Some queries

downunder newbie

New Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2004
Messages
17
Reaction score
0
Location
Sydney, Australia
Hi all,

I recently was given two tanks by my mother, unfortunatly it was done in very short notice, with no time to properly cycle on the large one, which I work out to be approx 33-35 gallons. Needless to say I had many problems to start with, losing nearly half of the fish :(
Things seem to have picked up now though, as of last night I tested it and got the following results:

pH - 7.6
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
gH - 7degrees

I keep the tank at 25-26 degrees celcius, and have managed to identify all the fish in there bar 2, there is:

(sorry I don't know the scientific names, these are what they are commonly called here)
2 x Blackwidows sex unknown
1 x male sailfin molly
2 x female mollies
approx 4 baby mollies
1 x female sword tail
1 x Adult male platty
1 x Adult female platty
1 x Juvenile male platty (he has been chasing the female around the tank a bit lately)
1 x female egyptian mouth brooder
1 x dwarf gourami sex unkown
2 x neon tetras (were 8 at one point, but have either been eaten or died)
1 x glow light tetra
1 x clown loach
2 x cories
2 x unknown fish (a bronzeish colour, they almost resemble penguin tetras, but the black stripe is only on their tail, have pointed fins with white tips on them)
8 x small pest feeder fish (we didnt know what they were but found out they were pests, they breed really fast)

Also in a small hospital tank is one pregnant female sailfin molly, and several more baby mollies

A couple of things I have read leave me wondering, firstly I read that the cories don't handle salt well, does this mean they should not be kept with the mollies?
Also, I am a bit concerned about the dwarf gourami, he has become rather withdrawn since the last of the other gourami died ( there were originally 3) he hides a lot now and looks a bit undernourished, as he doesnt come out at feeding times, should I isolate him? He doesnt appear to have any diseases. Do they prefer to have others of their kind to swim with? Also my mother put in a large piece of driftwood, the fish love hiding under and behind it, though is it good for the water quality? The plants in there also might need replacing, apart from the ones that the fish have ripped out, the others don't appear to be growing as well as i'd like, could this be from the pH? I am a bit confused, there seems to be a conflicting viewpoint on pH levels :blink: I know it seems to be fairly stable at this point, as a few weeks ago I had it tested at the LFS and it was the same then

I wish I had discovered this site earlier, it might have helped to save a lot of worrying, and thanks for reading a newbies ramble :D
 
Only the amount that is indicated on the packet of the aquarium result, I'll check the exact amount, but its not much at all

*edit* the directions list 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons, i only added enough for the water i replaced at last water change, not for the whole tank again.

Can anyone give me some pointers on how to look after these types of fish?

Thanks :)
 
•Your PH is fine for the fish and many plants, but there are some more delicate plants that in fact need more acid waters

•There are a lot of details when it comes to maintaining plants, planted aquaria are a hobby on its own. Make sure you do some research and get good plants for the environment you are providing. If you are not doing anything special to the tank for plants, make sure you are buying easy to keep varieties.

•I don't see the need for salt in your tank (overcomplication, IMO)

•Driftwood is good in a tank, it will have either a positive impact on the water, or no effect, depending on what kind it is and how it was treated.

•I couldn't help that you only have 1 glo-light, 2 black widows, one 2 cories, and one clown. All of these fish will do best when kept in higher quantities. IMO you may as well lose the clown and stick to cories, since one clown, nevermind several, is too big anyway.

•too many fish, IMO. will your LFS take back those feeder fish, the clown loach, maybe a couple of other oddballs? I'd reduce the number of species in the tank and go with higher numbers of some of the fish you have (see previous comment)

Cheers
 
IMO I agree about the salt, I don't see the need for it in that setting...just makes things too complicated! :blink:
 
Thanks for the advice, I will definatly be be getting rid of the feeder fish, they are starting to pick on the bigger fish and are breeding like rabbits :angry:

How many fish are suitable for a 3ft tank? At the moment I just want them to be comfortable and happy, which most of them seem except the gourami :(

I know that some prefer to have a bit of company, and we are working on getting a tank for them to move to at my mothers new place, so the loach will be able to have more room to play. He is only small at the moment, how much is he likely to grow over the next 3-6 months?
 
If your dwarf gourami is red and blue it is a male. If it is silver, possibly with faint vertical bars it is a female. My female never comes to feed either but it seems to be OK eating algae n stuff. I don't think its a matter of liking to be with other conspecific fish as there is a male in there. I say 'seems'. I've only had it three weeks but i assume it would have already died of starvation if it was going to. :) . Your driftwood should be fine - it may lower your pH but i don't think this should be a problem. As a beginner (like me) I wouldn't mess with pH, especially using chemicals as except in the hands of an expert, it causes more harm than good. HTH
 

Most reactions

Back
Top