Ideas, Advice, Suggestions Please.

[Ape-man]

Now then!

I am kind of new to this again!! (I used to have a small (30-40 ltr) tropical tank, but it all went wrong when we moved house!!) I have just ordered my self a Fluval 90. I fancy going for a kind of rocky/planted natural look, but thats all have for now!! I can't decide wheather to go for a mixture og community fish, stick to the same breed, get a lot of small ones or a few big ones. The only thing I do know is, I really fancy a pleco (I just think they're cool!).

Would really appreciate peoples ideas and suggestions... Looking forward to your replys ( If I get any!)

Ta, in advance

Andy

 

[aly_starh]

hi,

For a natural planted tank i would reccommend a dark substarte and black tank backing. Lots of plants and then Neon or Cardinal tetras (around 17)
For a pleco BullDog or bristlenose would be best, Tetras shoul be added after tank is cycled. Hope that helps, and if you have any more questions just ask

 

[fatheadminnow]

to TFF!!!!

I am not going to say much about what kind of fish, but I will say that you should do a fishless cycle! Here is a link about it, read it carefully and ask any questions you need!

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861

-FHM

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Ape-man.
I must agree with FHM, the first priority must be to cycle the tank to prepare it for the fish you will add. I like my plecos too but must warn you that very few are properly suited to a small tank like a 90 litre one. Among the few that would work are the bristle nose plecs. I have 3 in a, small for me, 45 gallon, 170 litre, tank. The important thing to keep in mind with almost any pleco is the ultimate size of the fish. At about 2 feet, 60 cm, for an adult common plec, there are few tanks where they should be kept. The bristlenose are even a bit big for a small tank at 4 to 5 inches when full grown. Almost all plecs have another need that we were not always aware of when I was last in the hobby. They have an actual need for wood fiber in their diet. That means that the decorative bit of wood in a tank is more than just decorative if you are looking after a plec. It is essential to the fish's health.

 

[Ape-man]

Thanks for your replies, I was planning on doing a fishless cycle, but was unsure how to do it so thanks for the link fatheadminnow.

I did want a larger tank but the misus isn't keen, I am panning on wooing her with this small one with the intention of uprading in a year-or-so's time!!

I know there are some passionate fish-lovers on this forum... So rest assured, I'm not some noob who is just jumping into this feet first, I want to get it right. I.e. get the water sorted and cycled before adding anything!

I am panning on spending a lot of time on this forum getting advice, so anything anyone can offer will be most appreciated.

OldMan47: Do you think it maybe more appropriate to go for a few loaches until I get a bigger tank, as much as I'd love a Pleco, I don't want to be cruel an keep it in a tank that is too small!!

Also another thing that has just come to mind... Plants, I know "live plants are best" but are there any that are better/easyer to keep than others, I had a couple of live plants in my old (very small) tank and I seemed to be forever fishing out the dead bits, is it right that your aquarium lights play a big part in this? If so how often should you relace them?

Sorry everyone for the Million questions, but like I said I want to get it right! Looking forward to any replies!

 

[Joe97]

You could try;

1 Clown Pleco; I don't know anything about plecos, this is just one I came across, you may have to get A different species.
12 Cherry Shrimp
18 Cardinal Tetras
18 Neon tetras (or you could just get about 36 of either neon or cardinal).

That's 100% stocked. Your temperature will need to be about 23-25 celsius, your PH 6-7.8, and 5-15 DH. Remember to change about 61% of water weekly.

Good luck,
Joe.

 

[arobinson1984]

Hi Ape-man, welcome to the forum.

Good to see that you are doing some reading before diving in, we get so many members that join this forum after getting bad advice from their local fish store so its refreshing to find new members who have spent a little time researching.

After the tank is cycled the fun of stocking begins.

Personally myself, I prefer to have a centrepiece fish or pair of fish that are slightly larger than others and form a focal point in the tank. Centrepiece fish are not always bigger than others, you can get colourful fish that stand out in the tank.

I then prefer a shoal of fish, and some bottom dwellers.

Here are some suggestions that would be suitable for your tank,

Centrepiece fish:

A pair of rams, either bolivian or german blue depending on your water PH and hardness,
A pair of gouramis, either honey, pearl or dwarf.


Shoaling fish (around 8-10 of one of these)

Neon tetras, these require a mature tank aged 6 months+ so shouldnt be put in straight after a cycle
Cardinal Tetras, same as neons, need mature tank
Harlequin Rasboras, these are a great hardy shoaling fish, perfect for newly cycled tanks
Endler Livebearers, A stunning colourful fish.

Bottom Dwellers (about 6)

Corys, there are many types of corys, many of which would be ok in a newly cycled tank, one to avoid is panda corys, they are very sensitive. My personal favourite are sterbai corys although they are slightly more expensive than your standard peppered corys.

A plec, In that size tank you only want 1 plec and you need to be careful which you get due to the potential size they can reach. As mentioned above, the two best suited to the tank would be either a bulldog plec or a bristlenose plec (BN plec) I have an albino bristlenose in my 33 gal tank.

There are obviously many more combinations, all down to preference. Above are just some of the common choices. Remember to research any fish before buying, try not to buy on impulse as you often find out you've madfe a mistake when you get home. Always find out what size a fish will reach when fully grown, remember most fish you see in the stores arte either babies or very young and many are far off their true potential size.

Andy

 

[Haych]

hi and welcome

what sort of fish do you like? nice lazy fish? quick and active? cichlids?

 

[drobbyb]

You could try;

1 Clown Pleco; I don't know anything about plecos, this is just one I came across, you may have to get A different species.
12 Cherry Shrimp
18 Cardinal Tetras
18 Neon tetras (or you could just get about 36 of either neon or cardinal).

That's 100% stocked. Your temperature will need to be about 23-25 celsius, your PH 6-7.8, and 5-15 DH. Remember to change about 61% of water weekly.

Good luck,
Joe.

I see someone had found Aqadvisor (or something similar.) It's very useful for getting an idea, but your real world application may differ.

I especially like the waterchange percentage feature. I still would do a 50% waterchange even though it suggests 41%.

 

[Truck]

german blue depending on your water PH and hardness,

Temperature must also be taken into consideration, an Ideal temperature for blue rams is 28-32oC, the majority of tropical fish available wont appreciate being kept at these temperatures, so if you go for blue rams, make sure:
temperature 28-32oC
PH under 7.6
GH under 10 degrees.

 

[arobinson1984]

I have a pair of german blues in my 33 gallon. My temp is 27 and my PH is 7.6

I'm not sure about my water's GH.

Just noticed your signature truck, I bet your wild caught german blues look stunning. You got any pics? Is that one of yours in your profile pic?

Andy

 

[Truck]

I have a pair of german blues in my 33 gallon. My temp is 27 and my PH is 7.6

I'm not sure about my water's GH.

Just noticed your signature truck, I bet your wild caught german blues look stunning. You got any pics? Is that one of yours in your profile pic?

Andy

pictures can be found in my journal:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/303534-my-current-project/
I only have pictures of the male at the moment, I need to get some of the female.

 

[arobinson1984]

They look stunning truck, The colours are a little more vivid than mine, I guess you can expect that from wild caught fish.

Andy

 

[Ape-man]

Thanks for all your advice

Also another thing that has just come to mind... Plants, I know "live plants are best" but are there any that are better/easyer to keep than others, I had a couple of live plants in my old (very small) tank and I seemed to be forever fishing out the dead bits, is it right that your aquarium lights play a big part in this? If so how often should you relace them?

Any Ideas on this?

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, its correct that lights play a big role in planted tanks. The -amount- of light is the driving force for plant growth and as such it can determine a lack of success from not enough light passing right on up through various normal levels and quickly reaching levels that will cause the plants the overall system to become out of your control.

And because of this driving force aspect, light turns out to be the differentiator which determines which of two very common approaches you will take with a planted tank: Below about 2 watts per US gallon (a crude and problematic description as it refers to older "T8" or "T12" tubes) (I suppose about 0.8 to 2 w/g) you will be practicing "low-light" technique. Above 2 watts per US gallon you will be practicing what is commonly called "high-tech" planted tank technique. You can read much more about all this in the pinned articles at the top of the planted tank section on TFF.

I'm not one of the "planted tank" members so take me with a grain of salt but I like to describe one way to organize your thoughts about that hobby: Light is a skill set. CO2 is a skill set. Plant nutrients (all the others, besides the carbon in CO2) are a skill set. And algae is a skill set that depends sometimes on knowing a fair amount about the first three skills. There are definately a couple of paths you can take to having decent plants in a beginning aquarium though, without yet having learned the many basics of plant keeping.

~~waterdrop~~