Thread: Aquariums!

Ew, characins. I usually don't care for them, as they are robotic... No distinguishing characteristics or personalities from fish to fish. They are pretty in schools, I guess. Try putting them with a school of glowlight tetras, or white clouds.

Gimme some anabantoids or poeciliidae any day. <3

They are pretty in schools, I guess.

Yeah, if you see them in big schools they look really good. Which is why I'm gonna get 10 of them when the time is right

Besides those I'd like to get a couple of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, these:


Although these kinds are also sensitive to the water quality, so It'll problaly be the same waiting time as the neons

The best way to boost water quality is to add java moss. It's very cheap, and impossible to kill. It looks pretty nice, too (you can make it look like grass!). If you can get some java moss from an established tank, then you already have all the microorganisms you need to jump start your nitrogen cycle. Works as a good buffer inbetween water changes, too.

Tetras like slightly acidic, soft water (another reason why I'm not a big fan--the water is brackish here!).

java moss sounds nice, I'll deffinately have a closer look at it! My tank have been standing in about 3 days now so its time to add the plants to it. With a bit of luck I should also be receiving my liquid Co2 for my plants tommorow aswell ^^ Problaly gonna need it as there will be no fish to contribute to their growth for atleast a bit over a week

I'd be much more worried about not having enough oxygen in the tank, than CO2! (Don't buy "liquid O2/tablet O2," as it's pretty much a scam). I'm unfamiliar with "liquid CO2" (CO2 can never be a liquid at this pressure!), so I'm not sure if it will help the plants or not... I've never needed it. :/

I suggest, use it sparingly at first (if at all), as it might be detrimental to the fish. Fish have a much higher oxygen demand than plants have a CO2 demand. As long as you have a good filter (anything but a sponge filter) and/or an aerator, The dissolved gas content of your aquarium should be ample for everyone.

I'm so lazy when it comes to letting the water stand. Of course, whenever I'm setting up a tank, I'm in the middle of a move, meaning I already have a bunch of aged water with me (30&#37; aged water, 70% new water, and a bunch of dechlorinator drops). Dechlorinators are pretty much the only water quality chemicals I use in the tank, and they're very helpful when doing weekly water changes.

Also, get ich medication (preferably the blue stuff that's banned in California). If ANY of the fish in that store have ich, chances are your fish will get it, too. :]

Post pics of your tank, when it's ready! ^.~

EDIT: If you aren't adding fish for a week, I suggest some sort of fertilizer instead (you're on your own, there. Either get a hardy fish to help cycle the tank *might I suggest a female betta?* or find something else.). The dissolved gas levels will be fine--it's food you have to worry about! I've had even java moss die in a no-fish new tank. D:

I'm unfamiliar with "liquid CO2" (CO2 can never be a liquid at this pressure!)

Yeah, actually its also quite wrong wording, but might be taken in use because it acts like it Its a product called easy-life carbo, and its a carbon fertilizer for the plants:


I've read up a lot and many experienced aquarists use it, of course there's always mixed opinions as to whenever to use it or not, but I believe it will be good for the first few weeks atleast. As I mentioned, since there won't be any fish in the tank for a while, the plants won't get any help from them, and as a result the plants might die, or begin to get a bit brown. This is what happened to one of my friends plants, and it all helped a lot when he started to use easy-life carbo, so I'm going the extra step to help my plants get a good start

Post pics of your tank, when it's ready! ^.~

I sure will!

If you aren't adding fish for a week, I suggest some sort of fertilizer instead (you're on your own, there. Either get a hardy fish to help cycle the tank *might I suggest a female betta?* or find something else.). The dissolved gas levels will be fine--it's food you have to worry about! I've had even java moss die in a no-fish new tank. D:

Yeah, the problem with keeping a fishless tank of course is the fact that there will be little to no bactaria culture existing there, and therefore I already plan to get some hardy fish to help it kick start. I've already started to add just a tiny bit of dry fish food to the tank as an extra kick starter to it. Not quite sure as whenever or not it should be a betta. It really is a beautiful fish if treatened right, unfortunately most shops I've been to aren't too good with this partifucar fish A shame really

Also, get ich medication (preferably the blue stuff that's banned in California). If ANY of the fish in that store have ich, chances are your fish will get it, too. :]

Sounds like a good idea I live in Denmark btw, so not quite sure what they banned Another way of doing it would be to have some kind of quarantine tank (basically new fish just stay there for the first week). But not really sure if I like that idea, as it might stress out the fish going between so many tanks? And of course there's the taking-up-space problem :3

If it's a fertilizer, then it's cool. "Liquid CO2" counded suspicious (my friend got duped into buying "oxygen pellets" for a betta!). But yeah. Looks like you made the right choice.

Ich stuff I've got has malachite green/blue in it. You wouldn't need a quarantine tank... It would stress out the fish. Besides, if there's one case of ich, the whole tank probably has some. That's the rule!

As for your cycling fish, I say female betta because they are small, solitary (not many tank cyclers are solitary!), and short-finned. You'll never have to worry about a betta getting enough oxygen, either.

A couple other great choices for tank cyclers include a few feeder guppies (if you can get them healthy) and ghost shrimp (these will make great permanent residents, as they'll eat any uneaten food, etc.). Ghost shrimp are cheap and cool-looking, with a lower oxygen demand than most fish. Hardy, too.

I don't recommend adding straight fish food to the tank without any fish to eat it, as that will end up polluting the tank... The plants can't use it that way. There's a reason it should go through a fish's body, first!

I don't recommend adding straight fish food to the tank without any fish to eat it, as that will end up polluting the tank... The plants can't use it that way. There's a reason it should go through a fish's body, first!

Well, you don't add much, but its a valid way if not overdone of course. The reason for doing it is simulating any food that should be left over from the fishes (hopefully there shouldn't be any leftovers as that could mean too much feeding, but some small flakes might get lost in the water and the fish won't catch it and so it will fall to the bottom and rot. The bacteria on the bottom will get rid of this and if I'm correct, come out with nitrite(No2) as their end result. Now nitrite is of course poisonous for the fish, but in a mature aquarium other bacteria will use the nitrite as a resource, and their end result will be nitrate(No3). The plants will consume some of this, but not everything, which is one of the reasons we change our water weekly, to get rid of some of it, as too much isn't exactly deadly, but not good for the fish either (their immune system might drop so the fish easily receive diseases, and their growth might also be affected). So by adding juuust a tiny tiny bit of food you can get a jumpstart at this process so the first hardy fish will have an easier time adjustning. Its the same process as fishes leavings As that's ammonia(which is also poisonous for the fish), which the bacteria on the bottom will use in the same way.

I also realize that overfeeding can cause lack of oxygen for the fishes in the tank as the bacteria will use away most of it when they have to process so much food. So when adding straight fish food as simulation its like 1 small flake or so

Its one of those balances of bacteria that can be hard to achieve, but I hope everything works out well When I purchase the plants I'll also have to get some stips for measuring nitrite so I can follow the levels of it!