OP
OP
Aqua Andy
Fish Crazy
Thanks very much.
And thanks again to all for your help and support. This is the most I have ever used a forum and I must say that it is the best laid out, it has more features than I've previously seen and most importantly the community is friendly and helpful. Also everyone that has replied to my requests for feedback and advice has "sung from from the same hymn sheet" so I haven't had differing advice.
I have purchased 6 Flame Tetra's and 3 Corydoras Sterbai. The Flame Tetra's are currently 2cm long and the Corydoras Sterbai are 2.5cm approximately.
I went to 2 local lfs's and spent ages looking around. I was originally going to go for 5-6 of the smaller Corydoras but I saw the Sterbai and I thought they the best looking. I thought that if I got 3 of them instead of 5-6 of the smaller varieties then that would be OK. This is my first venture into fish keeping and if it is a success like I hope it will be I will probably get a larger tank and use my current one as an acclimatized emergency / quarantine tank.
One lfs refused to sell me fish as he did not understand the fishless cycle and insisted that anything other than "hardy" fish would die.
I would love to add 3 Oto's but I'll wait a couple of months first and see how the tank copes with what I have got.
I gradually acclimatized the new fish to my tank over a period of 2 hours in total darkness and left them in the dark until this morning watching them and the TV until I went to bed.
This morning I gradually added light to the room and switched on the tank light. I checked the water chemistry and gave them their first feed. I sprinkled a few flakes which I broke up and dropped a couple of sinking pellets. I think I will only need the one pellet plus a few broken up flakes at the moment. The flame tetra's seemed more interested in the bits of pellet that broke free as the Cory's ate then the flakes.
Both the Tetra's and the Cory's seem to be settling in well and have already started interacting which is great. The Tetra's swim frequently over to where the Cory's are digging around to see if they have unlodged some food into the water. They seem to get on well together.
My favorite experience so far is watching the Cory's gradually swim zig zaged to the surface and then rapidly gulp some air and rocket diagonally to the bottom of the tank. I'd never of thought that they can swim so fast. From that they seem quicker than the Tetra's.
I'm still really nervous about the water parameters staying optimum. Every time I conduct a test since I've introduced the fish I expect to see a spike.
I do have one problem in that my tap water seems to have gone heavily nitrate, approx. 40-80ppm. I've tested it about 5 times. This of course mean's that currently I can't lower the nitrates with water changes. Is there another way of lowering nitrates without effecting the precious beneficial bacteria?
An enthralled and nervous,
Andy
And thanks again to all for your help and support. This is the most I have ever used a forum and I must say that it is the best laid out, it has more features than I've previously seen and most importantly the community is friendly and helpful. Also everyone that has replied to my requests for feedback and advice has "sung from from the same hymn sheet" so I haven't had differing advice.
I have purchased 6 Flame Tetra's and 3 Corydoras Sterbai. The Flame Tetra's are currently 2cm long and the Corydoras Sterbai are 2.5cm approximately.
I went to 2 local lfs's and spent ages looking around. I was originally going to go for 5-6 of the smaller Corydoras but I saw the Sterbai and I thought they the best looking. I thought that if I got 3 of them instead of 5-6 of the smaller varieties then that would be OK. This is my first venture into fish keeping and if it is a success like I hope it will be I will probably get a larger tank and use my current one as an acclimatized emergency / quarantine tank.
One lfs refused to sell me fish as he did not understand the fishless cycle and insisted that anything other than "hardy" fish would die.
I would love to add 3 Oto's but I'll wait a couple of months first and see how the tank copes with what I have got.
I gradually acclimatized the new fish to my tank over a period of 2 hours in total darkness and left them in the dark until this morning watching them and the TV until I went to bed.
This morning I gradually added light to the room and switched on the tank light. I checked the water chemistry and gave them their first feed. I sprinkled a few flakes which I broke up and dropped a couple of sinking pellets. I think I will only need the one pellet plus a few broken up flakes at the moment. The flame tetra's seemed more interested in the bits of pellet that broke free as the Cory's ate then the flakes.
Both the Tetra's and the Cory's seem to be settling in well and have already started interacting which is great. The Tetra's swim frequently over to where the Cory's are digging around to see if they have unlodged some food into the water. They seem to get on well together.
My favorite experience so far is watching the Cory's gradually swim zig zaged to the surface and then rapidly gulp some air and rocket diagonally to the bottom of the tank. I'd never of thought that they can swim so fast. From that they seem quicker than the Tetra's.
I'm still really nervous about the water parameters staying optimum. Every time I conduct a test since I've introduced the fish I expect to see a spike.
I do have one problem in that my tap water seems to have gone heavily nitrate, approx. 40-80ppm. I've tested it about 5 times. This of course mean's that currently I can't lower the nitrates with water changes. Is there another way of lowering nitrates without effecting the precious beneficial bacteria?
An enthralled and nervous,
Andy
