New Member

[I Like Rare Fish]

Hello everyone,

I am new here. I am excited to see where this journey takes me. I started this fabulous hobby around a year ago. These are my tanks and ponds:

Tank #1: 55g
Tank #2: 42g patio pond

Fish Amount Plants Filter Name (if any) Tank #

Delhezi Bichir x1 Fake, Hornwort, Anubias 70 Aquaclear Fluval and Biochemical Sponge Sparky 1
Congo Tetras x4* Same from above Same From Above N/A 1
Cory Catfish pair Same Same Bob and Linda** 1***
Rosy Barbs x6 Varegiated Water Snowflake, None N/A 2
Water Lettuce, Anacharis

I have another patio pond of 43 gallons, and one more custom acrylic 56 gallon.

The 43 will a pair of Gymnogeophagus Terrapurpura and a bit of Platys (as Dithers)
The empty 56 is going to be native. A few Mottled Sculpin, A large species of darter, and (if I can get my hands on them) Shadow Bass. If possible, Stickelbacks.

Thanks for letting me join,

 

[OliveFish05]

Welcome!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Welcome to TFF!

 

[andreisdabest]

Welcome!

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Welcome to the forums! Sounds like an awesome array of fish!

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

I'm back on. Thanks! Can you point me in the direction of someone who knows US Natives? I really want to set up the 56. I've given up on my quest to find Shadow Bass. As far as I can tell, nobody has bred them, and only one person online has them; he caught them himself. Nobody has bred them or has recorded breeding them. I want to focus on the bottom; more like Mottled Sculpin, and Blackbanded darters, and such. Maybe have some large kind of Shiner as a dither. The tank's dimensions are 4ft by 15"wide by 18" deep. It has a spot for a sump, but I will not have one, as it is under my 55 currently. The decor is simple; river rocks and some gravel. I want to create some DIY PVC pipe caves in the rocks. I want there to be a piece of driftwood in the middle, which would act as a flow stopper, allowing Sunfish (if I get them) to stay where the water isn't flowing.
Speaking of flow, I want to use either a powerhead or a strong canister filter to create some. If you didn't know already, sculpin and darters like heavy flow, and need TONS of oxygen. I will have 2-3 airstones/sponge filters in there. I am going to silicon the bulkhead at the back of the tank. I am going to have minimal light to encourage both Sculpin and Darters to come out. No heater.
Do you think the floor of an upstairs room in an '82 house can support 111 gallons of water? Whilst planning my 55, I decided I needed to have some nice support. I deliberately put it against the wall. The downstairs has a wall directly below my fish tank. I feel this should be sufficient enough. Thoughts?
And lastly, I need some kind of Dither for the 56. Preferably around 4-5 inches, and can go in groups of 5-6. And most importantly; wouldn't get eaten by sculpin or darters. They NEED to be a US Native, as a US biotype is what I am going for. So the stocking would look something like this: 2 Mottled Sculpin, 1 Blackbanded Darter, 1 Green Darter, 5-6 Shiners of some sort, and some kind of showpiece fish alone or a pair. And that showpiece fish is yours to choose. As long as it is available, can fight against sculpin, will not eat them, and grows under 8 inches, I will definitely consider. Unfortunately, only a few fish fit the bill. Lets here some ideas!