My 4ft Tank

[max11180]

Theres a view of my 4ft tank! never a dull moment in here.
For the record, there is
6 Albino tiger barbs,
5 Green tiger barbs,
"About" 20 regular Tiger barbs,
7 Clown Loach,
"about" 8 khuli loach,
6 Zebra Danios,
2 Bristlenose cats,
1 Red tail black shark,
1 Stripey Dora cat (only till it is a little larger, then its going to the 6ft tank),

It took a long time to get it this way, and it takes a lot of effort to keep it in shape, but i think it's worth it

I might change out the Bnose for SAE one day, to be a bit more biotypical, but i don't think the RTBS would be very happy about me doing it.

 

[jayjay]

with all those plants does any light acctually hit the bottom? lol. everyone's sat in the dark

 

[max11180]

it does in.. um... places lol. Everything generally avoids the places where light does penetrate, so i guess they prefer the dark under the jungle canopy! they seem to like chasing each other round the tree that i "aquired" whilst visiting my native countryside.
Most people walk dogs when walking round the courtyside and admire the views...i travel with a bucket and a saw, cos you never know when your next tank centrepiece will present itself!

 

[vancouver]

Sounds like a very hyperactive tank.

 

[SamUK]

everyone to there own and all that i guess.......

 

[max11180]

is it the choice of fish, plants, or decor, or a combo of all that you don't like sam? lol just curious.

 

[leopard]

iv gt those green ones in my tank...lol ill be a bit more specific! the ones at the back in a massive bunch!
i take it you like tiger barbs?...

 

[TammyLiz]

Its a nice looking tank. Very different. You should sell some of your plants on the buy/sell/swap thread when there gets to be too much.
What do you feed? You do know that tank will eventually be too small for the clowns, right?

 

[max11180]

leopard-guppy, from what i remember the plants are called "water weed", or ergania Densa. Something along them lines; don't quote me on the latin spelling! I do like the barbs yeah, but more importantly, they like there own company, more the merrier as they say! I started of with 8 regular barbs, and have bought 2 more since. The rest of the regulars are self bred, from 2 different spawns, i traded the rest of them for supplies at lfs.

Tammyliz, With it being a very common plant i can't imagine anyone wanting any (although i could be wrong
) I don't use anything to aid plant growth, it just...grows.... fast! I usually use some offcuts to re-plant the 6ft tank i have downstairs (which answers your loach query nicely ) the common pleco in there has a habit of unplanting things because they are where he wants to be, and any plant life that floats attracts the attention of the my silver dollars, tinfoil barbs, and chalceus, and becomes food not long after. I don't understand why they leave anything planted alone, but ravish anything floating

 

[phlawed]

6 Albino tiger barbs,
5 Green tiger barbs,
"About" 20 regular Tiger barbs,
7 Clown Loach,
"about" 8 khuli loach,
6 Zebra Danios,
2 Bristlenose cats,
1 Red tail black shark,
1 Stripey Dora cat (only till it is a little larger, then its going to the 6ft tank),

WAY WAY WAY OVERPOPULATED! DEAR JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The loaches alone overpopulate this tank. The barbs themselves need more. At 3" each, your looking at 15 max....OH dear god, please remove some fish....I dont care how many water changes your making....this is terrible.............................................................................................

 

[max11180]

yes i agree, it is currently over stocked, but some fish are moving, as i said in the 1st post. The bnoses and dora are moving soon, the loach will be moved when they get too big for the tank (and not to small for the Oscars mouth), and the khuli's are going to be moved when a friend has the capacity for them.
I didn't buy the khuli's and change my mind, before you ask...they were given free - as were the bnose cats - with 2 tinfoil barbs,2 silver dollars, and a chalceus. The latter went into my 6ft tank straight away due to size, but the khulis and bnose were a little small to share with a 10" Oscar.

The 'rule of thumb' of 1" per gallon is not exactly precise, as im sure you'll agree.. 1" of pleco, or Oscar is a LOT more fish (and thus waste) than 1" of TB. This combination of low waste fish, and tap water with 0ppm of nitrate makes life pleasnt in the tank. With weekly changes of 20-25%, the nitrate ppm is rarely above 20, and the most it has even been was 40, and that was in the 1st month of setting the tank up (march 2005).

I did do some planning on this, and did calculations on gravel depth/grain size, and filter size/flow rate to maximise the stocking capacity by using PFK's calculators. the theoretical maximum i can achieve is 98" of fish, if built up gradually (i think 14 month is gradual enough )

At CURRENT sizes, i am marginally over this, due to the bulk of the dora, and the poop of the BN's. I think the Dora is Oscar proof by now, so chances are s/he will be moving at the weekend. Hope the RTBS is as good as the Dora for eating the mountain of eggs that appear every waterchange!

 

[TammyLiz]

You should try to keep the nitrates below 20 at all times. Loaches are sensitive to them, and mine (yoyos, rostrata, striata), actually act different when they even aproach 20. I try to keep it down as close to 10 as possible. I could only imagine how miserable they'd be at 40. Maybe you should do two water changes a week, or if you can't, then change 35-40% weekly. It wouldn't hurt to change that much if you have good tap, it could only benefit. Why not do a couple more buckets (or however you go about things) while you're at it, you know?

 

[max11180]

yeah fair point , might make plant trimming easier too but Like i said, it rarely reaches 20, usually in the hotter periods i have to watch it. Guess there more active, and get more excited!
The loaches were last fish to be added (3 in December, 3 in January, 1 in March (only one in shop so i took pity on it)), so they missed the 40 ppm, as that occured early last year.

 

[andywg]

You should try to keep the nitrates below 20 at all times. Loaches are sensitive to them, and mine (yoyos, rostrata, striata), actually act different when they even aproach 20. I try to keep it down as close to 10 as possible. I could only imagine how miserable they'd be at 40. Maybe you should do two water changes a week, or if you can't, then change 35-40% weekly. It wouldn't hurt to change that much if you have good tap, it could only benefit. Why not do a couple more buckets (or however you go about things) while you're at it, you know?

While 20 is an admirable target, the vast majority of fish will function fine below 100 ppm. A large number of water supplies come out at 40ppm so there is no chance of getting it below that.

 

[TammyLiz]

While 20 is an admirable target, the vast majority of fish will function fine below 100 ppm. A large number of water supplies come out at 40ppm so there is no chance of getting it below that.

Well, loaches don't seem to be part of that vast majority. To anyone who has 40ppm out of their tap, I would suggest they not keep loaches. But that's just me. I'd feel bad keeping something in an enviornment that it isn't comfortable with, or that would possibly compromise its health.

Plus, I think there is a big difference between functioning and thriving. I myself have health problems that usually allow me to function (although at a much lower level than most people), but I wouldn't say I thrive. I wouldn't wish the same on my fish. 100ppm is rediculously high.