Some Questions (water/filters)

[Cammy]

Hi guys,

I bought an already established 2ft setup (with fish) after buying a 4ft tank (170L - needs double checked).

The 2ft setup came houses:
1 x Betta (male, I think),
1 x Blue three spot Gourami,
1 x Indonesian Loach (or so I was told - from what I can find, looks like an algae/sucking Loach),
1 x Plec (looks like the 'common' one),
1 x Red Finned Shark,
4 x Zebra Danios (did have 5, one died after first night after transportation).

Question time:

Is the Red Finned Shark the same as the Red Tailed Shark but with all the fins being red? Rainbow Shark?

The 4ft tank now contains 25Kg of gravel. I did clean it thoroughly but after half filling the tank the water is quite murky. I now have an internal filter in there, will this clear the water or is it because the gravel needs further cleaning (perhaps water changes?) The filter does seem to be clearing the water nearby to it.

I have 2 internal filters. One is an Eheim and the other looks like a fluval but I think I found 'Interpret' on it. The 'Interpret' one is currently in the 2ft setup and I prefer it over the Eheim one (which is currently filtering the 4ft setup). Both contain active bacteria but I hope the Eheim doesn't die off as I've not started cycling the 4ft tank. Any info on these?

Would it be best to run both filters in the 4ft tank?

Onto the fish. I think I have a slight territory issue in the 2ft tank but I'm hoping this will be solved once transferred into the 4ft tank.

I was looking into some new housemates after the transfer, looking for some info on which to go for and which to steer clear of and how many of each:

Bala Shark (too big?)
Leopard Danio,
Zebra Danio (which I already have 4 of),
Blue Neon / Yellow Metallic Guppy,
Silver Molly,
Cardinal Tetra,
Weather Loach,

How about these, seem a bit fancy:

Maroon clownfish (love the look of this)
Fire Shrimp,
Armoured Shrimp,
Ghost Shrimp,
Fire Newt (needs access to the surface?),
Red Claw Crab,
Dwarf Clawed Frog,


My plan is to get the 4ft up and running. I've got some live plants recently put into the 2ft (to try and break up sight lines, might help with the territory) but I want these properly planted in the 4ft and then transfer the fish over.

I know there's a lot to process here and I am going to keep reading as much as I can but any help on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Cam

 

[Anguilla82]

wooah lot to get thru.

red finned shark too aggressive IMO for your 4ft setup.

as for the new stock ideas:
Bala shark: gets way too big
Silver Molly: do best in slightly brackish water
Weather Loach: this is a cold water fish

Maroon Clownfish: these are marine fish
don't know about the shrimp, but would probably get munched by the shark.
Fire Newt is a no no, unless in a tank on their own.
Crab would probably munch on the fish.

sorry to be very negative about things but you defo need to do some more reading up stock wise.

The 4ft tank now contains 25Kg of gravel. I did clean it thoroughly but after half filling the tank the water is quite murky. I now have an internal filter in there, will this clear the water or is it because the gravel needs further cleaning (perhaps water changes?) The filter does seem to be clearing the water nearby to it.

The water will clear within 24 hours usually.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agree with Anguilla, including all his specifics about specific fish, and that these combos and individual fish have a lot of problems in all the areas one works on when making stocking plans: whether a fish is suitable to the tank size/shape, whether the fish will receive its correct ideal environment with respect to others of its own species, whether the fish is in a suitable situation with respect to the other species in the tank and finally, whether the combinations as a whole create the type of tank and look that you want for your aquarium in the first place.

I realize that's pretty general and I'm not the expert that will give you the species advice, but just thought it was worth saying so that you'll be encouraged to stick it out seeking all those details as in the past I've observed good members here giving all this sort of advice.

Its rarely a good thing to judge how clear the water can get without giving it some days. The tanks do sound pretty big however and it could be that the internals might not really meet the overall flow rates and media volumes that the members would recommend for these size tanks and fish loads.

Are you familiar with the use of good liquid-reagent test kits and with the fundamentals of the nitrogen cycle in order to understand the goals of water chemistry testing?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Cammy]

Are you familiar with the use of good liquid-reagent test kits and with the fundamentals of the nitrogen cycle in order to understand the goals of water chemistry testing?

Sure am...after reading plenty of your posts - as well as many others


Thanks for the replies, both of you!!

Been doing even more reading and struggled to find much about the Indonesian Loach (on here) but from similar pics it looks like it is a Sucking Loach, which I've now read is not recommended for beginner's (which I am - but I did hope an already established tank would solve some of the beginner issues).

Same for the Plec, if it is the common one (which it looks like to me) both this and the Loach will get too big (though I did read plenty good 'growth stunting' threads last night).

I did think I had cleaned the gravel enough though 25Kg was a lot of hard work but was very surprised at how murky the water became once water was added to the tank.

Thanks for the fish info.

I should have plenty time to do more reading while the 4ft is setup/cycled and will be happy once the 2ft is fully transferred over. Just looking at what to add afterwards.

How about a mix between Leopard and Zebra Danios? Any issue with the guppies?

Thanks again guys.

Any further input still appreciated

Cam

Edit:

So this general thinking is right:

Shrimp will be eaten by the shark and from what I've read probably by the Betta too?

Crabs will try and catch the fish, same as what I've read about Lobsters?

Bala shark, I thought it would be too big but they look awesome!!

The Fire Newt was in a setup with other fish but it had a big section of wood above the water line, which is where it was.

 

[Anguilla82]

How about a mix between Leopard and Zebra Danios? Any issue with the guppies?

no problem they are basically the same fish that has been bred to look slightly different. Neither should hassle the guppies.

The Fire Newt was in a setup with other fish but it had a big section of wood above the water line, which is where it was.

haven't ever kept them personally, but i imagine they will struggle to compete in a general community setup with the fish for food.

 

[Cammy]

How about a mix between Leopard and Zebra Danios? Any issue with the guppies?

no problem they are basically the same fish that has been bred to look slightly different. Neither should hassle the guppies.

Nice one,

I don't have Guppies yet. The above list is what I saw and liked and needed to find out if they would be compatible. More Danios is a must (to add to the 4 I already have), will try and end up with an equal number of Leopard and Zebra.

How many Guppies would you recommend?

Just want to get everything into the 4ft but no rushing I guess!

Thanks again,

Cam

 

[Anguilla82]

Nice one,

I don't have Guppies yet. The above list is what I saw and liked and needed to find out if they would be compatible. More Danios is a must (to add to the 4 I already have), will try and end up with an equal number of Leopard and Zebra.

How many Guppies would you recommend?

Just want to get everything into the 4ft but no rushing I guess!

Thanks again,

Cam

Thats exactly right no rushing is the key to alot of things in fishkeeping. Far too many people get a tank then buy all teh fish they want straight away and stick them all in. They then wander why alot of them die/fight/don't eat etc...

with guppies it depends on what you want to do.
if you just want colour then get a few males.
if you don't mind having babies and have the room, then i would go for males and females with a ratio of two females to every male.
male guppies are pretty relentless in their quest for breeding, and if you don't have enough females to males they will get permantly chased.

Rob

 

[Cammy]

Many thanks Rob

Looks like you've covered most of what I was unsure about...for now anyway

The established tank seems to be a lot calmer now that I've added some live plants, everything should be much nicer in the 4ft tank especially with the Guppies and some more Danios.

Thanks again for all your help, you too Waterdrop!!

Cam

 

[Anguilla82]

no probs.

 

[vinylman]

Cammy, Guppies are a bit of a minefield these days, some are good and some are not worth the money. As with a lot of fish, they've been bred to the point where they're basically not worth paying for. Ask your LFS whether they get them from a wholesaler or a local breeder. If it's the latter, they'll probably be worth a try. My LFS has stopped buying them from wholesalers as they basically weren't worth selling, they really were poor. Oh, and