Lots Of Advice Sought!

[wanda]

Hi guys, interesting forum that I'm hoping to get a few pointers from.
I have kept fish for years but not as a serious hobby so for the benifit of myself and other, I'm classing myself as an intermediate newbie!!
I have a 188 Litre tank with 7 gouramies (biggest is 3 inches) 2 plecos (both about 8 inches) 2 silver sharks (I think!!, both about 4 inches) a catfish, not sure what type (about 4 inches) and 4 red eyed puffers (about an inch)

A few questions if I may:

1: What tests should I be doing to my water to ensure all the levels are running correctly. ph levels, ammonia and nitrates are all important, are these all the things to test for or are there more?

2: I have always used tap water to do water changes in my tank and I do use the chlorine treatment but my local aquatic centre sells 'proper' water. What is so special about it and should I be using that instead?

3: How often should I do a water change?

4: My wife is interested in adding a blue lobster to the tank, is this ok or ill advised?

5: Anyone have any additional advice to give me regarding the fish I have or anything else I may find useful?

6: How important are plants in the aquarium, any particular i should watch out for and is it just a case of using plant food to keep them up to scratch?

Many thanks

Mike

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I would say:

1) ammonia and nitrites are the most likely to cause immediate problems- so testing for those from time to time can be useful; also, a reading of nitrates (though less harmful) that is much higher than the tap water (say more than 10 ppm's difference) may indicate a problem in the tank

2) the "proper water" is probably water that has been filtered through an RO unit. This rids it of dissolved minerals, which is useful for tanks that require really soft, pure water- e.g. discus tanks. I dont think it's something you need worry about

3) most of us do about 20-25% once a week, though as your stocking is quite heav, you might want to do a bit more

4) I'd be wary of adding anything with claws

5) the silver sharks are going to outgrow your tank, and so will your plecos if they are common or sailfins (but bristlenoses would be fine), so you need to start thinking about a contingency plan; not sure how safe red-eyed puffers are as community fish- I'm not at all a puffer person; if you have more than one male gourami, you may get aggression problems as they mature. That's about all I can think of.

 

[juicebox]

hello wanda,

dwarfgourami covered most everything, so i'll just add a few things in.

5) puffers are generally not community fish. they are territorial and will attack their own species and other fish in the aquarium. it's best if you return them quickly.

6) what species of plants do you have? with plants you need a good substrate and plenty of light. depending on what watt per gallon you have, you may or may not require co2 injections, though it's always a good idea to have them. fertilizer also depends on your watt per gallon, but it's usually not bad to dose some every now and then no matter how much light you have. take a look at the plants and planted tanks if you're interested in learning more. plants are always helpful. they keep the aquarium healthy and fish like them (some may like them so much that they'll eat them all). plants also use ammonia and nitrate as food (not as a main source, though).

 

[Stacy84]

hello wanda,

dwarfgourami covered most everything, so i'll just add a few things in.

5) puffers are generally not community fish. they are territorial and will attack their own species and other fish in the aquarium. it's best if you return them quickly.

6) what species of plants do you have? with plants you need a good substrate and plenty of light. depending on what watt per gallon you have, you may or may not require co2 injections, though it's always a good idea to have them. fertilizer also depends on your watt per gallon, but it's usually not bad to dose some every now and then no matter how much light you have. take a look at the plants and planted tanks if you're interested in learning more. plants are always helpful. they keep the aquarium healthy and fish like them (some may like them so much that they'll eat them all). plants also use ammonia and nitrate as food (not as a main source, though).

As a puffer owner I must agree! Puffers are very aggressive espacially as they grow larger. Mine is only two inches big and he owns the tank even against my four inch mono and three inch scat who won't go near him. I would worry first about the number of puffers. It is recommended that each puffer have 30 gallons to himself if you want to keep them in pairs. Yours are smaller so you might be okay keeping two of them I would just be aware that they will nip the fins of your slower more peaceful fish such as the catfish and the sharks. Also i would seriously worry about your gouramis as their feelers are prime targets for the curious puffers. I'm sorry to say but i think you need to reduce your puffers to atleast two if not one. I know how cute and fun the little guys are but for the happiness and perhaps lives of your other fish I would rethink the puffers.

 

[voo]

Most puffers are aggressive, however having a puffer of my own i've started taking interest in posts regarding any puffer, and i've noticed a few can be used in a community tank. I'm not 100% certain but this might be on of them.

Check in the oddball section, that's where you'll find information on these puffers.
EDIT: I checked for you and it turns out these are highly aggressive so i'd either return them to the fish shop, or get them a tank of their own. Check this profile on red eye puffers: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=79683

188l is around 50gallons (US). The general rule is to keep 1inch of fish per gallon, although with the larger fish you have this doesnt apply. The bala sharks will be ok for now as they're still small, however they will outgrow your tank.

As for the plecs, they are really messy, make sure you keep on top of the cleaning, especially as you have 2 large ones. It's unlikely they are bristlenose plecs as these are small plecs, reaching a max of 6".

 

[wanda]

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. I have since learnt that my puffers are red eyed, red tailed puffers which I have done some extensive research on. The verdict I have come to is that they are usually the most peaceful of puffers but can be agressive as they mature. I watch them at feeding time and they do have a little go at each other, but this would happen anyway within their own community so thats not a worry at the moment. I am watching them very closley and watching my other fish for any fin damage. I'll moniter them closely and if needs be, I do have another tank I could transfer them to but it is only about 75 litres and this may not be enough for 4 of them. I'll see what happens and take action when necessary. I'm not ignoring your advice, but using it to stay vigilant and look out for trouble. At the first sign, they are out of there!
I am also getting rid of my sharks if anyone is interested. Free to a good home. They are about 4-5 inches and both very healthy.

Cheers
Mike