OfficialThomas
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Posts posted by OfficialThomas
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I am a young hobbyist and I have a 20 gallon high aquarium. I have been running it with little to no fish (mystery snails) in it for a few months testing water every 2 weeks or so.
My hardscape consists of pieces of dragon stone and spiderwood.
I want to get into live plants but I don't want to break the bank and I don't really want to fill my aquarium with so many plants.
Eventually I want to have these fish in the tank:
- 10 neon tetras
- 10 cherry shrimp
- 1 dwarf gourami (or other centerpiece fish)
- 3 guppies
- 2 mystery snails (already have)
Any recommendations on placement and plant types? Any other tips?
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On 8/11/2022 at 11:43 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
I would ALWAYS recommend for anyone starting out, just to get some anubias that you enjoy. It's the easiest thing to grow and it's the best way to get started with growing plants.
Second, I would suggest moss.
THEN I would suggest getting into stem plants 🙂
The cool thing is that a lot of plants do not need the beams of the sun itself to grow. They need "some light". Anubias does really well and prefers lower light. This also means you shouldn't place it directly under the beam of light at the top of your tank!!!! That is where the moss comes in and will do well.
Why I recommend these two plants, is because they take nutrients from the water column and something like easy green makes it so easy to care for these plants specifically. Stem plants is where you'd be doing the exact same thing, but also adding root tabs. There's a lot to dive into, but I highly recommend starting with those two mentioned above and then research stems.
Moss and Anubias you can both use super glue in this fashion. For moss, cut it into 1/4-1/2" sections and just glue it on.Yes. You can switch lights whenever. There will be some adjustment, new light might have different features or power, and that is where it might take some time to dial in settings. You can always change things out and figure out a method for making it work.
or you could replace it with a standard aqueon versatop lid.
Thank you so much! I have the standard aqueon versatop lid. So you think I should just dive into plants and see how they are doing and if I need to get something like a stingray that would be easy to switch to?
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On 8/10/2022 at 11:17 AM, AnimalNerd98 said:
I forgot to mention that it usually takes a week or two for the plants to acclimate to your tank. Good luck!
Got it! Thank you! Can I easily switch lights later on?
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On 8/10/2022 at 8:23 PM, Colu said:
I would add the live plants first let them get established then I would add the guppies or neon first them the dwarf gourami and the cherry shrimp last as they like a well established tank with plenty of biofilm to feed on
Got it! Thanks!
On 8/10/2022 at 8:24 PM, Nanci B said:I personally would stuff your tank with plants now before getting any fish. Planting later will just be a hassle, but certainly doable. Out of your list guppies would be my first choice. Are you planning on getting only males, or are you getting both sexes and breeding? You really want to think about that.
I have not really thought of that. It is my first time keeping guppies. I don't really need to breed them. Like I don't want to get extra stuff so they breed but if they breed that's fine by me!
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I have a 20 gallon high tank (cycled) and I am thinking of getting the below fish for a community tank. I have spider wood and dragon stone and at some point want to add live plants. Which fish would you recommend for me to get first (I would rather not get them all at once)? Is this to many fish for my tank size?
- 10 neon tetras
- 10 cherry shrimp - I DON'T have live plants yet
- 1 dwarf gourami (or other centerpiece fish)
- 3 guppies
Also is it ok to add live plants later on?
Thank you so much!
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On 8/9/2022 at 11:52 PM, AnimalNerd98 said:
When first getting plants, you need to give them some time to adjust to your water parameters (GH, KH, nutrient availability, pH, etc.) and lighting. I remember Justin from Ocean's Aquarium talking about how most people only need to have a six hour light cycle for new plants. I think you can step it up to 7 or 8 hours when you have a decent amount of plants and they're all settled in, but beware of algae! If you notice that you are growing a lot of algae, take a step back and readjust your nutrient and light levels.
Got it thanks!
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On 8/9/2022 at 7:57 PM, FLFishChik said:
I have Cardinal Tetra which are just a bigger version of Neons really. Lighting. I have just a standard light that came with an aquarium kit- it’s very bright, but they don’t seem to mind it. There are lots of places for them to hang out in the “shade” if they want, but they never do.
my Betta gets along fine with them… I’d be more worried about the Tetra nipping the fins of the Betta if he’s a long fin type. My Betta is a plakat so they really don’t bother him.
I added my Betta last- several weeks after adding the tetra. He was the last fish I added to the tank so the others were already established and there would less of a chance of him being territorial. He now thinks he’s a Panda Cory and follows them around the tank like he’s on of the gang.
as far as numbers, they need to be in a group of at least 5-6 to feel secure, the more the better. I have a 29g with 16 Cardinal Tetra, 1 Betta and 6 Panda Cory. I think you could probably do 10 - 15 Neons and a Betta along with some clean up crew
Thanks for the detailed response!
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On 8/9/2022 at 8:23 PM, ScottieB said:
Yeah, that’s a traditional fluorescent bulb. It will have no problem growing a lot of plants. You will probably find most folks end up replacing those older fixtures with led ones. The cost of replacing that bulb and running the electricity will eventually make an led fixture more cost effective.
But if a light can grow algae, it can grow (other) plants. Traditional “low light” plants like Anubias, Java fern, Java moss and pogostemon to name a few. There’s a few others listed on the Coop website that specifies “easy to grow” or “low light”.
Perfect thanks!
On 8/9/2022 at 8:27 PM, lefty o said:it will probably handle any low, and medium light plants.
Great!
On 8/9/2022 at 8:23 PM, ScottieB said:Yeah, that’s a traditional fluorescent bulb. It will have no problem growing a lot of plants. You will probably find most folks end up replacing those older fixtures with led ones. The cost of replacing that bulb and running the electricity will eventually make an led fixture more cost effective.
But if a light can grow algae, it can grow (other) plants. Traditional “low light” plants like Anubias, Java fern, Java moss and pogostemon to name a few. There’s a few others listed on the Coop website that specifies “easy to grow” or “low light”.
How long would you recommend I have it on for if I wanted to get some low light to medium light plants?
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On 8/9/2022 at 7:40 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
Yes. That's all I use. Fish poop and Root Tabs. Easy Green, etc.
Got it! Thanks for the quick response!
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I have been doing a lot of research with neon tetras. I have a 20 gallon tank (with rocks and driftwood) and I had a few questions:
- Do neon tetras really need lower light? I really would like to limit the amount of tannins in my aquarium.
- Can they live with betta fish? How so would I introduce them? Neon tetras first? Betta first?
- How many would you recommend to start? Can I add more later?
I know these questions seem basic and trust me I have done research but I just want to hear from some other people directly.
Thank you!
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On 7/30/2022 at 8:46 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
I would suggest somewhere in the line of 2.5-4" for your substrate, specifically with plants. Some stem plants go nuts and like thick substrate to have room for those big root structures. I think you'll do really well with some root tabs and what you have. Just make sure you pick out plants that thrive in that type of an environment (anubias and stems feed a lot from the WC and RTs, and plants that like RTs specifically will do fine)
You can also pick one of these too and then cap it with what you have now.
Wow thank you so much!! But i don't need to get more gravel root tabs would feed the plants as well, right?
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On 7/30/2022 at 3:41 PM, Fish Folk said:
Here’s a 10 gal of mine with normal aquarium gravel and a $8 shop LED light from Walmart. Photo taken recently…
How deep is your gravel (inches)?
Thanks so much!
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On 7/30/2022 at 3:22 PM, Fish Folk said:
You certainly can grow some lovely plants with normal aquarium gravel. Color, of course is inconsequential to your question.
Certain gravel is designed to hold nutrients in. Others are more or less inert. Sand, for example, will not typically hold a lot . . . and your pea gravel will hold molm . . . but other nutrients can be supplied, as you suggest, via root tabs.
If you're going for an elaborate, fine plant selection, you may run into issues. The pea gravel will hold larger plant roots (e.g. Bronze crypt) but may struggle with smaller plants -- like Rotalla indica, etc.
Thank you! So beginner plants should work out fine and the depth is ok?
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Hi!
I am thinking of starting up a planted aquarium at some point and I wanted to ask a question on gravel. I have a 20 gallon cycled aquarium with not much in it at the moment (2 mystery snails). I have 25 pounds of normal black gravel. I don't think it covers 3-4 inches. Should I add more? Is it worth all the hassle? What is the ideal amount? Is normal aquarium gravel a good option if I add root tabs for the plants that need them later?
Thank you so much!
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Wow thanks everyone!
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Hi everyone,
I have a 20 gallon long that I have had for a little more than a month. I added API quick start and moved over some decor when I set it up and let it run for a couple of days. Then I got 6 corydoras and I let it run for a few more days. I tested water daily and got mostly ( I think one day I might have got 0.25 ammonia so I did a water change) 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, and 7 ph. I moved my betta fish over from an existing tank. Everything was fine until the corydoras starting dying one by one (I eventually moved them to a small hospital tank when there was 3). No water parameters were off and they seemed perfectly healthy except they were swimming to the surface for air (but there was 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate). I did a water change anyway. Eventually all the corydoras passed away but the betta fish was and is perfectly healthy and active. I tested my water today and I am still seeing the same parameters! I thought I should be seeing the nitrite and nitrate go up especially since I have fish in it! What's going on?!
* I know I messed up the cycling process but I am looking for a way to fix this issue and get the tank fully cycled before anymore fish are added.
Thank you so much,
Thomas
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On 12/21/2021 at 3:54 PM, T. Payne said:
Yes, they would be.
Got it. Thanks so much!
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On 12/21/2021 at 3:48 PM, lefty o said:
a good sinking pellet food would be much better. cory's arent big algae eaters.
On 12/21/2021 at 3:49 PM, T. Payne said:Find a good quality sinking carnivore pellet/stick and supplement with frozen foods such as brine shrimp, bloodworms and tubiflex.
Would Hikari Sinking Wafers (not the same as algae wafers) be a better option?
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Hi!
I got some corydoras a few days ago and I have started feeding them algae wafers from Hikari. Is this a good food for them? What else should I be feeding them?
Thanks so much!
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Hi!
I am somewhat new to fishkeeping but I just ordered some medication to have on hand just in case of a disease. I have a 20 gallon tank with 6 corydoras and a betta. My fish are not sick but if they ever did get sick would the corydoras be able to handle aquarium salt? If so how much should I add?
Thanks so much!
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Thanks everyone!
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Hi!
I am thinking of starting a 20 gallon tank and I wanted to ask about a fish combo.
Would a betta and 10 harlequin rasbora live well together?
What about a betta and 10 neon tetras?
If anyone has some ideas please let me know!
Thanks!
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My fish has the same bloated belly. Thanks for the help.
Plant Recommendations?
in General Discussion
Posted
Thank you so much!