A Very Happy Fishmas!

[minkymaid]

Hi there everyone!

I'm yet another person who's totally new to fishkeeping. Not sure how I got the idea, but around October i decided that I'd like to keep fish, bought my tank, filled it with plants, staggered home under the weight of many library books and finally introduced my first fish on the 24th Dec. Yep I had fishmas this year. Can't remember being so excited about the festive season since I was a kid!
(Although I do remember that my goldfish died one Christmas Eve when I was very young and my parents told me when I woke up on Christmas Day that Santa had taken him with him back to the North Pole. Hmmm...)
So, right now I have 4 Pearl Danios and have just added 4 Sterbai's catfish to my Jewel Rekord 96. From what I've read everyone keeps danios to start off with and I just wanted to say common they might be but wow! they are great! Active, curious, friendly and finger-nibbling and a lovely colour that make you want to get up close to take a good look. So if any other newbies are out there wondering what to chose - well, give them a try, they may not be stripy but they are subtly charming.

As I'm up for learning as much as possible - anyone any ideas for mid- tank level fish suitable for a planted aquarium ph 8?
Oh and anyone got any tips on how to get Hydra out of the tank? Must have come in on one of my plants. Picked off the snails (well, so I thought ) but didn't see these guys at all. They're starting to pop up all over the place and no one seems to want to eat them.
Thanks for any tips!
Best wishes
mm

 

[rdd1952]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Sounds like you have the bug bad just like the rest of us. It is difficult to watch your fish and not be able to "play" with them. I'll wash my hands good sometimes and just stick my finger in the tank so the angels can nip at me. One of the bettas will actuall hold on. Have to be careful not to lift him out of the tank.

Never had Hydra before so I'm not sure how to get rid of that. You might want to try searching the forum as I'm sure there are other older threads out there. You might also ask in the Chit Chat section.

As for the fish for a high pH, you can also ask in the Chit Chat section. I know that cichlids live higher pH levels but your tank may not be big enough for them.

 

[funkybodal]

Welcome to the forum!

Sounds like you're doing things the right way so far. I wouldn't worry too much about your high pH so long as you make sure that your water is the same as the shop where you buy your fish from, where they should have been correctly acclimatised to local tap water.

However, you could try Platies which are bright, colourful and hardy and occupy most levels of the aquarium and will appreciate your water - they will also pick any algae off plant leaves although be careful if you have anything delicate that will end up as food.

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[wheelyfeet]

As I'm up for learning as much as possible - anyone any ideas for mid- tank level fish suitable for a planted aquarium ph 8?

I'm new as well and having a blast. Platies are nice colorful fish as Luke says. They are also quite active; although, not so active as danios. They are eating machines. We have 2 of a larger variety and 2 of a smaller variety in our 10 US gallon tank.

What about a couple of pearl gouramies? According to the Baersch Atlas, they are quite hardy. We have 2 young ones in our 75 US gallon tank and they are really pretty and amusing. They are much more laid back, so contrast nicely against the more active tank mates. In fact, we have pearl danios and corycats in the tank as well.

The other day my stepdaughter put her hand in the tank (not an activity we are encouraging) and one of the gouramies swam into her palm and kind of rested there.

The downside, is that these fish grow to about 10 cm, but they are also a tall fish, so if you add 2 gouramies that will probably be all the fish you can add. Whereas, you probably could add several platies, since they only grow to 4-6 cm.

Have fun.

 

[keeper-of-fish]

Hello new members I got some moon light gouramis and I really like em....

 

[minkymaid]

Hi there everyone!

I'm yet another person who's totally new to fishkeeping. Not sure how I got the idea, but around October i decided that I'd like to keep fish, bought my tank, filled it with plants, staggered home under the weight of many library books and finally introduced my first fish on the 24th Dec. Yep I had fishmas this year. Can't remember being so excited about the festive season since I was a kid!
(Although I do remember that my goldfish died one Christmas Eve when I was very young and my parents told me when I woke up on Christmas Day that Santa had taken him with him back to the North Pole. Hmmm...)
So, right now I have 4 Pearl Danios and have just added 4 Sterbai's catfish to my Jewel Rekord 96. From what I've read everyone keeps danios to start off with and I just wanted to say common they might be but wow! they are great! Active, curious, friendly and finger-nibbling and a lovely colour that make you want to get up close to take a good look. So if any other newbies are out there wondering what to chose - well, give them a try, they may not be stripy but they are subtly charming.

As I'm up for learning as much as possible - anyone any ideas for mid- tank level fish suitable for a planted aquarium ph 8?
Oh and anyone got any tips on how to get Hydra out of the tank? Must have come in on one of my plants. Picked off the snails (well, so I thought ) but didn't see these guys at all. They're starting to pop up all over the place and no one seems to want to eat them.
Thanks for any tips!
Best wishes
mm

 

[fishing4exotics]

Hi minkymaid, welcome to the forum

3 spot gourami will eat Hydra. So will rams horn or mystery snails. You can also try some medicine like Fluke tabs, Aquarisol copper based medicine, Flubenol (flubendazole) is very effective against hydra used at 1-2 mg/L, or Panacur (fenbendazole) a similar chemical, has also been reported as an effective control for hydra used at 2 mg/L. Note all the above medication will kill snails.

Another method is to use a 9 volt battery. Attach wires to the + and - side of the battery. Place aluminum probes on the other end of the wires. Place the probes in the water on opposite ends of the tank. After 2 hours all the Hydra in you tank should be dead. Make sure you use aluminum probes because the copper wire can leach copper in your tank.

The Hydra was probably introduced into your tank by your plants. Next time dip your new plants in a light solution of bleach. 20 parts water to 1 part bleach.

 

[minkymaid]

Hi everyone!
Thanks so much for the welcome and the replies...
Electrocution - well thats something I would never have thought of to get rid of Hydra! Do I need to remove my fish first? With the alternatives you've suggested - will the copper medicines be ok with danios and corys?
And here's something that maybe doesn't get asked much - where can I get some ramshorns snails from?
And thanks for the suggestions for the mid-level fish too. I'd wondered about platies - great colours- and lace gouramis. But do you think that Lace Gourami would fit in a 81cm long 31 cm wide tank- will there be enough room for happy swimming or will they be too cramped?
I guess that I should move these questions to the chit chat area but as this forum is all so new to me I didn't know how/where to reply!
best wishes
mm

 

[fishing4exotics]

Hi everyone!
Thanks so much for the welcome and the replies...
Electrocution - well thats something I would never have thought of to get rid of Hydra! Do I need to remove my fish first?

Your fish will be fine. No need to remove them with the electro shock treatment

With the alternatives you've suggested - will the copper medicines be ok with danios and corys?
And here's something that maybe doesn't get asked much - where can I get some ramshorns snails from?

Copper will probably be harmful to your corys. I must have missed the part where you listed them.

As for the question of where to get the snails, I can't help you there. I live in California. But, some Local Fish Stores ( LFS ) will have them in their planted tanks.

 

[wheelyfeet]

3 spot gourami will eat Hydra. So will rams horn or mystery snails.

My ramshorn snail also devours plants!