My Tank

[Garfield]

Hi guys and gals,

This is my tank. What do you you suggest for improving it. I'm gonna make a new hood for it soon and I wanna do something to the inside.

I have the following fish currently in the tank :

10 Neon Tetras
4 Sucking Loaches
1 Clown Loach
1 Featherfin Catfish
3 Penguins
4 Guppies
15 Mollies
1 Blue Tetra
5 Danio's

Ideas on the back of a postcard please

 

[Spyderdf]

How big is your tank?
Clown loaches 'CAN' get to a foot long. and should be moved to a tank more than 60 gallons. And they like to be in groups which means 4+ of them. I dont know the measurements so i cant tell you if ur over stocked tho

Looks good tho

 

[Garfield]

Its a 30" tank. 12"w x 14"h x 30"l I did have 2 clown loaches but one died this morning

 

[Spyderdf]

If your from the US im guessing that it is a 29 gallon tank in which case...

Your stock:
10 Neon Tetras
4 Sucking Loaches
1 Clown Loach
1 Featherfin Catfish
3 Penguins
4 Guppies
15 Mollies
1 Blue Tetra
5 Danio's

I'd recomend you take some fish back or get a bigger tank. But definately the clown loach should be in ALEAST a shaol of 4. In which case you'd need a much bigger tank. Meaning more than a 60 gallon. I'm pretty sure sucking loaches get 6 inches each? if that case thats 24 inches of fish just your sucking loaches.
The rule for begginers is 1" of fish per gallon. Somebody please feel free to correct me if im wrong. I dont want to be giving out wrong info.

Josh

 

[Nidge]

Clown loaches take years to get that size so dont worry just yet.
I think your tank may be slightly overstocked.( to be polite )

To make an improvement i would say add a large center piece like a big piece of bog/drift wood.
I would also try and hide the heater, Put it vertical and in the corner if you haven't got anything to hide it behind.

Good luck.

Ps try do something about your overstocking, And how did your clown loach die?

 

[Spyderdf]

Sorry if i came off ignorant about your stocking

 

[Garfield]

hmmmm, ok where to start. First off I'm from the UK so that will make a difference in the gallons (but not much). I'm not sure I agree when you say the tank is overstocked...its been that way for over a year and to be honest 12 of the mollies are babies (about 3 weeks old).

Not sure about the heater going vertical though cause it is te same height as the tank and the instruction manual said NOT to put it horizontal??? so that why its at a slight angle.

I do agree however, that it need hiding. This is why I am after ideas of things I can do to the tank cause I wanna create a good environment for my fish and have something that is pleasing to look at.

Keep the ideas coming!!!

 

[Spyderdf]

Have you tried live plants?

 

[Aquascaper]

Not sure about the heater going vertical though cause it is te same height as the tank and the instruction manual said NOT to put it horizontal??? so that why its at a slight angle.

The only reason you shouldn't really have a heater vertical is that the thermostat is in the top and, as hot water rises same as hot air, it will recieve a false temp reading and turn off more frequently therefore reducing the overall tank temp. If you have the heater in the water flow this is not really a problem and only a slight angle is needed to solve the problem if the water is quite still.
I would put the heater in the corner opposite your filter/powerhead and as it is longer than the height of your tank this will mean it wil be slightly angled so there won't be any problems with false readings, etc.

Here's a couple of pics of my heater in my 56g to show you how I hid mine

Side shot:

Front shot:

The outflow from the filter is above the heater so the warm water rises up and is distributed around the tank.

HTH

 

[Garfield]

right, see this is where we may have a problem.... I see what you are saying m8 but i have a 30" tank running 2 fluval +1's (1 either either of the tank) and as you can see the heater is ata slight angle in front of one of them so that the heat is pushed toward the center of the tank.

I did think about getting a smaller one of the same wattage but I got not more spare cash till the end of the month (payday).