Nik_n

I agree, I think adding more angelfish is too risky at this point, but I would still like to know if there is a way to "test" and "prove" if the fish are a real pair. I can try conditioning them for breeding, but other then feeding them high protein foods what else could I do? How often should I do water changes to trigger them to breed?

I'm currently struggling to chose between a group of clown/rocket killifish or CPD for my 3 gallon. I heard that the CPDs can be picky eaters and that would be a problem for me as I often times leave my tanks with just an auto-feeder. On the other hand, killifish are jumpers and if I don't have a well fitted lid they will jump out. This also worries me, if I make a DIY lid with a whole for the feeder some may jump out. The reason why I'm choosing between this two, is that both can go without a heater (from what I heard and researched). Also are there any other nano fish that aren't picky eaters that would work well in a 3 gallon.

Could I ask how you bred them? I was considering getting a trio and trying to breed them myself.

I will be adding pictures as soon as I can. I have kept 4 angelfish in the tank in the past without any issues, other then some aggression between the males which was quickly resolved. I'm fairly confident that I have a male and a female, but there isn't a way to be a 100% sure until the spawn. The reason why I'm hesitating with adding more angelfish that the ones in the store are significantly smaller. They some older ones but I don't want to risk any diseases and I don't have a quarantine tank big enough to house them for a week. I was just wondering if there would be any way (if in fact they are a male and a female) that they pair up. I don't understand why they haven't already. They have grown up together as well.

I agree with the comment above. First decide on the species and amount of fish you want to keep. This will determine the appropriate tank size and decorations, plants etc. In a planted tank, plants help a lot of maintaining the balance as they act as natural filter. That is their role in the wild. You can not go overboard with plants (you will just have to keep them trimmed) but different species of plants need different conditions (light levels, place in the tank, nutrients). If you are new to plants start with easier plants to keep (java fern, anubius, mosses, amazon swords etc). In my experience plants are very important when maintaining a balanced tank, as they take some pressure off you. If the tank is heavily planted the water chemistry will not swing too greatly and its safer to leave the tank unattained for longer periods of time. It creates a self sustaining ecosystem. I don't have any experience with non planted tanks so I'm not the best person to give advice. I would say the bottom line to a balanced tank is: suitable filtration, correct stocking levels, regular water changes and fish that work well together Hope this helps

Do you have any plants in your tank? They help absorb ammonium, especially if they are plants like java moss, java fern or anubias which pull nutrients directly from the water column. Floating plants work too. However having .5 PPM of ammonia is not harmful for the fish. It really hard to get rid of all the ammonium unless you have an a lot of plants and understocked tank. I wouldn't worry about that little ammonia in the water, just get some plants to help you as they are filter the water themselves.

I currently have a problem with pest snails (pond snails) and I have been struggling to control the population. I know it due to overfeeding and I cut back on feeding a lot which seemed it helped but I never quit got rid of them. My tank is heavily planted (mostly with amazon swords) which have broad leaves, which block the sunlight of smaller plants and leaves. Usually these leaves begin to rot and are infested with snails. The problem that I have with them is that they produce so much waste. When I gravel vac most if not all is pure snail waste which I find really upsetting. Plans do absorb some of that but the snails produce much more and much faster. I wanted to share this in order to warn about purposely breeding snails in the main tank. I'm not really a fan of snails, but I don't mind an odd one here and there but they soon make a lot more. What I'm trying to say is that big snail populations can be a real pain to deal with once they are established

Could your fit CPD or white clouds in a 3 gallon? If so how many, I heard they need to be kept in groups of 6. I was also thinking about clown killifish but was advised against it, as they may need a bigger tank and even a heater? I don't know much about nano setups just wanting to try something new. I'm not much into snails, I have a billion of ponds snails in may planted community and am trying to get rid of them.

I will upload the videos and pictures as soon as I can (currently I'm on holiday). There are about 6 amazon swords in the tank and from what I have heard angels can spawn on them. I usually feed a mixture of flake and frozen food, and occasionally live baby brine shrimp. I don't think it would be possible to get a new tank for the pair, I don't have the space and the community tank is understocked as well. I will try doing frequent water changes as well as feed live foods. Would adding more angelfish help or worsen the situation?

So I have two angelfish in my community planted 50 gallon tank. They grew up together along two others (who died along the way, one from a disease, the other one seemed to stop eating after territorial/mate dispute and died). Any way the two angelfish survived and I'm almost certain that they are male and a female but they don't seem to be a pair. The show some signs of "flirting" chasing each other and teasing, but they have never mated. I don't think they are a pair but could they become one? I have read that angelfish pair up for life, but I also heard and read that breeders often mix the pairs and they still get eggs. I was considering adding more angelfish, but if I do I feel like I may upset the balance, no matter if I add younger or older fish, I expect there to be fighting and I do not want to risk that. Is this a solid worry or would it be safe to add more angelfish. I have been interested in breeding them for quit some time now. Thank you for any advice

I have a spare 3 gallon as well. It's not very deep, but it has some good hight to it. I wanted to try to fit a peace lilly on top with the roots hanging in water. I was thinking about using garden soil as nutrient layer (also got that idea from MD). I was just about to make a post asking for stocking ideas. I didn't want to go with a betta because the tank won't have a filter of a heater. I was thinking some shrimp or nano fish that can tolerate cooler temperatures. I haven't done much research so any advice would be appreciated

A pair in a 10 gallon should work fine, but it depends on the pair and if they breed. Nonetheless, make sure that there are at least two caves, and plenty of plants to break the line of sight. If you want to avoid aggression, maybe get two females?

I would suggest checking out videos on how to build aquarium racks on King of DIY channel he has a whole playlist about it. The stands are completely made out of wood and look great.

Thank you all for your advice I will definitely try some of the things you suggested. I will keep you posted as inform you as soon as I get babies (hopefully I do).

Thank you! No rush!

I checked my local fish store website and amazon, I don't think I would be able to get any rapashi. That would be very great!! I'm very interested! Thank you.

Rams do require higher temperatures and are a bit tricky to handle. If you are interested in dwarf cichlids you may want to look into apistogramma or kribensis. They are both really cool fish with a lot of colour and they are a bit easier for beginners. I would suggest a school of barbs or rainbows. They are a bigger schooling fish which may fit well in the tank.

Thank you all, I guess I need to increase the variety of foods I feed. I will start feeding them algae wafers, shrimp pellets and greed beans more often. I don't know if I can get rapashi, I might need to order it online.

Agree, I have heard similar things about root tabs. If they aren't buried deep enough they can mess up water perimeters. Did you gravel vac soon after you added them? That could have disturbed the substrate. Also how many did you add at a time?

Thank you I will defiantly follow your advice. I will try to do more cooler water changes, so trick them into thinking its rainy season. I keep my water them at 27°C (idk what that is in °F). I will get some more foods and feed them veggies more often. Thanks for the advice

I use jbl algae wafers. They say their protein content is very high but I don't have the box with me. How long did you gave yours for? What temperature do you keep them at? Did they spawn after a water change or something like that?

I would like to breed some common bristle nose plecos. I already have two females (fully grown and at breeding size), and am planning to add a male soon. I have 2 caves and one coconut shell, as well as rocks and driftwood. I have tried breeding plecos in the past without much success. I know there needs to be a cave, driftwood and the plecos have to be fed veggies. I did all this but never had any success in the past. I would feed them algae waffers every night and veggies(mostly zucchini and green beans) twice a week. I never had any breeding behaviour. Is there something I'm missing? Any advice would be appreciated

I don't know much about them, is there something I should know about them? I'm not even sure if I can get them in my local fish store.

I have a 50 gallon planted tank, with 2 angelfish, 1 blue gourmai and 2 bristle nose plecos (female). I would love to add more fish but I'm not sure which ones. Water perimeters -ph:7.6 NO2, NO3 and ammonium:0, gh-5, and 17kh Here are a few of my ideas -A male bristle nose -I would like to breed plecos (will make a tread about this in the future) - A pair/trio of apistogramma - 2 more angles (I think it would be a problem to add younger ones with my two old ones) -pygmy catfish-dont know a lot about them but they seems cool -a school of tetras/barbs/ rainbows Thanks for any suggestions

Hello everyone, my name is Nik. I have been keeping fish for about 5 years, in my 180 liter (around 50gallon)planted tank. It went through many changes as I moved around and had a lot of different fish. Currently I have 2 angelfish, 1 blue gourami, 2 bristle nose plecos(female) and 3 assassin snails. I also have a 20gallon plastic box with 60 baby blue gouramies. I had a female blue gourami, the pair mated in January, hence the babies. I wasn't planning on breeding the gouramies they just bred in the community tank, and I took the eggs out and hatched them. Sadly the female died soon after due to swim bladder issues. I'm hopping to continue keeping and breeding fish (especially plecos) as well as to learn more about the fish keeping hobby in general. I'm also planning to add more fish to the tank, because I know I can comfortably house more fish, as the tank is heavily planted (6 amazon swords, 4 anubius, and some ludwigia) and filtered by a EHIEM Biopower 240. I would love to hear suggestion and advice on both subjects, and I will be posting more specific treads soon. I would upload a picture but I don't have it just yet. I promise I will get it as soon as possible! Thanks Nik N