My Fishless Cycling Log

[KittyKat]

Breed Apistos in it! *prod prod*

Unless you use RO water, this in near on impossible in Lincolns water, its as hard as a diamond. I tried a couple of GBR's in Lincoln water and they were not going to last long, they went back to the LFS in a day. The LFS's around here don't really sell Apistos, you can get them from the soft water section in MA, but they won't sell them if you're using tap water. It runs straight off of limestone. It's great for planted tanks though Ash.

Ah, #41####! Didn't know about your water.. a mate of mine form Lincoln used to keep only Rift Lake cichlids in his fish room, I always thought it was just his preference, but maybe it was the water! in that case, Rift Lake cichlids get a +1 from me, if the tank is big enough in height and depth..

 

[ian]

I know they do keep those at MA in Lincoln, there is a big Cichlid selection (just not the delicate ones, lol). They have got some nice Shell dwellers at the moment. But personally i'd go fully planted lol. There is also another LFS out near Dunholme, Perry's aquatics, he stocks some good stuff.

http/perrysaquaticscentrelincoln.com/

he does concentrate his stuff on Marine, but has some good freshawater stuff. He also stocks Tropica plants.

 

[Falling Ash]

Thanks for the suggestions I could have guessed you'd suggest going for a fully planted tank lol, but they seem quite difficult to maintain? At least there's plenty of support on here though if I did. Will have to visit Perry's Aquatics, I didn't realise there were all these places nearby.

Kity Kat, I like the idea of Cichlids, the tank is 4x2x2 if that helps.

Back to my current tank I've changed the gravel now, and added some ammonia and will test in the morning to see if everything's OK. Are the harlequin rasbora (heteromorpha) a bit too big for the small tank then? I really like them, but I still haven't had any luck finding the espei variety.

 

[KittyKat]

I wouldn't like to see my harlequins in anything under 3", a friend has hers in a 2" which were from the same batch as mine (bought on the same day, from the same tank) and they're a good bit smaller (about 2/3 of the size of mine) and she also had a few die. I also spent the first 6 months of their life in the 2" tank looking after them, so there was no difference in feeding or maintenance schedule between the two tanks and both tanks were planted with the same plants (again, because I was looking after it).

Thanks for the suggestions I could have guessed you'd suggest going for a fully planted tank lol, but they seem quite difficult to maintain? At least there's plenty of support on here though if I did. Will have to visit Perry's Aquatics, I didn't realise there were all these places nearby.

Undemanding plants are not that much of a bother

Kity Kat, I like the idea of Cichlids, the tank is 4x2x2 if that helps.

Oooh, that's a nice size tank! Line most of it with rockwork and it would be great for rift lake cichlids! Now to decide between Malawis and Tangs..

 

[Falling Ash]

Great, sounds like a nice idea, will have to look in to it! Are they really advanced to look after?

I'll skip the harlequins then for my 65, so it's either:

1 dwarf gourami
6 x glowlight tetras, or green neon tetras

OR

1 male betta
6 x panda / dwarf or pygmy corydoras.

Do any of those sound OK?

 

[KittyKat]

I would go for the Betta and dwarf/pigmy Corys. You will be able to have a larger school of the small Corys too.. but that is for later to be honest, you may even be able to get some tetras later as well, depending on how the tank looks and feels to you in a few months.

 

[waterdrop]

Falling Ash,

Here is a link that puts you in the middle of one of my favorite discussions about the 3 types of pygmy cories between OM47,jennybugs and myself. Not only does it have OM47's pictures of the 3 types but it also has some commentary that can help you decide on which of the 3 types you might want in a particular tank/situation. Hope this helps.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Falling Ash]

That was an interesting read, thanks WD.

Anyway I'm upset, my cycle has messed up. I thought I was so close to the end, but there's still far to go. It's so disheartening. 12 hours after dosing my ammonia is 2/3ppm, while the nitrites are 2/5ppm, I can't believe it.

 

[waterdrop]

Hang in there FA, sometimes the bacteria seem to take a pause in processing for a day or two but then make a comeback. If they don't seem to be coming back I often recommend a down-to-the-gravel water change and a re-dose of ammonia after the conditioned, temp-matched refill.

WD

 

[Falling Ash]

Thanks WD, well it seems I was worrying over nothing because this morning we're back at double 0's, maybe I put in too much ammonia by accident. I'll see how it goes tonight Also I tied a sponge on to filters inlets yesterday (because they're huge, big enough for fish to go in to and get chopped up) could this have affected anything?

 

[waterdrop]

Who knows? Might have made some little change that the bacteria detected and reacted to some how. There's nothing wrong with protecting your inlets from sucking in fish but you do have to examine them quite regularly because they can clog up quickly. The area of an inlet is much smaller than the volume area where media is normally placed. This is why a filter can go pretty long between cleanings. A mesh cloth or sponge over an inlet though can first get "sticky" and then clog up much faster than a normal filter bed.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Falling Ash]

A fish store nearby have got a stock of Ember tetras and extremely miniature rasboras of some kind (didn't make a note of the name). This is the first time I've seen them. What do you think, Kitty Kat? (Or anyone! )

 

[KittyKat]

Yes! Embers would be perfect, or the rasboras could be too.. call up the shop and find out the scientific name of the rasboras, Boraras species are lovely! I think these fish make excellent stock for small tanks

And to be honest, I would say you have qualified for stocking now, even if not for full stock right away. I think your filter should easily be able to cope with 10 mid-water schoolers.

 

[Falling Ash]

I went for another visit today, they are a yellow/green/pale coloured rasbora called microrasbora kubotai. I preferred the look of the embers personally. I was tempted to bring a school home, but I wasn't really prepared with the large water change / lowered temperature etc, so I'm going back at the weekend! So would you recommend 10 Embers to start with then? Anything else? Also, the only thing I am worried about is my pH being 7.4, isn't this too high for them? Thanks!

 

[KittyKat]

Microdevario kubotai? Here is one species that I am yet to see in person!

I think 10 Ember tetras would be a good start. The tank will take more fish at the same time, but I would stick to those. How about some plants as well? Anything on Tropica's undemanding list would be fine, for example.

7.4 should be ok, and it will fall with time. Do make sure to acclimatise them properly and everything.