My First Tank

[neo83]

Thanks very much WD and MW. Deep in my conscience, I probably knew it, but oh well

 

[neo83]

MW, i have been trying to find some good aquatic stores nearby where i live and managed to find 3 actually . I wanted to have a look at bolivian rams and corys for real as i have only seen them in video . I had the pleasure of looking at various cichilds including german blue ram and bolivian ram, also came to know about the Apistogramma panduro. The guy said that the females colour up good yellow and the only species i saw where the females are more beautiful. But god they are expensive . Anyways, i have asked the aquatic stores about their water parameters and the pH level and guess what? All these cichilds (other fish as well) are being bred and maintained at a pH of 8 to 8.5 and like you advised me in this thread, i should not have a problem getting german blue rams (my water pH is 7.6). Fantastic! Thought i would let you know

And also i'm planning to get the following plants:

Amazon swords - 3
Hygrophila polysperma - 1
Crypt Wendtii - not sure on the number
Pygmy Chain Swords - not sure on the number

Let's see how it goes

 

[neo83]

Right guys, I currently have 4 guppies, 4 platys and 1 male bolivian ram (oh yeah). I also currently have 3 amazon swords, 1 java fern, 1 java moss, 1 hygrophila polysperma, 1 crypt and one other plant. The filter i have is a Fluval U3 internal filter. Since i have plants, i'm not using the top outlet which helps in oxygenating the water by disturbing the water surface, but i'm using the spray bar outlet. I have a 15cm air stone in the tank connected to an air pump. I'm wondering as to how much time i need to keep the air pump on so as to cause surface agitation and oxygenation in the process, especially with my filter output on spray bar.

On the other hand, i'm getting so much stressed (newbie) whenever i watch the fish thinking "is that normal behaviour or is there something wrong with the fish?" , although the bolivian ram is giving me immense pleasure and luckily i seem to have a decent fish as it did not have issues with eating. Although one thing i noticed which is very wierd is the bolivian ram is being chased by couple of platys and i thought it should have been the other way around.

Thanks

 

[neo83]

guys, any thoughts from anyone on the above questions?

Also, i'm not sure whether i'm being paranoid or not, but i have taken a video of my platys. Apologies that the video is not edited and also for the poor quality but i wanted to get a close up of the fish. Could you please check the video and let me know if there is any fin rot or fish ick? The fish i'm worried about are the silver/blue platy and the high fin red platy at the end of the video. Silver platy is a bit bulgy, can anyone tell if it's a male or female please? Also the high fin red platy is acting a bit wierd like staying at a particular place, although don't see any breathing difficulties and it's eating everytime i feed him. Also, it has been a bit a shy since the day i got him. The opinion i would be happy with would be that i'm paranoid and nothing wrong with the fish

Thanks for your help

BTW, If anyone wants to check out my Bolivian Ram, below is the link. Please be advised that this video is a bit long and unedited as well, so apologies. I did not think about putting it online and shot it when watching the ram .

 

[waterdrop]

Your community behavior looks quite good and normal. Its possible some of our livebearer people could comment on your pH and temp with respect to the high-fin platy but overall I don't see issues at a quick glance. WD

 

[neo83]

Your community behavior looks quite good and normal. Its possible some of our livebearer people could comment on your pH and temp with respect to the high-fin platy but overall I don't see issues at a quick glance. WD

Thanks WD. The high fin red platy is looking better day by day now and i'm trying to maintain the water quality to my best

 

[waterdrop]

Great, glad to hear it!

 

[neo83]

Hi guys

i'm looking to get a shoaling species in my tank and currently looking at harlequin rasboras or flame tetras. Which do you recommend in terms of better shoaling and hardiness? Planning to have around 6-10 of them.

BTW, the other day i tried and took some pictures of the fish. Most of them are a bit blurry as the fish are not really interested in posing apart from the bolivian ram . Here is the link Fish Pictures

Thanks

 

[waterdrop]

I'm partial to Harlequins as being super hardy, but a full shoal of flame tetras could be nice too. No help, I know, lol. WD

 

[neo83]

Thanks WD. i was more inclined to harlequins as well, so you were more than helpful

BTW, i currently have:

4 platys
4 guppies
1 bolivian ram
6-10 harlequin rasboras (will be getting this weekend)

Can i add in one keyhole cichlid as well and that'll finish off the stocking. Tank is 33gal btw with 9 plants in it.

Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

Neo, when it comes to using a planted tank to prevent any problems with stocking fish, maybe a picture of a planted tank would help you judge it. This is what I call a planted tank, although slightly less plants might work without first cycling your tank's filter. Much less plants and you will be looking at what MW called a tank with plants, not at all the same thing.

Your video of the platies and guppies shows mostly normal looking fish with no ich present. The only thing I saw in that whole video that might possibly be a concern is the bottom edge of the first fish's tail. I would keep an eye on that and if it becomes worse would post a picture in the Tropical Emergencies section. It is definitely not ich but may be some kind of fungal infection if the symptoms change for the worse. I try to keep my fish water clean and find that things that look like that will heal up on their own with nothing but water changes unless it a particularly virulent infection of some sort.

 

[neo83]

Neo, when it comes to using a planted tank to prevent any problems with stocking fish, maybe a picture of a planted tank would help you judge it. This is what I call a planted tank, although slightly less plants might work without first cycling your tank's filter. Much less plants and you will be looking at what MW called a tank with plants, not at all the same thing.

wow, that's a forest. Thanks very OM for the pic, it's more easier to understand for a beginner like me . Mine would be as MW said fish with plants in it.

Your video of the platies and guppies shows mostly normal looking fish with no ich present. The only thing I saw in that whole video that might possibly be a concern is the bottom edge of the first fish's tail. I would keep an eye on that and if it becomes worse would post a picture in the Tropical Emergencies section. It is definitely not ich but may be some kind of fungal infection if the symptoms change for the worse. I try to keep my fish water clean and find that things that look like that will heal up on their own with nothing but water changes unless it a particularly virulent infection of some sort.

Sure, that is what made me go bonkers when i first noticed it and then posted the video. Glad it was not ich and am trying my best to maintain the water quality. I have been doing 20-30% water changes every weekend, and also testing the water at least 5 days per week . Glad to report that it has always been 0ppm for both ammonia and nitrite since i had the fish and hopefully it stays that way.

BTW, my guppies are driving me nuts. I got 12 harlequin rasboras in my tank now and they look really great when they are shoaling. However, more often than not, guppies always swim through the shoal as if they are purposefully disturbing them and they break away. They are nutters really and don't have an inch of character in them

 

[neo83]

Guys,

got a question regarding air stone. When the air stone is on and when the bubbles pop up at the surface, they normally spray upwards and i'm a bit concerned about the spray going onto the lights. i have fluval roma 125 tank. Is that an issue or is that safe enough?

Thanks

 

[Skins]

Hello neo83,
I use the same setup and have had no probs.

Skins.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

does your air pump have a valve on it? (usually a little plastic black bit with a screw to increase/reduce airflow) you could try turning this down.
Some light bars are quite waterproof. Others are not. i havent used a Fluval tank so not sure, but i would have thought it should be OK.

Another fix would be to buy a condensation tray that sits between the water and the lights. This also (as the name suggests) stops condensation mucking up your lights.