New to tropical fish - seeking some advice

[mbsqw1d]

I'm yet to add barbs to mine.. its a Fluval Roma 200, so that's 1m long. I had my heart set on some Odessa for a while, they're stunning. But the more I looked into them, the more I thought they'd need a 4ft at least.. still undecided really. I'm now looking at Black Rubys

 

[AquaBarb]

I'm yet to add barbs to mine.. its a Fluval Roma 200, so that's 1m long. I had my heart set on some Odessa for a while, they're stunning. But the more I looked into them, the more I thought they'd need a 4ft at least.. still undecided really. I'm now looking at Black Rubys

Your tank is plenty big enough for Odessa's. 80cm up is suitable for them. Same for the Black Ruby's.

Black Rubys get slightly bigger but activity wise i find not a lot of difference between them.

 

[jonnyc88]

Tbh with 35 upper fish already and with the Odessa's still yet not fully grown id leave it at that.

Like Byrons mentioned they are active swimmers and need plenty of room to swim. Adding another group of upper fish will restrict that more. Thats just my opinion tho

Hell of a beautiful fish are the Odessa's so colourful and stunning to look at and is easily my favourite fish i own

Yes I think I will hold back for now. Tank still looks fairly spacious but that's because the Odessa barbs are not fully grown yet.

Hindsight and all but wished we went for slightly bigger tank haha

 

[jonnyc88]

Just a curious question, my water has always been a little bit cloudy.
Will a filter make a difference in this? I'm currently using Aqua One Occellaris 850 canister filter which has a flow rate of 850L/hr and suitable for aquarium from 150-200litres.

If I do decide to change the filter one day will that harm the fish? I suppose I can try to resuse some of the media in current filter if required.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Need to put polywool in your filter to clear any particulates, if its algae bloom this will clear in time

 

[jonnyc88]

Need to put polywool in your filter to clear any particulates, if its algae bloom this will clear in time

Thanks. Not sure if it's polywool but there is definitely wool in the media basket.
I don't think it;s algae bloom as it's always cloudy white, sometimes it's less sometimes it's more.
If it's the substrate I'd expect it to be filtered clear by now...

 

[mbsqw1d]

What filter do you have? Ideally the mechanical filtration should be performed before the bacterial.

 

[jonnyc88]

What filter do you have? Ideally the mechanical filtration should be performed before the bacterial.

The filter media came with the filter. Got them placed as the above picture if I’ve understood your question correctly?
I’ve read that carbon could help but not sure how to add them.

 

[seangee]

It can take a few months for the water to clear fully. I would not worry about it at this stage.

 

[jonnyc88]

It can take a few months for the water to clear fully. I would not worry about it at this stage.

Cheers bud. I’ll just have to be patient

 

[Byron]

Agree on the water issue, leave it alone. Bacterial blooms can come and go for various reasons. We are dealing here with a natural set of biology/chemistry laws and the less we intervene the better.

On the filter question...live plants are present |I believe, so filtration should be minimal. The plants are going to deal with nitrification, always, provided they are healthy and growing; the faster growing plants do this faster. The filter is only there to create a flow throughout the tank, and this should be determined by the needs of the fish respecting water movement.

 

[jonnyc88]

Thanks all for the advice. To be honest the cloudiness is only a minor thing, to me the most important thing is that the fish in my tank are well and happy!

 

[jonnyc88]

Tank maintenance today with 50% water change and glad we did it as it smelt a bit bad.
Also adjusted the spray bar to get more aeration. Bit stronger current on left hand side of the tank but fish doesn't seem to mind.
Created a ring to contain the Salvanias and the Barbs sometimes swim up to nip at them

 

[mbsqw1d]

I think you've done a great job with that, excellent fish selection too.

I thought barbs kept in a tight group or possibly that's only when they're stressed?

 

[jonnyc88]

I think you've done a great job with that, excellent fish selection too.

I thought barbs kept in a tight group or possibly that's only when they're stressed?

They sometimes school but mostly break into small 2-3 groups. I've got x10 but it's hard to tally them up lol.
The plants and fish in the tank is aimed at mimicking as close as possible to the natural habitat.
We prefer smaller schooling fish as well and the tetras, barbs and corydoras are brilliant!