Should I get get panda garra’s?

[WhistlingBadger]

What he said.

 

[Alice B]

the 4 I put in the 100 I take care of are doing really well. Active, busy, not oversized, not a super algae eater but they do ok

 

[jaylach]

What he said.

What who said? I think in response to my outline of Pandas but don't know...

the 4 I put in the 100 I take care of are doing really well. Active, busy, not oversized, not a super algae eater but they do ok

I'm a bit surprised that you don't see a lot of algae eating. Mayhaps you just don't have enough algae in your tank to notice. I run my lights at about 80% intensity for about 11 hours a day to promote algae growth for the Pandas. They plain out chow down all day.

 

[Alice B]

I think my algae species may not all be to their taste, but they are definitely not starving

 

[Watersplasher909]

I recommend a master test kit. It isn't as easy to use as strips, but gives you a more accurate result. And it makes you look like a mad scientist, which is fun.

You'll get wildly different opinions on soil substrates. Some people seem upset by the very idea. All of my tanks for the past ten years or so have used soil under sand. There are pros and cons. Soil can leach a bit of ammonia, which is a problem if you don't have lots of plants and your tank isn't cycled. If it's covered with a good cap of sand, it shouldn't be the cause of the problem.

Just curious, though: What is "pond soil" exactly? I've always used just regular garden soil or even dirt from the yard.

Honestly don’t know. When I went to buy the soil thought I would buy fluval stratum but a friend of mine who worked there told me to buy pond soil because it was cheaper and bigger. I have cycled the tank and I know this because I’ve had 4 tanks and watched so many videos on how to and done quite a few ammonia tests before even thinking about buy fish along with putting some of 100L tank water to help with beneficial bacteria. I am going to buy a test kit today/tomorrow. I have lots of plants and plan to buy a few more.

 

[Watersplasher909]

Should I move my corydoras and get 4 panda garrra’s? I have already got hikari carnivore sinking pellets and I feel like I would notice if my tank had ammonia because my other fish would also be keeling over, right? Thanks for all help

 

[Watersplasher909]

Others have asked the needed questions so I'll just go with the Panda Garras. I have 4 of the beasties in my tank and they are awesome, very active, and friendly fish. I can't reach in my tank without a couple attaching to my hand. Average mature size is ~3 inches.

They are voracious algae and bio film eaters but also need protein. They will clean algae off a plant leaf without hurting the leaf. As to protein I give mostly freeze dried tubifex worms and Hikari Carnivore Pellets but not at the same time. I feed a couple of days then skip a day on average. The Tubifex worms work quite well as I press against the glass and the Pandas tear it up then my cichlids eat up the floating stuff. They are also very hardy fish.

Reportedly they do fine solo but it is best to have at least 2, 3-4 seems to be best. While they are very peaceful the DO like to play and, if there is only 1 it will likely try to play with another fish which the other fish just might mot be pleased about.

You should also have a tight fitting tank hood as these critters can literally climb glass. This really does not seem to be much of a real issue as long as the water conditions are proper.
Water temperature: 22 C to 27 C or 72 F to 81 F.
PH: 6.5-7.5 in an aquarium. In the wild they are tighter on this.
Hardness: 36-215 PPM.
Basically they can thrive in just about anything as long as it is clean.

Oh, water flow... The filtration should push a average of 10 times the tank's volume per hour. My built in sponge filtration pushes ~5 water cycles per hour and my dual under gravel filtration pushes more.

You would want highly oxygenated water so bubbles and lots of plants are a good thing. They will also play a bit in bubbles at times. They are curious fish so some sort of cave system is not a bad idea.

All in all a friendly and entertaining critter that is not hard to keep.

Also what should I do for water movement? I have the filter that came with the tank (U4 fluval filter) and I have a few plant but I’m planning on buy A LOT more. What else do I need for water circulation? I don’t wNt the water circulation to affect any of my other fish and right now the filter is just filtering with a bit of water movement. Thanks by the way!

 

[Naughts]

Should I move my corydoras and get 4 panda garrra’s?

You gave your GH as 15-16dGH which converts to 269-287ppm. Given @jaylach's information of Hardness: 36-215 PPM, it would be unwise to get panda garra, regardless of the oxygenation/ flow issue that will not suit the angels.

 

[jaylach]

Also what should I do for water movement? I have the filter that came with the tank (U4 fluval filter) and I have a few plant but I’m planning on buy A LOT more. What else do I need for water circulation? I don’t wNt the water circulation to affect any of my other fish and right now the filter is just filtering with a bit of water movement. Thanks by the way!

My built in filtration pushing 97 gallons per hour and my air risers do well enough for flow. You would want 10 or more water cycles per hour of flow.

Still @Naughts
correct. Your water looks to be too hard.

 

[Byron]

A couple of general issues that have come up in this thread.

Water Flow. This affects fish. Some need stronger currents, some need no current, some are in the middle. You have fish now that do not want strong currents (angelfish especially), so do not acquire any fish that needs a strong current for this tank. They are not compatible. And that means slowly getting worn down and stressed and thus susceptible to other problems best avoided.

Corydoras substrate. Barbel erosion is due to one of three things: rough substrate, bacteria in the substrate, or being bitten by some other fish. Froom what you've posted here, the bacteria seems the most likely issue. Corydoras should absolutely never be over anything but soft sand. No plant substrates, no dirt, no Fluval Stratum. Cories dig into the substrate, and they encounter bacteria and ammonia which would normally not bother fish but with cories right on the substrate this is a serious issue. Barbel erosion according to Ian Fuller is most often due to bacterial problems.

I also agree with others on the hardness.

 

[Watersplasher909]

You gave your GH as 15-16dGH which converts to 269-287ppm. Given @jaylach's information of Hardness: 36-215 PPM, it would be unwise to get panda garra, regardless of the oxygenation/ flow issue that will not suit the angels.

Thank you. I may hold off on getting panda garras and may just increase my shoal of harlequin Rasboras.

 

[Watersplasher909]

A couple of general issues that have come up in this thread.

Water Flow. This affects fish. Some need stronger currents, some need no current, some are in the middle. You have fish now that do not want strong currents (angelfish especially), so do not acquire any fish that needs a strong current for this tank. They are not compatible. And that means slowly getting worn down and stressed and thus susceptible to other problems best avoided.

Corydoras substrate. Barbel erosion is due to one of three things: rough substrate, bacteria in the substrate, or being bitten by some other fish. Froom what you've posted here, the bacteria seems the most likely issue. Corydoras should absolutely never be over anything but soft sand. No plant substrates, no dirt, no Fluval Stratum. Cories dig into the substrate, and they encounter bacteria and ammonia which would normally not bother fish but with cories right on the substrate this is a serious issue. Barbel erosion according to Ian Fuller is most often due to bacterial problems.

I also agree with others on the hardness.

So what should I do about the corys and would there be another catfish I could go for (not a pleco)

 

[Byron]

So what should I do about the corys and would there be another catfish I could go for (not a pleco)

The substrate in both tanks mentioned is problematical for cories. Could you remove the Fluval Stratum in the smaller tank and use quality play sand? Build this tank around the cories, and compatible upper fish (what fish are in this tank now?).

You are in the UK solook for Argos Play Sand. Other UK members use this. All sand is not thee same, and industrial sands are not recommended except for play sand that is quality made. You could increase the cories (they need 10+ anyway) and have upper fish.

I will leave it to others to suggest suitable substrate fish.

 

[Watersplasher909]

The substrate in both tanks mentioned is problematical for cories. Could you remove the Fluval Stratum in the smaller tank and use quality play sand? Build this tank around the cories, and compatible upper fish (what fish are in this tank now?).

You are in the UK solook for Argos Play Sand. Other UK members use this. All sand is not thee same, and industrial sands are not recommended except for play sand that is quality made. You could increase the cories (they need 10+ anyway) and have upper fish.

I will leave it to others to suggest suitable substrate fish.

In the 100L I have 2 kribemsis, 2 ototcinclus ( I had 5 but 3 died, I’m planning on buying 6 more) I have 9 rummy nose tetra but want to increase it to 12 and have 1 male endler guppy (from a previous tank) and 1 bristlenose pleco. I wouldn’t be against remodelling the tank (taking out the stratum and replacing with play sand but I’d like the look). But what would I do about the live plants in that tank? I have an empty 30L which I could set up with playsand and a couple fake plants along with a coconut shell with Anubis on it and even stock it with some small fish and floater plants. Any additional info will be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Byron]

In the 100L I have 2 kribemsis, 2 ototcinclus ( I had 5 but 3 died, I’m planning on buying 6 more) I have 9 rummy nose tetra but want to increase it to 12 and have 1 male endler guppy (from a previous tank) and 1 bristlenose pleco. I wouldn’t be against remodelling the tank (taking out the stratum and replacing with play sand but I’d like the look). But what would I do about the live plants in that tank? I have an empty 30L which I could set up with playsand and a couple fake plants along with a coconut shell with Anubis on it and even stock it with some small fish and floater plants. Any additional info will be helpful. Thanks.

All plants will grow well in sand, as well as any substrate material. Large rooted plants like swords do benefit from substrate tabs, but most (all) plants use nutrients from the water column via their leaves and roots. Some nutrients are taken up through leaves, other through roots. I was convinced by others on another forum to do a tank with a plant substrate, I had black Flourite...bad idea. My cories had to be removed within the first week due to serious barbel and mouth problems from the sharpness and likely bacteria too. The plants did well, but they did as well in the tank with a play sand substrate. After two years I tossed the Flourite in the back garden as a total waste of money.

Rummyniose need largish groups, they are probably the best "schooling" freshwater fish. I would not go under 15. But this fish needs room to swim...what is the length of this tank?