anewbie
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Posts posted by anewbie
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You can grow italia val - it will look a bit like this (29 with no co2 injection); it would cover the entire tank if i let it but i've been pulling runners out.
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You dont' want any of the larger sword plants like amazon but there are smaller ones. you could go with aponogeton boivinianus in theory it will hibernate eventually but in three years it hasn't and looks like (see black 29 again no co2):
though given enough time i suspect it will out grow a 20 (or even a 29). Unlike italia val you can't really trim it very easily as cutting a leave will destroy that leave where as with italia val (or wider jungle val) you can give it a hair cut anytime you like nad it will keep growing from the bottom.
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You can keep runts; young angels and females but an adult male is simply too tall for a 40B. There are other issues around tank size; aggression and so forth but those are relevant for all tanks. I highly recommend you keep either a smaller fish or buy a taller aquarium for angelfishes. There is a 50 and 65 that are the same foot print as a 40B but taller.
There is also a huge variance in behavior of adult angelfishes. Right now I'm dealing with an aggressive female that is dive bombing everyone in my 120 - of the 5 angels she is the only aggressive one and i'm tempted to remove her; having said that she also likes to dive bomb the festum until they turn on her since they are twice her mass that is enough to get her to back down. In the past i've have had well behave females but generally the females are less predictable and more aggressive of the two sexes. The males will bicker with each other but once a pecking order is established things tend to tone down. Even if the angels are well behaved as youngsters their behavior will change as they mature and they may change a second time as they get older. In something like a 50 i would recommend 2 angels as most combos have a high chance of working (m/m,f/f,m/f) but some folks have success with crowding angels though they are not small fishes and that limits the number you can keep in a smaller aquarium. In my 120 the most i've had is 8 (which is not crowding) but they did establish dynamic that pretty much worked for 3 or 4 years. It was 1 female and 7 males.
Sadly when they are young - and despite their behavior as youngsters you just can't predict how they will behave when they will mature. The worse scenario i had was once i started with 6 younsters; it became 2 females and 4 males. The bossy female killed everyone but her mate so i ended up with 2 angels.
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On 1/16/2023 at 9:48 AM, Guppysnail said:
Absolutely stunning! I would add 4-6 sterbai to round out your group. Cory cats enjoy bigger groups.
If you have m/f panduro do NOT add more cory as that can create a problem when they breed. If you have two male panduro yea add more cory.
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The panduro will hunt the shrimp; no clue if they will catch em.
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On 1/15/2023 at 12:10 PM, tolstoy21 said:
Vibra bites?
Sometimes I think it's the only food my fish will eat!
However, I have a 2lb bag of it now that I'm still going through.
To be honest mine aren't over joyed with the stuff. They really do seem to prefer fluval bug bites and it seems from the label it is a better food. One thing i will say that is a plus for vibra bite is i'm pretty sure it has carrotine (though I can't find it on the label) and the fishes that do eat it are more orange. What i really want is a pellet from of spirulina. A lot of cichlids really need a chunk of plant matter but flakes just aren't very filling for larger fishes.
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On 1/15/2023 at 7:29 AM, PineSong said:
Here it is (both pics). I found out it is valisneria by going back to the original shipping email from ACO. Mine has grown to the top of the tank (20g long) and I usually trim it before it goes across the top but at the moment it is starting to. It spreads by runners and at a nice rate without being obnoxious.
I also have some dwarf sagittaria; in my tank it stays under 3" tall and spreads very slowly. I have a patch about the size of a playing card and it was planted July 2021 but I never gave it root tabs to hurry it along, either.
That second picture looks more like dwarf sag than italia val; the big difference is val has flat leaves and dwarf sag is more round. My italia val looks like this:
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From an economical sense welding shops, brewers and similar are the most cost effective. I use our local welding shop; they charge around $100 for 5lb, 10lb or 20lb canister; refill is around $20 and they guarantee the canister itself basically for life. You can either wait for them to refill it (usually 10min) or exchange it. I use co2art regulators and when i researched them they were the most reliable at a given cost point (i use the cheap one). No clue about the coop regulator (if they have one) but generally you want two stage regulator to prevent co2 dumps at the end and one with at least a 3 year warranty. GLA has quality regulator but they are expensive. Some folks like milwaukee regulator (very inexpensive) but only single stage...
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On 1/14/2023 at 12:09 PM, PineSong said:
Today I learned that a plant I thought was sagittaria is actually thin valisneria!
I did one water change, put ferts in 4 tanks, and cleaned up the plants in my kitchen tank, i.e. removed half the frogbit, the out-of-bounds valisneria, trimmed one of my stem plants, and cut old/spotted leaves off my java ferns.
Really enjoyed watching my tanks; I'm learning to love the less-populated look, but see one suspiciously square-looking blue platy that suggests a repopulation may happen without my permission.
Picture? I actually have some 'dwarf sag' that has grown nearly 14 inches high; but it doesn't look much like italia val (which is one of the common narrow leaf vals).
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Gotta be careful with that Jacobi pink; it will get large and spread like a weed. Nice colour but it is not a friendly plant 😉
Given how fast it spreads i'm susprise it is not more common. Also if it gets shaded it will be less attractive.
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kribs are easy to breed and very predictable. They will be aggressive towards anything at the bottom of the tank so cories are definitely out and panda garra are very iffy but might work. platies should be fine. A bit does depend on your tank size so a large enough tank might work better.
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My only real plant goal is to take this mess:
And to put it in an aquarium 3 times larger so that it can eventually be even messier !
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On 1/10/2023 at 11:21 AM, DiscusLover said:
I believe your confusing neons with their cousins green neons. Unlike neons, green neons prefer warmer temperatures which is stated on the internet and from other fish keepers that I have talked with. They are kept in high 70s to high 80s some even stating the 90s as well. Neons however prefer cooler 72-77. Cardinals I do agree with
Yea my error.
On 1/10/2023 at 11:24 AM, evilgenius said:I've had these Rams with the Red Eyes for a year now with no issues. My tap water pH is 8.2, but the CO2 and stone bring that down a little.
Actual ph as influence by co2 is not relevant it has to do more with the amount of kh in the water. Anyway these things are sort of grey in the sense it has to do with longevity of the fish - the more perfect the conditions the longer they tend to live; the less perfect the shorter but of course some individuals do better than others. Think of it of the person who eats nothing but choclate candy bar vs the person who eats a balance diet. In general one will be in better conditions but sometimes the candy bar person still out lives the health nut on a balance diet.
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On 1/9/2023 at 5:00 PM, DiscusLover said:
Its mixed answers from what I have seen and how I had some in the past, I believe a better alternative would be green neon tetras which can handle hotter temps.
I agree with this, a lot of swim space for the tetras and schooling wouuld be great, in my opinion you should try adding another pair of rams @evilgenius
I disagree with this; cardinals are the warm tetra species not neon; neon are very similar to ember with green neon being a bit cooler.
On 1/10/2023 at 10:56 AM, evilgenius said:I'm told they do better in warmer water. Dean breeds these at 86.
My LFS will let you know if something you want comes in, but they don't order it for you. The last time I tried I wanted Habrosus Cories and they ordered Pygmaeus. Similar, but not the same. I wish that store was a better experience. So instead I drive 2 to 2.5 hours (one way) to support a couple stores that are really good. I just don't get to do so frequently.
You can keep them at 86 but they 'burn out' pretty fast - 82 is a good breeding temp. To be honest most domestic rams have pretty weak genetics and don't live that long - wc do better but then you won't get all the fancy colours. I've been told by breeders that golds from black are more hearty but not sure how true that is - also water matters a lot I think - rams really love ultra soft acidic water.
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Did the usual water change on the 40B; this time i took a few pictures. The tank has some issue with tall plants in front and too many smaller plants being starved for light. I thought about doing a massive adjustment but decided to wait till i move in the spring since the tank has to be torn down then. There was someone in the forum thta suggested you should always stir up your substrate a bit but i just don't see how i can do that in this aquarium. I mean there isn't much open substrate.... Maybe if i use a tooth pick?
First picture front before water change:
Top before water change:
Water drained from tank and after I did my usual pruning - it can show you just how dense the plants are:
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Wish we had something like this down here; i can always use more plants. Maybe in the spring i'll fly up or drive up - long drive but us airways used ot have cheap direct flights (though I haven't checked what the pandemic has done to their schedule/price).
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Can you provide your water parameters?
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I worry that if i under feed my fishes will eat each other; this is a problem when the largest fish is 7 times larger than the smallest fish. Of course they probably eat each other no matter how much i feed them.... 😞
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I'm mixed on aquahuna; i use them often enough to know their +/-. They are far from perfect or the best stock but they are good for some things.... I guess what I'm saying is they are a store i would use but not one i would hype. Having said that i really don't like aquatic arts and i won't go into details here but I will not use them anymore.
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To be honest i just let my snails repair their own shells. It sometimes take a while but they seem to manage.
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Long term the most economical solution is co2art regulator and a canister - either 5lb, 10lb or 20lb depending on how often you want to refill it. I find on my 40B that a 20lb will last 8 to 14 months depending on various factors. co2art sells two regulator - you do not need the pro. During special time of the year they will frequently be 20% to 30% off; alas blackfriday/christmas period has pass so you have to wait for the next holiday. The best place to get the canister and to refill it depends on what is available near you - welding shops and brewery tend to have the best price. My price is a bit higher than some and i pay about $20 to refill a 10lb - a 10lb was a bit below $100 and a 20lb was a little more. Also the canisters are pretty much 'warrantied' by the welding shop i use; if it goes bad they will just swap it with another one.
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On 1/4/2023 at 6:04 PM, bettas said:
Hello! Sorry for the irregular & late responses. I have done the water changes & added wormer plus. Her appetite has increased, but I saw the white stringy poop again yesterday. I'm not sure if it's because the parasites are going away or if she's been infected again. I have ordered the aquarium salt.
I am doing regular water changes & parameters are normal, but the copepod/nematode population is still blooming in my tank. I see some algae growth in the tank, and I want to scrape it off. However, I heard that by scraping it off, it will only make it worse. Any advice on how to get rid of these copepods?
For future reference you can use table salt without iodine or other additives. No need for 'aquarium' salt.
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On 1/3/2023 at 2:10 PM, DebSills said:
more pygmys are always better!!
I have over 20; it doesn't help much 😉 I created a clear area in the very back; and they hang out there - occasionally one will bravely come to the front when i feed the fishes after all the very BEST food is in front !
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Yea i've been suckered thta way. Start with a 5; upgrade to a 10 for $10 but then need $$$$ light; then get sucked into a 20 long for $25 but then need a $$$$$$$ light; then after a while get sucked into a 40B for only $40 plus $$$$$$$ light; then after a while get sucked into a ..... sigh.
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Did the usual water change on my 40B; really should post an updated picture one of these days; it is a mass of plant front to back. Upped the light intensity 20% from 45% to 55% to get a bit more light to the bottom. I'll have to watch it carefully the next few weeks to see what happens with algae and adjust as needed. The bottom plants are suffering due to the massive density of plants. Hum.... 4 more months and then i'll have to tear it down and replant everything.
What was the best advice you were given as a beginner? If you could give one piece of advice what would it be?
in General Discussion
Posted
Patience, Patience and Patience.
For a first time person - cycle the tank and test (or have your shop test it to ensure it is cycle and that it will take a while - also try to find a store that will give you live media for your filter).
For a first time plant person - plants work in months not days or weeks - make adjustments slow and understand with many common plants (crypts/swords/anubias) you might not know how things are doing for 4 months.
Brown 'algae' is expected for a new aquarium; just ignore it.
Lots of other stuff but too much is too hard. Also I would point them towards guppies and rasbora and away from cichild and red tail catfish or common pleco that will eventually be 100 feet.