My itty bitty 2.5er

[White Whale]

Petland rules-the tanks are so cheap ( $8 for a 5g ) Cool tank, I would have one next to our computer, if it was in my room Are you sure the filtration is good enough?

I'm running two Deco Art nano-filters. One filter is good for up to 3 gallons. I'm running enough for 6.

 

[susaneers]

z

 

[White Whale]

did you buy a flourescent bulb for that tank? cause i was thinking about getting live plants, but the light strip said only to use a 15 watt incandescent bulb.

but then i asked a worker at my lfs and they said i could use a 10 watt flourescent bulb so i got that instead for future plants.

(previous bamboo plant died from insufficient light )

I bought the strip/bulb as is. It's a 12" 20-watt flourescent bulb that fits snuggly over the 2.5g aquarium without the cover. Is 20-watts good enough for plants at that proximity/depth for a 2.5g?

 

[maui]

your tank looks lovely!
in response to your question about light - On average most plants will do just fine under 2 watts per gallon however plants such as java moss and java fern will do fine in 1-1.5 watts/gallon. For a really succesful tank 3-4 watts/gallon is needed. However with this high lighting CO2 will need to be injected.
It also depends on the type of bulbs you're using:
Kelvin - this is the colour of the bulb, most aquarists use bulbs between 5000K and 7000K.
CRI (colour rendering index) - how close to natural light the bulb is, any bulb above 85 will be fine.

I found this site really helpful when setting up my planted tank: http/www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_plant.php

 

[fourplayfishy]

what tail type is buttons?

 

[Dwarfs]

Petland rules-the tanks are so cheap ( $8 for a 5g ) Cool tank, I would have one next to our computer, if it was in my room Are you sure the filtration is good enough?

I'm running two Deco Art nano-filters. One filter is good for up to 3 gallons. I'm running enough for 6.

This is a 2.5 right? I thought it was a ten, unless those filters are just really small

 

[White Whale]

your tank looks lovely!
in response to your question about light - On average most plants will do just fine under 2 watts per gallon however plants such as java moss and java fern will do fine in 1-1.5 watts/gallon. For a really succesful tank 3-4 watts/gallon is needed. However with this high lighting CO2 will need to be injected.
It also depends on the type of bulbs you're using:
Kelvin - this is the colour of the bulb, most aquarists use bulbs between 5000K and 7000K.
CRI (colour rendering index) - how close to natural light the bulb is, any bulb above 85 will be fine.

I found this site really helpful when setting up my planted tank: http/www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_plant.php

Thanx! And thanx for the info!

 

[White Whale]

what tail type is buttons?

He started out as a round-tail, sorta like a delta or halfmoon but with rounded extensions. Now it's a but raggedy because he loves to swim through stuff and narrow openings.

 

[White Whale]

This is a 2.5 right? I thought it was a ten, unless those filters are just really small

Those nano-filters are 3"x 3"x 4.5"

 

[susaneers]

z

 

[White Whale]

hi itty,
i looked at your profile and was wondering if you could post pics of all your fishies.

also, did your cleaning crew get rid of your algae? cuz my tank is suffering from algae-itis and i hate it!

-susan

Not all of them are there anymore.
I was too lazy to update it. My latest is Dang Banger (in the avatar).
My cleaning crew gets rid of the window algae real fast.
I had about 9 different otos at different times from different LFS, and all but 2 died within the first week. The two I have left are pretty hardy and placed in my 2.5 with Buttons. They clean overnight, but only when there is a substantial amount. I think the trick is not to throw in any bottom-feeder discs for a couple of days, that way they are kind of forced to go hunting for something edible.

It seems otos are the first to 'disappear' when they first arrive at the LFS. I dunno why...... I'm trying to find good healthy ones for Julie.

 

[purple_drazi]

I had about 9 different otos at different times from different LFS, and all but 2 died within the first week.

I was looking into otos awhile back and found a really good website
http/www.otocinclus.com/

Here may be a reason yours are croaking so fast:
"It is our belief that certain chemicals (Cyanide?) are added to the water either upstream or in a general area to slow down or temporarily paralyze these frisky little critters. These chemicals could produce permanent damage to internal organs (such as the liver) and sometimes we will see hemorrhaging in the lower abdominal area in some stock...Another reason why Otocinclus are in such bad shape in fish stores is that they are most often starving."

If you click on "buying and acclimatising new otocinclus" there's a ton of info there.
hope that helps!

 

[cometcattle]

Honestly, I've had great luck with ottos I get at PetSmart. Granted, the one I go to is very clean and has a great staff.