My 2ft 'starter' Tank

[yabadaba]

Hi, I thought I'd post a few pictures of what I guess you'd have to call my starter tank. I wasn't sure how much I'd get on with the hobby so started with a fairly cheap Hagen Elite 2ft tank that came with filter and heater and soon found myself addicted. Over the last few months I've added a variety of plants, have upgraded the filter and heater and have played around a little with the stocking. The most recent change was over the last weekend when I decided I'd had enough of my endlessly increasing number of guppys & fry. Maidenhead Aquatics kindly offered to house them for me (nobody else would) and I returned home with a pair of Bolivian Rams and 3 Peppered Cory in their place.

The tank is now stocked as follows:

2 Otocinclus (originally had 4 but 2 died recently)
1 Hillstream Loach (has really come out of hmself recently)
2 Bolivian Rams (male & female pair, I hope)
3 peppered Corys
2 Clown Loaches (still small)
1 Red Tail Black Shark (getting bigger and angrier!)

Yes, I know the Clown Loaches and Shark need a bigger tank and that is about to happen. As soon as I've taken the opportunity to decorate the room and have a new carpet layed a 5ft or 6ft tank will be going in, which I'm really looking forward to.

Anyway, here are the only decent pictures I got out of about 40 I took.....how on earth do you guys get good pictures of your fish?!?! I had to turn my flash off because otherwise it just reflected in the glass and that meaned I could only really capture pictures of the female Ram and one of my Otos, as nothing else would stay still long enough!

 

[bagu]

lovely shots mate!

that otto pic is hilarious

keep it up mate =]

glad to hear about the clowns going to a bigger tank

 

[yabadaba]

lovely shots mate!

that otto pic is hilarious

keep it up mate =]

glad to hear about the clowns going to a bigger tank

Thanks, I'm really looking forward to getting the big tank...my heads full of ideas for it already But, it's really got to happen soon as I've noticed the shark is starting to get angrier as time passes. He was particularly horrible to the Rams when they first entered the tank - chased them almost continuously for several hours - but fortunately that's now eased off.

The Corys are great - they seem so happy, constantly playing in the air bubbles coming off my air stone and in the current coming out of my filter...don't they ever rest?!?

One thing I've realised about this hobby though, is that all the fish I like seem to be bottom or mid-bottom dwellers. Must try and find something that takes my fancy that will make use of the mid to upper levels.

 

[bagu]

hey!

i have the same problem as you! all the pick i like are bottom and mid dwellers so part of my tank is being unused

Tank looks great mate! you think your still gonna keep the shark?

Cory's are brilliant mine will settle down for a few seconds then go crazy again haha

 

[JohnRossDele]

hey!

i have the same problem as you! all the pick i like are bottom and mid dwellers so part of my tank is being unused

Tank looks great mate! you think your still gonna keep the shark?

Cory's are brilliant mine will settle down for a few seconds then go crazy again haha

haha!! same here with my cories

 

[mixmaster jay]

lovely setup mate

 

[yabadaba]

hey!

you think your still gonna keep the shark?

Well I hope so and he seems to have calmed down again.....there's the odd bit of chasing going on, but not incessant like it was when he first saw the Rams. Plus, I'll have my new, bigger tank soon. I can just about afford it, I've got an ideal space allocated for it, but I really need to change my carpet and do a bit of decorating first...it just makes no sense trying to do that after I've set the tank up. Trying to decide between 5ft and 6ft. The space where I'm planning to put it is about spot on 2metres so about 6'6". But that won't leave much free space at either end, which I would get with a 5ft. Decisions, decisions...

 

[CLAYMICHAEL]

Looking good

 

[simonas]

lovely set up, you take a good pic,any chance of more pics?

 

[yabadaba]

lovely set up, you take a good pic,any chance of more pics?

Well thanks, but to be honest I was struggling to take a good picture. I had to take about 30 or so shots to get 4 or 5 I was happy with. All the others were blurred as the fish seemed to be camera shy and kept moving just as I was taking the shot . However, I think I'm getting the hang of it now, so will try to get some more later.

 

[doktor doris]

I decided I'd had enough of my endlessly increasing number of guppys & fry.

lol, I know just how you feel!

It was fun at first having fry, in fact I even tried to protect them by filling my tank with plants and hidey holes.

Not much fun anymore, my tank is seething with guppies now.

I wish one could buy guppy contraceptives!

doris

 

[bagu]

haha ;D

dont the female guppys store the sperm so they dont need to mate with a male again?

thats what put me off guppies; the over breeding lol

 

[paul_219]

Very nice tank. Looking gr8.

 

[Bebobb]

Well if you didn't want fry, you could house only males. Diggin' the rams.