My New Fish Tank

[chicken83]

Hi All,

Just joined the forum so thought I would post a couple of links to vid's of my tank.....

first stage with just corys and red fin tetraa

Addition of some more fish and a couple of caves

Since these videos I have built a third cave, added some plants and added some more fish, if I get time tonight I will do another video.

In total I have....

9 x Corys

8 x Columbian red finned tetra
8 x Blue phantom tetra

3 x Golden sucking loach
2 x Khuli loach
1 x Bullnose plec

2 x German Blue Rams (pair)
2 x Gold Ram (pair)
1 x Electric blue ram

3 x Leopard bushfish

I think I am going to add a group of marbled hatchet fish, and some angels then i am done.

Would be nice to know what people think?

 

[ZoddyZod]

not my cup of tea, but quite fun.

 

[KittyKat]

It's a nice tank, but the stocking doesn't go.. you should re-research all the fish you already have, then go from there.

Spoiler

9 x Corys - great

8 x Columbian red finned tetra - get large, but great
8 x Blue phantom tetra - great

3 x Golden sucking loach - Gyrinocheilus aymonieri? usually become too aggressive with age, 3 are bound to fight
2 x Khuli loach - schooling, you should get another 8 or so, if the tank will take it
1 x Bullnose plec - great

2 x German Blue Rams (pair) - aka blue rams, can be picky, but nice fish
2 x Gold Ram (pair) - aka blue rams, can be even pickier still
1 x Electric blue ram - aka blue rams, yes, it is possible: even more picky!

3 x Leopard bushfish - will eat some of your other fish sooner or later

 

[chicken83]

I know the bushfish are a bit borderline but what is wrong with the rest of the stocking? I have looked into the fish I have and they all seem pretty compatible.

 

[This Old Spouse]

It's a nice tank, but the stocking doesn't go.. you should re-research all the fish you already have, then go from there.

+1

I see lots of problems there, and it looks like you're already overstocked. The angels won't last long, I'm afraid.

 

[chicken83]

[/quote]

+1

I see lots of problems there, and it looks like you're already overstocked. The angels won't last long, I'm afraid.
[/quote]

Thats pretty annoying as my LFS has helped me decide what fish to get and said these fish would all be ok together, what problems do you think I will have.

I can leave the angels and hachets for the time being, and I have two spare tanks so can have a re arrange.

 

[coldcazzie]

I think it is very cool, love the concept! (I love lego! ) however, I think kk has a point about the stocking, for example cories like low temps 21-24 degrees, whereas blue rams (all the ones you have are blues, just in different colour types) need temps of 27-32 degrees, as you can see there isn't really a happy medium or overlap of those temps! You could pick one or the other and go with other fish which like that temp, such as sterbai cories in the higher temps, or bolivian rams at the lower temps (keep it at 24).

Edited to add: sorry about you being misled by the shop its a pita when you trust someone to help you and then they turn out to have misinformed you.

Ps: might have to steal the lego diggers digging the sand idea, that's just fab...! My kids would love that! ( that's my excuse anyway lol)

 

[ZoddyZod]

hmmm, are the bushfish also called 'Spotted Climbing Perch'?

if so, they are predators and will eat anything they can get in their mouths.

 

[chicken83]

Ok thanks for that. I have been keeping the tank at 26 as this was good for the majority of the fish. I was aware that the rams are more colourful at higherer temps tho.

Are you saying that the completely gold rams I have are actually blue rams?

I am aware the Bushfish are a slightly aggressive and do have large mouths, but the smallest fish in there is a blue phantoms and I think they are far too big for the bushfish to eat.

 

[coldcazzie]

Ok thanks for that. I have been keeping the tank at 26 as this was good for the majority of the fish. I was aware that the rams are more colourful at higherer temps tho.

Are you saying that the completely gold rams I have are actually blue rams?

Yes they are just a colour morph, like different coloured angel fish or discus: still the same fish inside

The cories won't do well at that temp: they won't look ill, but their metabolism speeds up and they will die much sooner than if kept at cooler temps.

What size is it? It looks about 3 foot? You might be a little cramped with 5 rams in there... they are quite territorial, so maybe a single pair of either the German blues or the goldens would be better?

 

[KittyKat]

Yes, what are the dimensions?

(If you want to see the problems, I did add a spoiler as a shortcut for the research in my previous post. The fish are your responsibility, not the shop's, so you are the one who needs to become an expert on your pets before you buy them.. now is a good time to start )

 

[chicken83]

The tank is 5ft long x 2ft x 1.5ft i think. Length is definatly 5ft and I have to stand on a chair to reach the bottom.

I guess the film makes it look a bit smaller than it is. I think I might consider setting up a second tank and moving the corys in there.

The rams seem ok, just the electric blue one is a bit feisty but I had put that down to the fact the two other blues and the golds had paired off and he was lonely MY LFS doesn't sell females of the electric blue Coloured ones.

Thanks for the spoilers, like i said i was aware the bushfish might be a bit aggressive, but again was told they wouldnt be able to eat anything I had in there. I didnt realise the Khuli loach were best in shoals.

My parents have one golden sucking loach in there tank, would it be worth removing one of mine and giving it to them. I thought they would be ok if brought together?

 

[ZoddyZod]

I am aware the Bushfish are a slightly aggressive and do have large mouths, but the smallest fish in there is a blue phantoms and I think they are far too big for the bushfish to eat.

they are not 'slightly aggressive' they are an active predator that grow to six inches. When they reach adult size there is a good chance your tetra will be targeted.

 

[coldcazzie]

The tank is 5ft long x 2ft x 1.5ft i think. Length is definatly 5ft and I have to stand on a chair to reach the bottom.

I guess the film makes it look a bit smaller than it is. I think I might consider setting up a second tank and moving the corys in there.

The rams seem ok, just the electric blue one is a bit feisty but I had put that down to the fact the two other blues and the golds had paired off and he was lonely MY LFS doesn't sell females of the electric blue Coloured ones.

Thanks for the spoilers, like i said i was aware the bushfish might be a bit aggressive, but again was told they wouldnt be able to eat anything I had in there. I didnt realise the Khuli loach were best in shoals.

Might be best to stick with just the two pairs then. 5 foot should be ok with 2 pairs as long as there are enough plants

Khulis are def best in shoals I'd up it to 10 if you can.

Hmm... golden sucking loaches... sounds a bit suspect... it's not very clear what sp it actually is...

 

[chicken83]

From what I read online the bushfish will not take anything bigger than an adult guppy when fully grown and is a good oddball fish for a community tank, hence the purchase The tetras I have already far surpass this size and are getting bigger. They maybe predatory, but seem quite peaceful to me at the moment. I did read a fair few comments from people who own them.

The golden loaches I think were actually labelled golden algea eaters, really they are more to keep my lego nice and clean, which they are doing brilliantly! When I spoke to the chap in the shop he informed he that they would be ok in a small group, and wouldnt get too big, probably max of 15cm. My parents one is about 10cm and is fine with the fish they have.

Thanks for the advise cazzie