Nano suggestions for hardwater

[seangee]

Have a couple of bids on nanos ending tomorrow. Not overly optimistic because my bids are low but aquaria don't seem to be doing well on eBay at present.

GH is 16 degrees with pH of 7.2. I was thinking of an Asian setup and looking for a brightly coloured shoaling or schooling species. I do like the look of CPD (Celestichthys margaritatus) but have seen mixed reports of their ability to co-exist (with each other) in such a small space. If the tank I end up with is big enough I may put my 6 dwarf chain loach (Ambastaia sidthimunki) in with them.

Current favourite, on looks, is an Aqua One 40x40x40cm (64 litres) but a 2' may prove more practical.
Any suggestions for stocking ideas?

 

[Wills]

Im afraid I cant help too much as I am reasearching similar options but for a larger tank - Ive been debating starting a thread for hard water fish in general so will keep an eye on this thread as well

Like you I have rock hard water with ph slightly over neutral, finding fish that Im interested in and that will do well in this water is a bit tricky...

Wills

 

[Essjay]

Dwarf chain loaches are not nano fish. They need a tank at least 80 cm (32 inches) long.


I can't think of any hard water nano fish off the top of my head

 

[NickAu]

Aqua One 40x40x40cm (64 litres) suggestions for hardwater

You could look into Bumblebee Gobys, but be warned they are hard to keep because they prefer their food live, or frozen. Before buying them get the fish place to feed them frozen food while you watch, some places will tell you they will take pellets or flakes but again get them to feed the fish while you watch. Make sure the fish are actually swallowing the food and not spitting it out.
https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/brachygobius-doriae/

I moved my Betta into a cube and have 10 of the little boogers in my 2 foot tank.

 

[Essjay]

Current favourite, on looks, is an Aqua One 40x40x40cm (64 litres) but a 2' may prove more practical.
Any suggestions for stocking ideas?

Forgot to mention - if the Aqua One tank you are looking at is the Aqua Nano 40, its dimensions may be 40 x 40 x 40 cm but there is a partitioned off section at the back where the filter goes. Aqua One describe this tank as 55 litres not 64, and the useable footprint is less than 40 x 40 cm, more like 40 x 35 or less.
And Aqua One also seem to give their volumes as the air space occupied by the tank so they probably include the air space on top of the water in their quoted 55 litres. (My betta's Aqua One tank was described as 32 litres but only held 26 litres even before I put in any decor)

 

[seangee]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. For those struggling with ideas for harder water I'm currenly leaning toward a Lake Inle biotope, quite a few interesting species from there.

@essjay don't worry, absolutely need to know the dimensions before making stocking decisions. I subscribe to the belief that 120 litres IS a nano tank - so anythig smaller than that will be treated as a challenge

@NickAu - read your thread on these with interest. Unfortunately I already ruled out pea puffers for the feeding requirements (I enjoy holidays far too much).

 

[NickAu]

Dwarf Pea Puffers would be easier than Bumblebee Gobys if you are going on vacation because they eat snails, just throw in a bunch of snails and go on vacation for a week or 2.

I have a bunch of Red Cherry shrimp in the tank with my Gobys gives them something to hunt, I have also seen them attacking small Ramshorn snails, the other day I fed them live mosquito larva and they went nuts over them.

 

[Colin_T]

300ppm hardness is not that hard. And the pH is only just above 7 so there are plenty to choose from.

Melanotaenia praecox
Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis, gertrudae or signifier.
Malaysian halfbeaks (Dermogenys pusilla)
Shell dweller cichlid like Neolamprologus brevis from African rift lake if you up the pH
Most small barbs (ruby, cherry, checkered)

if you can get the longer tank (2ft long) you have a bit more swimming room.

 

[seangee]

Well its just got real. I won the Aqua One (it is the nano 40). And I'm swinging back towards the Dwarf Puffers

I have a bunch of Red Cherry shrimp in the tank with my Gobys gives them something to hunt

Interesting idea. Some have reported their puffers ignore the fully grown RCS and eat the juves. May put some in and leave them to do their thing for a few months and then add the puffers to see what happens. Best case is a self sustaining food source and the worst case isn't actually a train smash

 

[seangee]

Lake Inle biotope it will be - or at least somewhere in Myanmar. All depends on whether I can find celestichthys erythromicron or have go with the better known c. margaritatus. No matter as it will be some weeks before I'm ready to add fish. Collecting tank tomorrow and as I'm in final countdown for this weeks exams have spent plenty of time on Google this morning .

Hope to have it all up and running (without fish) before I go on hols next week

 

[seangee]

Boo hoo!
Went to collect today and neatly packed in the Aqua One box was a small Jewel aquarium. Judging by how much space was left in the box my guess is 25-30 litres at most. They gave me my money back when I pointed this out and "gave" me the cabinet in apology. That really was from an Aqua One and is 40x40cm (but a fairly budget item and definitely not worth the RRP).

Can't believe how disappointed I was. Of course its too late to stop the substrate, plants and various other aquascaping bits from arriving tomorrow (which of course cost way more than I paid for the tank)...

Hmm any opinions on the Flex 57

 

[Colin_T]

So you bid and won a tank on ebay. You didn't get the advertised item so you got a refund. Go buy another tank and set that up. Just look for a plain boring rectangular tank because they are cheaper.
6x2x2 here I come

 

[seangee]

Just look for a plain boring rectangular tank because they are cheaper.
6x2x2 here I come

Normally I'd agree But I was getting really psyched about the nano project. I'd also like it to be a display tank. SWMBO doesn't like fish (unless accompaned by chips and peas) so unless the tank looks good it will be assigned to somewhere out of public view.

 

[seangee]

Well its back on. Picking up a Flex 57 on Friday. Toying with the idea of modifying the hood to incorporate a riparian garden (it does fit the biotope) and not bothering with the internal filter. Suspect that part of it may be some way off though