4Ft Community Tank Start To Finish

[PlumbersMerchant]

A pearl gourami has died. I don't no why ? Below is the test results so I don't think it is the water.

PH - 7.2 - 7.6
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 40.

I'm wondering if it's just a weak fish/bad stock at the LFS ? Feel pretty bummed out about this though as I thought it was going well. I'm gonna do a water change tonight and keep a close eye on the fish

 

[Ninjouzata]

Aw I'm sorry to hear that! Were there any markings on it's body or symptoms before death?
 
Sometimes they die and there's no reason we can find

This has happened to me multiple times so I know it stinks.

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

No, no markings or anything. Had another dorm on me tonight, an Indian gourami. I have noticed it has been getting chased/ stressed a bit by the old gourami but not continuously so I didn't think I needed to intervene. This morning he was a bit lethargic and hiding in the front right corner. Tonight he is dead. I'm thinking maybe the gold one is the cause for both deaths ? Water test confirms nothing out of the ordinary.

I have herd of one lass confining a bully fish to a birthing chamber for a day or two but I wonder if it would even do any good. She got the desired result in that he stopped bullying but I don't want any tank inhabitant to suffer.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Hmm Maybe it stressed them out too much. I really don't know though, and I'm really sorry you lost the indian gourami too!
 
If/when you introduce more, rearrange the tank so it doesn't have an established territory.

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

Just got 60kgs of sand. I did say I would never use it again but can't believe how much of a pain in the arse gravel is to clean. Sand looks loads better and all you need to do is gently syphon the crap off the top and occasionally stir it up. Gonna have a huge revamp this weekend so I'm looking forward to it. Once it's settled I want to add new drift wood too. More updates to follow

 

[Ninjouzata]

Yay!! I agree completely. Hope to see some pics!

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

So I've been adding the sand this weekend. Split each bag in half and put each half in its own bucket. Washed each bucket through 10 + times and the water was looking pretty clear. Broke down the tank and put the sand in. It's now 24 hours later and it's still cloudy so I can't have washed the sand enough. Also, all the harlequins have died really starting to regret the sand move. I'm thinking it may have been the stress of being caught etc as they were in my small tank before this one which also had sand. At a bit of a loss. Gonna do a water change shortly so hopefully get rid of some of the cloudiness and crap then upload some picture updates.
On the other side of the coin my shark and gold gourami are having a right feast on the harlequins as I one dies I not notice it straight away, then scoop it out. Then notice another. All 6 though. Should I have left the harlequins in for the bothers to feed off ?

 

[Ninjouzata]

Oh no! I'm so sorry It may have been the stress..did you test the water? One time I had to drain the tank pretty low to catch a particular rummy as it was sick and needed to be isolated.
The others never acted the same after that until recently, and that was like 6 months ago. Since then they hid from me and just weren't as active. I upped their numbers and they have become bold again.
 
I'd take the bodies out. I just don't like the thought of fish I cared for being eaten. -Shrug- Plus if they don't eat all of it then some will rot and can cause an ammonia spike, I think.

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

Update::
It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to part with the big daddy plec. The issue with the sand was far worse than ever expected. (Will try add photos tonight) basically he kept tail whipping and sending sand everywhere !!! A huge wave effect with the sand caused the front corners to be giant sand dunes 8" high with next to no sand in the centre or at the back. The filter kept getting clogged up with the amount of sand in it. I also found the plec was going after the neons and harlequins when the lights went out and my levels of ten swiftly dropped. I hates getting rid of him but he was too big to live comfortably.

On the plus side, the sand has stayed nice and level, the water has actually cleared right up and the filter seems to have quietened down. Sand has been a great idea !

 

[Ninjouzata]

Aw I'm sorry! It does seem the best thing to do since he was going after the other fish, though that seems odd to me. I hope he has gone to a good new home.

 

[AquaPit]

Following!! Great journal!

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

I'm gonna try tak some snaps tonight to show any developement that may/may not have happened. One major thingi a that I have swapped from San ls to gravel but don't think I have gotten small enough stuff for planting in . Also my slate cave I decided against glueing it so I can alter its shape etc if I get bored of it. Gotten 3 pieces of bogwood clumped together and it kind of looks like a tree stump. Good hiding spots for my fish. Only got about 8 real plants in there atm as in having trouble keeping them alive. But that's a different matter.

My current stock is as follows

6 harlequins
6 neon tetras
1 buenos aires tetra ( used to have 6 but they have killed each other off. That or it's big goldy)
5 giant danios
1 yellow gourami
2 kissing gouramis
2 Indian gouramis
1 black ghost knife fish
2 unknown loaches
2 cherry barbs

As the BGK and kissing gouramis will probably end up eating the smaller species, I am trying to get the works tank up to speed so I can rehome neons and harlequins there.

That is why I went for the giant danios.

Cheers for now

P.s if you notice any random words that don't make sense of fit with the sentence it's bloody autocorrect on iPhone

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

First picture of the current full tank shot


Here is the slate / stone cave I've spent ages faffing with and am finally happy with


Here is the lumps of bogwood I've put together. The plants are real (except for the small vivid green grass stuff) love how they are growing in the gaps in the wood. Also, the caves are all taken by the black ghost knife.


This is one of my shy loaches. Anyone know what it is ? Father in law picked it up for me with my son as a 'surprise'




Kissing gouramis and my lovely golden gourami. Can't get a decent one of the Indians as they are hiding when I get close to the tank. Think one of my kids may have scared them ?



As I'm on my phone I don't wanna over do it. Will keep an eye open and see if i can get some good ones. Cheers for reading

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

Last night was a late one for a school night so I didn't notice that I had put the full tank shot on twice instead of the bogwood. Also, iPhone has done it again and somehow flipped my images of my gouramis. Anyways, Here is the bogwood with live plants



Here are the Indian gouramis



I'm currently researching I to diy co2. From what I've seen on eBay you can get a kit for about a tenner that screws onto the top of a 2 litre bottle of coke. You just add sugar, yeast and some other bits and it can dose co2. Anyone had any success or disasters with this ?

I also looked at getting something so I can have 2 lights. I believe I need a double ballast or something but again I'm reaching out incase people have feedback. Ideally I want to be able to get the bulbs from within the uk so that kinda narrows down my options.

Cheers for now

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

Ok, I'm experiencing casualties that areout of the ordinary. I normally lose 1 fish on average every 6 months (ish). When I started reposting on here I stated I had 5 giant danios. I originally bought 8 so lost 3. I thought maybe they were like the 'runts of the litter' so to speak but tested my water anyways and hunky dory. I bought an additional 5 on Saturday to take my school up to 10. Steadily over the last few days I have lost 6 and am now down to 4. I'm wondering if big of knifey is having a pop but questioning why isn't he eating the harlequins or tetras as they are smaller and tend to stay lower to middle of this tank ? Or is it big goldie ? Like a real game of cluedo ha ha. Here are my current water stats Before I undertake a 50% water change

Ph - steady 6.2 I'd say
Ammonia. - .25. Ehhh ?
Nitrite. - 0
Nitrates. - 40

Can't understand the ammonia reading as the tank has been running for a year ?

Anyways, gonna do a big water change now then will hopefully take a picture of my new plant I bought with some moss balls.

Cheers