[my newest tank]

Nicely done!!

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

Ok, thanks.

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

Ok, so I think instead of ordering a bunch of dream fish, since I don't have a close by LFS, I only have a Petco, and this is a new setup, I'm going to swing by and see what they have to at least get some stock in the tank. I'm sure they have some type of Neon's, maybe a few cory's, might even just grab a few guppies or Endler's if they have them. 

Question. I see a lot about quarantine, and I get the purpose down the line if I do get more fish either from online or local; but if I get my initial stock from the same store, and everything is going into the same tank, isn't that in effect the quarantine tank?

 

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

On 11/15/2022 at 12:57 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Just a warning... not trying to say it isn't possible, but I feel like every time I see the combo I have to mention it.  The substrate you have is Eco Complete, which is made from lava rock.  Depending on how it was tumbled, how sharp the edges are, you might run into issues. Potenially.  The Corydoras barbs might get scuffed up and you could run into bacterial issues.  Again, some people have it work fine, others have posted issues here, so I feel the need to just share that for the sake of helping.

Given the stocking being tetras, I would try to lean you towards False Jullii/Trilineatus or Sterbai corydoras because they seem to handle a warmer tank a lot easier.  Pandas can handle it, but it's just really something where you might run into issues depending what your particular source on them is used to.  Tank raised corydoras will have different ranges, but I usually look at planetcatfish for corydoras specifically.  Let's say the range listed is 68-78, then I would target the middle of that range (72-74). 

The tank looks great and I'm excited to see more! 🙂

Amano shrimp are awesome. Other shrimp would give you the chance to potentially sell them though.

Thanks for the info on the potential issue with the substrate and the cory barbs. Will keep that in mind!!

On 11/15/2022 at 1:00 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Yep, bladder snail. Are you using a lot of ferts in your tank?

I dosed EZ-green on fill up, and again yesterday after water change

On 11/15/2022 at 1:09 AM, Schuyler said:

Why are you doing a water change? 

I've heard that basically any cichlid will hunt down cherry shrimp. Amano may be big enough to do fine.

Just to get used to the process, get the water a little lower so I could pull up the plants, glue them and put them back. 

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

On 11/14/2022 at 11:31 PM, PerceptivePesce said:

I like your background 🙂

What is it?

A cheap frosted window film from amazon

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

Here's a good picture, Seems like a bladder snail???

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

Tested water before doing a 25% water change, everything was great. Dosed another 4 squirts of EZ -Green, I was also able to pull out the Java fern and Anubius and glued them to a few small rocks. I'll get more pictures up soon. 

One thing I did notice, not a concern yet; BUT I found 1 snail, thought it was cool, watched him for a bit, decided to look it up what I had here and turns out to be a small bladder snail, I assume hitchhiked from one of the Co-Op plants. At what point is it a concern and I should start looking for something like assassin snails??

Going to swing by my local PetCo within the next few days to see if I can pick up a few fish from my list if they have them, or at least something close.   

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

I should also add that I placed flourish tabs around each planting (I placed plant order from co-op and forgot to add co-op's brand)

Also, I forgot to mention the heater, I went with the Eheim 125w (ordered before co-op released theirs), the tank is in my basement office, which during the day is heated by a space heater, but at night nothing.

So far, the temp has been holding at 78

 

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

Thank you. Yes, I will definitely move them this weekend.  

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

On 11/11/2022 at 12:01 PM, Patrick_G said:

Welcome, nice looking tank. I think you’re on the right track stocking wise. I would definitely start slow with some fish you can get locally. It seems like most Petcos have Cardinals and I’ve also seen Panda Corydoras and Rummy nose occasionally. 
Your plants look good but I see you’ve planted the Java fern and Anubias. Those are epiphytes, they don’t do well when planted in substrate. You’ll want to pull them up and attach them to a rock or some wood with superglue or thread. 

Thanks Pat, yeah, I was hoping to try and get away with them planted; I wanted to put a nice center piece of wood, but I was worried about the tannins and process to go about getting them out. I might grab some small stones and glue them, then place them behind the larger rocks.

Petco is walys hit or miss by me, So jealous of the stores Cory found in Europe. 

[IRISnGEN - New 29G Setup]

Hey folks,
    Starting a 29G tank, first time in years, so taking it slow and steady. Actually, ordered a bunch of stuff from Co-op pre pandemic, lol

Substrate - Black eco-complete 
Rocks - Acquired from local water source, tested with vinegar to prove ok
Light - Finnex stingray 30"
Filter - Co-op sponge 
Air pump - Tetra whisper 40
Plants - 1 dwarf sag, 1 java fern, 1 anubias barteri, 2 crypt wendtii green, 1 scarlet temple, 1 vallisneria, 2 amazon swords, 1 pogo octo

Tank was filled on 11/01, planted on 11/04, when filled, dosed fritz complete per instructions, when planted dosed ez green per instructions

11.05 - Ph = 7.0, Amm = 0, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 5
11.07 - Ph = 7.6, Amm = .25, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 5
11.09 - Ph = 7.2, Amm = .25, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 5

I'm going to do a 50% water change this weekend

Plants appear ok, some yellowing on the sag and val, no real melting I can notice anywhere. See some root growth from the scarlet where I didn't get it pushed all the way into the substrate.

I do notice that some of the small leaf litter that is on the top of the water from planting is in 1 spot on the opposite side of the filter, meaning I'm not getting the flow I think I should have with just the sponge, so I'm thinking of also picking up a tidal 30 to help with that as well and some more filtration/polishing.

Now, I have a "what I want" list of fish to stock, would love some input on whether the mix and amounts would work in an ideal setup.

8-10 Rummy nose
8-10 cardinal tetras (but thinking I might go to 10-12 neons)
2-3 peacock gudgeons
6 panda cory's
A few shrimp like amano's or cherries???

Now my thought is if the above is ok, would be to have a M Apistogramma Cacatuoides as the center piece

I do not have a LFS besides a Petco, and TBH, the stock is not exactly what I have listed, so I will need to order from somewhere like Aquahuna or Flipaquatics, but before I do, should I pick up 1 or 2 small things just to stock it and see how they do before spending $$$ on the "dream" list??

I also plan on getting grass type plants to fill the foreground a little bit and maybe some moss on a rock or two. 

I'm open to suggestions and thank you in advance for reading all of this and providing feedback.