Author Topic: Intro and my fishy project - Cora (Read 52136 times) 306 replies

Cora · « **Reply #260 on:** June 17, 2016, 02:02:09 PM »

The fish are great, thanks!

The penguins are all shoaling together, and they occasionally meet up with the Scissors for a mass shoal! They never really did this in the 70L, probably because it was too small. But now they can all stretch out and have a good long swim before needing to turn around. They are all very active and busy too - this is surely more natural behaviour I'm observing

It's great to see.

I don't think I will get any more Penguins, but the two Cardinals I have look so nice against the greens and browns. I know Cardinals have become a cliche in nature aquariums but there's a reason. I want to see 15 of the little things shoaling around! But...glowlight danios are also very pretty and MUCH more hardy and less delicate. They are also much cheaper to buy in large quantities. What should I do?? (You're going to say 'get both!' aren't you?

)

My Rams and Dwarf Rainbows should be delivered tomorrow

ColinB · « **Reply #261 on:** June 17, 2016, 02:07:13 PM »

mmm - delivered from where? My nearest LFS is 40miles away (so not very L) and I'm not at all impressed with their stock. I'd be very interested in a good on-line supplier.

Paddyc · « **Reply #262 on:** June 17, 2016, 02:38:17 PM »

Re: Cardinals, they are similar to neons and the striking colours are awesome in larger shoals... I have 22 neons now and I could watch them 24/7... So I'm on the side of you getting more cardinals.

Re: Glowlights... They are attractive, cheap and hardier but would they be hardier than cardinals? I don't know... What I have heard about them though is that they like.to dwell amongst vegetation and decor so they may not school as much or hang around in the top two thirds of the tank... It's a hit or a miss, really. That said, the glowlight I have is very much at home in amongsty neons and schools with them all the time now... Maybe not in the top half of the tank but definitely in open water away from hiding places...

Sorry if this doesn't bring you any closer to deciding

Sue · « **Reply #263 on:** June 17, 2016, 04:09:19 PM »

Cora, did you mean glowlight danios or glowlight tetras? I think paddy means the tetras.

According to Seriously Fish, glowlight danios have changed their name. Again. They were Brachydanio choprai, then Danio choprai, now they are Celestichthys choprae. That puts them in the same genus as celestial pearl danios aka galaxy rasboras. And SF says that both choprai and choprae have been used but in 2012 it was decided it should be choprae.

Whatever, they are the yellowish fish from Myanmar, and glowlight tetras are from Guyana, S America.

Paddyc · « **Reply #264 on:** June 17, 2016, 04:12:30 PM »

I totally misread the Danio bit.

Cheers, Sue x

Sue · « **Reply #265 on:** June 17, 2016, 04:16:07 PM »

I only spotted it because the danios are in one of my possible restocking lists

Glowlight danios, harlies and something else to be decided is the Asian option.

ColinB · « **Reply #266 on:** June 17, 2016, 04:24:59 PM »

5-band barbs. They bounce around the bottom of the tank all day.... just what you need. They're not too boisterous either, so they won't out-compete the Harleys.

fcmf · « **Reply #267 on:** June 17, 2016, 06:25:35 PM »

Quote from: Cora on June 17, 2016, 02:02:09 PM

The fish are great, thanks!

The penguins are all shoaling together, and they occasionally meet up with the Scissors for a mass shoal! They never really did this in the 70L, probably because it was too small. But now they can all stretch out and have a good long swim before needing to turn around. They are all very active and busy too - this is surely more natural behaviour I'm observing It's great to see.

I don't think I will get any more Penguins, but the two Cardinals I have look so nice against the greens and browns. I know Cardinals have become a cliche in nature aquariums but there's a reason. I want to see 15 of the little things shoaling around! But...glowlight danios are also very pretty and MUCH more hardy and less delicate. They are also much cheaper to buy in large quantities. What should I do?? (You're going to say 'get both!' aren't you? )

Great re the fish.

Your theory re shoaling together more in the bigger tank is exactly the theory I'd reached about something I'd observed too - how well Paddy's harlequins shoal together in his bigger tank whereas mine rarely do. (3 tend to hang around together from time to time but not exactly shoaling - more like they're plotting mischief such as who's going to push another fish out of the place they're relaxing in.) Yes, perhaps mine may be more relaxed in that they can see there are no predators around, but that's probably not natural.

Yes, that's exactly what I would have suggested - increasing the shoal size of the cardinals AND getting glowlight danios for the upper section of the tank.

Cora · « **Reply #268 on:** June 19, 2016, 10:47:57 AM »

Hola all!

Yes it was Glowlight Danios to which I was referring!

Ok so update: when I said fish were being delivered I meant by my sister. She picked them up from the dealer and brought them here. The dealer wouldn't sell me the Rams because he wasn't impressed by their quality, i.e. poor breeding. This was very honest of him and solidified my opinion that he knows his stuff and cares about the fish. But, he could supply four pandy cories, six dwarf rainbows and ten cardinals.

So, project fishy 185 now contains:

12 x cardinals
6 x penguins
3 x scissor tails (I know they are too big to mix with the others but I have them now and I do love them)
4 x panda cories
6 x dwarf rainbows

The Rainbows really are a lovely fish. As soon as the supplier has more I'll add another 4 to the tank.

I'm sticking with 6 penguins.

Obviously not adding any more Scissors.

I think 12 Cardinals is enough for now.

I will be getting 6 Rams in the next few weeks when he gets new and better stock.

I LOVE panda cories. And I love how they behave when they're together. Unfortunately, the tank is heavily planted and the four of them keep losing each other! So, I'm going to buy another 4 today including a few Otos to eat algae.

Tested the water 24 hours after adding fish and it's zeroes across the board.

The only slight negative with the tank is a foamy/dusty substance which has covered the spider wood. I don't think it's algae or fungus; I assume it's a bacterial growth from the wood. When I do a water change I'll vacuum clean it off. I also assume it's completely harmless, just unsightly. The wood was soaked and scalded in boiling water before I added it to the tank.

So in summary, the tank is looking great and the fish seem happy. Just need to get those Pandas together! The plants look lovely too - and are growing quickly! I don't think I'd ever go back to plastic plants again.

I set up a photobucket account to link IMG so I'll post pics later.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

Sue · « **Reply #269 on:** June 19, 2016, 10:58:15 AM »

Do you have any algae yet? If you don't, hold back on the otos. They can be very finicky feeders and often starve to death in tanks that don't have enough algae.
And it is common for them to just die in algae filled tanks too. They are wild caught, and a lot die during capture. Then they are kept, shipped, and stored at a wholesaler without the correct food, so by the time they get to the shop they are starving. Once otos reach a certain state of starvation, they can't start eating again, the cause of them just dying shortly after purchase.
Don't buy newly delivered otos; make sure they've been in the shop a couple of weeks so that the weak ones will already have died. Choose the individuals that have rounded bellies. They have been eating. Thin bellies are starving and bloated bellies are sick.

Matt · « **Reply #270 on:** June 19, 2016, 11:11:28 AM »

Don't worry about the 'stuff' on your wood - its natural and harmless, do vacuum what you can away but it will go naturally after a few weeks.

Littlefish · « **Reply #271 on:** June 19, 2016, 12:35:42 PM »

Great to hear that your tank is coming together as far as the fish are concerned.
The panda cory are quite adorable. Mine all congregate at the front of the tank as it gets closer to feeding time.
I can't wait to see your pictures.

fcmf · « **Reply #272 on:** June 19, 2016, 03:16:56 PM »

Buenas tardes / Guten Nachmittag / Bon apres-midi,

Quote from: Cora on June 19, 2016, 10:47:57 AM

The only slight negative with the tank is a foamy/dusty substance which has covered the spider wood. I don't think it's algae or fungus; I assume it's a bacterial growth from the wood. When I do a water change I'll vacuum clean it off. I also assume it's completely harmless, just unsightly. The wood was soaked and scalded in boiling water before I added it to the tank.

I had a slimy, white, fluffy substance on my (first piece of) wood during its first 8 weeks, then it eventually disappeared. Hopefully what you describe will also be short-lived, especially as you soaked it beforehand.

Cora · « **Reply #273 on:** June 19, 2016, 04:12:21 PM »

Afternoon!

It was a foamy slimy substance on the wood. I got a lot of it off by hand. Glad to hear those who agree it's not harmful though and will go in time anyway.

I do have a bit of algae in the tank and especially on the plants, yes. But I will ask the right questions about the Otos, cheers Sue.

I did some tankkeeping this afternoon - changed the filter contents around a bit and removed one piece of filter wool; I've been worried about the low flow in the tank. It's much better now!

I'll take some pics this evening when the tank settles down and the water is totally clear.

I got 3 more pandas today. These new ones got right down to foraging right away, but the original four seem very shy. I hope they all find each other! Like I said above, there are so many places for tiny cories to get lost.

fcmf · « **Reply #274 on:** June 19, 2016, 06:07:19 PM »

Sounds like what I had; it re-appeared every 2-3 days but I just scrubbed it off repeatedly although it eventually disappeared altogether.

Looking forward to seeing the pics later, and especially of the pandas. Interesting that the newbies weren't shy but possibly their appearance caused the others to go into retreat; hopefully they'll all be one big happy family later on.

Cora · « **Reply #275 on:** June 22, 2016, 07:11:32 PM »

5 days in:

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
PH: 7.0

apart from algae I'd say the tank is a dream. Plants are even pearling slightly but I think my lighting is probably insufficient intensity.

I'm also tempted to slightly re-arrange things when I do a water change at the weekend. The plants look great but a lot of the hardscape is obscuring the lower back of the tank, especially cories. Need to sort this!

Sue · « **Reply #276 on:** June 22, 2016, 07:18:58 PM »

How do you feel about snails? If the algae is bad, nerite snails are wonderful algae eaters. The only problem with them is they lay sesame seed like eggs on things like wood and other decor, but they don't hatch. Of course that means the eggs just stay there.

ColinB · « **Reply #277 on:** June 22, 2016, 07:39:25 PM »

Quote from: Cora on June 22, 2016, 07:11:32 PM

Plants are even pearling slightly but I think my lighting is probably insufficient intensity.

I'm also tempted to slightly re-arrange things when I do a water change at the weekend. The plants look great but a lot of the hardscape is obscuring the lower back of the tank, especially cories. Need to sort this!

If the plants are pearling then the lighting should be OK.

My view on hardscape/planting etc is that it's important not to be able to see where the substrate meets the back wall of the tank. Somehow, seeing that 'join' makes one realise that it's a tank, not a slice of nature.... if that makes sense. There's an article somewhere that I once read..... I will search t'interweb, but post this up first.

ColinB · « **Reply #278 on:** June 22, 2016, 07:44:20 PM »

Ta-daaa.......

Aquascaping stuff

Littlefish · « **Reply #279 on:** June 22, 2016, 08:09:25 PM »

@ColinB that's an interesting and useful article.

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Intro And My Fishy Project - Cora

Intro And My Fishy Project - Cora

Author Topic: Intro and my fishy project - Cora (Read 52136 times) 306 replies

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