New To This Hobby Here Is My Tank So Far

[stray~johnny]

Hi everyone,

I have been wanting an aquarium for a while now and my girlfriend picked one up for me for christmas to surprise me.

I am a frequent scuba diver but dont know a whole lot about fish. I have read as much as I can so far and the stingray was in really bad condition when we first picked him up but he is starting to get better.
I hope with the help of this board I will be able to learn quickly and get my stingray healthier.

Anyways here are the pics... sorry about the quality.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Hello Johnny.... See you joined us today... Welcome, & I'm positive you'll find all the help you need... Very nice setup you've got there..... Looks like you'll be making your own hood soon.... Large tank, no standard hood??

 

[stray~johnny]

Well there is a glass hood that came with it.. but its in poor shape so I need to partially redo it..

Is there any kind of problem having no hood?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Well there is a glass hood that came with it.. but its in poor shape so I need to partially redo it..

Is there any kind of problem having no hood?

nooo!!... Noooo!... unless you've got jumping fish, which I do not see in your tank... No hood... No problem.

 

[mezzic]

nice tank mate, i to am a fellow scuba diver i go to stoney cove (gotta get my regs workin so i can go again), have fun on the site

 

[stray~johnny]

Ha awesome!

I just got back from punta cana... Diving was quite nice there.. hoping to do cuba next.

One question though and I know its a noobie question...

Should I turn the tanklights off at night? and if so can I leave a l.e.d blue backlight on? or do the fish need total darkness at night?

Thanks,

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, you should turn the tank lights off at night. No problem having your blue lights in evening some but will really be a healthier environment for the fish if they receive some total darkness for the bulk of the night. If you don't have live plants then lights are just for humans by the way, although if no natural room light then you'd want to give the fish some daytime artificial light. If you have live plants then you'll want about 8 to 10 hours of light for them.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[fishyindenmark]

I'm also new to the hobby (and this forum) having jumped in having received a 55 gallon freshwater set-up. I've got a variety of community fish as well as an albino frog, a red lobster, and today I was surprised by the arrival of two green puffers purchased by my well intended wife. Doing things backwards, I did a little research on these puffers after I got them, which are fascinating critters, and learned that while they will be ok in freshwater as youngsters that they should be placed in brackish water when reaching adulthood. I have know idea how old these fish might be. One is about an inch long and the other about 3/4 of an inch. What's the long-term effect of keeping these fish in a freshwater tank? Death? Moreover, I read that puffers can co-exist with the other community fish but that they should be introduced with caution. They seem interested in the red lobster, (he's big enough to fend them off), but have shown no interest in attacking the other fish. Are puffers a threat to such fish as mollies, barbs and tetras? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Having had another look at your tank Stray.....That plant in the last photo behind the Parrotfish..... is that a real plant??? It looks mighty suspect to me??

 

[james morrisontoxic2]

that is one lovely set up my friend

 

[mark7616]

I will cut straight to the point and I am not meaning this abusivly but I will just tell you straight. 1. That stingray you have bought will die it is in such a bad way there is not really much chance in bringing it back and especially seeing as you have no experiance in rays. Never buy a ray that you have not seen feed the dip between the eyes is a bad sign and when the hips start to protrude is pretty much game over also the pink on the base of the disk means its some type of irritation this could be 2 things 1. it has parasites or an issue with your substarte also its disk is pretty battered so its been eaten or burnt by somthing maybe even ammonia burn. The other issues are you tank is not big enough for rays of any sp. the smallest species should be kept in a 6x30 minimum and I can tell by looking you tank is not that big also you stocking is asking for trouble if that ray was healthy the plattys or what ever they are will be killed and eaten and so will the gouramis. My advice to you would be to return the ray to where you bought it personally I would name and shame the person / shop who sold it to you as its a disgrace they let it go. And then stock it with easy fish to get you in to the hobby leanr about water chemisrty fish behavior feeding etc then move into keeping more difficult preds but dont think you can mix them rays are predatory and will eat fish they can pin and kill.

 

[veil92]

It's a molly Mark.

 

[Davo86]

I'm also new to the hobby (and this forum) having jumped in having received a 55 gallon freshwater set-up. I've got a variety of community fish as well as an albino frog, a red lobster, and today I was surprised by the arrival of two green puffers purchased by my well intended wife. Doing things backwards, I did a little research on these puffers after I got them, which are fascinating critters, and learned that while they will be ok in freshwater as youngsters that they should be placed in brackish water when reaching adulthood. I have know idea how old these fish might be. One is about an inch long and the other about 3/4 of an inch. What's the long-term effect of keeping these fish in a freshwater tank? Death? Moreover, I read that puffers can co-exist with the other community fish but that they should be introduced with caution. They seem interested in the red lobster, (he's big enough to fend them off), but have shown no interest in attacking the other fish. Are puffers a threat to such fish as mollies, barbs and tetras? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Yes puffers pose a threat to community species, give it a few days and you will find the puffers chasing and nipping at the other fish. If kept in freshwater for long-term there will be only 1 outcome, death

invertebrates, i.e. the crayfish is a natural food source for the puffers, so you may find that the puffers will attack it when they are a little bigger.

The crayfish may also pose a threat to the fish in the future, any fish resting at the bottom in the evening may eventually be seen as food.

Also the albino frog, I'm guessing that this is an african clawed frog which grows to 6inches and will eat any fish that will fit into its mouth,

 

[mark7616]

lso the tail of that ray is a mess as well just noticed in the pics. If it was me I would put the ray out of its misery and put it to sleep its in such a state.

 

[fishyindenmark]

I'm also new to the hobby (and this forum) having jumped in having received a 55 gallon freshwater set-up. I've got a variety of community fish as well as an albino frog, a red lobster, and today I was surprised by the arrival of two green puffers purchased by my well intended wife. Doing things backwards, I did a little research on these puffers after I got them, which are fascinating critters, and learned that while they will be ok in freshwater as youngsters that they should be placed in brackish water when reaching adulthood. I have know idea how old these fish might be. One is about an inch long and the other about 3/4 of an inch. What's the long-term effect of keeping these fish in a freshwater tank? Death? Moreover, I read that puffers can co-exist with the other community fish but that they should be introduced with caution. They seem interested in the red lobster, (he's big enough to fend them off), but have shown no interest in attacking the other fish. Are puffers a threat to such fish as mollies, barbs and tetras? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Yes puffers pose a threat to community species, give it a few days and you will find the puffers chasing and nipping at the other fish. If kept in freshwater for long-term there will be only 1 outcome, death

invertebrates, i.e. the crayfish is a natural food source for the puffers, so you may find that the puffers will attack it when they are a little bigger.

The crayfish may also pose a threat to the fish in the future, any fish resting at the bottom in the evening may eventually be seen as food.

Also the albino frog, I'm guessing that this is an african clawed frog which grows to 6inches and will eat any fish that will fit into its mouth,

Thanks for the reply. I guess we'll have to return the puffers and think about moving the crayfish to it's own tank. You're correct in your assumption about the albino frog and it's now so small it doesn't pose a threat to any of its neighbors, but I did know they are voracious eaters when they get larger. It's a shame. I really liked those puffers but can't afford yet another set up dedicated to them just now...