|
| |
Compatibility-FW, planted 5/24/08
Hi there
<Hello,>
We have recently bought a 200l tank (100cm x 40cm x 50cm). It has bog wood,
planted bog wood, and various plants in it, including some very cool moss/algae
balls :o).
<Those are in fact balls of algae, Cladophora aegagrophila. Some folks find them
difficult to keep. They need very clean water with plenty of water movement to
stop them getting clogged up with silt. Bright light is also very important.>
It is heated and is set at 25 degrees, has a Fluval 205 external filter and an
air stone.
<All sounds fine.>
Water stats using a liquid tester are - Nitrate 40 (this unfortunately is our
tap water's base amount); Ammonia / Nitrite 0; pH 8 GH/KH top end of the scale -
we have hard water.
<All fine for standard community tropicals. Avoid stuff that expressly needs
soft water to do well, like Ram Cichlids (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) and you'll be
fine.>
Substrate is pea gravel (varies in size some is 2mm up to the largest few bits
being about 8mm) and a finer gravel (about 2mm) in the central area of the tank.
There is a little salt left in the water - we treated a case of ich on our first
Tetra - they are fine now - Salt should be gone after this week's water change.
I am tempted to keep a little in the water though for its general first aid
property - would that be ok?
<Phase out salt entirely. There's no need to keep adding it, regardless of its
(widely misunderstood) "first air" properties. Think of it this way: does a
doctor keep you on a saline drip? Or smother you with antiseptic cream day after
day? Some things are good in the short term, but pointless, even harmful, in the
long term. Most freshwater fish come from habitats with no salt in the water,
and so they haven't evolved to deal with salt. For a while they can "make do",
but in the long term you're stressing them. While there's little hard-and-fast
evidence about what is or isn't a "safe" level of salt, there's good evidence
that exposure to salt can prompt things like dropsy in some freshwater
cichlids.>
Inhabitants -
7 Ghost shrimp - fantastic little creatures.
5 Amano shrimp
6 (originally 8 but Ich in the first few days that we got them claimed 2)
Glowlight Tetra.
<The tetras certainly won't appreciate salt in the water.>
We have 3 female and 1 male guppy in the Q tank (it is 35l with internal filter,
air stone, heating and lighting) - they are due to move into the main tank in 10
days providing there are no problems. They had fry the day after we got them -
much excitement there! and a mad dash to get a small 12 l tank set up for the
fry. There appears to be 25 of them with no deformed ones, they are doing well
and have grown so much.
<!>
query/question 1
We have a snail problem in the main tank - pointy pond snails and curly flat
type ones as well - they are even in the filter sponge!!
<Snails are best dealt with by manual removal in the first instance, and then
careful maintenance of the tank afterwards. Understand this: snails CANNOT break
the laws of physics. They can only multiply as quickly as they can find food.
For them, the prime food source is uneaten fish food, and to a lesser degree
algae. Fish food is rich in protein, and that's why snail populations increase
rapidly in aquaria. So review carefully how much food you are putting in the
tank and how well you are removing wastes, including uneaten food, feces, dead
plant leaves, and algae. Since snails can breed inside filters, you will likely
need to clean the filter media regularly, too. But in any event, the only way to
control snail populations safely and reliably is this: keep the tank clean.>
Obviously can't put anything in to get rid of them because of the shrimp. So we
were thinking of getting a Horseface loach - I read somewhere that they eat the
eggs? Can't find it again now though! Will it get on with our shrimp?
<More than possible.>
There can be no chances that they will get eaten as they are the reason we ended
up with a huge tank in the first place. Does a Horseface Loach help with snail
problems?
<Possibly, but in a "dirty" tank (i.e., one with lots of food for snails) you
may be disappointed because the snails will keep breeding where the loach can't
get them, e.g., in the canister filter.>
If not can you suggest a fish that will get on with our community and suit the
current water conditions?
<Any snail-eating fish will also view small shrimps as food, too.>
We are probably going to get 6 Otos and maybe a shoal of Cardinal Tetra (8 max)
as well - but it depends on space, we don't want the tank to look busy it is
actually lovely with just the shrimp and 6 tetra :o)
<Do think very, VERY carefully about Otocinclus. The vast majority die within
months. They eat ONLY one thing with any enthusiasm: green algae. Not brown
algae, not hair algae, not red algae, not blue green algae. Only the bright
green fluffy algae that grows in strongly illuminated aquaria. In tanks without
this algae, these catfish usually starve to death. I consider these fish
completely unsuitable for community tanks and only worth keeping if you are an
extremely experienced aquarist.>
query/question 2
Will the extremely busy Guppies upset our peaceful Tetra?
<Possibly.>
and also the Guppies seem to be very hungry all the time, I have fed them little
and often and they clear all the food - they eat so much more than the Tetra do
- is it possible to over feed them (not with food left in the tank - food they
have eaten)?
<Let them eat green algae. Livebearers are omnivores, and in the wild consume
both insect larvae and green algae. The green algae is bulky and fills them up.
In the aquarium we give them highly concentrated flake food. This may provide
them all the nutrients they need, but it doesn't fill them up. Hence, they seem
ravenous. Let green algae grow on some of the ornaments or plastic plants, and
the Guppies will nibble away at that. (And yes, there is a contradiction between
letting algae grow for the fish, and keeping it trimmed to avoid problems with
snails; unless the snails are damaging your live plants, I'd recommend ignoring
them. Snails are harmless, and some species, like Melanoides tuberculata are in
fact beneficial, particularly if you manually remove any excess snails
periodically.>
We read up to make sure that we were getting peaceful fish for the community but
they are mad, bombing around, digging in the gravel doing their Guppy thing
sorting out who is boss - the male is the lowest in the pecking order and stays
out of the females' way - he is more interested in getting himself on the top of
a floating leaf than courting his harem.
<Odd.>
Thanks in advance for your help, I hope I have given you enough information.
<Indeed so.>
Lynn
<Good luck, Neale.>
Fresh water plants, avoiding
being eaten by fishes, 3/22/08
Dear WetWeb
My name is samer and i am from Lebanon
I have a fresh water aquarium and i need to ask u what is the best way to
prevent fish from eating the plants i have in the aquarium
Thank you for all the help
samer
<Hello there Samer. The choices to go here are three... Either select for fishes
that don't have much of a liking for aquatic plants... yes to small Tetras, no
to Silver Dollars for instance... Or select plants with low palatability... yes
to Hornwort/Ceratophyllum, no to Elodea/Anacharis... Or somehow keep the two
separated... Either in different tanks altogether, or with a partition (like a
pane of glass with the plant-eating fishes on one side, the plants on the other.
Bob Fenner>
Heavily stocked and planted
90 gal. FW tank 3/12/08
I am wondering what input you can give me, I have read through the other
correspondences and not quite sure if what I read holds true for my situation. I
have a 90 gal. heavily stocked tank; both with fish and with plants. I am
running a CO2 injector for the plants, a pro clear 75 wet/dry sump with a 900
GPH pump and a Fluval 405 canister filter with a 18 watt gamma UV sterilizer.
The tank is an all glass with overflow. My problem is that I am having to change
the wet/dry prefilter floss above the bio balls about 2 times a week.
<Not uncommon in planted tanks or tanks with a high bioload. Either deal with
it, or reduce the number of fish. The more fish, the more solid waste, and the
more frequently plants shed their leaves (because the fish damage them, I
suppose). Algae also causes problems by killing leaves and matting together
silt, so you end up with all that stuff in the pre-filter too.>
I don't seem to have time to enjoy this aquarium as I am always maintaining it.
My water quality is good and clear, and for the most part my fish seem happy and
healthy. What should I do to cut down on the amount of time I spend cleaning the
filters?
<Remove some fish; if you look at planted tanks in books and magazines, they
contain hardly any fish. There's a reason for that! Add anything bigger than a
Neon tetra, and planted tanks become increasingly difficult to maintain. Simple
as that.>
What I read in the other conversations and on the web is that wet/dry's have no
place in planted aquariums and also that the filtration should be double the
capacity of my tank, i.e.: 180gal. Thanks for your help in advance-Dave
<The argument against wet-and-dry filters in planted tanks is that the splashing
drives off CO2, reducing the rate at which plants can photosynthesise. Again,
this is why planted tanks have so few fish: it allows them to run with
filtration systems that create minimal turbulence. Cheers, Neale.>
|
Arowana and Silver
dollars in a big planted tank, sys. 2/29/08
Hi, I have a question that has many different angles to be looked
at. I have been reading your website for the past 2 or 3 years and have
scoured about 50% of the freshwater info as I have found it invaluable.
First off, I have a pretty big L shaped aquarium, 8 ft long, 45 degree
angle of 4 feet, then another 45 degree angle of 8 feet with the tank
being 2 feet deep and 2.5 feet tall acrylic tank (about 900 gallons +/-
50 from evaporation etc.). Ammonia and nitrites are of course zero,
nitrates are between 20 and 40ppm (attributed to nitrate factory type
trickle Bioball sump), pH at a steady 6.8 attributed to the large pieces
of driftwood I have in their and their tannin releasing ways, hardness
is at 80ppm. Temperature ranges from 74 to 76F in the mid to upper
levels, 72-75F in the lower levels, due to lighting I guess. Filtration
turns the tank over about 5-6 times an hour, though with cloggy filters,
maybe only 3 times an hour.
<Does sound like you need to upgrade the filtration a bit; in all
honesty jumbo fish need all the turnover you can get. I'd be looking at
6x turnover minimum, and likely 8-10. If water quality is basically
sound, you can perhaps get away with just adding a powerhead or two into
the tank to keep the circulation of the water even.>
It currently houses a foot long silver Arowana and a school of 11 silver
dollars (the smaller 5-6" ones, not the red hooks). I also have 4 fairly
young (only 1 foot tall, about 20 leaves) Amazon swords planted in 2
inches of gravel, and a whole bunch of Anacharis that's growing like a
weed (for the silver dollars munching pleasures) though it is growing
much faster than the fish are eating them.
<Sounds great!>
I also have some powerful full spectrum lighting across the two 8 foot
lengths of the tank, nothing in the middle of the L. My more concerning
question, or more likely, situation, is that my Arowana (I've had it
since it was around 5") recently started taking dives at my silver
dollars as they swim on their merry way beneath him. Is this a show of
territoriality or is he trying to eat the silver dollars or both?
<Either. Both. Arowanas are territorial and object to anything in
"their" zone of operations. This varies with species, and Silver
Arowanas are very much at the mild end compared with, say, Scleropages
jardini. But on the other hand that doesn't make them friendly community
fish! If the Arowana is sufficiently big, it may be trying to eat them,
or at least "sample" them to see if they're edible. A 6" Silver Dollar
is borderline when it comes to safety with an adult Arowana. Some people
have mixed them fine, I know; but look at how big the mouth of an
Arowana can get! I wouldn't be 100% comfortable with this combo.>
The silver dollars are way faster than him though so I have not yet
scene what happens when he catches them. He is usually just silently
sitting beneath a carpet of Anacharis during the day and only moves when
fed (Hikari Arowana pellets plus weekly beef heart, plus whatever
flakes, crumbles, bloodworms I feed the silver dollars) or when the
lights are off. Also, I read that Arowanas generally leisurely patrol
the aquarium all day and I figured now that I finally built my uber
aquarium (oh that's right, self made... 20% of the retailers price...
plus several cases of beer and pizza for friends who assisted in heavy
lifting.
<Ha!>
Is it possible that my lights are too bright and the Arowana doesn't
feel safe or its hurting his eyes, though he did just swim around
normally for about a month until he started to "hide"? They are power
compact fluorescents, 525 watts per light fixture, 4 total fixtures.
This is a major concern to me as I have been keeping fish for the better
part of a decade wanting an Arowana but refusing to get one until I
could house it properly and now he just sits there. At night I have
moonlighting and he does then move around quite a bit, this is why I
suspect the lighting, but I never thought they were nocturnal... more
diurnal from what I read.
<Difficult to say on this one. Arowanas are noted for being photophobic,
though most fish prefer shade to bright light. Do all the lights come on
at the same time? Sometimes fish get alarmed by that, and having the
lights come on across an hour makes a big difference. It does sound like
he doesn't like the light. Is adding an understory of plastic plants
(there are some great 3' plastic plants available now) an option?
Something that could drape across the surface and cast some more shade?
I suppose the experiment would be to unplug one light fixture for a day
or two, and see if the Arowana prefers that end of the tank.>
My next question has to do with the silver dollars and them seeming to
enjoy eating the Amazon swords more so than the anarachis. Is there some
other large show plant that does well under high lighting that the
silver dollars wont want to eat?
<I'd perhaps look at Crinum spp., e.g., C. calamistratum, as these do
seem to be left alone by herbivores. They're big and generally hardy.
Java fern will do great under bright light, though it does tend to
become an algae magnet. Anubias even more so.>
Also, my swords aren't exactly growing as well as they had in past tanks
with 4-5 inches of gravel. Does the gravel depth make that much of a
difference?
<Yes; also the quality/composition of the substrate.>
I have something like a thousand Malaysian trumpet snails aerating the
gravel and what not but am concerned that if I add more, the snails just
wont be able to irrigate and aerate all that gravel, and the last thing
I want is some anaerobic environment unreachable by plant roots or snail
burrowing releasing poisonous hydrogen sulfide and the likes into my
tank, plus stinking up my fish room.
<Just doesn't happen. The "anaerobic decay" thing is largely a myth.
Happens naturally in ponds and in marine tanks (inside living rock) and
no-one fusses. So by all means ramp up the depth of substrate to what
worked before. Do also check first that the substrate is adequate though
-- Amazon swords want a nice rich soil or laterite enriched substrate,
and plain washed gravel just won't work for them.>
Should I consider ditching the silver dollars for a school of tinfoil
barbs? They don't eat plants at all do they?
<Tinfoil Barbs can, will eat plants.>
And lastly, as you may have guessed it, I want to add more fish to this
tank as it seems fairly empty... Im thinking black ghost knife?
<In theory fine, but you'll be hard pressed finding an adult large
enough for this community. Mostly you only see baby Apteronotus for
sale.>
I first filled up the tank about 8 months ago, filling it with something
like 100 Malaysian trumpet snails and about 20 mystery snails for my
tank cycling. I over fed the snails for 3 months in order to obtain the
current population explosion of snails I now have,
<Consider adding a group of Clown Loaches or thorny catfishes
(Doradidae). These will eat the snails, if sufficiently hungry.>
at the end of month one I added the sword plants, then I added the
silver dollars at the end of month 3, all at about the size of, well,
silver dollars. They mostly hid in the center decor castles of my tank
for the first two weeks but then began to sprint (if you will) from one
end of the tank to the center and back (they seemed to never travel into
the leftward portion). After having them in there for 2 months, they had
grown to about 3" in diameter each and I added my Arowana at 5". After
only another 3 months the Arowana (from what I could tell) doubled in
size, which I attributed to it having so much space to swim.
<Or simply good maintenance. Arowanas grow quickly if kept well.>
Now I added the anarachis about 2 weeks after the Arowana was added and
it was generally ignored by all but a couple of snails. Then a month ago
(beginning of month 7) is when the Arowana began to just sit under the
anarachis. So yeah, back to the black ghost knife... I want to buy two
of these guys (i figure the tanks big enough) and I put two PVC condos
with 15 pipes of 2" diameter and 1' length in there, one in each 8'
portion. Should I be concerned about the Arowana eating them as I often
find the knife fish around 4-5 inches in length max, and it will be some
time before they grow to their 2' potential where the Arowana wont
(hopefully) eat them. Are the black ghosts fast enough to evade the
Arowana if pursued?
<No; sooner or later, if they're small enough to swallow, they'll be
eaten. The Arowana only has to get lucky once!>
And for the record, despite clown knives growing huge and not being
swallowable by my Arowana, they will probably eat my silver dollars and
knock over my plants, and just grow too big for my taste, so that
options out.
<I agree.>
Well, that's all for now. I literally read all over the web for months
and abstained from just writing you guys since I know how annoying it
can be to be asked simple questions that have their answers
everywhere... but I just cannot find anything like this Arowana diving
at silver dollars thing while not swimming anywhere else. I am a student
of the sciences, my job being that of a biochemist, therefore I was
cocky, stubborn, and reluctant to ask for help (a character flaw
repeatedly pointed out by many over the years)... but there are just
some things you cannot learn in books. I'll likely have another question
or comment in a couple of months after the knife fish are added... if
they are compatible. Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
With Best Regards,
Matt
<Hope this helps, Neale.>
Re: Arowana and Silver dollars in a big
planted tank (RMF, please comment)
2/29/08
Well It looks like Im going to be upgrading my sump pumps using some
pond pumps to get that water flowing up to the 10 times over level. I
currently have four overflow filters going into four 55 gallon tanks...
I guess I will just have 4 extra pumps to sell on aquabid.com as I
replace them with the pond pumps. The pumps I have looked at are
reporting 1800 gallons an hour (Danner Supreme Mag Drive Aquatic pumps,
I currently own the 1200 gph pumps)... am I going to need larger sumps
or will this push through the 55 gallon tanks just fine?
<No idea; RMF, any thoughts?><<I would definitely be reading, making
careful choices here... There is much to be saved in the way of
electrical cost, pump noise, waste heat, service life, by making good
decisions re pumps... The Sequence series/Baldor motored lines are some
faves for the size, application here. Other fractional horsepower pumps
are ably reviewed here on WWM:
http://wetwebmedia.com/pumpselmar.htm
and the linked files above. RMF>>
This company also sells a 5000, specifically designed for large ponds
and waterfall displays which reports 5000 an hour. Is that overkill or
should I add one or two of those in too? I guess two 1800 and two 5000
gives me 13600 gallons an hour claiming about 15 times an hour for the
whole tank... realistically maybe 11-12 times an hour turnover?
<Probably overkill. 8-10 times turnover should be adequate.>
As for the silver dollars not being fully compatible, I will look into
giving them a new home. I have just been keeping silver dollars for 7
years now and figured I was pretty good at it. My last batch of 7 didn't
die, with the oldest being 5 years old starting in a 55 gallon and
moving up to a 120 gallon for the remainder. I just gave them to the LFS
before I moved halfway across the country for the job that would allow
me to have such a lavish aquarium. What other fish come to mind, that
would be an attractive school of 15-20, that could be raised in one 8
foot section (separated by a divider) until large enough to not be eaten
by the Arowana? Im thinking Bala sharks?
<A good choice. But also Semaprochilodus taeniurus look amazing in large
groups, and are nice Amazonian fish.>
I read they get to 12-15" and from my limited experience, are very fast.
<Oh yes.>
Do they eat plants because I cannot find info saying that they do, but
then again, I was wrong about the tinfoil barbs.
<Balantiocheilos melanopterus generally ignores plants. It eats green
algae and invertebrates, and may nibble on tender shoots, but that's
about it.>
Maybe 6 months separated, grown to 7-8 inches then set to survive with
the Arowana?
<You may also be able to get adults via Fish Forums, fish clubs, etc.
Lots of people buy them, and then have to rehome them when they get too
big.>
Are their any other fish you could recommend as I have limited
experience with large schooling fish.
<There are a lot of nice big barbs. Severums would also look quite nice,
and occupy the midwater. They're territorial when spawning, but your
tank is big enough that shouldn't be a problem. What about catfish?
Sorubim lima is a nice big (45 cm/18") schooling catfish. It's very
peaceful, pretty, and quite easy to obtain. It famously likes to swim
vertically leaning against plants and rocks, so is definitely fun.>
As for the lighting, the timer IS set to go on all at once come 10am and
turn off at 8pm. Some sunlight does come through the one window and
glass door to wake the fish up, but I guess that is nothing compared to
a full 2000+ watts blazing into their eyes all at once. I can turn on
the actinics at 10 am, then 2 of the other full spectrums on at 11, and
the rest at 12... and then shut them off in the same manner (off to Home
depot again for more electric timers). I assume this will still be ample
light for the anarachis and Amazon swords.
<Should be. Try it, and see what happens!>
And I do have two 3 foot plastic plants draping across the top of my
tank which cover an area of maybe 4-5 square feet each. They are located
in between the Amazon swords as to not rob them of light. I don't really
want to put much more over the plants, but there are still many other
places in the tank to add another 4 to 5 of those 3 footers without
disrupting light to the live plants. I will give them a try since they
are cheap and fairly realistic looking. As for the other plants, I do
have an Anubias growing on a piece of driftwood, though the plant is 3
years old, started as 3 leaves, has maybe 30 now, and has only moved
about 1 foot across the driftwood (3 foot long driftwood). It used to be
house with a Pleco so perhaps his constant sucking of the driftwood
would constantly cull the Anubias... or maybe the thick film of algae
growing on its leaves is inhibiting it?
<I've tried Anubias with my Panaque, and it gets turned into a Swiss
Cheese Plant, so I agree with you here!>
Ill try out the C. calamistratum when I find it. If nothing else the LFS
can order it for me.
<Mail order plant distributors abound, and this is a fairly common
species, at least here in the UK.>
I do have a Sailfin Pleco in there too. He's only about 8 inches long
though so he is having a problems stopping all the algae as of yet,
though I have faith in him (or her, I cant tell yet).
<Once they mature they aren't really algae eaters, so don't hold too
much store by this. Plecs generally are omnivores, and algae is only a
part of their diet.>
As for my substrate, it is just painted black artificial gravel. I add
trace minerals for the plants, but I guess that's just not gonna cut it.
<Indeed.>
It will take some time to clean all 200+ lbs of gravel out, but I would
say in half a years time I should have 4 inches of laterite enriched
substrate in there.
<Can't begin to tell you how much I sympathise! Anyone who has grown
aquarium plants (or tried, at least) will have been through the mill of
changing substrates.>
I guess I wont be getting the black ghost knife anytime soon, if ever,
aw well.
<Again, look out for "second hand" specimens.>
Maybe I'll get some water in my 120 and raise him in there until he's
big enough for the show tank.
<Quite.>
And perhaps I misspoke about the snails as a pest, as I want them in
their. I have never been able to keep a tank as clean as I do when I
have snails in their.
<I wonder if Apple Snails would help on the algae front?>
I once had a tank with 4 yoyo Loaches in there that cleaned out the
snail population, there was a gradual decline in water quality, and an
increase in detritus and algae that I fought for a year... I removed the
loaches to the LFS and my tank recovered to crystal clarity in 3 months
time.
<Not impossible.>
Therefore, largely based on this single experience ( I know, that's poor
scientific form) I like to always have snails. And despite the
appearance of (now about 100 mystery snails) snails crawling all over my
tank with about 1 snail on every 4 square feet of glass (or I guess
acrylic), I find it more peaceful and artful than an eyesore.
<Indeed.>
It looks to me as though your experience in the trade has done it again.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Matt
<Good luck, Neale.> |
29G planted tank, aeration,
stkg... 8/22/07
Hello. I have acquired a great deal of information from your website over
the past few years, and would first like to thank you all for the amount of work
you put into enlightening the masses. As your time is precious, I will try to
keep this short and to the point.
<Appreciate this>
I currently have, among other tanks, a 29 gallon planted aquarium with a pair of
1.5" Corydoras trilineatus catfish and one golden angel. The tank was cycled
before any creatures were added, and the water quality (with routine water
changes) has tested with flying colors. The plants are java ferns (4), water
wisteria (7), and moneywort (5). Without any injected CO2, aside from the
fishes' respiration, the plants are growing well. I currently use an airstone at
night when the plants are sucking up the oxygen instead of producing it,
<Good technique>
but I wonder if leaving it off during the day is jeopardizing the fish.
<Mmm, doubtful>
Should I keep the airstone running at all times, or would that drive out too
much of the CO2, and
stunt/kill the plants that I feel are so beautifully balancing my ecosystem?
<Perhaps try this and see... there are folks who in recent times have poo-pooed
the idea of CO2 being driven off thus...>
Secondly, I've been adding fish slowly, and I wonder if I can or even should add
any other fish.
<The Angel may go after most anything new...>
The three fish get along very well. The two cories are inseparable, and swim all
over the place. The angel swims around like he owns the place,
<Does>
practically eats from my hand, and will also nibble at the sinking wafers right
alongside the cories without any chasing or harassing. I am content with just
letting this tank grow and flourish without adding any other life forms, but I
am wondering if keeping only 2 cories is keeping them from the schooling on
which they thrive, and if my angel gets lonely, as hard as that is to type,
haha.
<Does not get lonely I assure you... You are its company>
I apologize if this email seems like I'm fretting without cause, but I truly
love all of the fish I keep, and want to make their lives as pleasurable as they
make mine. Thanks again! Thomas
<Ahhh! Perhaps another Corydoras or two of the same species... they may spawn...
Bob Fenner>
FW Planted Tank Set Up 7/28/06
Hi WWM Crew, First I would like to say thanks for having such a great and
knowledgeable site open to the public. My question is about setting up an
freshwater community planted aquarium, here a my plans. A 30 gallon tank,
substrate would be 2 inches
of EcoComplete (for the plants), the filtration would be a Rena xp3 canister
filter, as for fish I'm thinking 3 angels, 2 German blue rams,
and maybe 4-6 true Rummynose tetras, as for plants I was going to get the
drfosterandsmiths standard plant pack. I just wanted to know if this was an ok
setup equipment wise, and if the fish are compatible for a community planted
aquarium, any
recommendations, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks love the
site.
--SBatiste
< As long as the rummy nose tetras are big enough not to be eaten by the angels
the fish set up looks OK. Rams like it on the warm side around 82 F and this may
be a little warm for some plants. Stem plants usually do better with CO2 and
lots of light. Plants like Cryptocorynes, Amazon swords, Anubias and java fern
are very easy to grow and don't require strong light. Try the other types and
see how they do.-Chuck>
Plant sticks / golden apple snails / feeding... Synodontis comp., fdg.
7/5/06
Hallo.
I think before I purchased three golden apple snails my plants were looking a
little eaten / worn - some more than others. All I currently have is two
Synodontis nigriventris which I feed every other day with one to two pinches of
flakes (morning and evening for example).
<This small African Catfish species can make plants ragged... chew small holes.
Generally at night>
To add variety I include frozen bloodworm / peas and greens. I think that I am
feeding them enough, better to give too little than too much?
<Hard to so... Mochokid catfishes are so active that they seem to "swim off" any
excess food>
I have three plant sticks embedded in the sand - should I stick one underneath
each plant, if that's the case then I had better use the others as I have around
eleven plants in my 18.6 gallon.
<Mmm, worth trying... though it may be that you have "too many foxes, too few
hens"... that the catfish will still be too much for the volume of plant
material present>
I expect the snails will accelerate the plant munching though one of the reasons
I chose them was because I was informed that they weren't a major problem in
this respect.
<Mmm, generally not... though Pomacea/Ampullaria species are individualistic...>
Please advise me.
Many thanks team.
Steve.
<Best to keep your eyes on all, consider moving the Synodontis. Bob Fenner>
Discus Compatibility in Planted Tanks - 04/22/2006
Dear Person
<Sabrina with you today.>
I have 5feet long tank which is full of plants. I have Amazon Swords, Java Moss,
Java Fern, Cryptocorynes, Anubias, Cabomba, Ambulia and Foxtail. I have some
nice clown loaches and Widow Tetra also in my tank now I intend to keep Discus
fish. Can you please tell me what are the compatible fishes with discus?
<Oh, there are MANY. I, personally, like the look of a large school of cardinal
tetras, green neon tetras, or green "fire" tetras, with discus; they make a nice
dither fish and are very attractive. I also like hatchetfish. Corydoras
catfishes would be great tankmates and help clean up the substrate of leftover
food. Otocinclus are excellent consumers of algae that will also enjoy the
planted tank. Remember, though, that these smaller tetras and Otos may become
snacks when the discus grow quite large.>
Moreover can you please tell me the method of placing Java Moss on the drift
wood.
<Oh sure, it's simple. Just use some black cotton thread and tie the moss
on.... You can place the moss however you like and wrap the thread around the
moss and the wood, just enough to keep it firmly in place. Before long, the
moss will grow onto the wood quite well.>
Thanks and Regards, -Ahmed
<All the best to you, -Sabrina>
More FW crustacean stocking - 04/20/2006
Hello WWM Crew!!
<Hello, Don!!>
I've been reading (and enjoying) the copious information on your website and I'm
very grateful that there are people such as yourselves that take the time to
further (and better) the aquarium keeping hobby.
<Thank you very, very much for these kind words.>
Now that I've gotten the accolades out of the way, on to the questions. First
off, Hi! I'm Don!
<Hi! I'm Sabrina!>
My partner, Richard and I, are in the process of losing our freshwater, planted
aquarium-keeping virginity.
<Oooooh, exciting!>
So.... we have a 37 gallon, bow-front, acrylic tank that currently houses:
6 fancy guppies
6 Rasbora tetras
6 Penguin tetras
10 Neon Tetras
6 freshwater clams (I suppose they're there, I've never seen them!)
<These actually fare very, very poorly in aquariums.... They need copious
amounts of free-floating algae and other micro foods to stay alive.... if
they're not gone now, they will be soon, I'm afraid. I heartily advise against
getting these again.>
2 Flower Shrimp (one passed)
<Sorry to hear this! Shrimp are my fave....>
3 (I think, but I've only seen 2 as of late) Cherry Shrimp
<The third's probably in there somewhere.>
3 Japonica shrimp
6 Otocinclus catfish (they've been miracle workers when it comes to clearing out
all algae growth in our tank!!)
and various snails (I believe there are 3 Ramshorns, 3 black mystery and 6
zebra)
we have 2 medium sized pieces of natural driftwood, adorned with java moss (that
has yet to take root but has been tied/anchored with peat moss)
and many many live plants.
<So far, so good, aside from that shrimp....>
Our water has a pH of 7.6 out of the tap, and in the last few days we have had a
measurable ammonia concentration of approx. .25 ppm.
<Disconcerting, but not "deadly" as yet.... do please try to bring this to
zero.>
Nitrates and Nitrites remain at 0.
<Yikes! Still cycling??>
Herein lies the issue. I've learned from reading on this site about the cycling
process that
one should endure when setting up a new system. We have not followed those
guidelines, unfortunately, and are now likely experiencing the fallout from such
rash behavior.
<Yup. But you're learning.... and I'm very happy for that.>
Needless to say, we have overstocked our tank (a sign of our eagerness to house
and grow live
aquaria)
<Mm, I wouldn't say you're overstocked, but stocked too much too quickly.>
and after becoming attached to our inhabitants, are doing our best to ensure
their ongoing well-being. So here's where I need a little guidance in the
process. Since the damage is pretty much done and we've overstocked our new,
un-cycled tank, what measures are required to keep the aquaria we're currently
housing, relatively healthy and un-dead, for lack of better terminology. From
what I've read on this wonderful site, water changes are pretty much par for the
course and we're doing those (approx. 5 gallons a day, sometimes twice a day
depending on the ammonia concentration) to keep our inhabitants as happy and
healthy (not to mention un-dead) as possible.
<Perfect.>
We have also used Marineland Bio-Spira (last weekend) and are currently using
Fritz-zyme Turbo 700 to hasten the cycling process and as a stop gag measure to
stave off any further loss of life.
<Perfect again.>
We had a blue crawfish (Procambarus sp.)
<Yeeeeeee-ikes! Not with the shrimp, please, nor with any slow-moving or
bottom-dwelling fish - they'll all become snacks.>
and one of our japnionca shrimp recently pass on (not sure if this was due to
the un-cycled-ness of our tank or the trauma suffered during shipping).
<I hate to say it, but be glad for the lack of the Cray. Crays are GREAT, but
really ought to be with critters that they can't or won't hurt. The shrimp and
otos are not in this category.>
So I suppose my formal question is: Should we be doing as many/as frequent
water changes as we are doing, in lieu of the cycling process not being
completed, even though we've used the previously
mentioned products (Bio-Spira/Fritz-Zyme Turbo Start)?
<I would, yes.>
I guess I could/should make that a little clearer... Are we doing more harm
than good by changing the water so often, or should we allow the ammonia to
build to a level, just shy of tolerable for our
tank inhabitants in order to promote bacterial growth, or should we continue
with the water changes to keep the ammonia concentration at a less-than-lethal
level for our overly stocked tank?
<Though it will prolong the cycling process, keep up with the water
changes.... The cycle will establish, it'll just take a little longer.>
Other issues we're grappling with are whether or not the 3" fluorite substrate
has a negative affect on our invertebrate aquaria (after-all we did lose 2, I've
read about copper being adverse to their livelihood and I'm not sure if fluorite
is detrimental to their well-being)
<If it helps any, I've used fluorite in plenty of shrimp-containing tanks with
no apparent negative results. I would not be concerned here. In all honesty,
freshwater shrimp are not always cared for properly at stores and wholesalers;
these animals may have been doomed prior to purchase. When you buy shrimps and
crays, you should look for a certain quality of "clarity".... Hard to describe,
but once you've seen/recognized what I mean, you'll understand. "Cloudy" shrimp
should be avoided. This "clear" vs. "cloudy" can be seen even in totally
colored shrimp, like wood/fan/Singapore shrimp.... again, it's tough to
explain.>
and does iodine (added as a supplement to aide our invertebrates) have any
affect on the fish we're keeping?
<Nope, not a problem at all - and of vital importance to the inverts.>
We do plan on getting another blue crayfish (Procambarus sp.) to replace our
recently deceased
<I recommend strongly against this.>
and we'd like to add a few more fish (probably compatible tetras or another
species you'd recommend that's compatible with the above mentioned, currently
housed aquaria and more shrimp (they're too cute to resist)).
<I bet you'd really delight in the antics of a handful of small Corydoras cats,
or if you fear outbreaks of undesirable snails, a few Botia striata....>
Thanks in advance for your informative response
<Glad to be of service!>
and sincere thanks for providing a forum for all of the unlearned yet eager
novices (such as myself) new to the 'trade'.
<And again, thank you VERY much for these kind words.>
Don Anderson
<All the best to you, Richard, and your new tank! -Sabrina Fullhart>
125g Plant Tank, Inhabitants, Compatibilities - 10/22/2005
- Sabrina Learns Hawai'ian - 10/23/05
Hi,
<Aloha! Sabrina with you today, soon to be leaving Hawai'i to head back home....>
Thanks for all your help in the past in assisting me with my F/W Planted Discus aquarium. It has been set up now for about three months and has been doing well. I just have a few short questions. First I'll give you the tank specs.
* 125 Gallon tank- glass
* 1 -Rena XP3 Canister Filter
* 1 -48" Coralife Double Bulb Compact Fluorescent Light
* 1- 24" All-Glass Double Bulb fluorescent Light
* 100-150 Assorted Live Plants
* 2- Large Pieces of Driftwood
* 3-4" of a Mix of Fluorite and Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate
* 2- 300 Watt Via Aqua Steel Thermometers
* 6- Small/Medium Discus- about 3-4"
* 6- Lemon Tetras
* 20- Cardinal Tetras
* 6- "Golden Wonder" Killies- about 2"
* 20- Grass Shrimp
* 50 Small Snails- I tried to keep them out of the tank!
* 2-Large Common Plecos- 6"
* 1- Small Common Pleco
* 2-Clown Plecos
* 6- Assorted Small Corydoras Cats (Julii, Emerald, Panda)
* 6- Dwarf African Frogs
* 12- "Oto" Cats
* pH- 7
* Nitrate- 20ppm
* Nitrite- 0ppm
* Ammonia- 0ppm
* 30% Water Change every Saturday
So, my questions are these:
Can I add six German Blue Rams to the mix?
<Mm, in all honesty, I would not.>
Also, can I add six more Corydoras Cats and two more "Bushy Nose" Plecos?
<The Corys, yes, but the plecs I would be a bit concerned about, since you already have several of two species. If you add these, do so with extreme caution and be prepared to remove immediately.>
What is the best way to remove a green mat algae- I think it's Cyanobacteria?
<Mostly just nutrient control.... In your case, you might want to explore the amount of light, needs of your plants, amount of
CO2 and fertilization you use.... I heartily recommend a book called "Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants" by (don't laugh) Peter Hiscock (I love that name, really I do!). You can likely gain a lot from this book. Aside from that, it's a pleasant read.>
Thanks, -Anthony
<Ahuiho! -Sabrina>
Fish For a New Planted Tank
I have a 125 Gallon tank with 9 bags of eco- complete gravel and 6 bags
fluorite. The tank has an XP3 Filstar canister filter and two 300 watt via aqua
heaters. It also has a 48" Coralife double bulb compact florescent light. I
wanted to put medium to large Plecos, German rams, cardinal tetras, and of
course, Discus. So my questions are as follows: Are these all compatible?
< All these fish come from the same geographical area and have similar water
chemistry requirements.>
How many of each can I have?
< Lots. Depends what you want to do. Get at least 6 rams and 6 discus to almost
guarantee that you will have a spawning pair. Once they breed they will chase
all the other fish away from the spawn. You need to get at least a dozen
cardinals. They are a schooling fish and are more comfortable in a group.>
What type(s) of pleco(s) do you recommend?
< Small types like Otocinclus, Farlowella and whiptail cats. Go to
planetcatfish.com to check out all the different pleco types.>
Do Discus destroy plants?
< Not really. They are not big diggers and usually leave plants alone.>
What types of plants do best in this situation?
< Amazon swords, Cryptocorynes vals and sag's. Stay away from single stemmed
plants unless you have very good lighting and CO2.>
What temperature should I keep the tank?
< Around 80 F. The rams and discus would like it a little higher but the plants
start to break down if you get much higher that this.>
Which of these fish should I use to cycle the tank? Thanks, Anthony
< Probably the rams. Just because these dwarf cichlids will be busy picking at
the bottom for food. The others may not and the left over food will cause an
ammonia spike.-Chuck>
Stocking a Planted Tank with Fish
Hello; I've had a planted, 29 gallon tank running for a couple of years
now. At this point it only contains three Corydoras schwarzii. This is a
heavily planted tank (some would probably say VERY heavily planted), containing
a large Amazon sword, anubias barberi and nana, java fern, and Hygrophila
polysperma. I keep it at about 77 degrees, pH 6.8, KH 4 dH, GH 8 - 11 (varies
throughout the year). I use 65 watts PC lighting. I'm looking for
recommendations for compatible species of fish that prefer a heavily planted
environment. When I ask hobbyists for recommendations, the response is usually
something "LOTS of different species of fish can live in that kind of tank," but
I'm looking for fish that would normally prefer a planted environment in the
wild. Thanks!
<Aquatic plants are usually found in very shallow water. This makes sense
because the deeper you go under water the less light that penetrates and is
available for the plants. Look at small characins and rasboras. These fish
appreciate the plant cover as long as they are in schools. I especially like
fish with red in them like cardinals, neons, green fire tetras and rummy nose
tetras. -Chuck>
Question About my New Puffers, and Who's Eating all my Plants?
I love your website, and all the info you have there, it's all really helpful. I
absolutely love puffers, and keep mostly them. I still have a few questions regarding my fishies and their tank though. If you could reply
I would really appreciate it. How to start... Dunno. Sorry if start rambling, I'm a bit sleepy.
20 gallon tank, Whisper filter w/ bio filter-sponge thingy, submersible heater, 76-78 degrees F, live plants (flat leaf and grass), and a rock
bottom (hope I don't hit it with the new fishies), and I can usually keep it at 7.0-7.2 pH, 0
ammonia, 0, NO2 with weekly 30% water changes. They lived as fresh water fish for 2 mo after
I bought them until I learned the
puffers are brackish, so now they have some sea salt mixed in.
I started with:
2 figure 8 puffers, 2 red skirt tetras, 1 Cory catfish and something they said was an
upside-down catfish but isn't (I think it was an angel cat?) I have had 2 Bala sharks and 3
iridescent Cat fish that have died over the past 5 mo. I assume that is due to the new brackish
environment?
< Could be but difficult to tell.>
Who is eating my plants?
< Probably the Synodontis (upside down catfish).>
I have gone through over a hundred bucks replacing them. I thought it was the angel cat (since
he's grown the about 2 inches in the past 6 mo) so I returned him, got new plants and they are still being
eaten (though not as much). Is it the Cory cat?
< Corydoras catfish are not plant eaters. I would suspect the Bala sharks.>
Why do they eat the plants?
< Bala sharks get big and have big appetites.>
At dinner time all the fish swarm the brine shrimp, and are all fat. They all "lost the weight" by the next morning.
Which brings me to my next question. One of my favorite puffers is always fat, he is the
aggressive one that usually gets all the food and I figured that is why, so I net him and let the others eat before he gets dibs. I
think it works? when he eats, he is so fat he is almost a sphere...he looks so silly. The next morning he is normal at his head (not fat anymore) but
has "saddle bags" at his rear...really fat and getting fatter. Can fish get
small bowel obstructions or constipated?
< Absolutely.>
And how do I fix him?
< Smaller more frequent feedings scattered over the tank.>
He seems happy as usual. but I never see him poop...I usually see the other fish
going. and What is a better diet, brine shrimp or bloodworms? One store raised them on brine, another on shrimp.
< A varied diet on flake, pellets, live and frozen is best. Brine shrimp is not very good for them because it is nutritionally low. The bloodworms can actually be too rich and cause problems too.>
Well, I just got 2 new green spotted puffers, and their tails are pretty well beat up... one won't use his
right pectoral fin because it is close to being gone, like his ventral fin. Both of their dorsal fins are
kind of chewed, and their tail fins look horrible, some how they can swim normally.
My original figure 8s looked like that, but the grew back beautifully. How
long does it take to grow back? Anything I can do to help them grow back faster? How did that happen? do figure 8s and spotteds mix well socially?
< Puffers really don't get along too well with other puffers. They all have teeth and don't hesitate to use them on one another. Warm clean water will help the healing process.>
And I have a question about our goldfish tank too (this is a separate tank from the brackish)...they all died, why?!?!? they were all feeder fish, and
grew about an inch since I got them 8 mo ago. Everyday one has died until now. I am left with the smallest 2. They all looked healthy... no spots, ick
or cloudiness etc. on them until I found them floating or wrapped around the filter. Except the last fish...he had spots eating his fins away and
flaky cloud looking eyes. So I tried medicating them for fin rot. Water tests were
all ok too. Does this mean death if I buy my son more goldfish? He (4 yrs old) is
devastated that he lost 12 goldfish already.
< The ammonia and nitrites should have been zero. The nitrates should be under 25 ppm. If the fish are overfed this would cause internal problems that would be difficult to detect. All
the fish food should be gone in two minutes once each day.-Chuck>
What fish destroy live plants?
Hi, I have just got a 55 gallon tank, and I'm planning on getting a lot of
plants for it. What fish cannot be put in a tank with live plants? I'm
interested in getting smarter fish (like fish that recognize and interact with
their owner). I am also looking for fish that are interesting to watch. Are
there fish that have all of these features? I have experience with schooling
fish in my 20 gallon tank.
< To protect your plants stay away from silver dollar type tetras and Uarus.
They will eat all you plants down to nothing in a heart beat. Large central
American cichlids would be exactly the fish you are looking for except that they
will eat some plants and definitely uproot the plants as they move the gravel
around rearranging their tank. Dwarf cichlids are usually far to shy to get the
reaction you are seeking. I would recommend that you set up your plant tank as
you want and soon your community tank fish will recognize you as they are being
feed. If you have the money and arte very good with your water then I think
discus and angelfish might be the perfect choice. Keep in mind that they are
still cichlids and may eat smaller tankmates.-Chuck>
Plants being eaten
Hi, Folks.
Let me again express my amazement at the vast amount of information and
the willingness of the "crew" to share.
I have looked through the FAQs and have not been able to find an answer
to my question, so here it is:
I am in the process of setting up a 90 gal marine aquarium, and since
that is going to take awhile, I recently brought
up a 46 gallon freshwater system. Everything seems to be going well,
except that one or more of the critters has apparently taken a liking
to my carefully-planted plants, primarily the broad leaf sword plants
(that is what the dealer calls the plants). Every morning when I check
the aquarium, the plants show evidence of having provided food for
something. This morning, the last of the plants were gone. SO ... I am
trying to figure out which critter is doing this. I have
- tiger barbs
- green barbs
- blue tetras
- serpae tetras
- neon tetras
- Corydoras
- banjo cats
- 1 apple snail
- one other snail whose name I don't know.
I suspect the apple snail because I have seen it riding the sword plants
often.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Thanks
Dave Daniel
<Hi Dave, Don here. The only thing on your list that would eat a plant
to the root are the snails. But you seem to imply that this is happening
pretty quickly. I don't think two snails could do that. Have you ever
turned on the lights at night? Trumpet snails will hide in the gravel
all day, then emerge enmasse at night.>
Planted Tank Questions & Suggestions
Hi Crew, I've been reading over the FAQ sections for days and they're all extremely helpful...great website!
It's been about 12 years since my last FW aquarium and things have changed a bit or maybe I was just to young to understand all this stuff back then.
Anyway, I just set-up a 30G long tank and stocked it with:
Green Cabomba;
Water Wisteria;
Hairgrass;
A broadleaf type of grass (don't know the name of it-it's a fore-ground plant though);
Green Shale; Some limestone type rocks for buffering (fish store said it would buffer the
water like limestone) and
2 pieces of driftwood (which is why I needed to add the buffering rock)
All my plants are doing very well, thanks to a drop every other day of "plant 24" by
Dupla.
I currently have an Emperor 280 filter with two loads of carbon and a bio wheel. My pH is at a low 6-6.2, about 4dH KH and very soft water (I live in NYC)
and about 83 degrees. I currently have 2 blue gouramis (2 inches each) in the tank for cycling which are both very healthy and playful. I feed them very
little once a day. I have 2 questions:
1-Cycling isn't going too well. I have no ammonia, no nitrites or anything.
So I have no idea if I'm doing it right.
< So far so good. In an acidic pH the ammonia is attached to an extra hydrogen ion and so you get ammonium instead of ammonia. Your plants are probably absorbing all forms of nitrite and nitrate. As long as the plants are doing well I would add another couple of fish.>
2-Based on the info above what fish can I stock once I'm done cycling (if I ever finish)? You could probably keep anything except for
African rift lake cichlids and brackish water fish.>
I've been doing some research and have come up with certain types of tetras, barbs and Gouramis as good candidates based on my water chemistry, but I'm
unsure if they would make good companions. Can you suggest anything?
< The barbs are fast moving fish and can be fin nippers, especially on the long streamline ventrals of the gouramis.>
If you feel that my water is too acidic I'm all for changing it, except, I don't want to
use chemicals to alter it and would rather just use dechlorinated tap water when I do my water changes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank
you in advance.
< I would add fish slowly after a lengthy quarantine period in a separate tank. Treating
disease in a planted tank is really a pain. Try to get fish that are around the same size and don't get too big.-Chuck>
Medicating Large Plant Tank
Gage,
Thanks. I guess maybe I'll up the water
change regime and I'm going to add a Biowheel 330 as well. I'll let
you know how it goes.
Steve Thornton
<Hey Steve, I just deleted the last message, if I recall you do have a bunch
of filters on the tank already. I do like the magnum 330s for the
price and the bio wheels. If you are supplementing CO2, or plan to in
the future, surface disturbance should be a consideration. Are you
adjusting the temperature of the water change water? A little
temperature shock could bring about some Ich. Let us know how it
turns out, Gage>
Planted aquarium with Large Messy Fish
Hi i have a 75 gallon freshwater planted aquarium with aggressive fish, i
have a big Oscar a big jack Dempsey , green terror, and a green
Severum.<These fish need a larger aquarium and should not be placed in a
planted aquarium> Now i know you shouldn't have aggressive fish
with plants but they have never done much damage to them but im thinking about
just getting smaller fish and a heavily planted aquarium.<In actuality they
are doing damage, not by eating the plants but by polluting the water with
waste> My plants never have grown to well the tank is about 2
years old but my plants never show much sign of growing and after awhile they
just start to lose there color and die, they never spread or anything.<Do
read more about freshwater plants and aquariums on WetWebMedia.com> I have a
48" powerglo and a 48" AquaGlo and a 24" cheaper aquarium bulb (a
no name brand) and i have tried the chemical flora-pride but it didn't seem to
work. Do you have any suggestions on lighting or supplements, I am also poor and
only 18 years old : ).<My first suggestion is get rid of the Oscar, jack
Dempsey, green terror and the Severum and start over with smaller more
appropriate fish for this 75 gallon plant aquarium, my second suggestion is to
read our FAQ's and Information on WWM about plant aquariums and fish that can
live in these type aquariums>
Thanks, Chris
Freshwater Shark and Algae Eater
I'm looking to get a small shark and an algae eater of some kind. Are there any
of these types of fish that can get along? I have a 60 gallon tank and I'm
getting ready to add plants and other hiding places.
<The shark is going to be a problem to your live plants. Most of the
freshwater fish we call sharks are related to carp or catfish and can be
destructive to plants. There are many excellent algae eaters available. Take a
look at the following:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PlantedTksSubWebIndex/otosags.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PlantedTksSubWebIndex/saesags.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/loricariids.htm>
Thanks, Mike Hodges
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro>
Algae Eater for a Plant Tank
Hello, and thank you in advance for your time.
<You are welcome.>
I have a 75 gallon aquarium that I has been set up for a month now. It is
planted (not too heavily). I plan on this being a discus tank. My question is,
there is already a lot of algae accumulation on the glass of the tank. What kind
of algae eater can I get for this type of set up? I know I need a fish that can
withstand temp. from 80 to 84 degrees because of the discus and something that
will not eat my plants. To be honest I don't really know what kind of plants I
have but I know they are not the tough leaf variety. I have some grass and
something called moneywort? And some very tall fuzzy pine looking ones that grow
almost like weeds. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
<Many plant keepers use Otocinclus catfish, Siamese algae eaters, or Amano
shrimp. Take a look at the following links. -Steven Pro>
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shrimpfw.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/otosagb.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/saesagb.htm
Raya McMann
| |
|
