Kirsten Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) So have a line on a slightly overpriced 29g marineland cube, but it comes with "aged oak" stand (looks gray and pretty), built in biofiltration and nice finnex lights, and it's local, and it may just fit in my lil fiat. I love my endler/platy tank, my pea puffer desk tank, and my betta 10g, and I'm thinking of eventually biting the bullet and doing the 55 or 75g angel (or angel pair)+tetra+cories+maybe little pleco classic tank at some point, but this is not that. Whatever I do, it's going to be chock full of plants, I can tell you that much. Also keep in mind that I have soft, 7.2-7.4-ish water. I have a huge sack of crushed coral but I've never seen it budge my KH a smidge. But I could keep some fish who like higher GH if need be, if they're easy going and relatively hardy. What would you rather put in it? (edit: darn, my poll didn't show up!) 6-7 pea puffers and a lifetime supply of snails 1 opaline gourami + neon tetra + maybe some cherry shrimp Neon rainbows + guppies + snails Something else? Edited January 30, 2021 by Kirsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeepTheLondoner Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Seeing as you already have a Puffer, Betta, and livebearers, I’d go for a classic community tank. What are the dimensions? A planted backdrop to Cardinal Tetras, corydoras & maybe an Angelfish (depending on dimensions) could look sweet. If not, Apistogramma would be fine in a 29. Maybe a SA Biotope? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 3 minutes ago, HardeepTheLondoner said: Seeing as you already have a Puffer, Betta, and livebearers, I’d go for a classic community tank. What are the dimensions? A planted backdrop to Cardinal Tetras, corydoras & maybe an Angelfish (depending on dimensions) could look sweet. If not, Apistogramma would be fine in a 29. Maybe a SA Biotope? Nice! I believe it's this set-up: http://www.marineland.com/products/aquariums/exhibit-series-wifi-led-kit-29-gal.aspx (22 inches x 22 inches x 14 inches) You think that's enough for a single angel maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeepTheLondoner Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 2 minutes ago, Kirsten said: Nice! I believe it's this set-up: http://www.marineland.com/products/aquariums/exhibit-series-wifi-led-kit-29-gal.aspx (22 inches x 22 inches x 14 inches) You think that's enough for a single angel maybe? That’s a real nice tank & stand! I’d say so. 1 Angel will be fine in there, just add it last and cover the usual things (feed enough, provide enough cover & appropriate stocking etc). I’d go- 10x Cardinals 6x Cory’s (Species dependent) 1x Angelfish (Whichever you like, I like the Manacapuru) 4x Oto’s That would be a nice SA stocking. I’ve been quite conservative with stocking since I’m not sure how confident you feel/your routine maintenance 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Nice! I might do pygmy cory just to play it safe. But now you got me looking up apistogramma and going down that rabbit hole. How cool would some triple red cockatoos look with some neon or cardinal tetra? Super cool. Hmmm decisions! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeepTheLondoner Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 1 minute ago, Kirsten said: Nice! I might do pygmy cory just to play it safe. But now you got me looking up apistogramma and going down that rabbit hole. How cool would some triple red cockatoos look with some neon or cardinal tetra? Super cool. Hmmm decisions! Maybe not Pygmy’s, as they’ll take up space in the mid level of the tank & I feel could be small enough to get a hard time from your Angel. If you want to stay nano, go for Cory. Habrosus or if you want to go a little bigger, go for Panda Cory’s. I honestly wish I’d tried out dwarf cichlids before going for the bigger boys, they look amazing! I’d probably do a small harem (1:3) of Fire Red Aggassizii. They should pair off naturally from a group of 4 and then I’d keep the pair 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Cool, thanks for the tip! I didn't realize Pygmy ventured further up than other Cory. Habrosus is definitely on my shortlist, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeepTheLondoner Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 I don’t think you’d regret Habrosus. Oh no this thread just reminds me those nano species I wanted to try in my nano’s but I never got round to!😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 If the lid can be made tight enough to prevent jumpers from escaping, I’d do a generously planted cube with a colony of Fundulopanchax sjostedti. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 I don't know why, but I really like cube tanks. Nice pickup! The options you are interested in are so difficult to choose from, because I honestly like them all. I'm kind of leaning towards voting for the opaline gourami option, because I saw a full sized adult a while back. It was BEAUTIFUL. I usually only see juvenile fish in person, so I was taken back by how large and graceful it looked. I'm definitely a fan of gourami's now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 2 hours ago, Fish Folk said: If the lid can be made tight enough to prevent jumpers from escaping, I’d do a generously planted cube with a colony of Fundulopanchax sjostedti. Oh man look at that rockstar. I've been thinking about killies, but wasn't sure if I was ready yet. So many are so short-lived. But I'll look into it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 30 minutes ago, OceanTruth said: I don't know why, but I really like cube tanks. Nice pickup! The options you are interested in are so difficult to choose from, because I honestly like them all. I'm kind of leaning towards voting for the opaline gourami option, because I saw a full sized adult a while back. It was BEAUTIFUL. I usually only see juvenile fish in person, so I was taken back by how large and graceful it looked. I'm definitely a fan of gourami's now. Thanks! You're one of the few folks here who'll recommend a gourami, which is surprising considering they sound about as hard as a betta or an angel. Have a friend who recommended an opaline, but she's not super big into the hobby. Just trying to find colorful, hopefully active or interesting fish that'll live well together, look good together, and be happy in the conditions I can give them. But yeah that deep blue opaline with zippy neons or cardinals would be mm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 45 minutes ago, Kirsten said: So many are so short-lived. But I'll look into it! LRB did a short spotlight on his stock of F. sjostedti 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Black phantom tetras and a group of corydoras and a group of hatchet fish one bristlenose 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 I have an angel in a standard 29. he is happy enough, lording over everyone. With soft water I would totally go with SA type fish, and because I am drooling over them, I would put in silvertip tetras. Then a contrasting angel, and some corys or khulis, and otos. But if the angel seemed too big, the Opaline would also look great. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 6 minutes ago, Brandy said: I have an angel in a standard 29. he is happy enough, lording over everyone. With soft water I would totally go with SA type fish, and because I am drooling over them, I would put in silvertip tetras. Then a contrasting angel, and some corys or khulis, and otos. But if the angel seemed too big, the Opaline would also look great. OMG you read my mind. Was totally thinking of a big school of silvertips with like a black marble angel. Wouldn't that rule? If it were a bigger tank I'd add some diamond and glowlight tetras, too. Personally, I love the look of koi angels, but finding the right contrast in dither fish was driving me crazy. I figured I needed a larger tank for an angel + enough silvertips to "do the thing" but I'll look into it for this smaller tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Colu said: Black phantom tetras and a group of corydoras and a group of hatchet fish one bristlenose Nice! Hatchetfish are so cool. And I recently saw black phantoms at my LFS and I was really impressed. I wish I liked bristlenose pleco, but I just can't get over the bristles lol. I could maybe handle something like a zebra, gold nugget, or even rubber-lip pleco. One thing I just don't understand about all the pleco love, though, is: aren't they mostly nocturnal and shy? How are people seeing and enjoying their plecos in planted tanks? Are they less nocturnal than the guides say? Edited January 31, 2021 by Kirsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdogtrainer Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 I think I would do a paludarium with 50% "mountainous" land area and 10-12 gallons of water for fish. I love the above and below eco systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 1 minute ago, Jdogtrainer said: I think I would do a paludarium with 50% "mountainous" land area and 10-12 gallons of water for fish. I love the above and below eco systems. Nice! I would love to start a brackish mangrove paludarium to breed nerite snails, and maybe so I can finally have mollies lol. What would you keep in the land portion and the water portion of a freshwater paludarium? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdogtrainer Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Just now, Kirsten said: What would you keep in the land portion and the water portion of a freshwater paludarium? Maybe some vampire crabs or a dart frog or two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 35 minutes ago, Kirsten said: Personally, I love the look of koi angels, but finding the right contrast in dither fish was driving me crazy. I figured I needed a larger tank for an angel + enough silvertips to "do the thing" but I'll look into it for this smaller tank. I have rummy nose in with my angel, and they "do the thing" just fine. I have about 18 total. Its a full tank, but I can support it and it looks amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 23 minutes ago, Brandy said: I have rummy nose in with my angel, and they "do the thing" just fine. I have about 18 total. Its a full tank, but I can support it and it looks amazing. 😄 Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 Ahh! This tank is pretty awesome, folks. Came with fluval stratum substrate chock full of trumpet snails (and probably years worth of mulm!), many bags of biorings, several large reddish crypts (roots all sticking out but man planting in mulmy substrate is hard and gross), a bevvy of stem plants, duckweed, a couple baby anubias, and a Planted+ 24/7 light. I was gulping a little bit at the price before, but now I think I got a bargain. It's basically already cycled, but I'm keeping an eye on it in any case. At only 14" tall (12-13" with the gravel), it just feels too short for an angelfish to me. I have tons of endler babies that could use this as a grow-out tank and eat the algae on the plants before I ship em off...but... Saw a pack of 6 croaking gourami on super sale right now. Hold me back, y'all. Seriously, though. Small, but not as small as sparklers (about 2-2.5" full grown). Like very heavily planted tanks, slightly acidic water (hello Fluval Stratum), dark substrate and slow water flow (I'll have to find a way to dial down this built-in submersible pump and/or post-filter it, but I've done that before). I woke up and bought a crap ton more plants from the co-op since I don't want to keep this hornwort in there forever, and most of my other plants are in-use. Getting water sprite, more anubias, baby tears. Moving over some of my windlov java ferns too and some moss and lobelia because why not. Depending on how fast I order, will also run out soon to buy some wood hardscape. Got the 6 croaking gourami, 6 diamond head neon tetra and 1 albino bushynose pleco (and 3 more anubias because why not) in my cart and about to press go. But this is crazy. Is this crazy? Should I snatch em up now and quarantine them all together for 2 weeks in a 10g hospital tank and by then the tank should be stable and the plants established? Or should I wait for all these plants to grow in and buy one at a time like a responsible adult? Or is this mix a terrible idea bound for heartbreak? What do I dooooooo? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) Folks, I'm doing it! Getting the croaking gouramis, fancy neon tetras, classic albino bristlenose, coming next day air. Going to need to get some driftwood asap 😄 Edited February 3, 2021 by Kirsten 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 That is a cool looking tank. The stand that came with it looks really nice too. I like its color. I think you should do the responsible adult route. Lol. Only because I like taking things step by step. Get as many plants in there as you like and let it settle. THEN go mad with fish. 😛 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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