does anyone have experience with COCHU'S BLUE TETRA

[Sgooosh]

ha!
it's not, it's up to the glass on the top. tricky

still its a nice design, it makes people think that it will fall over
you could accidentally bump into it lightly and make people scared LOL

 

[Essjay]

You need to look at the 12 gallon version. That has the same footprint but it's twice the height - even more falling over looking

 

[thrujenseyes]

SF's suggestion is only 1" more length....IMO, they'd be fine, they stay tiny

ha...I like how you did tiny
check out my answer to Byron below...

I agree. Minimum tank sizes are not carved in stone, they are guides for the well being of the fish, and thus necessary. But an inch or two is not going to have much difference to the fish, provided of course they have what they expect, a group of 20, plants (as here), etc.

When one is talking differences like 18 inches (10 gallon) and 24 inches (20g high), that can be (and usually is) much more significant.

Oh...and I just went to SF and I remembered why I didn't try them.
My water straight from my well is very acidic with no buffering power, but then runs thru a "bullet" with coral to bring it up a bit.
So the ember tetra wind up happier in my water than fish that need a bit more hardness. (are you remembering the nightmare that is ME from years back when I was desperately trying to figure out what was "wrong" with my water?! ha! Iiiiimmmmm Baaaaaaaack

still its a nice design, it makes people think that it will fall over
you could accidentally bump into it lightly and make people scared LOL

It's a very cute design...however I would never suggest it to anyone because the very tiny opening makes everything you need to do near impossible.

You need to look at the 12 gallon version. That has the same footprint but it's twice the height - even more falling over looking

I have seen it and although it's adorable I feel like fish like a long side to side run better than an up and down one?
Plus I believe it has the same filtration as mine which doesn't seem like it would be enough for double the volume?!
But I may be wrong on both counts?!

 

[Essjay]

I never understood why Fluval made a tank with twice the volume but the same footprint That means the 12 gallon version is suitable for only the same fish as the 6 gallon tank, just a few more of them.

 

[thrujenseyes]

I never understood why Fluval made a tank with twice the volume but the same footprint That means the 12 gallon version is suitable for only the same fish as the 6 gallon tank, just a few more of them.

agreed!
Not to mention...the stupid "hole" size at the top is the same. I can't even FATHOM trying to get to the bottom of that damn tank for maintenance ...I can barely get to all the corners in mine!
I do A LOT of cursing when I need to get in there.

 

[Sgooosh]

ha...I like how you did tiny
check out my answer to Byron below...


Oh...and I just went to SF and I remembered why I didn't try them.
My water straight from my well is very acidic with no buffering power, but then runs thru a "bullet" with coral to bring it up a bit.
So the ember tetra wind up happier in my water than fish that need a bit more hardness. (are you remembering the nightmare that is ME from years back when I was desperately trying to figure out what was "wrong" with my water?! ha! Iiiiimmmmm Baaaaaaaack

It's a very cute design...however I would never suggest it to anyone because the very tiny opening makes everything you need to do near impossible.

I have seen it and although it's adorable I feel like fish like a long side to side run better than an up and down one?
Plus I believe it has the same filtration as mine which doesn't seem like it would be enough for double the volume?!
But I may be wrong on both counts?!

yes lol'
my tank also has a.... bad design
the cover covered the whole entire tank and there was no hole for pipes at all
it was a 75g too!!
i had to remove a part of it to make it work

 

[thrujenseyes]

yes lol'
my tank also has a.... bad design
the cover covered the whole entire tank and there was no hole for pipes at all
it was a 75g too!!
i had to remove a part of it to make it work

clearly these designers are not actual fish keepers! ha

 

[Colin_T]

Back on the subject of Cochu's Blue tetra. Besides needing a bigger tank, they are lovely fish that do well in planted tanks with a pH around 7.0 and a GH around 50-100ppm.

The thing to watch out for with these tetras is they either come into the shop good, or they are crap. If they are good they do really well, but if they are a bad batch, they will usually all die within a week of getting them. We used to hold them in plant tanks for the first few weeks before selling them and if they survived the first 2 weeks, they did well. If they didn't survive, then we lost the entire batch.

In addition to this, we always kept batches separate. So if we had 6 fish left from a previous batch, they were kept separate from any new fish that came in. If we had a few left and added a new batch, we usually lost the lot.

If you want to buy some of these fish from a pet shop, ask the shop to hold 10 or however many you want, and keep them at the shop for 2 weeks. Just say you want the fish but are going on holiday and don't want to add new fish before you go. If all the fish are ok after 2 weeks, then buy a decent size group of them.

 

[thrujenseyes]

You guys do now have me considering the CPDs. My well water is acidic at 5 but it's buffered up to about a 7.
But I do mix well, and buffered. So I keep my tank right around 6.5.
I've tried to keep the tiny Boraras brigittae in my well water but they didn't survive (nor did any of my pants...which are only anubias).
Plus it wasn't good for shrimp and my one little nerite snail whos been with me for about 6 years.
So I started mixing the well with buffered.
So...maybe I will give the CPD's a go.

 

[Byron]

You guys do now have me considering the CPDs. My well water is acidic at 5 but it's buffered up to about a 7.
But I do mix well, and buffered. So I keep my tank right around 6.5.
I've tried to keep the tiny Boraras brigittae in my well water but they didn't survive (nor did any of my pants...which are only anubias).
Plus it wasn't good for shrimp and my one little nerite snail whos been with me for about 6 years.
So I started mixing the well with buffered.
So...maybe I will give the CPD's a go.

There's probably something aside from the pH here, as the pH at 5 (or lower) would be ideal for any soft water fish like the Boraras rasboras. Do you know the GH? And how are you "buffering up" the pH?

 

[thrujenseyes]

There's probably something aside from the pH here, as the pH at 5 (or lower) would be ideal for any soft water fish like the Boraras rasboras. Do you know the GH? And how are you "buffering up" the pH?

So sorry I missed responding to this:

A few years back (6) when I started this tank I had a terrible time with the water and you Byron helped me a ton, as a few others here as well.
We discovered that my Well water is 5 but it runs thru tanks filled will crushed coral to bring it up to a 7 but It will not stay there because the GH is 25 and the KH is 0.
But we can't count on the Tap being 7 for long because it runs it's coarse over the couple of years until we have it dumped and refilled.
So It varies.
After learning all of this I collect:
1 5 gallon jug of Straight Well.
1 5 gallon jug of Tap
And I keep 1 gallon for mixing the two depending on the readings of the Tap at the time.
The Mixing Jug contains a tiny sack with crushed coral as does my tank because I've had shrimp and a snail this entire time that I don't want to murder.
At one point I did try to use strictly the tap and tried the Boraras rasboras but they did not survive and my snail got a pit in his shell and the shrimp were super sad.
So I went back to my insane ways.
When it's all said and done my tank water reads:
PH 6.8
KH 40-80
Chlo 0
GH 75-150
Ni 0
Na 10ppm

 

[thrujenseyes]

Back on the subject of Cochu's Blue tetra. Besides needing a bigger tank, they are lovely fish that do well in planted tanks with a pH around 7.0 and a GH around 50-100ppm.

The thing to watch out for with these tetras is they either come into the shop good, or they are crap. If they are good they do really well, but if they are a bad batch, they will usually all die within a week of getting them. We used to hold them in plant tanks for the first few weeks before selling them and if they survived the first 2 weeks, they did well. If they didn't survive, then we lost the entire batch.

In addition to this, we always kept batches separate. So if we had 6 fish left from a previous batch, they were kept separate from any new fish that came in. If we had a few left and added a new batch, we usually lost the lot.

If you want to buy some of these fish from a pet shop, ask the shop to hold 10 or however many you want, and keep them at the shop for 2 weeks. Just say you want the fish but are going on holiday and don't want to add new fish before you go. If all the fish are ok after 2 weeks, then buy a decent size group of them.

I'm sorry I missed responding to this.
I did try to get a few little CPD, which sadly they aren't looking very good (which I talk about in my recent post).
The batches were coming in bad (like you mentioned above).
Having the shop hold them is a fantastic idea!
I'm not sure mine would but I could give it a whirl.
Thank you!

 

[Byron]

So sorry I missed responding to this:

A few years back (6) when I started this tank I had a terrible time with the water and you Byron helped me a ton, as a few others here as well.
We discovered that my Well water is 5 but it runs thru tanks filled will crushed coral to bring it up to a 7 but It will not stay there because the GH is 25 and the KH is 0.
But we can't count on the Tap being 7 for long because it runs it's coarse over the couple of years until we have it dumped and refilled.
So It varies.
After learning all of this I collect:
1 5 gallon jug of Straight Well.
1 5 gallon jug of Tap
And I keep 1 gallon for mixing the two depending on the readings of the Tap at the time.
The Mixing Jug contains a tiny sack with crushed coral as does my tank because I've had shrimp and a snail this entire time that I don't want to murder.
At one point I did try to use strictly the tap and tried the Boraras rasboras but they did not survive and my snail got a pit in his shell and the shrimp were super sad.
So I went back to my insane ways.
When it's all said and done my tank water reads:
PH 6.8
KH 40-80
Chlo 0
GH 75-150
Ni 0
Na 10ppm

If the tests for pH, GH and KH are always identical, this is not really a problem (the crushed coral buffering bit). But if the pH, GH and/or KH is fluctuating, it is a problem for the fish, and I suspect shrimp too, but I am not a shrimp person. In the latter case (not identical readings permanently) I would avoid "buffering" and go with straight well water. It is soft and acidic, and soft water fish species will have no issues, unless there is something else in it like "x" mineral or something.

This is why buffering is always risky. If it is a "permanent" buffering, OK. Years ago, acting on advice that I needed to do this because of my then-very soft (zero GH/KH) and acidic (pH 5 or lower) source (tap) water, I buffered pH by using about two or three tablespoons of dolomite in a nylon bag in the filter. The tank's pH remained in the mid-6's with that, for several years. I didn't bother with GH/KH back then (1990's). Fish thrived so far as I can tell. I gave up this fussing and for the past 15 or so years have not done any buffering. I only keep soft water fish, and the fact they live into old age (according to the lifespans for the species which is my only guide to this) and regularly spawn, and do not succumb to other disease or health problems, I have to assume they are fine. The habitat waters of most of them are similar, so this is not surprising.

 

[Myraan]

another off topic answer sorry....

How the heck do you clean the inside of the glass to keep it all pretty? I'm not judging, I actually love the look of those cute little tanks, I'm just thinking practicalities. A Betta would look awesome in one... but is there an issue with lack of water surface here or are they happy with the little patch on back? Same goes for sparkling gourami. Would the 6 gallon be enough for a Betta or would the 12 gallon be better or neither because of footprint?

 

[thrujenseyes]

If the tests for pH, GH and KH are always identical, this is not really a problem (the crushed coral buffering bit). But if the pH, GH and/or KH is fluctuating, it is a problem for the fish, and I suspect shrimp too, but I am not a shrimp person. In the latter case (not identical readings permanently) I would avoid "buffering" and go with straight well water. It is soft and acidic, and soft water fish species will have no issues, unless there is something else in it like "x" mineral or something.

This is why buffering is always risky. If it is a "permanent" buffering, OK. Years ago, acting on advice that I needed to do this because of my then-very soft (zero GH/KH) and acidic (pH 5 or lower) source (tap) water, I buffered pH by using about two or three tablespoons of dolomite in a nylon bag in the filter. The tank's pH remained in the mid-6's with that, for several years. I didn't bother with GH/KH back then (1990's). Fish thrived so far as I can tell. I gave up this fussing and for the past 15 or so years have not done any buffering. I only keep soft water fish, and the fact they live into old age (according to the lifespans for the species which is my only guide to this) and regularly spawn, and do not succumb to other disease or health problems, I have to assume they are fine. The habitat waters of most of them are similar, so this is not surprising.

I agree completely with your thought process but I've had the snail from the beginning and he'd be miserable as would the shrimp I've grown to love.

And with this absurdly small (yet adorable) tank shrimp and snails and only a handful of fish work.
And I really very much enjoy the shrimp.

And they do molt regularly and have babies so...I think they're happy.

It sure sounds like our source water is the same.