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

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

"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

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..........

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

"Tristie" wrote in message
oups.com...

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..........
========================================
I replied to this message last night, but I don't see it on my server.

You have some really huge tanks that must make beautiful display tanks,...
also probably great for breeding. After thinking this over I'm not so sure
anymore it was my water. Maybe those small tetras carried something......
that, over a few months time, killed them off.

Why not take a few pics of your tanks, put them on something like
Photobucket and give us the link? :-)
--
RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

Reel McKoi wrote:

I replied to this message last night, but I don't see it on my server.

I've seen some from you but none to Roy's post about his tetras.....

You have some really huge tanks that must make beautiful display
tanks,... also probably great for breeding. After thinking this over
I'm not so sure anymore it was my water. Maybe those small tetras
carried something...... that, over a few months time, killed them off.


Well with mine it is/was NTD along with larger fish munching on them in
the night and not the water.....I will report on my progress when I go
buy the 30 plus Cardinals/Neons in the morning for the revamped
tank......I'm really quite excited about it even though it took over 6
hours of hard graft today to transform the tank in readiness for them.....

Why not take a few pics of your tanks, put them on something like
Photobucket and give us the link? :-)

Yes, that would be good.....looking forward to seeing the pics

Gill

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

"Gill Passman" wrote in message
...

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.....

Cardinals seem to be much hardier. I had a few that lasted for a long time
but I don't always see them in the stores here. I'm getting around pretty
good now and can wear a normal shoe on the injured foot, so hope to get to
at least PetsMart and PetSupermarket this coming week.

..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....

I also want to take a closer look at those Rainbows you've mentioned. How
large do they usually get and are they long lived?

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 love Angel fish, especially the marble and the gold ones. I only wish
there was some way to keep them from breeding and creating havoc in a tank.
I love to watch a small group of them swimming through the vals and around
the driftwood. But then the day always comes when they want to breed.......



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).......

The tabs work well but the Miracle Grow is cheaper and faster to use. I
just dump a Tbs. full into the filter outflow once a week or so. No mess no
bother. And no ammonia spikes. :-)


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....

I buy the powder form for houseplants that you mix with water. But others
work as well and are cheaper.

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....

Mine would get out of hand so I gave most of them to my daughter-in-law.
She was very upset to lose most of her fish to a cracked heater. We gave
them a 30Long for one of their wedding presents 19 years ago and they've had
tropical fish ever since.

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....

This is possible but I also found out that for awhile unscrupulous breeders
in Asia were treating female bettas with testosterone to grow enough finnage
to pass as males. I don't know if that is still being done.

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 :-)

Oh, I know what you mean! :-)) It's all part of the fun of fishkeeping.

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
--

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

Reel McKoi wrote:


Cardinals seem to be much hardier. I had a few that lasted for a long time
but I don't always see them in the stores here.


Everyone here told me Neons were hardier than Cardinals when I was out
shopping - my experience has been the other way round so I guess it is
really a YMMV......and they were 3 times the price of Neons in the only
place I found them.....ended up with 24 Neons and 10 Cardinals....so
with the 6 tetras I already had this is a school of 40 and even still it
doesn't look quite large enough - may pick up another 10
tomorrow.....fortunatly for my plastic the place I went today didn't
have anything marine that I wanted - unfortunately for my wallet I'm
going to another place tomorrow to pick up some more tetras and some
more vals (also to sound out the Discus there) - and the other place is
really good for marine.....


I'm getting around pretty good now and can wear a normal shoe on the
injured foot, so hope to get to at least PetsMart and PetSupermarket
this coming week.

These things take a long time to get fixed - my Mum broke her wrist at
the beginning of July and has been told at least another 5 weeks before
she can drive again. Glad you are making a good recovery...



I also want to take a closer look at those Rainbows you've mentioned. How
large do they usually get and are they long lived?

If you mean the Boesmanis - they grow to around 4-5" allegedly - my
older ones are closer to 3" but these are females. The males are very
attractive - half blue and half orange/yellow....the females are OK but
drab when compared to the males. They are described as slightly
aggressive but I've not had too many issues with them (and I keep them
with Angels). Now, the Red Rainbow I have is a different story and does
like to rule the roost - I'm watching with interest to see how he copes
with the Angels (he's just moved to the 6 foot tank). Most rainbows are
suited to high pH/hard water but there are exceptions so it's a good
idea to research first. The following site used to be a good resource
(but I haven't been there recently):-

http://www.members.optushome.com.au/...n/Contents.htm



I love Angel fish, especially the marble and the gold ones. I only wish
there was some way to keep them from breeding and creating havoc in a tank.
I love to watch a small group of them swimming through the vals and around
the driftwood. But then the day always comes when they want to
breed.......


I guess the best solution is to get them all the same sex but I
understand that it is difficult to sex them when they are juveniles. My
two swim around together but show no inclination to breed.


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....


This is possible but I also found out that for awhile unscrupulous breeders
in Asia were treating female bettas with testosterone to grow enough
finnage
to pass as males. I don't know if that is still being done.

Possible I guess........all sorts of things happen on these fish farms.....

Gill