Gourami Spitting Out Food
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Okay I am taking back to the fish shop on tuesday. Is there any other species that I could put in my tank, or is it fully stocked now? It has 6x Neon Tetras, 1x Dwarf Gourami, 4x Guppys.
I would love to keep shrimp, I am told they have no effect to the bioload so they don't really count in stocking. Is this correct?
I would love to keep shrimp, I am told they have no effect to the bioload so they don't really count in stocking. Is this correct?
I would say you're at the top of stocking, it's probably best to leave the fish be for the moment on concentrate on improving their home. You should look into plants and décor, for example.
Not quite true: shrimp are just low bioload compared to fish. They most definitely count and will need targeted feeding! I recommend you work on getting some plants first, and if you find that shrimp are suitable for your water, then you should read a bit about their compatibility with guppies and gouramis (which is generally along the lines of "it depends on individual fish") before deciding if they're a good option for you.
Ah, yes I will work on the tank first. I was reading up on dwarf's earlier and I read that gourami's like floating plants. I don't have real plants, so I am wondering what else could I put in to make it feel more at home? I don't think artificial floating plants exist.
Yep, they definitely like floates
why don't you just get some real plants? They would help keep nitrates and other stuff low, and reduce your dependence on the filter, which is useful if you ever have a power failure It would help to know the wattage of the bulb(s), the number of hours the lights are on for and the dimensions of the tank 
There is 2 bulbs one is a 15w normal white bulb and the other is a 15w night blue bulb. Lights normally come on around 2pm and go off around 10pm. Dimensions are H 43 x W 39 x D 33 cm.
I know nothing at all about live plants and this is my first proper tank.
I know nothing at all about live plants and this is my first proper tank.
There's definitely enough light for plants there. Most plants from this list should be fine: http
/www.tropica.com/plants/difficulty/easy.aspx, especially those that lime medium-low to medium light.
Keep in mind that not all plants work for all tanks, so it is best to get a good selection and then go with what works. I recommend that if you want to try some, you go for 1 Java moss, 1 Anubias, 2 Hygrophila species (and 2 more stem plants, if you like), 1-2 floating plants and maybe a Vallis, maybe a Crypt. wendtii (Crypts often melt, which can be stressful for someone without plant experience).
If you get floating plants, you may need to increase your lighting into the 12 hour region for them to do well.
If you buy plants from a shop, never take them if there is any sign of algae. If you buy them from individuals, you can expect them to come with algae, although it won't survive for long in a well balanced tank.
Edit: if your light are not on a timer, you should put them on one!
/www.tropica.com/plants/difficulty/easy.aspx, especially those that lime medium-low to medium light.Keep in mind that not all plants work for all tanks, so it is best to get a good selection and then go with what works. I recommend that if you want to try some, you go for 1 Java moss, 1 Anubias, 2 Hygrophila species (and 2 more stem plants, if you like), 1-2 floating plants and maybe a Vallis, maybe a Crypt. wendtii (Crypts often melt, which can be stressful for someone without plant experience).
If you get floating plants, you may need to increase your lighting into the 12 hour region for them to do well.
If you buy plants from a shop, never take them if there is any sign of algae. If you buy them from individuals, you can expect them to come with algae, although it won't survive for long in a well balanced tank.
Edit: if your light are not on a timer, you should put them on one!
Thanks - next time I am down the LFS I will make a note of the plants you talked about and see if they have them avaliable. I am going to do alot of research on them first, just so I get everything right. Do you need to feed them specifically? Or will they just feed off nitrates? And my lights aren't on a timer yet but I am going to buy one next time I am out shopping.There's definitely enough light for plants there. Most plants from this list should be fine: http
Keep in mind that not all plants work for all tanks, so it is best to get a good selection and then go with what works. I recommend that if you want to try some, you go for 1 Java moss, 1 Anubias, 2 Hygrophila species (and 2 more stem plants, if you like), 1-2 floating plants and maybe a Vallis, maybe a Crypt. wendtii (Crypts often melt, which can be stressful for someone without plant experience).
If you get floating plants, you may need to increase your lighting into the 12 hour region for them to do well.
If you buy plants from a shop, never take them if there is any sign of algae. If you buy them from individuals, you can expect them to come with algae, although it won't survive for long in a well balanced tank.
Edit: if your light are not on a timer, you should put them on one!
Plants require the *correct* balance of light, nutrients and CO[sub]2[/sub]; if the balance is poor between these three, algae will often become problematic or the plants will suffer. Some of the nutrients they get from tap water, others from fish food, etc.
Personally, I don't feed my plants most of the time (I occasionally use root tabs) as I prefer what is called the "low tech" approach.
That depends on what you do with the tank: if you add more light, add lots of fertilisers and pick very demanding or especially greedy plants, yes you will need CO[sub]2[/sub]. If you go with what you have and pick undemanding plants, you'll most likely be fine without CO[sub]2[/sub]. Did you know that you can slightly increase CO[sub]2[/sub] levels by decreasing surface movement? But be careful if you try messing about with that because your fish still need to breath!
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