From 0 to 60, fancy goldfish to hillstream loaches.

[JayneAlison]

Hi folks,
I have upgraded my fancies into more spacious accommodation and as a result I have a 180 litre juwel tank ready for a new lease of life.
As you can see from the pictures, there is a lot of algae on all surfaces, including some anubias plants.
The current filtration is the juwel corner filter plus a sponge filter which I used mainly for aeration.
What I will probably do is keep the juwel filter, add a wavemaker or power head for flow and replace the sponge filter with a decent sized airstone, unless anyonehas any better ideas.
I have loads of stones and wood lying around, having been in the hobby for 40 odd years, and although the anubias isn't really a hillstream type plant, it's smothered in algae so I will use it at least for now.
I'll probably have a go at aquascaping tomorrow so for now all the pics are of the algae ridden tank as it currently stands.
I've never done a journal before, hope you will enjoy it.

 

[Naughts24 96]

Hello and welcome
I have the same tank so I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

That tank has a lot of potential! Keep it up - you can make it look good in no time.

 

[JayneAlison]

So, today I put the tank decor in place.
I have collected a huge amount of fishkeeping stuff over the years which was handy as my intention is to get this set up done on a tight budget. I dragged out various tubs and boxes and as the photos show, I was not lacking in equipment .
I found a wavemaker I had bought but never used on my marine tank (yes I keep those too) and I also decided to put an internal filter in for extra flow. The biological filtration will take place in the mature juwel filter which is full of various media. Unfortunately the flow from the box is fairly sedate hence the need for reinforcement. I will almost definitely swap the internal for a powerhead or wavemaker at some point but for now it's effective if not especially pretty.
I added a round airstone thing to the air pump and took out the sponge filter, and I was ready for the decor.
Now I am no aquascaper. I lack the patience and talent to do anything much other than put stuff in and hope for the best. However, a hillstream type set up is supposed to be a bit untidy, right? Rocks and bits of wood in random places, right up my street, I thought.
The wood has been owned by me for many years and used in various tanks but sadly it still wanted to float. So it doesn't look great, especially the right hand bits, but I can move it when it sinks.
The anubias had been in with the fancy goldfish so that was attached to wood and various boulders completed the look.
I was satisfied with the result, I'm sure that I will move things and add things as things progress but for now it's okay.
Have a look, see what you think.

 

[JayneAlison]

The first inhabitants are in!
I bought 6 glowlight danios and 6 panda loaches, 'in the bag' pics included.
I have also taken an end on photo showing the rocks and wood with anubias.

 

[JayneAlison]

Had an issue with floating wood overnight, but everything is now back in place. Not looking too bad by my usual standards.
Off to grab another 6 glowlight danios.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I'm loving seeing these journals people make, they give a lot of inspiration! Love the glowlight danios, those are new to me, and loaches are always a win in my book. Can't wait to see what hillstream loaches make of it!

 

[JayneAlison]

One week on and things are going well.
Added a few more fish, including some very expensive stiphodon rutilaureus which were a birthday treat.
Hope you like the pics.

 

[Naughts24 96]

Wow, amazing fish!
How many did you get? Where did you find them?

 

[JayneAlison]

Wow, amazing fish!
How many did you get? Where did you find them?

I bought six, they are for sale at my local Maidenhead Aquatics in Kidderminster.

 

[Naughts24 96]

Fabulous.
So tempted now...

 

[JayneAlison]

Fabulous.
So tempted now...

Do it, you won't regret it (your bank balance might )

 

[Naughts24 96]

Yeah, it's a while to my birthday!
Do you think they're suitable tank mates for corydoras?

 

[JayneAlison]

Depends on the species of corydoras really, some are really happy in faster flowing water so they'd be fine.
Here's a link to some info about the gobies requirements.

Stiphodon rutilaureus

This species is not traded commercially at present and the specimen pictured above was brought back from northern Papua New Guinea by private collectors in 2008. It's diagnosable from other members in the genus by possession of 10 segmented rays in the second dorsal fin, males with filamentous...

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[Naughts24 96]

Thank you!
Research time!