General Aquarium Talk

[Zoiks]

Thought it might be good to start up a general aquarium talk thread so that we can chat about various things and ask a quick question without having to start a whole new thread.

To start things off, I have finally got my aquarium up and running again. Its only a small 22L tank which I have a blue and red betta in. Im thinking about getting a small school of neon tetras, a couple of snails and maybe a bristlenose or 2. Would this be too much for the tank? I want a good looking tank but I dont want to be cruel to them.

I went to pet city today and loved it. They had so much stuff their. Walked out with a heater, 2 plants, filter stuff and a testing kit. At the moment I have:
Ph:7.9
Ammonia: 1.0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2.5ppm

This is with just the betta and newly install filter material. Ill test it in 2 days and again before I put anything else in there.

[yoda123]

Im one of the local Marine aquarium nuts. Check out my thread journal here:

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...d.php?t=671636

Your ammonia seems pretty high, how long has the tank been established for. I would be doing a decent water change to get it down soonish.

[Zoiks]

Originally Posted by yoda123

Im one of the local Marine aquarium nuts. Check out my thread journal here:

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...d.php?t=671636

Your ammonia seems pretty high, how long has the tank been established for. I would be doing a decent water change to get it down soonish.

Im checking out your setup now. Looks awesome. It sucks being on a student budget lol.

Aquarium has only been up and going for about 4 days now

[japes]

Pet City and Smith's Aquarium are the two premier shops in Brisbane for me, absolutely top notch.

[malignau]

Neons with bettas might not be such a good idea. I think you'll find that the neons either die from fright or they'll get eaten by the betta. Most bettas dont like sharing spaces with pretty fish lol

The bristlenose should be fine though they do grow quite big so every year you might need to go back to your local pet store to do a swap for a younger bristlenose.

Snails will also be fine, assuming your fighter wont decide to make snacks of them =]

[Zoiks]

I have had neons with a tetra before... At first he was like "WTF get out of my tank" but then he couldnt care. Its only if they have big fins that you have to worry I have read.

As for the snails, if your tetra is agressive they can apparently eat thier eyes.

Is there any other smaller ground fish I can use instead of bristlenose?

[Deftone2k]

Originally Posted by Zoiks

I have had neons with a tetra before... At first he was like "WTF get out of my tank" but then he couldnt care. Its only if they have big fins that you have to worry I have read.

As for the snails, if your tetra is agressive they can apparently eat thier eyes.

Is there any other smaller ground fish I can use instead of bristlenose?

Yep Oto's

Otocinclus

like $7 - $12 from most good aquariums.

[Vassili]

Woo general talk! Heading to bunnings to buy mountains of pvc for the 3' sump im setting up over the next week or two. Then I have the super enjoyable task of building an overflow box!

I should chuck a few tank pics up, its not looking half evil at the moment.

[japes]

Originally Posted by Vassili

Woo general talk! Heading to bunnings to buy mountains of pvc for the 3' sump im setting up over the next week or two. Then I have the super enjoyable task of building an overflow box!

I should chuck a few tank pics up, its not looking half evil at the moment.

If you need any help I'll try my best, doesn't sound that way though! Not looking half evil at the moment? Did you take the spiked collars off your fish?

Actually that reminds me of the Oscars I saw on YouTube that were pierced with lip studs :/

[Vassili]

Originally Posted by japes

If you need any help I'll try my best, doesn't sound that way though! Not looking half evil at the moment? Did you take the spiked collars off your fish?

Haha, just the fact that my tank is finally settled down, no algae, clean water, happy fish, blooming plants. Ill take some pics when I'm back in Brissy.

As far as my sump goes, I got all of my 25mm pressure pipe, 90 and 45 degree fittings, quick releases, bulkheads, taps, etc, so its a start. Picking up my 3' tank and egg crate most likely tomorrow. Im going for a fully submerged sump set up over the, admittedly more effective, wet/dry setup. This will hopefully prevent the degassing of the pressurized co2 setup that i hope to implement over the next few months.

[Zoiks]

My betta seems to be breathing really hard atm sitting near the bottome of the tank.

Just going to run another water test and see if i need to do another water change (did a 30% last night)

Edit: he is swimming up for air, he just does not seem to want to move much. Likes resting on the ground and plants.
He is still eating too.

Tank testing comes back as
PH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

Means my biological filter is not up and running yes?
How long does it normally take to get going?

[kr0nic]

Originally Posted by Zoiks

My betta seems to be breathing really hard atm sitting near the bottome of the tank.

Just going to run another water test and see if i need to do another water change (did a 30% last night)

Edit: he is swimming up for air, he just does not seem to want to move much. Likes resting on the ground and plants.
He is still eating too.

Tank testing comes back as
PH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

Means my biological filter is not up and running yes?
How long does it normally take to get going?

3-4 weeks...

Bettas are labryth (sp??) fish, which means they breath air from the surface cause they have a kind of 'lung' so thats not unusual. Dont put more fish in to a 22L tank.. 22L is fine for ONE betta but thats about it.

[Zoiks]

Originally Posted by kr0nic

3-4 weeks...

Bettas are labryth (sp??) fish, which means they breath air from the surface cause they have a kind of 'lung' so thats not unusual. Dont put more fish in to a 22L tank.. 22L is fine for ONE betta but thats about it.

Really? 2 Pet shops have told me i should be fine with a small school of tetras and maybe 2 small catfish as long as i keep up the water changes

[japes]

Originally Posted by Zoiks

Really? 2 Pet shops have told me i should be fine with a small school of tetras and maybe 2 small catfish as long as i keep up the water changes

I disagree, I'd stick with one Betta, 1 happy fish takes the cake over a handful of unhappy ones.

In other news, I rearranged my tank stocking. Blue Acara is getting pickup up tomorrow morning, and at the same time I'll be shifting my Keyholes to my planted tank where they'll have to mingle with 2 breeding pairs of Angels (Woke up the other day to find free swimming fry, now 3 days later, they're all dead, and the other 2 have bloody eggs down - wtf.), but they'll be happier.

Picking up 3 Geophagus araguari 'Orange Heads' juveniles and that will complete my tank.

Stocking is as follows:

2x Heros efasciatus "Green Severum"
1x Hypselecara temporalis "Chocolate Cichlid"
1x Geophagus altifrons 'Rio Tocantins'
2x Acarichthys heckelii
3x Geophagus araguari 'Orange Heads'
2x Ancistrus sp. "Bristlenose Pleco"

So, a (relatively) peaceful community of Eartheaters and Heroines, my ultimate plan will be complete .

[japes]

^ Picked those fish up.

Also visited Redlands Pet Center in the Capalaba shopping center where Target, Coles, etc. is on Redlands Rd. I know the owner Russ from some forums, and he was helpful and kind enough to even take me through how their entire filtration setup works.

Great looking fish and even better prices on wet and dry goods. If you're in Brisbane, add this to the list of places to shop for Aquarium goods, alongside Pet City and Smith's Aquarium.