Setting up a 3ft community tank

[Wilsta]

Okay this is what i want to do with the tank setup

I want a sandy base with plenty of live plants and bog wood... plenty of hiding places for the red tail black shark and kuhlie loaches...

do corys get along okay with a sandy bottom??? or should i stay with a dark gravel base... I have never had a sandy base before is it easy to keep clean??

 

[Lateral Line]

Corys prefer a sand substrate - no worries there.

Crud tends to settle onto the surface of sand not drop between the grains. Thus it is visible. Sand bottoms tend to look dirty quicker, but because you can see it you can remove it from the surface easily, so in that respect they are cleaner - depends on your point of view.

Choice of sand is important. Anything to fine and silty packs down hard. In these situations, you can get anaerobic bacteria colonies which, if they erupt into the tank can cause trouble. The way to avoid that is to pick a sand that will not pack down, I use swimming pool filter sand, and to poke it around, to depth with something like a chopstick, (what I use), to keep it open.

Other wise, sand is, IMHO, an infinitely better substrate.

 

[Wilsta]

Thanks for your input Lateral Line... i think its

What i might do is test the sand substrate in a smaller 16 inch tank first of all and see how it goes... and see if easier than what you say to keep clean...

(just thought corys needed rounded pebble like gravel)

 

[Lateral Line]

If you watch Corys, and some loaches on sand, you'll notice they quite freqently go vacuuming over the gravel with the "processed" sand coming out of their gill slits - they don't/can't do that with even rounded gravel - unless it is really fine and they are a good size of course!

 

[ryan]

sand is better than gravel ofr cory's because they won't damge their barbels. i hav some in a sand based tank and they love it they never stop digging

 

[Wilsta]

Thanks for your input i think i have made up my mind about getting a sand base for the tank.

 

[Wilsta]

I have changed my mind again on what to put in the tank... what do you think?

8 Tiger barbs
4 Clown Loachs
6 Emperor Tetras
4 Kuhli Loachs
1 Red Tail Black Shark
2 Zebra Loach
6 Zebra Danio

 

[revengeishere]

I have changed my mind again on what to put in the tank... what do you think?

8 Tiger barbs
4 Clown Loachs
6 Emperor Tetras
4 Kuhli Loachs
1 Red Tail Black Shark
2 Zebra Loach
6 Zebra Danio

Wow, its good that you are doing your homework, How many gallon is the tank, btw? Anyway, the plants would help.

Oh, I just checked my last post and the link didnt work, anyway, here is an early picture of my tank, http/www.angelfire.com/goth/trof/fishtank.jpg

It looks amateurish, But it looks way different now....lol.

Lots more plants, and they have certainly filled in. I'll try to get an updated pic.

Edit: Btw, if you are gonna have a heavily planted tank, especially heavy root feeders, you should not worry much about your substrate getting anaerobic. Im using aquatic soil in mine. The plants(esp the root feeders) will pump in enough O2 into the substrate.

 

[Morrgan]

According to my quick calculations, the fish you have listed make something like 80-90 inches altogether. Unless your tank is a cube that's 3ft x 3ft, I don't see how you can fit all that in a 3ft tank.

Could you please give us the measurements of your tank or its volume, so that we can better give advice on how many fish you can keep?

 

[Eelzor]

I would guess about 40-45 gallons his tank is. Hey Wilsta, I like your tiger theme you mentioned earlier. I created an amazon theme and I can say, creating themes actually gives really good looks. By the way, I currently have sand subtrate in mine and it is great too. Clown loaches grow really slow so I wouldn't worry about size now. Like me, I have a ghost ray with gets to be about 2 feet within a few years, I will also be getting a common pleco which also get around that size too , My tank is 50 gallons which is ok, for now. But I'll be getting maybe a 100 gallon or bigger to hosue them later. So, get your fish now, forget about the size, enjoy them while it lasts, and when the day arrives, when size does matter, then you can start thinking about new tanks and all. I have calculated the zie of everything you want in your tank EXCLUDING clown loaches though. And it reaches 70 inches. 70 Inches of fish in a 50 gallon can be done with very good filtration, but I'm not sure if your tank is a 50 gallon. Like I said earlier, I would say 40-45. How about this setup?

8 Tiger barbs - 24 inches of fish
4 Clown Loachs - N/A - Can get huge but grows slow
4 Kuhli Loachs - 12 inches of fish
1 Red Tail Black Shark - 6 inches of fish
2 Zebra Loach - 5 inches of fish

This would be a perfect tiger theme I reckon. I can already see it in your sig.....


Wilsta's Tiger Theme Tank

8 Tiger barbs
4 Clown Loachs
4 Kuhli Loachs
2 Zebra Loachs
1 Red Tail Black Shark

If you have anymore questions just tell me or anyone here, we're all here to help!

Edit: Some Plecos also have some striking tiger colours. Perhaps you could conder one if ou remove one of the other fish.

 

[Wilsta]

Actually I havent got the tank yet, I only stated 3ft cause thats the smallest i would buy.. I was actually looking at a 48" x 18" x 18" today which looks pretty ideal for the fish i want... But i will purchase it soon... not going to rush just making some homework for myself ... and preparing for what would go best for this tigers theme of mine... But It wont be til atleast december/january til i buy any fish because i want to cycle the tank and grow some plants and moss in the tank first up and thats going to take some time... and I am not planning on purchasing all the fish at once.. like some people do its going to be over a couple of weeks...

But i think i will stay with the same fish as i chose before -

8 Tiger barbs
4 Clown Loachs
6 Emperor Tetras
4 Kuhli Loachs
1 Red Tail Black Shark
2 Zebra Loach
6 Zebra Danio

Would anyone know if Red tail black shark get along with clown loachs??

I liked your tank Revengeishere

 

[Eelzor]

a 48inch tank may be better then. the red tailed shark can live with the clown loaches too.

 

[Wilsta]

what are some other suggestions i could possibly do with the tank that could do with the tigers theme is there any other fish i could possibly get that i have overlooked?

or maybe the set up?? I want to get large deep red rocks... and plenty of hiding places and plenty of swimming space and with fern like plants...

any ideas pls let us know.

 

[Wilsta]

Guess what i have changed my mind again on what fish i am going to get...

8 Tiger Barbs (4 Normal, 2 Moss, 2 Gold)
2/3 Clown Loach
4 Black Ruby Barbs (2 male, 2 female)
1 Red Tail Black Shark
2 Giant Scissortail
4 Coolie Loach
4/6 Emperor Tetra
and maybe
1 Pakistani Loach or 1 Zebra Loach (hard to find in stores in Australia)



What do you think now?

 

[Eelzor]

Yes, I think they're all compatible with each other but I'm not sure of the tank size. Usually I would try hard to research someones question if I am not sure but there are quite alot of fish here that you want! So basically the only problem that I think might be here is tank size, then again it all may fit, I'm not sure, I can't really be bothered finding out all these fish sizes right now - I'm tired. But I'll give you tips on sizing up. Type - "Name of fish" Maximum Size - In google and when that is found out, do it to all the fish then add up the length in inches and then take that from your tank gallons and if it's 0 or more it should be right. But once again I emphasise that I'm not 100% sure on your fish choices compatibility. Any more questions on anything but those fish compatibility just ask .