Just Saying Hello

[RobW1983]

Hi all.

Literally just started out as an aquarist lol.

Been given a Juwel Rekord 60 by my sister. Tank has been well established for a few years now, so I've been quite lucky in the setting up respect. At the mo I've got a large Angel (about 4" wide and 5" high) a 6" common Plec, 8 Platy's, 1 Neon Tetra, an upside down Catfish and 2 others that she's forgotten the name of.

Looking forward to chatting with everyone.

 

[mattlee]

Hi, and welcome to the forum

it makes things a whole lot easier for you if the tank is already mature as you wont have to worry about the whole cycling thing
before everyone starts yelling at you about your stocking ill just advise you on 2 of your fish you have. the angel and common plec will easilly outgrow your tank and will become stunted or mishaped due to lack of room, fish dont stop growing when they get too big for a tank and will become deformed and live a horrible life.
i would think about removing these 2 fish and maybe adding a group of neons to the single one in there. this will make the single neon very happy and you will benefit from a group all swimming together which really caant be beaten.
can you post any pics of the few you dont know what they are and we can identify them for you or even a good description, although this isnt a very accurate way!

any questions please dont hesitate to ask no matter how big or small, everyone here is very friendly and can help you out alot if you have any queries.

 

[RobW1983]

Ello mate, cheers for the quick reply!

I know what youre saying about the larger fish. I've already been to my LFS and asked if I can exchange them for something a little bit smaller/easier to manage!

How long should I leave it before attempting to add new fish? I've read 5-7 days, but will it make a difference that the tank has already been properly cycled etc?

Here's a couple of pics, one of the two that I cant seem to identify.

http/i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae300/RobW1983/th_P190710_2115_01.jpg?t=1279570955


http/i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae300/RobW1983/th_Fish.jpg?t=1279570955

Cheers!

 

[mattlee]

Ello mate, cheers for the quick reply!

I know what youre saying about the larger fish. I've already been to my LFS and asked if I can exchange them for something a little bit smaller/easier to manage!

How long should I leave it before attempting to add new fish? I've read 5-7 days, but will it make a difference that the tank has already been properly cycled etc?

Here's a couple of pics, one of the two that I cant seem to identify.

http/i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae300/RobW1983/th_P190710_2115_01.jpg?t=1279570955


http/i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae300/RobW1983/th_Fish.jpg?t=1279570955

Cheers!

thats a great move for you and your fish well done you can add new fish immediately in a mature established tank especially when removing fish. the bacteria built up in your filter has grown to the supply of ammonia produced by the fish already in there so if you take fish out the bacteria will still be present up to about 8 hrs or so as it will reduce as the ammonia levels reduce by less fish. fish like plecs are notorious poo machines so adding some smaller fish in replace of him is no problem as he will have a large part of the filters bacteria/bioload just for himself.
do you have any idea of what you want instead?
the pictures posted are really small and i cant really see them, can you enlarge them at all?

 

[RobW1983]

Sorry there a bit small, I'll take some better ones tomorrow.

I'm after something that's pretty active, yet easy to maintain. I've got 2 young boys who love watching them already, would be nice for them to see some 'action' lol. The plec doesnt do a great deal and neither does the Angel, as I think he's far too big for this tank.

Cheers.

 

[mattlee]

if you like the neon tetra then adding say 5 more will make a nice group and make them more active and better to look at. adding a group of corydoras wouldnt be a bad idea, these fish are bottom feeders and every now and then swim to the surface for a gulp of air. they are very active and playfull and have a place in every tank in my opinion maybe go for panda corys as they are slightly smaller than most corys so a group of 6 would be ideal, cute little things too..... there are smaller pygmy corys but to be honest they are a bit dull and dont really have the same effect as they tend to swim in the middle region of the tank. then i dont know if it would be pushing it but maybe a pair of small gourami would finish it off
there is a general rule of 1 inch of adult size fish per gallon of water provided for them but this depends on fish species, tank maintenance, filtration etc so is pretty much just a guide to help people stock their tanks. the pleco would completely throw this guide up in the air as they poo so much compared to a neon or cory that has minimum effect on the filters bioload. for example a 6 inch pleco would have much more effect on the bioload than 3 neon tetras which would grow to about 2 inches each giving the 6 inches of fish... if you get me....

 

[RobW1983]

Cheers for the reply.

Here's some (hopefully) better pics. Sorry there a bit blurred, I took them on my video camera and its terrible for taking stills. Hope you like my custom made lid, sometimes it helps being a welder/fabricator!



http/i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae300/RobW1983/th_Angel.jpg?t=1279651078

http/i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae300/RobW1983/th_Fish-1.jpg?t=1279651078

http/i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae300/RobW1983/th_Lid.jpg?t=1279651078

http/i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae300/RobW1983/th_Tank.jpg?t=1279651078

 

[RobW1983]

Oh #63###!

I cant seem to get them to upload at there actual size, any ideas where I can upload them so there actually a decent size?

 

[RobW1983]

Oh well, here's my FB page, they should look OK on there.

http/www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000743708355#!/album.php?aid=16992&id=100000743708355&ref=mf

 

[mattlee]

i dont do facebook im affraid so cant log in to see them on there.....

the small silver fish is defo a tetra of some kind but cant see it very well on the small pic!
the lid looks great, well done

 

[RobW1983]

Well I've worked out what they are after you mentioned Tetra, cheers!

http/www.fishforever.co.uk/rosytetra.html

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum RobW. The easy way to post a picture here is to use the [IMG ] codes from your photobucket account. When you paste them into your text here, this is the result.

 

[RobW1983]

Thanks for all the replies.

I got myself some new fish today!

2 Glass Catfish
5 Neon Tetra
2 Swordtails

I traded in the Angel I had, and since then all the other fish in the tank seem a lot happier and more playful. It seems that he bullied them a bit I guess. The rosy tetras in particular seem a lot, lot happier.

 

[mattlee]

 

[GavinB]

You should really keep a minimum of 5 glass catfish as they prefer to be in larger numbers but bear in mind the whole tank overstocking situation.