Christmas Present

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pinkdolphin_113

Sinclair Aquatic Systems
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Jan 10, 2006
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United Kingdom, Scarborough
i have a vietnamese lad in my college who i have become very good friends with lately and i would like to get him a fish.
i brought the idea up lastnight as a joke, knowing he knows how obsessed with fish i am, and he said he would love a fish because he would appreciate the company :-(
he came to the UK for education only. his family lives back in vietnam and he lives in a rented room in a house in town.
i thought it was a little heartbreaking knowing he would like a FISH for company. ive never personnally thought of them as company, more like decorations lol
anyway, i have a 16 x 8 x 8 (EDIT: these are inches btw! lol)tank set-up which i would like to give him and a betta splendens (or similar species) as they are from the same sort of area. however, i would like a catfish of some sort to place on the bottom so the tank doesn't become polluted with uneaten food, etc. but what catfish is small enough to go in a tank that small??

i was hoping for, and am going to look into, pygmy cories because i understand they are alot smaller.

ive had the tank set up before with a betta splendens and some khulis but they kept jumping and would like something a little "prettier" lol i can't imagine EVERYONE loves the look of khulis.

any help would be appreciated.
thanks :D
 
In my opinion, and experience corys wont pic at detrius.

i would recomend for detrius a few trumpet snails and a few ottos, but ottos like sound water parameters, and they are more suited to a mature tank
 
In my opinion, and experience corys wont pic at detrius.

i would recomend for detrius a few trumpet snails and a few ottos, but ottos like sound water parameters, and they are more suited to a mature tank

i know what you mean by the ottos needing sound parameters. ive got 2 in my tank at the moment. i started with 4 and lost 2 as my tank was maturing. i dont think i'd go for ottos though because the tank isn't too high and there would be hrdly any plants.
and the fish wouldn't be for detritus because hardly any fish eat detritus lol it'd be for just incase he over fed the betta or just to add a little more character to the tank. i may very well go with the trumpet snails idea too though, just to keep the sand nice and soft. this tank doesn't have a lid... do trumpet snails tend to climb out of the water and down the back of the tank? ive had experience with that happening lol

i was thinking about cloning my tank and then putting the filter into the little tank. it takes AGES for this little tank to cycle lol
 
ive never had a trumpet snail crawl out the tank.

what about shrimps? they will pick at bits of left over flakes, there very greedy and benificial to plants because they will eat hair algae etc

cherrys would be good for that tank. and theyll breed to a certain extent, and then theyll stop when they think its starting to get crowded, although a betta may eat one, but ive never had any problems and my betta is FIERCE! he ate a 1.5inch guppy yesterday :crazy: (jumped over the divider)
 
woops! who jumped over? the guppy or betta?

i didnt think about shrimps! that would be pretty cool i reckon. i have 2 bamboo shrimps, but i think they are too big.
there isn't really much shrimp selection where i live so i may be stuck with glass shrimps. not to worry though, he'd appreciate anything lol

sweet! i know how im planting the tank and everything :D dont ya just love little projects!
 
the guppy the last bit i saw was him choking the tail down.

cherry shrimps are pretty popular its just finding a stockest or somone local.

lots of people on here sell them 5teady does, im not sure of others and there not at bad prices either.

and if your planting you really can only have java moss, as you dont have a lid im presuming no lights?
 
Hi pinkdolphin_113 :)

What a lovely idea! Your Christmas, as well as your friend's, will be so much brighter because of you thoughtful gift. :D

Since the little tank is only about 4 1/2 US gallons in capacity it's too small for any but the smallest corys. Even so, corys must be kept in a school, so that creates a problem.

Cloning your tank is an excellent idea. It will be good to go immediately and your tank will quickly generate new bacteria to replace those you've removed. You might want to check at the lfs to see if they have a plain glass or plastic lid for the tank, If so, it would probably be quite inexpensive and a good investment at that.

I often see people keeping African Dwarf Frogs as companions to Bettas. They are very nice pets, completely aquatic, but they do need a cover because they are jumpers.
 
i think you could get away with a group of 6 true pygmy corys cos they are tiny - i have 10 in my 60ltr and they are lost so am getting some more

so maybe a betta , 6 pygmys - make sure they are the actual pygmaeus and not any of the slightly larger ones, a couple of nerite(zebra snails cos these cant breed in fresh water) and 6-8 cherry or tiger shrimp - see if you have a local maidenhead aquatics that can order them in for you or sometimes they just have them in a tank out the back to prevent them getting sucked into the sump system

good luck and i'm sure he'll love hes present

Sarah xx
 
Hi pinkdolphin_113,

What a very thoughtfull idea, you must be the real :santa:

How about an Apple snail?

I like the sound of pygmy corys and cherry shrimp, I have three cherry and two amarno shrimp in my fry tank.
 

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