Shell-dwellers

[threecharacters]

My 10 gallon Shelldweller species tank. The tank has been set up for 3ish weeks. I cycled with Dr. Tim's Ammonia Chloride. According to the water reading, it's nearly ready for fish. The current water params are,

pH: 8.0
gH: 12 dH
Ammonia: 0-0.25 ppm (I have trouble telling if there is no Ammonia or not)
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10-20 ppm

I've been boosting the gH above tap (4 dH) with Equilibrium, the snail shells in the tank, and the play sand. I added some crushed coral today with the hope that I won't have to add quite as much Equilibrium all the time. This will also hopefully raise the pH a bit. Can a high gH and pH harm the plants?

I plan to add fish in a 2-3 days. I want the tank to stay cycled until then. Do I need to add more ammonia to maintain the cycle or the bacteria be OK for a few days without any ammonia? If I do add more ammonia, I will undoubtedly need to make a few water changes before I get fish. Thus, the water in the tank will be less aged. Will this be a problem?

The plants in the tank are Java fern and Anubias congensis currently rubber banded to rocks. Hopefully they will finish attaching soon and I can remove the rubber bands. It seems like it's taking them a while to attach. How long does it typically take?

The only inhabitant is a Pagoda snail I picked up today. It seems happy enough roaming around out of its shell. Because the tank is so young with little algae, should I feed it blanched kale or would fish food be better?

I plan to stock with Neolamprologus brevis. I'll update when they're in the tank.

 

[Naughts]

The tank looks great
3 weeks seems quick to cycle, did you see the ammonia and nitrites rise then fall?
Some plants prefer acidic or basic water but I'm guessing java fern and anubias won't be fussy as they are both defined as 'easy' plants. They take several weeks to attach.
Your tank is really interesting, will you post more photos when you get the shelldwellers please.

 

[threecharacters]

I did not see the ammonia or nitrates rise and fall the first time. I got the test kit well after I first dosed the aquarium with ammonia. I have been dosing ammonia since then and I've noticed the ammonia rise and fall with my dosing. I have not seen any nitrites at all though. I've also seen my nitrates go up from the dosing. The filter was taken off an established tank, but I rinsed the filter media in tap water. I don't expect the filter stayed fully cycled, but maybe a small colony of bacteria did manage to survive in the filter through the rinsing. This would explain the fast cycle time.

 

[Naughts]

I did not see the ammonia or nitrates rise and fall the first time. I got the test kit well after I first dosed the aquarium with ammonia. I have been dosing ammonia since then and I've noticed the ammonia rise and fall with my dosing. I have not seen any nitrites at all though. I've also seen my nitrates go up from the dosing. The filter was taken off an established tank, but I rinsed the filter media in tap water. I don't expect the filter stayed fully cycled, but maybe a small colony of bacteria did manage to survive in the filter through the rinsing. This would explain the fast cycle time.

I see , you introduced some bacteria.
If you test every day for the first couple of weeks you'll spot any blips and can water change if necessary.
If you get fish in 2-3 days you won't need to add ammonia. Mature water is not desirable, the good bacteria are on the surfaces (mainly filter media and substrate) , not in the water column. Clean fresh water is always good, so long as it is dechlorinated.

 

[seangee]

The bacteria on established filter media will survive being rinsed in tap water. Some may die but the rest won't. I usually rinse mine under the tap (except in the new tank).

 

[Back in the fold]

Those are just the coolest little African cichlids ever. You're lucky.
And your pictures you posted show the perfect tank.

 

[threecharacters]

Yesterday I got fish. Things didn't go exactly according to plans. The store that had the N. brevis last week apparently sold all but a single male. I wanted to get a M/F or M/2F, but with no better option I got the single male.

He's totally by himself in the tank and he's very skittish. He only comes out when the light in the tank is off and if I come close to the tank he dives in his shell. I know this will all improve with time, but I wonder if the lack of other occupants in the tank is making him more skittish. He didn't seem nearly as skittish in the fish store tank. The only photo I have of him was when he was being floated. I used the flash because the tank was dark it showed off the iridescent purple eyeshadow of the N. brevis.

I plan to contact my local cichlid association to find a female or two for him, but in the mean time should I get some dither fish? I was thinking something that's OK with the hard, alkaline water, is surface dwelling, and is bold. Any suggestions?

How much room do I actually have in the tank? Could I house M/F or M/2F with a few small dithers or should I get rid of the dithers after I find the female N. brevis?

 

[threecharacters]

I've done some researching myself. The general requirements the tankmates need to satisfy are,

Non-shoaling (so I don't need a group)
Survive in alkaline and hard water
Small but sturdy
Surface dwelling? (may not be necessary if they can stand up to the N. brevis, it also depends on the actual temperament of my specific brevis.)

One idea is smaller panchax killifish, in particular, the green panchax could work. I may want to get more floating plants in that case though.

I was also thinking that some small livebearers might work, but I don't know much about them.

I'm still looking for suggestions and I'm not sure if he even needs tankmates until I manage to track down a female or two.

Also, the brevis has been much better today (as I should've expected). He still sticks purely by the shell, but I can turn the light on and come up to the tank and he doesn't dart back into the shell. It's pretty fascinating to watch him zoom into the shell.

 

[Colin_T]

Put some floating plants in the tank.

Killifish will not survive in hard alkaline water that is suited to Rift Lake cichlids. Small rainbowfish will, or livebearers, but it depends on tank dimensions and a 10 gallon might be a bit small for rainbows and cichlids.

There's more info on rainbowfish at the following link.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

 

[threecharacters]

Put some floating plants in the tank.

Killifish will not survive in hard alkaline water that is suited to Rift Lake cichlids.

That's a good suggestion. I think some floated African Water Fern would be perfect at providing a sense of security. I'll try to pick some up tomorrow.

Seriously fish seems to think that green panchax would be able to take my alkalinity and hardness (8.0 and 12 deg). So should my water be harder and more alkaline than it is or would panchax actually not be able to handle the pH and gH of the tank as is?

 

[Colin_T]

Your GH (around 214ppm) is a bit low for Lake Tanganyikan cichlids (shell dwellers), which naturally occur in water with a GH around 400ppm and a pH above 8.0.

Panchax will live in water with a GH around 200ppm but they come from water with a GH below 100ppm and a pH below 7.0.

Lamprichthys tanganicanus is commonly called the Tanganyikan killifish but it grows too big for a 10 gallon tank.

 

[threecharacters]

Your GH (around 214ppm) is a bit low for Lake Tanganyikan cichlids (shell dwellers), which naturally occur in water with a GH around 400ppm and a pH above 8.0.

Panchax will live in water with a GH around 200ppm but they come from water with a GH below 100ppm and a pH below 7.0.

Lamprichthys tanganicanus is commonly called the Tanganyikan killifish but it grows too big for a 10 gallon tank.

Ok, I'll get some floating plants for the time being.

It seems like I should raise my gH and pH more. I'll post in rift lake cichlids to try to figure that out.

As far as tankmates go, I think 10 gal is too small for rainbows. I'll consider livebearers or if anyone knows of any oddballs that would work in this kind of a set up!

 

[Colin_T]

Pseudomugils are a type of rainbowfish and they are quite small 1-2 inches maximum. They are also slender fish and don't have much impact on the bioload of the aquarium. Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis and P. signifier will both do well in hard alkaline water and are easy to breed if looked after. Each day they scatter a few eggs into plants. The eggs might get eaten by other fish or the babies might survive and swim around just under the surface. In which case you can scoop the babies out and put them in another tank to grow up.

Check the link in post #9 for pictures of them and other Pseudomugil rainbowfish.

 

[threecharacters]

Pseudomugils are a type of rainbowfish and they are quite small 1-2 inches maximum. They are also slender fish and don't have much impact on the bioload of the aquarium. Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis and P. signifier will both do well in hard alkaline water and are easy to breed if looked after. Each day they scatter a few eggs into plants. The eggs might get eaten by other fish or the babies might survive and swim around just under the surface. In which case you can scoop the babies out and put them in another tank to grow up.

Check the link in post #9 for pictures of them and other Pseudomugil rainbowfish.

The blue-eyes are very pretty. They are shoaling so I need at least 6 if not more correct?

 

[Colin_T]

Yes the blue-eye rainbowfish need to be kept in groups of 6 or more.