Need Your Advise For my Tank.
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Dwarf gourami are a risk. This species has been known to carry a virus that like all viruses is not treatable. You need to know the source of the fish (meaning where they were raised, not the store) and as this is sometimes impossible to find out, best to avoid the species. The Honey Gourami is similar, and less temperamental too, so have a look at those online. You may not always find every fish in a store, but the fish may appear periodically, so working out what you would like and then acquiring them as you find them is OK.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/trichogaster-chuna/
Reed minor tetra...avoid this species. They are notorious fin nippers, and sedate fish like gourami would likely be fin nipped to death. Neon tetras are fine, with some reservation. Rasbora as a group are peaceful fish and tend to go well with gourami. The scissortail is a large fish, attaining six inches, so not a good choice here with a 20g tank:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/rasbora-trilineata/
A nice rasbora is the Harlequin; see more here:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/trigonostigma-heteromorpha/
By the way, Seriously Fish is a highly reliable site for information on species; I've linked them above.
With your suggestions i am still cycling my tank and doing water changes every 2-3 days and i did some water tests all looks good..and planning to order a java fern plant soon.
Now that you gusy advised me to go for drift wood. i did my reading and found so many reviews and comments people saying that the Driftwood is causing discoloration of water and also some times adding stink and bacteria. i have looked some models people saying that they wont sink and all.. i gathered that that we have to boil the wood for few hours and later keep it in hot water for few days and to keep changing water till the water wont change color and then to add to tank.
can you please advise.. what kind i have to look for 20g and where to buy.. and the precautions.
Now that you gusy advised me to go for drift wood. i did my reading and found so many reviews and comments people saying that the Driftwood is causing discoloration of water and also some times adding stink and bacteria. i have looked some models people saying that they wont sink and all.. i gathered that that we have to boil the wood for few hours and later keep it in hot water for few days and to keep changing water till the water wont change color and then to add to tank.
can you please advise.. what kind i have to look for 20g and where to buy.. and the precautions.
All plant matter will release tannins when it is in water. Think of a cup of tea. You put tea into hot water and it changes colour. The colour is tannins that leach out of the tea leaves into the water. Driftwood does exactly the same thing because it is plant matter (wood) and releases tannins into the water. The water will usually go yellow to dark brown and the colour can be reduced with water changes.
Tannins will not harm the fish and many soft water fishes (tetras, rasboras, gouramis) actually do better with some tannins in the water.
Driftwood should not smell. If it does then there is some sort of dead organic matter on it and you will need to hose and possibly scrub the wood. But if you buy driftwood from a shop, it should not smell.
If you have driftwood in a tank and it is sitting on gravel with a lot of gunk in the gravel, then the gunk can cause the gravel to become anaerobic (lacking oxygen) and it can go black and smell bad. The easiest way to prevent this is to gravel clean the aquarium before you put the wood in. You should also gravel clean the aquarium when you do a water change.
When you get driftwood home, rinse it with fresh water and then put into a bucket of tap water and leave outside for a few days or until the wood sinks. You can tip the water out and replace it each day or more often, if you like. Once the wood has sunk, you rinse it off and put it into the tank.
Tannins will not harm the fish and many soft water fishes (tetras, rasboras, gouramis) actually do better with some tannins in the water.
Driftwood should not smell. If it does then there is some sort of dead organic matter on it and you will need to hose and possibly scrub the wood. But if you buy driftwood from a shop, it should not smell.
If you have driftwood in a tank and it is sitting on gravel with a lot of gunk in the gravel, then the gunk can cause the gravel to become anaerobic (lacking oxygen) and it can go black and smell bad. The easiest way to prevent this is to gravel clean the aquarium before you put the wood in. You should also gravel clean the aquarium when you do a water change.
When you get driftwood home, rinse it with fresh water and then put into a bucket of tap water and leave outside for a few days or until the wood sinks. You can tip the water out and replace it each day or more often, if you like. Once the wood has sunk, you rinse it off and put it into the tank.
On the wood, if you can find Malaysian Driftwood, it sinks immediately. And the tannins are not as bad as some other woods, though as Colin said these are not at all harmful. Malaysian Driftwood is very dark brown, and being natural every piece is different. You can get chunks with tunnels and crevices, and these are always good as some fish, especially substrate fish, like them.
I'll attach a photo of my present 70g Amazon stream tank, when it was set-up with no fish two years ago, just to show all the wood and what you can do with it. In the corners are standing chunks representing tree trunks, useful for covering filter tubes and heaters (you leave some space behind the wood), other chunks are laid out in the same direction which replicates a stream.
I'll attach a photo of my present 70g Amazon stream tank, when it was set-up with no fish two years ago, just to show all the wood and what you can do with it. In the corners are standing chunks representing tree trunks, useful for covering filter tubes and heaters (you leave some space behind the wood), other chunks are laid out in the same direction which replicates a stream.
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Have you decided on your fish yet? I know you were thinking of Tetra or Rasbora. Most of those come from what is know as "black water" and the tannin would create a more authentic feel.
Note that black water is not the same as dirty water
, it is in fact very clean but either flows through heavily wooded areas or has a peat substrate.
Note that black water is not the same as dirty water
, it is in fact very clean but either flows through heavily wooded areas or has a peat substrate.Thank you very much i have no words other than praising your dexterity and creativity. i do see you used sand and i am not able to see any substrate in the tank..and are all those live plants ? they are so healthy. I did some reading people advising to add Potassium Nitrate,Potassium Mono Phosphate,Seachem Equilibrium Or Seachem Flourish Alone. Right now i am only using Flourish and Flourish tabs.
Have you decided on your fish yet? I know you were thinking of Tetra or Rasbora. Most of those come from what is know as "black water" and the tannin would create a more authentic feel.
Note that black water is not the same as dirty water
i have been going around Pet super stores and collecting the fishes they have..and trying to find the Honey gourami as suggested..but no luck yet..
Local stores have the following ones
Opaline gourami
Pink kissing
Red fire dwarf
Powder blue dwarf
Blue
Gold
Sunset thick up
Long finned red minor tetra
Long finned black skirt
Orange von Rio flame
Glow light
Black neon
White finned rosy
Neon
Lampeye
Blood fin
Buenos Aires tetra
Scissortail rasbora
What sort of gravel cleaner did you order? You only want a basic model like the one in the following link.
http://www.about-goldfish.com/aquarium-cleaning.html
The super flash fancy gravel vacuums are no better and only cost more money than the basic model.
If you have a big tank you can make a gravel cleaner out of a 1.5 or 2 litre plastic coke bottle and a length of clear plastic hose from the hardware. You cut the base off the bottle and stick the hose on the top where the cap normally goes, and you have a big gravel cleaner
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You might have to get the shop to specifically order in honey dwarf gouramis because most shops don't carry them because they aren't as bright and colourful as normal dwarf gouramis. Just have a chat to the shop and see if they can order a pr in for you. If they can't then ring a few other shops and ask if they can order a pr in for you.
The normal honey dwarf gourami is the best looking out of the honey dwarf mutations, in my opinion.
http://www.about-goldfish.com/aquarium-cleaning.html
The super flash fancy gravel vacuums are no better and only cost more money than the basic model.
If you have a big tank you can make a gravel cleaner out of a 1.5 or 2 litre plastic coke bottle and a length of clear plastic hose from the hardware. You cut the base off the bottle and stick the hose on the top where the cap normally goes, and you have a big gravel cleaner
--------------------
You might have to get the shop to specifically order in honey dwarf gouramis because most shops don't carry them because they aren't as bright and colourful as normal dwarf gouramis. Just have a chat to the shop and see if they can order a pr in for you. If they can't then ring a few other shops and ask if they can order a pr in for you.
The normal honey dwarf gourami is the best looking out of the honey dwarf mutations, in my opinion.
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Thank you. The substrate is plain play sand, nothing else; I have experimented over the years, but play sand provides the most useful and beneficial substrate for fish and plants. Those are all live plants. Today, two years later, some are enormous, some have been removed. I only add Flourish Comprehensive Supplement, about half the suggested dose, once a week. Any more and I have serious algae issues. I do also use Flourish Tabs, one next to each of the larger sword plants, replaced every 2-3 months. These allow me to reduce the liquid Flourish which helps with algae control and prevents too much getting into the fish. Any additive to the water gets inside the fish, and this should be kept as minimal as possible.
Flourish Comprehensive Supplement and Flourish Tabs both contain all required nutrients, so you do not need anything else.
You have a 20g tank, so you do not want any of these gourami. Some get huge, most are aggressive and need more space for that. The two dwarf (red fire and powder blue) are varieties of the dwarf gourami. I do not know how much the iridovirus affects the varieties of this species, but I would be careful.
No to the red minor tetra, this is the Serpae Tetra and a fin nipper unless a large group (10-12) in a 30 gallon tank minimum. Black skirt gets too large and can be nippy too. Buenos Aires same. Bloodfin tetra is OK for size, but it would be the only upper fish as it tends to fin nip and thus needs a group of 10-12. That alone would work if you like. "Lampeye" I am assuming is the Beacon or red eye tetra, mentioned earlier I recall, it should have a longer tank.
Glowlight, Black neon and neon tetra works size-wise, in a group of 7-9 whichever, or you could have two species (7-9 each).
White fin rosy tetra, in a group of 7-8, OK. This is a sedate tetra, like the neon and glowlight. You could combine the Rosy with the neon or glowlight or black neon.
i have ordered these bothWhat sort of gravel cleaner did you order? You only want a basic model like the one in the following link.
http://www.about-goldfish.com/aquarium-cleaning.html
The super flash fancy gravel vacuums are no better and only cost more money than the basic model.
If you have a big tank you can make a gravel cleaner out of a 1.5 or 2 litre plastic coke bottle and a length of clear plastic hose from the hardware. You cut the base off the bottle and stick the hose on the top where the cap normally goes, and you have a big gravel cleaner
--------------------
You might have to get the shop to specifically order in honey dwarf gouramis because most shops don't carry them because they aren't as bright and colourful as normal dwarf gouramis. Just have a chat to the shop and see if they can order a pr in for you. If they can't then ring a few other shops and ask if they can order a pr in for you.
The normal honey dwarf gourami is the best looking out of the honey dwarf mutations, in my opinion.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RK1WBK/?tag=ff0d01-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OYOPNW/?tag=ff0d01-20 ( this i found very useful from the lady i took tank water and filter squeezes )
Yes , i have to look for more places.. been conentrating on local stores rather than chains..
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