Clear_waterPro
New Member
Hey guys, first time on this site... should be interesting.
So basically, i have a 20 gallon tank with a some kinda filter, i think its a rena something... all i know is that it uses rena crystals. I don't have a heater but my thermometer say the tank is always around 74 degrees Fahrenheit (is that too hot for the fish i keep- read on). Anyway, i have 3 zebra danios and 6 white cloud minnows (i know the zebra danio number isn't ideal being a schooling fish and all but right before i bought the minnows 2 zebras died and i havn't replaced them since ) they're all very healthy, no diseases... etc, one of the zebra danios did beocme ill earlier in the year and developed a bent spine, with two blackish/red marking on either sides of it's body, he's pretty scrawny but he has become much healthier and his spine has straightened up a lot- i think anyway- the markings are still there but i think they might be scars for life.
The Minnows are great, they love chasing eachother around the plants- all the plants are live as i feel they make the tank look alive and i think they benefit the fish a lot, especially considering that i dont have an air pump/stones. By the way, i have a 1:1 ratio of fish to plants, so 9 plants in all, do you guys reckon my fish will be getting enough oxygen? To my surprise, the plants have developed a really strong system of roots, which really impressed me. The plants also managed to smuggle a hiden snail back to my tank with them from the LFS, there is only one so i don't really need to worry about him reproducing as i don't think they are asexual.
I recently considered getting maybe two red cherry shrimp (both female) because my gravel is getting a little mucky and i dont really like using those gravel siphons too much as they do tend to disturb the tank a lot and one of my past fish (a young comet) managed to get stuck in one when i gave my younger cousin the job of clearing up tanks gravel- but to be honest i think my cousin was more scared than the fish! Anyway, i heard that these shrimp are good at cleaning and thought maybe it would be a wise investment? I recently put a hiden, "undergravel" cave made from half a flower pot. It looks really good (mainly because it's basically invisible ). Anyway. i thought this cave would be good for the shrimp to get away from the fish if needs be... however, i don't think the fish will bother the shrimp anyway. The only thing is, i think a few of my minnows have taken residency in the little cave and love to show their fins of in a display to determine who gets to live in it... i like to just watch them, sometimes it gets pretty funny.
So anyway, i was just wondering what you guys thought of my tank set up and if you think red cherry shrimp would be a good investment?
By the way, sorry for the novel , I just kept writting!
Thanks, looking forward to hearing your responses!
P.S- i do clean my gravel, even though i have had some bad experiences with the siphon! I also, do a fortnightly water change of around 30%. I find that using an old fingernail brush (i dont know the specific name) is really effective when removing algae for anybody interested.
So basically, i have a 20 gallon tank with a some kinda filter, i think its a rena something... all i know is that it uses rena crystals. I don't have a heater but my thermometer say the tank is always around 74 degrees Fahrenheit (is that too hot for the fish i keep- read on). Anyway, i have 3 zebra danios and 6 white cloud minnows (i know the zebra danio number isn't ideal being a schooling fish and all but right before i bought the minnows 2 zebras died and i havn't replaced them since ) they're all very healthy, no diseases... etc, one of the zebra danios did beocme ill earlier in the year and developed a bent spine, with two blackish/red marking on either sides of it's body, he's pretty scrawny but he has become much healthier and his spine has straightened up a lot- i think anyway- the markings are still there but i think they might be scars for life.
The Minnows are great, they love chasing eachother around the plants- all the plants are live as i feel they make the tank look alive and i think they benefit the fish a lot, especially considering that i dont have an air pump/stones. By the way, i have a 1:1 ratio of fish to plants, so 9 plants in all, do you guys reckon my fish will be getting enough oxygen? To my surprise, the plants have developed a really strong system of roots, which really impressed me. The plants also managed to smuggle a hiden snail back to my tank with them from the LFS, there is only one so i don't really need to worry about him reproducing as i don't think they are asexual.
I recently considered getting maybe two red cherry shrimp (both female) because my gravel is getting a little mucky and i dont really like using those gravel siphons too much as they do tend to disturb the tank a lot and one of my past fish (a young comet) managed to get stuck in one when i gave my younger cousin the job of clearing up tanks gravel- but to be honest i think my cousin was more scared than the fish! Anyway, i heard that these shrimp are good at cleaning and thought maybe it would be a wise investment? I recently put a hiden, "undergravel" cave made from half a flower pot. It looks really good (mainly because it's basically invisible ). Anyway. i thought this cave would be good for the shrimp to get away from the fish if needs be... however, i don't think the fish will bother the shrimp anyway. The only thing is, i think a few of my minnows have taken residency in the little cave and love to show their fins of in a display to determine who gets to live in it... i like to just watch them, sometimes it gets pretty funny.
So anyway, i was just wondering what you guys thought of my tank set up and if you think red cherry shrimp would be a good investment?
By the way, sorry for the novel , I just kept writting!
Thanks, looking forward to hearing your responses!
P.S- i do clean my gravel, even though i have had some bad experiences with the siphon! I also, do a fortnightly water change of around 30%. I find that using an old fingernail brush (i dont know the specific name) is really effective when removing algae for anybody interested.