Planting free plants on top

[Fish of Sensation]

so

.. I've got completely edible wild plants/herbs growing around the house. Integra and miners lettuce. So for my aquascape I'm going to be,. Of course being very careful not to shade any underwater plants. But also having these plants bush over the side and give pretty flowers... Maybe I will provide a support for them to climb.. but altogether. Very pretty to walk in and see what seems to be a still living ancient log..

 

[Slaphppy7]

Very cool, and unique...I like it

Black skirt tetras? How many?

 

[Fish of Sensation]

Well I got 7 black skirt tetras. They school so marvelously. Then I got 5 panda copies and a pepper cory I rescued from a 5 gallon tank... Lotsa plants for a lot of fish... Been cycled for 2 months now and fish look wonderful. Enjoying their home. Water tests indicate very good environment.. it's been a month since I've added the fish today.

 

[Slaphppy7]

What size tank is this? All tetras do best in groups, the more the merrier, I'd add to that black skirt school.
Be advised, if you are not aware, they are one of the (very) few Characids out there that tend to be nippy, so keep an eye on them with those corys...

 

[Fish of Sensation]

It's a 29 gallon. I've been watching.. the black skirts leave them alone. They seem very happy thus far. And the corys stick to the bottom... I was thinking of getting some neon tetras to school as well to add a bit of blue to the tank.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Get cardinals or green (false) neons, the regular neons are always overbred, and can have hosts of issues...they even have their own disease (which affects other fish, as well)

How to Manage Deadly Neon Tetra Disease

Neon tetra disease is a parasitic ailment that affects many fish species. Learn the causes, treatment, and prevention of neon tetra disease in fish.

www.thesprucepets.com

How is the tank filtered?

 

[Fish of Sensation]

I have an air pump powered underwater sponge hyggers filtration system.

Interesting. Thanks for the advice. I will go with cardinal tetras then. How many do you think I could fit without dangers of overstocking. Considering a heavily planted well filtered and maintained tank? Also.. are cardinal tetras available at local pet stores or would I be looking online

 

[Fish of Sensation]

Or would you say white cloud mountain minnow is better?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Hmmm...how many gallons is that filter rated for? Could you add an HOB, or would that not fit in with your upper planting scheme?

Cardinals aren't readily available, but the better stocked LFS usually have them...there's a few nice places to order from in Cali, as well...

 

[Slaphppy7]

Or would you say white cloud mountain minnow is better?

WC's prefer temps a bit lower than your black skirts, but more importantly, I'm afraid the fins of the males would entice those BS's to nip...you have to be careful with tankmates for them, nothing "flowy" fin-wise...I DO keep WC's in a 10G with ember tetras, at about 74F, and they do fine

 

[Fish of Sensation]

It's rated for a 20 to 40 gallon tank. I invested in a high power air pump. Since I'm new to the hobby I don't know what an HOB is. Is it better? I went with sponge cause the other over the rim aqueon filter sucked up a few of my smaller fish and I never wanted that to happen again.

 

[Fish of Sensation]

I have the tank at 74 degrees for my panda Corys should it be warmer?

 

[Fish of Sensation]

And would you think another school like a honey gourami would work at all since they are fin nippers? I have been trying to do my research but it's best to just ask the stupid questions outright haha

 

[Slaphppy7]

HOB = hang-on-back filter, I bet that's what you mean by over the rim...
Do you still have it? It's easy to keep fry/shrimp being sucked into filters with a proper pre-filter, I prefer these: https://www.jungleaquashrimp.com/st...er-intake-guards-for-aquariums-shrimps-tanks/

 

[Slaphppy7]

I have the tank at 74 degrees for my panda Corys should it be warmer?

Nah, that's fine for both fish