants. There's a large
piece of real driftwood for the plecos to rasp on. There's a fine brown
gravel on the bottom with some rocks. It kind of looks like a lake
bottom.

More plants the better IMO but you also need to make the decision as to
whether you want a great planted tank or are not too fussed about your
fish uprooting stuff.......the driftwood will help soften the water and
lower the pH to a certain degree - my tank with loads of driftwood has a
far lower pH than out of the tap or any other tanks with less....

I haven't seen that happen in my tanks, maybe because of all the water
changes. I don't know. Or maybe because there's only a small amount of
driftwood. I've decided to stick with the plants that thrive in my
conditions. I've been experimenting with Miracle Grow and it works. :-)))
My old Anubias bloomed this summer and the Vals are thriving...... the
hornwart and pondweed had to be removed they went so crazy. There was no
ill effect on the ottos or plecos, who now all love cucumber.

A small group of Clown loaches should be fine in a 55 gall tank and yes,
they are fun - one of my favourite fish :-) - go for at least 3 and 5 if
you can......if they get too big then you might need to trade them in but
I doubt that will be anytime in a hurry......I also love cories but IME
you need to ensure that you get the right balance with bottom feeders and
competition for food - loaches and plecs will outdo them and the poor
things will go hungry....

Hummmmmmm..... glad you brought that up as it's something to consider. I
like to watch corys schooling around a tank. My reg pleco will eat fishfood
but for the life of me I have no idea what the clown plecos are living on. I
never see them eat anything yet both are plump little guys (or gals).

With CLs, Plecs and Cories you need to provide hiding spaces - whether
caves built with stones/rocks or driftwood with hollows - my guys get the
driftwood option - nothing funnier than seeing 3 over large CLs jamming
themselves into a driftwood hollow with just their noses poking out.....

Building them caves will be no problem. I have loads of assorted rocks and
driftwood, even a small plastic barrel. Right now the little clown plecos
live in the dense leaves and rock rubble of the larger anubia. It's like a
little jungle. The reg' plec is tame as can be and hangs on the front glass.
I had to return one reg' plec as it started to rasp on the goldfish that
were in the tank at the time. I had one of each type in each of the 55s.
When I emptied the other 55, I put the second clown plec in with the first.

There are also many other options open to you - Rainbows thrive in hard
water - Boesmanis, Reds - not threadfins though......Gouramis do well,
live bearers like Mollies and Platys and if you can find them female
bettas (not the drab ones - keep an eye out for those that are just as
attractive as males - it you see them buy them - you don't get to see them
very often).

Definitely male platties. I love the bright colors. Female bettas are
often available. Very pretty ones.

Rasboras also do great - so if you are looking for
small, schooling fish and don't want to risk tetras these are an option -
if you can find the flame rasboras they are a very vivid orange - look
like they are basking in the glow of a real fire hence the name......

Wow..... I can't wait to get out to the pet stores and start looking at
what they have these days.


Let us know which fish you decide on

Oh I sure will...... we have a lot of chain petstores around here now. I
know I'll find just the right fish. :-)

--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

Aquarium people
 

On Sep 1, 3:50 pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:
"Gill Passman" wrote in message

...

I have kept tetras in my hard, alkaline water - bear in mind a lot of them
are already acclimatized to the local water before you get them from the
LFS but IME you will also have some losses......right now, in my hard as
chalk water I have Neons, Cardinals, Rummy noses, Glowlights and Embers -
strangely enough, the Cardinals have done the best, even though they are
supposed to be more sensitive to water conditions but then maybe they are
hardier - who knows......

Gill, I may try only 2 each of a few of the tetras (I know they need to be
in small schools) since I love them, and see what happens. If they do well I
can always add more over time. I would be heartsick if I bought 6 or 12 of
something just to watch them fade away as they did in the past. That was
very discouraging. Very disappointing since when I lived in NYC with it's
soft slightly acid water these little guys lived several years. And by using
dolomite in our tanks, the hard alkaline water fish also thrived. When I
moved here to TN it was a whole other ballgame.

- you might

get away with some angels though - again these fish, because so popular,
are acclimatized to a variety of conditions and although your water may
not be optimum for breeding you could probably keep some for display....

I'm going to skip angels for this tank because they get large, and once they
pair off you have WWIII on your hands.

It's got a Aquaclear filter and a lot of real plants. There's a large
piece of real driftwood for the plecos to rasp on. There's a fine brown
gravel on the bottom with some rocks. It kind of looks like a lake
bottom.
More plants the better IMO but you also need to make the decision as to
whether you want a great planted tank or are not too fussed about your
fish uprooting stuff.......the driftwood will help soften the water and
lower the pH to a certain degree - my tank with loads of driftwood has a
far lower pH than out of the tap or any other tanks with less....

I haven't seen that happen in my tanks, maybe because of all the water
changes. I don't know. Or maybe because there's only a small amount of
driftwood. I've decided to stick with the plants that thrive in my
conditions. I've been experimenting with Miracle Grow and it works. :-)))
My old Anubias bloomed this summer and the Vals are thriving...... the
hornwart and pondweed had to be removed they went so crazy. There was no
ill effect on the ottos or plecos, who now all love cucumber.

A small group of Clown loaches should be fine in a 55 gall tank and yes,
they are fun - one of my favourite fish :-) - go for at least 3 and 5 if
you can......if they get too big then you might need to trade them in but
I doubt that will be anytime in a hurry......I also love cories but IME
you need to ensure that you get the right balance with bottom feeders and
competition for food - loaches and plecs will outdo them and the poor
things will go hungry....

Hummmmmmm..... glad you brought that up as it's something to consider. I
like to watch corys schooling around a tank. My reg pleco will eat fishfood
but for the life of me I have no idea what the clown plecos are living on.. I
never see them eat anything yet both are plump little guys (or gals).

With CLs, Plecs and Cories you need to provide hiding spaces - whether
caves built with stones/rocks or driftwood with hollows - my guys get the
driftwood option - nothing funnier than seeing 3 over large CLs jamming
themselves into a driftwood hollow with just their noses poking out.....

Building them caves will be no problem. I have loads of assorted rocks and
driftwood, even a small plastic barrel. Right now the little clown plecos
live in the dense leaves and rock rubble of the larger anubia. It's like a
little jungle. The reg' plec is tame as can be and hangs on the front glass.
I had to return one reg' plec as it started to rasp on the goldfish that
were in the tank at the time. I had one of each type in each of the 55s.
When I emptied the other 55, I put the second clown plec in with the first.

There are also many other options open to you - Rainbows thrive in hard
water - Boesmanis, Reds - not threadfins though......Gouramis do well,
live bearers like Mollies and Platys and if you can find them female
bettas (not the drab ones - keep an eye out for those that are just as
attractive as males - it you see them buy them - you don't get to see them
very often).

Definitely male platties. I love the bright colors. Female bettas are
often available. Very pretty ones.

Rasboras also do great - so if you are looking for

small, schooling fish and don't want to risk tetras these are an option -
if you can find the flame rasboras they are a very vivid orange - look
like they are basking in the glow of a real fire hence the name......

Wow..... I can't wait to get out to the pet stores and start looking at
what they have these days.



Let us know which fish you decide on

Oh I sure will...... we have a lot of chain petstores around here now. I
know I'll find just the right fish. :-)

--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö
RM
I currently have a school of 26 neon tetras in a heavily planted 90
gal tank along with a breeding pair of angels now for over 3 months
and doing just fine. Of course over time I probably had bought 40 or
so tetras but things are stable now and no deaths in a long long
time..........Just do not buy em from Wally World.........I buy all
mine from Petsmart or Petco, and QT them in water I pull from m,y 90
gal DT, for 2 weeks.(until warranty is uip anyhow) so dead ones are
easy to find and get replaced.Replacements go into a smaller separate
QT so as to not intermix one batch from another.........Only other
fish in the QT is a few cory cats.....I had these fish previously in a
60 gal and right now am contemplating on putting them into a 150 or
180 gal tank since I opened up an area in the living room when we got
rid of one of the couches....I have a 210 gal tank that could also be
used, .........but I would have to come up with some decent lights and
a hood / cover..............in whjich case right now I just do not
feel like messing around with..........

Aquarium people
 

Tristie wrote:
On Sep 1, 3:50 pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:

"Gill Passman" wrote in message

.. .


I have kept tetras in my hard, alkaline water - bear in mind a lot of them
are already acclimatized to the local water before you get them from the
LFS but IME you will also have some losses......right now, in my hard as
chalk water I have Neons, Cardinals, Rummy noses, Glowlights and Embers -
strangely enough, the Cardinals have done the best, even though they are
supposed to be more sensitive to water conditions but then maybe they are
hardier - who knows......

Gill, I may try only 2 each of a few of the tetras (I know they need to be
in small schools) since I love them, and see what happens. If they do well I
can always add more over time. I would be heartsick if I bought 6 or 12 of
something just to watch them fade away as they did in the past. That was
very discouraging. Very disappointing since when I lived in NYC with it's
soft slightly acid water these little guys lived several years. And by using
dolomite in our tanks, the hard alkaline water fish also thrived. When I
moved here to TN it was a whole other ballgame.

- you might


get away with some angels though - again these fish, because so popular,
are acclimatized to a variety of conditions and although your water may
not be optimum for breeding you could probably keep some for display....

I'm going to skip angels for this tank because they get large, and once they
pair off you have WWIII on your hands.


It's got a Aquaclear filter and a lot of real plants. There's a large
piece of real driftwood for the plecos to rasp on. There's a fine brown
gravel on the bottom with some rocks. It kind of looks like a lake
bottom.

More plants the better IMO but you also need to make the decision as to
whether you want a great planted tank or are not too fussed about your
fish uprooting stuff.......the driftwood will help soften the water and
lower the pH to a certain degree - my tank with loads of driftwood has a
far lower pH than out of the tap or any other tanks with less....

I haven't seen that happen in my tanks, maybe because of all the water
changes. I don't know. Or maybe because there's only a small amount of
driftwood. I've decided to stick with the plants that thrive in my
conditions. I've been experimenting with Miracle Grow and it works. :-)))
My old Anubias bloomed this summer and the Vals are thriving...... the
hornwart and pondweed had to be removed they went so crazy. There was no
ill effect on the ottos or plecos, who now all love cucumber.


A small group of Clown loaches should be fine in a 55 gall tank and yes,
they are fun - one of my favourite fish :-) - go for at least 3 and 5 if
you can......if they get too big then you might need to trade them in but
I doubt that will be anytime in a hurry......I also love cories but IME
you need to ensure that you get the right balance with bottom feeders and
competition for food - loaches and plecs will outdo them and the poor
things will go hungry....

Hummmmmmm..... glad you brought that up as it's something to consider. I
like to watch corys schooling around a tank. My reg pleco will eat fishfood
but for the life of me I have no idea what the clown plecos are living on. I
never see them eat anything yet both are plump little guys (or gals).


With CLs, Plecs and Cories you need to provide hiding spaces - whether
caves built with stones/rocks or driftwood with hollows - my guys get the
driftwood option - nothing funnier than seeing 3 over large CLs jamming
themselves into a driftwood hollow with just their noses poking out.....

Building them caves will be no problem. I have loads of assorted rocks and
driftwood, even a small plastic barrel. Right now the little clown plecos
live in the dense leaves and rock rubble of the larger anubia. It's like a
little jungle. The reg' plec is tame as can be and hangs on the front glass.
I had to return one reg' plec as it started to rasp on the goldfish that
were in the tank at the time. I had one of each type in each of the 55s.
When I emptied the other 55, I put the second clown plec in with the first.


There are also many other options open to you - Rainbows thrive in hard
water - Boesmanis, Reds - not threadfins though......Gouramis do well,
live bearers like Mollies and Platys and if you can find them female
bettas (not the drab ones - keep an eye out for those that are just as
attractive as males - it you see them buy them - you don't get to see them
very often).

Definitely male platties. I love the bright colors. Female bettas are
often available. Very pretty ones.

Rasboras also do great - so if you are looking for


small, schooling fish and don't want to risk tetras these are an option -
if you can find the flame rasboras they are a very vivid orange - look
like they are basking in the glow of a real fire hence the name......

Wow..... I can't wait to get out to the pet stores and start looking at
what they have these days.




Let us know which fish you decide on

Oh I sure will...... we have a lot of chain petstores around here now. I
know I'll find just the right fish. :-)

--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

RM
I currently have a school of 26 neon tetras in a heavily planted 90
gal tank along with a breeding pair of angels now for over 3 months
and doing just fine.

Yes, I agree with you here.....I'm under orders from hubby to revamp the
4 foot tank in the conservatory.....this also houses the 6 foot
community tank and the reef - apparently, and I would agree, the 4 foot
at 4 years old is a poor relation to the others....so the plan is for
cardinals/neons in a big school and some Discus......but I doubt that
Carol wants the hassle of providing the correct water conditions for
Discus so Angels would certainly be a good option.......I always find a
big school of tetras pretty awesome and think they would make a great
display....

Of course over time I probably had bought 40 or
so tetras but things are stable now and no deaths in a long long
time..........

Now of course this is always an issue.....from my experience I have
found the Cardinals better but I really think this has been more luck
that much else.......I got good stock and in reality wherever we buy
from we can't really ever guarentee this......my Neons have been prone
to NTD at which point whatever you buy you are on to a loser....



Just do not buy em from Wally World.........I buy all
mine from Petsmart or Petco, and QT them in water I pull from m,y 90
gal DT, for 2 weeks.(until warranty is uip anyhow) so dead ones are
easy to find and get replaced.Replacements go into a smaller separate
QT so as to not intermix one batch from another.........Only other
fish in the QT is a few cory cats.....I had these fish previously in a
60 gal and right now am contemplating on putting them into a 150 or
180 gal tank since I opened up an area in the living room when we got
rid of one of the couches....I have a 210 gal tank that could also be
used, .........but I would have to come up with some decent lights and
a hood / cover..............in whjich case right now I just do not
feel like messing around with..........


Now, whatever you decide to do would be interesting to hear
about.......Carol mentioned considering cherry barbs......now that is
one fish I should have added to my list for her......great fish, very
vibrant colours and never had any hassle with them at all - and they do
great in my high pH and hard water......

Gill

Aquarium people
 

Reel McKoi wrote:

Gill, I may try only 2 each of a few of the tetras (I know they need to
be in small schools) since I love them, and see what happens. If they do
well I can always add more over time. I would be heartsick if I bought
6 or 12 of something just to watch them fade away as they did in the
past. That was very discouraging. Very disappointing since when I
lived in NYC with it's soft slightly acid water these little guys lived
several years. And by using dolomite in our tanks, the hard alkaline
water fish also thrived. When I moved here to TN it was a whole other
ballgame.

Neons are dead cheap but are prone to disease.....you could get a good
group or find yourself replacing them at a few bucks each time as they
get depleted......I've always managed to keep around 5 out of a school
of 20 but this is very disappointing.....my best success has been with
Cardinals (totally unsuited to my water) where I have had no losses at
all......but don't just think of tetras.......one of my fav tanks houses
a couple of ember tetras and 6 cherry barbs......very pretty fish and
hardy with it and not as nippy as their relatives - I have 3M/3F and the
colour display is awesome....




- you might

get away with some angels though - again these fish, because so
popular, are acclimatized to a variety of conditions and although your
water may not be optimum for breeding you could probably keep some for
display....


I'm going to skip angels for this tank because they get large, and once
they pair off you have WWIII on your hands.

Well, that's cichlids for you.....my pair are in the 6 foot tank and
haven't created to many problems yet - although I do have them as number
one suspects in the decline of the smaller fish





I haven't seen that happen in my tanks, maybe because of all the water
changes. I don't know. Or maybe because there's only a small amount of
driftwood. I've decided to stick with the plants that thrive in my
conditions. I've been experimenting with Miracle Grow and it works.
:-))) My old Anubias bloomed this summer and the Vals are thriving......
the hornwart and pondweed had to be removed they went so crazy. There
was no ill effect on the ottos or plecos, who now all love cucumber.

Dunno about the water changes....it is always a constant point of
interest for me how much the pH varies in my freshwater tanks bearing in
mind that they all get the same water and quantity of changes......I'm
about to try the API plant tabs - I've been using the nutrafin ones for
a while so want to see if I get any difference (the API cost an awful
lot more).......

When you mention Miracle Grow are you talking the liquid plant food?
It's done wonders for my houseplants but I've never thought of putting
it in the tanks....



Hummmmmmm..... glad you brought that up as it's something to consider.
I like to watch corys schooling around a tank. My reg pleco will eat
fishfood but for the life of me I have no idea what the clown plecos are
living on. I never see them eat anything yet both are plump little guys
(or gals).

The only one of my plecs I've ever seen feed is the Leopard Plec and he
is such a big b*gger I guess he needs more than to scavange.......the
other two are nicely plump and I've had them 4 years plus without having
to add any additional food....




With CLs, Plecs and Cories you need to provide hiding spaces - whether
caves built with stones/rocks or driftwood with hollows - my guys get
the driftwood option - nothing funnier than seeing 3 over large CLs
jamming themselves into a driftwood hollow with just their noses
poking out.....


Building them caves will be no problem. I have loads of assorted rocks
and driftwood, even a small plastic barrel. Right now the little clown
plecos live in the dense leaves and rock rubble of the larger anubia.
It's like a little jungle. The reg' plec is tame as can be and hangs on
the front glass. I had to return one reg' plec as it started to rasp on
the goldfish that were in the tank at the time. I had one of each type
in each of the 55s. When I emptied the other 55, I put the second clown
plec in with the first.

There are also many other options open to you - Rainbows thrive in
hard water - Boesmanis, Reds - not threadfins though......Gouramis do
well, live bearers like Mollies and Platys and if you can find them
female bettas (not the drab ones - keep an eye out for those that are
just as attractive as males - it you see them buy them - you don't get
to see them very often).


Definitely male platties. I love the bright colors. Female bettas are
often available. Very pretty ones.

Yes, I like my platies.....I don't worry too much about the sex these
days....if they breed the best of the batch survive or the rest become
fish food - I haven't bought any platys for years.....but the population
still maintains itself without being a problem....

If you can get nice female bettas and the tank is large enough go for
it.....but have a back up plan.....I rather suspect that the nicer
female bettas might be boys in disguise....





Rasboras also do great - so if you are looking for

small, schooling fish and don't want to risk tetras these are an
option - if you can find the flame rasboras they are a very vivid
orange - look like they are basking in the glow of a real fire hence
the name......


Wow..... I can't wait to get out to the pet stores and start looking at
what they have these days.

Enjoy.....part of the fun I find is looking at what is available and
then plotting - wallet stays firmly in the bag until I know what I
want.....fishy window shopping :-)





Let us know which fish you decide on


Oh I sure will...... we have a lot of chain petstores around here now.
I know I'll find just the right fish. :-)


Good luck - I'm sure that eventually you will end up with what you
want......research of course is the key but I will admit to falling fowl
of the odd impulse buy.,...

Gill

Aquarium people
 

On Sep 2, 12:29 am, Tynk wrote:
On Sep 1, 5:07?pm, Tristie wrote:

I currently have a school of 26 neon tetras in a ?heavily planted 90
gal tank along with a breeding pair of angels now for over 3 months
and doing just fine. ?
- Show quoted text -

That must be a lovely tank.
What type of Angelfish are they?
Have the Angels spawned *with* the Neons in the tank?

NONE OF YOUR ****ING BUSINESS TYNK.........PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE ME IN
ANY OF "YOUR" QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIODS, OR OHHHHH AND
AHHHHHHHHS.......YA ****ING SCUMBAG!

Aquarium people
 

Tynk wrote:
On Sep 1, 3:21�pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:





That's too sad. I wonder why this is happening to Neons for you.
Like Gill and Cardinals, I have great luck with Neons in my hard water
(harder than what you have), so it's got to be something other than
hard water. Food isn't the issue, as you have stated you fed the
better foods and a good variety.

My problem with Neons has always been NTD or them getting chomped by
larger fish - my Neons in with the Angels are much depleted now even
though I've never seen them attempt to attack in the day time - I read
that my Leopard Plec is potentially the culprit so won't be adding
anymore tetras into that tank....


It's a shame though, as a large school of either neons, cardinals or a
mix of the 2 will stop anyone in their tracks. All you can do is go
WOW = O.

This is precisely what I am doing in my old 4 foot tank.....it got it's
makeover today and most of the fish have been moved. I'm going for
planted with around 30 - 40 Cardinals/Neons and a group of 3 Discus -
moving to RO water gradually......I couldn't catch one Yoyo or the
Flying Fox so those two have remained - I'm figuring a gradual change in
water parameters won't hurt them....



�I'll probably weaken and get 3 small clown loaches if I see healthy

ones. � :-) � They've always been a favorite of mine.


That may be harder than you think. Often, as I have found out with the
last 6 or so I have had in the past 5 yrs, that they can carry
internal parasites. You can't tell if they look healthy on the
outside. In time they simply waste away and die.

I've only lost one CL to parasites and this was around 4 years ago. My
bugbear is Ich.......The problem with parasites was more prevalent when
all the CLs on sale were wild caught. These days it is now possible to
farm CLs and I know that my LFS gets the farmed fish rather than the
wild caught......


I had such fun with the last 2 sets of Clowns I had because they
became quite tame, and not the usual scardy cats.
They were always begging for attention, as well as food. I couldn't do
anything in the tank or near the tank without them being right there
in the mix of young angels and female bettas. I miss them, but after
the first the few I had all died slowly (wasted away), I tried again.
Another 3. Same thing. They look fantastic when you buy them. They go
through QT looking great, eating like pigs, and then months later they
look like a bag of bones swimming around with a Clown Loach coat on.
Too sad.

My current 6 are fantastic....but they do have a 6 foot tank to play
in.....nothing quite like seeing all 6 begging for
breakfast/dinner......but it has to be said I did not QT them.....my
experience having been that the QT stage stresses them even more and
makes them even more inclined to ich.....a well established tank with
lots of confident fish already there works best for CLs








That's why this time I just want fish to LOOK at and enjoy. I don't want to
see fighting or have to worry about how to dispose of unwanted fry. �Any
live bearers will be males only. � :-))


You mentioned in another reply maybe female Bettas.
If you don't want to see fighting, then skip them.
They will fight to win the spot of alpha, and may have to put the
others in their place from time to time.
You may also see a take over.
This isn't always a battle, as some times it's nothing more than
posturing. However, sometimes it can be brutal, and one would need to
be removed.
It's not that they're mean, or bad tempered, but like a pack of dogs
or wolves their needs to be a chain of command.
Many often see this as bad tempered fish. I don't see it that way at
all.
A school of Bettas (females only or females and one male) is run just
like a pack of wolves. Each has their place, and some must be a little
pushy at times to keep it. When the *why* of their behavior is known,
you see them in a completely different light.


One might be OK - I had 3 in my 6 foot tank and apart from a little bit
of squabbling never saw much to concern me - that being said, my red
female betta died while I was on holiday - I'm not convinced, though,
that it was the other female bettas that did her in.....





Now the other 55g is clean and empty. �It's just sitting there. �I have no
plans for that one yet.
--


= O



The sky is the limit........just pick your dream tank and go out and buy
the fish :-)

Gill