/aq/ - Aquarium General

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Check out the DSL on this thing

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r8 my reef

So now we've confirmed superglue is aquarium safe and sets hard when in contact with water. Can it be used underwater if quick enough?

I want to attack moss to some wood and it's under everything.

>>2039769
>Platydoras costatus masterrace
very neat

>>2039785
No. It'll harden instantly

I need pictures,
Pictures of fish

>>2039780
It's dope/10 but what's all in there and how old is it?

>Search for "nano reef" on youtube
>50L plus tanks

That's not fucking nano you cunts.

>>2039785
Just do a massive water change, until the part of wood you want is in the open air. Glue moss on, then either replace tank water, or pour it back in.

Just make sure you are very careful though, and don't disturb the substrate.

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>"PHOSPHATES ARE BAD, ALGAE FEEDS ON PHOSPHATES YOU SHOULD TRY AND LIMIT PHOSPHATES BY USING RO WATER OR USING A PHOSPHATE REMOVER"

>Fertiliser contains Phosphates.

>>2039818
It's all a ploy so you grow algae and then buy anti-algae chemicals

>>2039802
anything up to about 40g is nano. Some would say up to 55g.

In parts of the US we call anything under about 100g a minireef.

>>2039818
>Use this and that and this and that. When you've use that use this and that.
>Hobby

>>2039801
Only about 8 months old, but stocked with over 50 species of coral (all kinds of softies, LPS, and SPS coral) many species of crabs, three green chromis, and a tomato clown. The fish are really just there so when people look at it they don't go, well its a fish tank, so where are the fish? I'm really more into the coral

>>2039823
What do you think you're saying?

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Purple ribbon gorgonian with assorted mushrooms and hammer coral in the back. Cleaner shrimp on the gorg incessantly cleans my hand whenever it is in the tank

>>2039818
I've been adding Fertiliser and Co2 for a few months now and my aquarium growth is good but now I have a massive hair algae problem.

It seems that getting good plant growth is counterproductive because it comes attached with increase algae growth.

>>2039829
I have RCS and Crystal Shrimp and I really want to try and set up a nano just for cleaner shrimp.

Can you lose a lot of the equipment from a reef tank if you just want to keep a few shrimp?

>>2039827
That you don't need to dump 15 bottles of [This and that] into your aquarium for it to work.

So if I have a lot of cyanobacteria algae, it means I don't have enough plants for all the fertiliser my fish are pumping out? What are some pretty plants that will grow quickly enough to use up a bunch of phosphate?

>>2039802
Since when is 50 liters not nano? What you want is pico reefs.

What do y'all think of used shotgun shells as a hiding place for small fish? Just have some and kinda wondered if the fish would like it.


I know to clean them first of course

>>2039832
not the anon you're asking, but saltwater shrimp are considerably more delicate than freshwater.

messy eaters that require perfect water. That usually means all the standard filtration.

>>2039845
Sharp edges, bad idea. Go to your local hardware store and buy some plastic pipes. File the edges down if they're sharp.

>>2039847
>shotgun shell
>sharp edges

It's kinda soft pliable plastic. Have you ever shot a gun? It's not a metal casing, it wouldn't work like that.

>>2039843
Cyanobacteria isn't algae, it's bacteria. It's usually caused by nitrates being too low and will go away on its own after a while. You can also put peroxide in a syringe or dropper and squirt it directly on the bacteria to kill it.

>>2039832
What equipment are you refering to? A protein skimmer? You can build you own for $15. I use one made out of a soda bottle, and >>2039780
is my reef. other than that the equipment is the same as a normal tank. mech filtration, but w/ live rock for biological filtration

>>2039802
30g is nothing. I can't keep 90% of normally found marine species.

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How does /aq/ hide their equipment?

Both my SW and FW tanks are of the all in one style, so everything goes in the back area of the tank and additional equipment is behind the black back wall

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>>2039871
inna sump

>>2039879
Why is it so messy in there anon?

>>2039881
that's the point of the thing.
to take all the mess and hide it.

>>2039879
Looks kinda fire hazardy

I really don't get people that keep fish in bare tanks.

Like not even substrate...

>>2039888
it's on a gfci in addition to the regular breaker.

>>2039889
I don' t know why a tank even needs to have fish.

>>2039892
personally, I just go for the classic "box of water" look

>>2039889
It's the same with people who keep snakes in tubs or bearded dragons in barebone tanks: It's more about simply having the animal instead of creating an aesthetic environment for it where you can watch its behaviour.

Usually it's done by breeders who don't want the extra effort or edgy teens who just want to show off with the animal.

>>2039889
Presumably breeders, or people keeping extremely delicate species. Bare tanks are far easier to keep clean.

>>2039893
Heh,I was thinking more shrimp/invert tanks, with lots of plants/coral, but i have kept boxes of water for over a month before... tough species

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So I took my anubias out my tank as it doesn't work in my current scape. But I want to keep it as it's a year old and I've had it since it was 1 inch long.

I started growing it in soil and sand with a lot if water as a house plant. The leaves are starting to shrivel up and die.

That's just it adjusting to terrestrial growth right? In the wild it's terrestrial and just tolerates being submerged

>>2039899
Does it have light?

>>2039901
Yes,

I only took it out a few hours ago so I don't think light is really playing a factor here.

>>2039904
Light is life to a plant. Quality light too. also, giving it some type of substrate would be good to, coco coir or something like that

>>2039769
What's the minimum size of a tank for a betta?

>>2039909
5 gal

>>2039909
1gal with plants and filter. Bigger is better

>>2039914
>>2039911
Thanks for the replies

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Had a rearrange with my tank, what are thoughts now?

>>2039825
>into coral
Why?

>>2039899
They need a high humidity environment if they're going to be out of the water

Think I might try breeding Celestial Pearl Danios.

Apparently it's easy as fuck and they sell for quite a bit for a single fish.

Which is a bit odd because easy to breed fish are usually cheap.

>>2039936
Because it's such an interesting life form. It might also help to explain that I'm studying horticulture as my major. I'm not really sure though. I love weird inverts like my pom pom crabs, cleaner shrimps, clams, mollusks, but the coral has always come first.

>>2039946
I grind coral to a powder in drink it

>>2039967
Honestly that'd be impressive... You should be dead by now. Most coral contains highly toxic substances

>>2039921
Looks pretty good.
I like your wood.

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I'm about to aquascape a new 50 gal tank. Post your aquariums anons.

>>2039871

Dude keep a cabinet underneath or next to your tank. That looks tacky as fuck.

On an unrelated note, whats with the rubber hose on your filter? You know your just supposed to cut the hose they give you in half right?

>>2039943
Breeding can be extremely rewarding. The adult fish are tiny though, so the newly hatched fry will be tiny. Expect to have to feed cyclops/ baby brine/Rotifers Which can be hard

>>2039921
Personally I would change the substrate with something more uniform, and replace the plastic stuff on the right side with rocks.

Is there a guide or wiki I can follow? Looking to get my first aquarium sometime soon.

>>2040076
1. Buy tank, substrate, plants/decorations, and filter
2. Add hardy fish
3. Don't like em? Get rid of them on clist after cycle


Do not take advice from anyone on here about fishless cycle. It's a meme.

>>2040079
I can't believe people set up an emtpy tank for a month. That's so retarded

>>2040079
>It's a meme.
it works if you do it right.
it's just a pain in the ass and nobody actually does it.

>>2039909
Seconding 5 gallon minimum. 10 if you want other vertebrates in there with it.

>>2039831
>It seems that getting good plant growth is counterproductive because it comes attached with increase algae growth.
Nope. If you were really getting good plant growth, there wouldn't be enough nutrients left over for the algae. Once you find the right balance, your plants will explode and you'll never see algae.

>>2039921
Looks much better. The plastic stuff and river rocks aren't my taste, but you do you, anon.

To answer your questions from the last thread, a tank 45 cm high and 75 cm long is recommended for angelfish. The height is really important for them, and a 60 cm high tank would be even better. It'll take a while for them to outgrow your current tank, so you don't need to rush getting a new one set up. The flame tetras and maybe the danios could go into the new tank with the angels, at which point you should have enough room to build your flame tetra and danio schools. The neons are small enough that a full grown angelfish could eat them.

>>2039899
Move it into a vase or jar large enough that you can close off the top with cling wrap. Spray the plant liberally before sealing the jar and fill it with water until right below the leaves. Poke two or three holes in the cellophane every couple days to reduce the humidity gradually.

I don't know if Anubias will ever completely adapt to regular room humidity, but at worst you can keep it in the jar.

>>2039943
Breeding is never the hard part, it's about keeping the fry alive when they're too small to eat anything.

>>2040079
>It's a meme.
>A meme is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture".
It spreads because it works and doesn't kill your fish, dingletwat.

What should I put in my 5g?

I was thinking rcs to feed my other fish but now I'm thinking a betta would be cool too. (I wouldn't buy it id steal it from petco btw)

dwarf puffers are super cute too but I've never seen them sold

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to continue with the underrated fish topic from the other thread, bullheads are awesome. Wish I had a tank big enough for one

I kept a baby one in a 5g once then realized I was an asshole and put it back

>>2040123
>id steal it from petco
that's still contributing to the breeding and sale of bettas by petco.

they just write the loss off and buy more next time.

>>2040122
It's a meme mate. You'll never get a good cycle with just ammonia or other ways. Buy fish that won't be affected and keep or give them away and you'll have a proper cycle.

>>2040149
>You'll never get a good cycle with just ammonia or other ways
there's no such thing as a "good cycle," dipshit.

either the tank cycles or it doesn't.

What's your wechat anon?

you first

>>2040151
Okay. Quit before you kill more fish.

>>2040154

bro you can give me the first part here and the other part on the thread

>>2040160
marque

>>2040161
nice, lets back

>>2040162
Ok

>>2040149
>good cycle
You obviously have no idea what the fuck you're talking about.

>>2040167
See>>2040158

>>2040127
It's not that they're underrated, nobody keeps them because they're too big for most tanks.

>>2040127
overrated if anything. too fucking big for more than 99% of the aquariums they're in.

>>2040199
>I have never done a fishless cycle before, but I know that it is an irrefutable fact that fishless cycles are not only weak and lame, but that the results they produce are also weak and lame. It therefore follows with absolute necessity that the only sufficient and effective method of starting a new aquarium is as follows
>spend money on fish you neither want nor like
>spend a month or longer feeding, caring for, and cleaning up after fish you neither want nor like
>if these fish get a disease (spoiler: they will), you must now treat the tank because the disease will stay in there after the fish are gone
>now that the tank is cycled, spend an unknown number of days or weeks trying to get rid f the fish you never wanted or liked in the first place
>surprise! nobody wants your garbage fish. now you have to decide whether to keep them anyway or kill them
>get fish you actually want
>remember how you didn't treat those cycling fish for ich because they were just garbage throwaway fish and weren't worth the trouble? well now your cool fish have it because it was still in the tank

>this is obviously the most effective and certainly the most sensible way to start up a new tank, and it is perfectly humane to subject animals to high levels of toxic ammonia and nitrate that comes with cycling, and anyone who disagrees is an aspie and a memer

>>2039848
My bad, sorry. I've only ever fired hunting rifles, which do have sharp edges.
If the edges aren't sharp, shotgun shells should be fine

>>2040243
1.) they will not always get a disease. When I was a retard and never cycled tanks I have never had a fish catch any disease unless you don't take care of them. Free fish always went in less than half an hour on Craigslist when I was in and out of the hobby. The guppies were and are less than $2 bro. Not that I'm defending fish cycles.

2.) you are the biggest autisic sperg I have ever seen in one of these threads. It's obvious b8 but you're feeding into it like its the best damn thing you ever ate.

>go to local fish store
>Kuhli loaches only 1.99
None left

>>2040282
Same, finally bit the bullet after 1.5 months and just ordered some online.

>>2039816
5 gallon tank with a heater and filter is minimum for a betta, but 10 gallons would be preferred. You want an adjustable filter so you can set the flow real low.

>>2038330
I've got a comet goldfish with mine but they matured together, gonna add more fish when I get a heater, might just see about some cold water fish tho

>>2040019
1. I don't have a cabinet

2. The hose they provide you is waaaaaaaay too short to even reach the tank on it's own. Let alone cut in half.

Can I put boiling water in a fish tank? Trying to make drift wood but I only have one container that could fit the piece and it's a fish tank

>>2040243
Ich is found in literally every marine/freshwater tank ever. Fish constantly carry it, like how we carry staph constantly. It's always there. It just isn't always apparent. It's because of your terrible enviroment for them that caused them to be stressed, which then caused the ich. So, basically, you just suck at keeping fish.

>>2040413
Are you asking if you can fill a fish tank with hot water?

>>2040413
Big explosion. Many glass in your face and body

>>2040243
Holy fuck that sperg out. Was it really necessary for all that to be greentext you autistic nigger? You're trying to talk about being humane and not hurting fish but then calling them garbage. I would suggest you get out of the hobby asap because retards aren't good at keeping fish.

>>2040415
Nah an empty one. Wonder if it will fuck with the sealant

>>2040425
Yea, if it has silicone joints, i would imagine it will soften and weaken the sealant.

>>2040413

Probably not. The silicone sealing the tank would melt away unless it was a high temp silicone which is really only used for fireplaces and ovens.

I also doubt the glass is tempered for high heat, so you also run the risk of weakening or even cracking the glass. Boiling water isn't very hot though, so that's a much lower risk.

>>2040425
Get a 5 gallon or larger bucket or something

>>2040114
Thanks anon, I think I've got it to where I'm happy with it - might replace the pebbles with sand or something once I'm more confident with keeping my aquarium.

And thankyou for your help with my angels, I was worried I'd be labeled a bad fish owner. Good idea to move the danio and flame tetra when I get a bigger tank as I can then increase their numbers so they're in bigger groups.

>>2039997
Thanks anon, it definitely makes a difference I think!

>>2040054
Thanks for the input anon, may look to change the plastic rocks but the t-rex skeleton has to stay I'm afraid! (my gf dug it up in one of those fossil digging kits for kids I bought her for christmas)

>>2040353
Put it in a cardboard box and cut some holes in the top.

>>2040127
Arowana are underrated

>>2040583
No one should own one unless the have the hundreds of gallons so they can live.

>>2040583
I don't know if fish that sell for 10-300K apiece can be considered "underrated."

>>2040627
Damn boi my lfs sells them for 30 US dollars

>>2040627
>lfs in my shitty country has four of them in a thirty gallon for the equivalent of five bucks each.

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>>2040629
I mean the show ones.

http://www.luxuo.com/most-expensive/arowana-aquarium-fish.html

Besides, arowana are hyped and they require bigger tanks than most people care to provide them with.

The reason I started the question with white cloud mountain minnows is because nobody (laypeople, anyway) ever talks about them despite being very pretty, near bulletproof, cheap as hell, and small enough that they're really easy to house. They don't even need a heater, which is the one thing that all laypeople gripe about getting more than anything.

I think common goldfish are underrated as well. Nobody appreciates them and they tend to dismiss them as "carnival fish that die easy." Large goldfish are almost as pretty as koi, they're smart enough to learn tricks, and they can live for decades if you actually take care of them.

>>2040647
And the goldfish is still low maintenance. They don't need heaters
I love the calivo gold fish

>>2040674
Yeah they don't need heaters. They need something to cool the water to into the 50s or they're going to live a very unhappy life.

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Who /urchin/ here?

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>>2040413
Do you not own a bath?
Seriously nigger?

>>2040583
I saw a baby one for $10 in a 5g at petco. Whatever idiot l bought it is in for a surprise

>>2040413
>Can I put boiling water in a fish tank?
no.

>>2040413
If you can't afford a 5gallon bucket I'm afraid you can't afford fishies Mon Frey

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>>2040647
Crucian carps are prettier than goldfish.

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Does anyone has any good tips on how to get rid of black algae. I had it on previous plants, ended up pruning the worst parts and throwing out ones that were total losses. It's returned on the plants I have now. Not too bad at the moment but it looks awful.
Pic related.

>>2040778
Nirite snails and mollies eat that.
The snails leave white dot eggs on everything and mollies poop and breed a lot.

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>half the people I ask say that SAEs are solitary fish like the rest of the freshwater shark-like fish
>other half say they're a schooling species that need groups of 5+
Nigga, wut?

>>2040778
Amano shrimps and otocinclus.

So what kind of hitchhikers do you usually get on live rock?

Anything rcs size and cool? Or is it all micro organisms?

Was thinking of setting up a salt water nano just for inverts.

>>2040800
1. anymore it's difficult or impossible to get actual live rock.
B. the live rock you can get is cultured and cured to the point where it has almost nothing alive on it anyways.
III. whatever is alive probably won't survive shipping and acclimatization to your tank.

back in the day you'd get some pretty cool stuff. All kinds of little feather-duster worms and sea stars and corals and sponges and tons of miscellaneous worms and pods. Maybe a clam or two.

Reef tanks look really interesting but I've not seen a "beautiful" or "artistic" one yet at the same level as Takeshi Amano's nature aquariums.

Most seem to look like a complete mess 2bh

>>2040819
Amano used aquariums to mimic landscapes on land though.

Reef tanks aren't really suited to mimicking anything else, except maybe psychedelic posters or neon lights in Chinatown.

Most reef tanks are a hodgepodge though. Presumably designed only to impress with their cost. You could just as well fill a tank with $100 bills and set it in your living room.

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>Searching for nano tanks on ebay
>See these thiny 4cm submersible water pumps from china that I NEVER see for sale in the west

I'm so building a fucking teeny tiny sump for my nano

>>2040822
lol
I've made tiny tanks with huge sumps, but never a tiny tank with a tiny sump!

>>2040778
The way to get rid of it is to never get it in the first place. Cut your lighting back a little, turn up the CO2/excel, etc. In my experience, pruning and adjusting the light cycle has worked every time.

Does Fissidens(Pheonix moss) sting?

Sometimes when I handle it I feel a sharp pain and get a rash

>>2040737
College student. No.

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>Watching aquarium carpets
>People are getting dwarf grass to carpet in 10 weeks
>Mine hasn't carpeted in 6 months even with ferts and co2

>>2040725
I remember thinking the orange spot was an eye and being fas inated by it. They reminded me of Queen Ghoma from LoZ.

>tfw found out what it actually is

>Never had algae in my tank before
>Strip it completely down, wash the gravel, do a full rescape, store moss in bucket of water
>Put everything back together and put moss back in
>Moss is now full and covered in grey fluf algae

Fucking why? Where has it come from?

>>2040887
>full

*dull

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>>2040887
How my moss was

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>>2040788
On another note.
>panda garras are strange in that they are one of the only garras to actually enjoy the company of their own species and have social interactions with other garras. They need to be in groups of 3-4
>panda garras will fight their own species or similar looking species if kept in the tank together, they are territorial

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>>2040896
How my moss is

Fucking bleeeeeh

Why do my fish die of swim bladder every few months?

Nitrate nitrite and ammonia all at 0
ph 7.4-7.6
regular water changes
they eat all the food in a few minutes, never bloated stomaches, usually feed them frozen food

It has happened to both angelfish and corries.

I just medicated my tank with prazipro and already had the most infected fish get swim bladder and die a few days after, maybe that's why in this case

>>2040896
Looks awesome. I was under the impression that Java moss always looks like shit but you proved me wrong now I wanna go get some

>>2040950
after a year my java moss was more algae and snails than moss. blech. I pulled all of it. not sure what went wrong because the rest of my tank isn't quite algae free, but it's pretty close. I'm starting over with some riccia and pellia, gonna try the blender DSM.

I moved into a studio apartment recently and it has a glass table sitting against a window-I can take a pic of it later. I don't think it can support something heavy, but I wanted to put something nice there that isn't -too- hard to upkeep. I'm wondering if I should try something aquatic (are all aquatic thing difficult to take care of?) Or go for something more like a bonsai.

The area is northern California next to the coast, so the temps never get too high, nor freezing cold. We also run the heater in the apartment though which gets about 70 f°
Some sunny days during the summer but mostly cool overcast weather.

Would some aquatic be a good idea? Maybe not even with anything living, maybe just like a pretty little home made water fall?

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My LFS had this species in stock under "ornate rainbowfish."
A Google image search seems to be providing a different species under this name except for pic related.
Can anybody give me some information on pic related as far as size and genus?

>>2040959
Looks like Melanotaenia splendida.

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>>2040963
Thanks!
That pretty much gave me the answer with help from google.
It looks like they go by Melanotaenia splendida inornata and the LFS look exactly like pic related

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Just had my betta die. This January was 5 years since I got him. He survived a cross country journey, so I'm pretty bummed.

However, I am looking into getting back into aquariums soon, probably will splurge with a tad of my tax refund.

I've raised fish most of my life, but simple things like betta, tetra, molly, zebra fish, snails, ghost shrimp...Should I branch out?

What are some decent, fun to look at, and won't destroy plants types of fish or invertebrates that would be interesting to have in a 10 gallon freshwater tank? I'm not ready for saltwater, and if I need to up the tank size i guess I can, since my filter goes up to 25 gallons.

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>>2040972
Dwarf pufferfish.
They can be quite aggressive, but they're possibly the most interesting fish you can keep in a small tank.

>>2040947
Your fish source sucks and is selling sick fish. Get a new one.

>>2040972
Corydoras and khuli loaches are super popular. They'll do better in a 20 gallon LONG tank, go with anything, and don't eat plants. They may *uproot* them, but if you establish the plants first then add the fish it should be fine. Use sand as these fish like digging.

Get your butt to Petco: they are having a dollar a gallon sale. http://www.petco.com/shop/PetcoNoLeftNavContentDisplayView?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&path=/content/petco/PetcoStore/en_US/pet-services/dollar-per-gallon.html

Set up the tank and start cycling now. Also make sure you overfilter: get a filter rated at least at 30 gallons, 45 to be safe. If you at least get the tank started now after your tax money comes in you'll be ready for fish.

>>2040979
>Dwarf pufferfish
I've heard they are kind of challenging to keep alive. Maybe it was just a rumor?

How aggressive are we talking? I was able to keep snails and shrimp with my betta.

>>2040981
Thanks for the recommendation. I already have some sand under my gravel, would that be good?

Speaking of which, do I just need to get rid of everything from my old tank? I'm pretty sure he did not die of disease, and the water quality was fine. I know when I moved across the country and had to re-do the cycle process it was a lot quicker using the same filter media and substrate.

Also, I do have the funds to buy a new filter, but I have a rather nice 15-25 gallon filter I don't want to waste...Oh well.

I'll go on to Petco on my next off day either way.

>>2040983
Sand should be on top of the gravel. The gravel can be sharp which can cut these fish up. On the up side, when you move the old substrate to a new tank it will end up mixed anyway. Keep it wet and it will speed up the cycling in the new tank.

You can save the old filter (for now), the old substrate and the old decorations. Use the old stuff on the new tank while it cycles, then add the new filter on and leave it with the old one for a couple weeks before phasing out the old filter.

On the bright side, filters go on sale in the spring usually, which syncs nicely with the tax returns. You also will want to save your old 5 gallon to be a hospital/quarantine tank for new fish. Just add water (bare bottom!) and use the old filter unit on the old 5 gallon.

My fish have started eating the plants recently, they never used to. They just got over a parasite. Could there be something wrong or am I just paranoid

>>2040991
Thanks again for all the tips. I didn't know that about the gravel, luckily my betta never shredded his fins.

So just use my new filter while making sure all the levels even out once it cycles, then switch? Sounds easy enough.

I have a 3 part filter from Fluval. Any chance I could somehow salvage the sponge/carbon/media and use it in a new 3 part filter from Fluval, just a larger one?

>>2040955
Look into a Walstad bowl. It'll weigh somewherr around 10-18 pounds. They're kind of a bitch to start up, but after everything is stable, it can support a couple shrimp and snails and doesn't need to be docked with but once every three or four weeks.

>>2039780
I like it, feeling kinda down though. My reef tank had a really bad case of redbug infestation on the acropora corals. In laymans terms and for those who don't know they are a type of amphipod ectoparasite that lives on staghorn type coral. They aren't super lethal to corals but they definitely stunt growth and cause loss of color.
I've tried dipping indivdual corals but its only a temporary solution and I've been battling them from months.

Last night I did the nuclear option and basically nerve gassed my entire crustacean population with a Bayer insecticide, interceptor dog de-wormer cocktail for the entire tank. The red bugs were killed but pretty much all my beneficial amphipods and beneficial symbiotic coral crabs died, despite my best efforts to catch and save them. Also a lot if not all the bristle worms perished.

I didn't have any crabs or anything that I paid for that wasn't a hitchhiker but I still feel pretty shitty and no doubt my diatoms and cyno will creep up before their populations come back.

>>2040972
I vote dwarf crayfish or kuhli loaches (not both). Dwarf, honey, and sparkling gourami are also nice. If you dump everything out of the tank you could do Neolamprologus multifasciatus (shell dwelling cichlids).

>>2040981
>Get your butt to Petco: they are having a dollar a gallon sale.
Not a bad deap, bjt it usually costs more than a kit once you buy all the equipment separately.

>>2041019
>deap, bjt
*deal, but

>>2041019
10 gallons is too small to have kuhlis imo, they need a bigger footprint to forage and zip/zoom around like spergs occasionally

2nd on the sparkling gouramis though, you could do a group of 6 with some snails (I don't suggest shrimp with them) and just watch their antics and croaking. I'd go for sparklers but I don't want to risk wiping out my entire RCS population right now

>>2041063
I think ten is pushing it for kuhlis, but not cruel. Admittedly, he'd be better off if he could upgrade the tank to a 20 gallon, long being better than high.

>I don't suggest shrimp with them
It's true. Their cute and sparkly personalities belie that they are master shrimp hunters.

>>2041079
>Upgrade the tank
This is what I'm probably going to do. I'm just wondering if the filter which is for 15-25 gallon will suffice.
>>2041063
What species of snails? I've only ever had the golden apple snails.
>>2041019
>Kit is expensive
Hopefully I can reduce costs by keeping some equipment and chemicals/test kits from my previous tank.

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>>2040955
>(Pic 1 of 2)

So here's the table, left the water bottle there for size reference

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>>2041115

>>2041000
Ok, I'll look into that thank you.
>>2041115
>>2041117
So the glass is somewhat thick, but isn't supported by anything near the back as you can see. I was thinking about options on the way home and researching, and I'm wondering (if I spent the money and got a custom one), would a betta fish setup be hard to pull off? I was looking at care sheets and it seems a little hard at first, but was saying having some nice water plants will help keep the water clean and oxygenated. Was just an idea though, cause I couldn't seem to find any other small fish that won't grow to big for a small setup. I would also need to find a way for it not to be able to jump out.

I seen some weird little neon fish in a pet store one time though, but I don't know what they are called, how healthy they are, or how hard they are to upkeep.

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>>2041000
Ok, so I looked for images of what you were talking about and found this one.

There was also some with some Betta in them, but after reading some caresheets on bettas, that doesn't seem like a very good environment for them. But the fish in this pic look pretty cool, but I don't know if they would be healthy in something like this small bowl.

If they aren't jumpers though, and don't get much bigger, would it be possible to get a tank/custom waterfall setup maybe? To fit the whole surface of this table and keep them healthily? I have that small second glass shelf too that I could have a heater or something maybe, or whatever light they need if they need some artificial sunlight or something, or if the plants do.

My only main concern is if it's going to be something living, I want it to be healthy, happy, and not heavy enough to break the glass.

>>2040647
Can you house fantail goldfish and white cloud mountain minnows together? What's the bare minimum for one or two goldfish?

I would love to have a fish tank without a heater, and the satisfaction of knowing all of the fish inside are perfectly happy and healthy.

>>2040881
So... What IS the orange spot?

>>2040899
Nigga, that's mold.

>>2041118
The bare minimum for a betta fish tank would be five gallons. Don't believe any of that bullshit about them "living" in rice paddies. That only happens in the dry seasons when all of their lakes and ponds dry up and all they have left are the rice paddies.

Forcing a betta to live in anything smaller than five gallons would be like forcing another human to live in a bathroom stall with a non working toilet. Eventually, they will drown in their own filth.

It's all a scam by fish breeders to trick people into throwing away money on new fish every time their current one dies.

My recomendation is to test the table, if it could hold 6 to 7 gallons of water just fine, then buy a five gallon tank, a heater, a filter, a little bit of sand to cover the bottom of the tank, then a couple of marimo moss balls. I would also buy a single anubias plant, so the betta has something to rest on. Either that, or a betta hammock.

Just remember, no plastic decorations, or anything with sharp edges really, or the poor betta will shred his fins on them.

>>2041118
You could try white cloud mountain minnows. Some anons discussed them earlier in the thread. Super cheap, super healthy/hardy, and don't require a heater.

But for the love of god, no goldfish, goldfish get fucking huge, and can even interbreed with wild carp and koi.

>>2041154
I know, I feel disgusted seeing them in tiny fucking cups every time I walk through walmart...anyway, do you know what type of fish these are:

>>2041130

They seem smaller (though I don't know if they stay that way) and a little more interesting for a small setup.

>>2041159
I'll be the first person to admit I could be wrong, but I believe those are white cloud mountain minnows, as I suggested here >>2041156

But like I said, I could be wrong.

Another suggestion could be shrimp. I know a lot of people are sick and tired of hearing anons talk about shrimp in these threads 24/7. But shrimp and snails would do great in a very small set up. And there are tons of different kinds of shrimp and snails, there are red, blue, yellow, green, black shrimps, and just as many snail varieties.

Although be warned, some shrimp colors can interbreed, and the resulting offspring are a shade of brown many consider ugly.

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>>2041156
>>2041159
Like I would love something like this with maybe some different plants to support the fish. And if I made it custom myself I could make sure the water current was soft enough not to mess with them.

Or I could just go the no fish route, though it would be really cool to have some.

>>2041164
Oh I didn't see that post, thank you.

https://www.google.com/search?q=white+cloud+minnows&client=ubuntu&hs=sDm&channel=fs&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9lbbmmbXKAhVO72MKHaq1AsQQ_AUICCgC&biw=1303&bih=673

They look similar to what you mentioned, though a little different, but if they are cold water that's all the better. I don't think I would mind some shrimp either, but whatever I get I have to make sure I can get the right food around here.

Definitely not goldfish though, they are SO messy. I regret every time I ever won one in a carnival as a kid.

Shrimp are easy to keep especially rcs. So why are you guys talking about them dying all the time? I do the bare minimum and sometimes forget to do that and haven't had a shrimp die or breed and die in a very long time.

>>2041166
That's a great idea, but it doesn't look deep enough. However, you can achieve the same effect with lucky bamboo, (I don't know why it's called that, their not even bamboo) and some potho vines.

Both of those are plants that do SUPER great with all of their leaves outside of the water, but their roots submerged in the water. And fish tank water is super rich with plant nutrients. It's basically free liquid fertilizer. Here is a youtube tutorial vid on a super easy way to include plants in your aquarium, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYyEHHmeZY0 Although you don't even have to go that far. Pothos, (the ones in that vid) can simply be draped over the side of the tank.

I'm sure with a little bit of research and DIY ingenuity you can make an aquarium that looks just as beautiful as the pic you posted. Hell, I've seen anons in these very threads use all kinds of air breathing plants, I believe draceana(???) is a popular choice.

>>2041188
You actually just gave me a good idea-keeping the wieght in mind.

There is a custom glass shop in the town that I moved from, I might be able to order a custom piece of glass that is in the shape of the table but slightly smaller, with high enough walls for the water to be deep enough. Then I could just plaster or cement some pretty stones on the outside of the glass, and maybe put a tiny waterfall on one side of it. I also have access to the beach, I might be able to clean some shells and rocks from there with a proper cleaning solution.

I feed my goldfish with sinking pellets and when their mouths are still full, they ram the other goldfish to prevent them from getting to the pellets that have sunk to the tank floor.

So greedily cute.

>>2041130
Any kind of tank is going to weigh somewhere around 10 pounds per gallon. A betta would require 5 gallons. The white clouds in your picture would be best in 10 gallons, though they could maybe get by in 5 (they're small, but active, and require a large group to feel comfortable).
I don't know if you'd trust the table to hold 50 to 100 pounds. If you think it can handle 5 gallons and you live next to a PetSmart, Nat Geo actually makes a 5 gallon tank with a built in waterfall. 1-2 gallon bowls or small tanks are much better suited for invertebrates (shrimp or snails). You can buy small fountain pumps on eBay for pretty cheap that you could maybe work something out as far as a waterfall type feature.

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>>2041145

>>2041097
>I'm just wondering if the filter which is for 15-25 gallon will suffice.
Always go for overkill. The rating on the box is a "best case" scenario. The reality is typically a lot lower. It's rare to see too much filtration, but too little is deadly.

>>2041232
Ok, thanks for the info. I think I might have a better table to do it on. It's a wood one with better support under it. Won't look as nice under the window but that's fine.

I think I'm going to go the DIY route just because I want something to do while I'm home.

>>2041166
Most fish I can think of would potentially jump out of a setup like that, though having high walls and floating plants would help. Shrimp should be interesting, especially if you can get their color to contrast against the bottom of the container.

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>>2041141
> Gold fish
BAD IDEA. They get to be a foot long each and produce massive waste. They also will eat anything that can fit in their mouths like minnows. Bare minimum for just two goldfish is 25 gallons with at least 50 gallons worth of filtration and weekly water changes. Goldfish are BAD.

Just get the minnows (at least FIVE) and some shiny little corydoras (at least FIVE). Shoot for a 20 gallon tank with at least 30 gallon rated filtration.

>>2041238
Ya, I think I'm going to go for a 20 gallon, stretched out custom tank with high walls and a school of white cloud minnows. I think my biggest problem is going to be setting up proper plants and getting a good light system for them because they won't have much light inside.

I found a care sheet that said 8 is the minimum amount of fish for a proper school of them. Was that correct? And if I'm going for a 20 gallon, should I try a school of ten?

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>>2041141
Do a sunburst or plain orange platy instead of a goldfish and it could be done in a ten gallon tank. No heater necessary unless the room you're keeping them in gets below 60F.

>>2041246
Sounds really good. There are certain plants like crypts, water lettuce, and java fern that could grow fine next to a window without supplental light. Half submerged Spathiphyllum and lucky bamboo (Dracaena braunii) would also do well. Otherwise you could look into some clip on lights like the 13W Fluval nano light. Something I forgot to mention is that having a tank near actual sunlight tends to cause algae growth. If you get your tank set up like that picture it probably won't be very noticeable, and you could put animals in there that would enjoy munching on it, like shrimp and snails.
Usually five is recommended as a minimum school, but more is always better, especially for very small fish like white clouds. They're not very dirty, so you could fit quite a lot in a 20 gallon body of water. Another possibility is guppies. Males are really colorful, but they're much, much dirtier than white clouds. They'll do fine down to about 65F.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw8H_aRM_kk

>>2041261
I think I'm going to wait until I have the actual tank to start getting the plants, that way I have it basically set up before I put any fish in.

I found this list:

http://homeaquaria.com/best-freshwater-aquarium-fish/

of easy beginner fish, and I really like the Black Skirt Tetra and the Kuhli Loach, but I'm not sure if these guys would be good tank mates for the minnows.

>Reading guides on breeding zebra danios
>"Yeah just put them in a seperate tank at 25-27 degrees and they will do it at first light and lay eggs"

But what If they've already bred in the tank but the fry are getting eaten?

Am I potentially going to be waiting around for ages for it to regenerate eggs? Or can they lay eggs every few days?

I don't really have a separate tank I just have one of those 30L plastic boxes you store shit in. So it's unsuitable for more than a few days to keep fish in.

>>2041266
>Black Skirt Tetra and the Kuhli Loach
They're compatible, but you'd need a heater for the tetras and loaches. Also, they too are schooling fish, and you'd need a proper school of each fish. Some people say that the higher temps would bother the white clouds, but it's a matter of debate.

>>2041273
I was looking into that too, and it said the white clouds don't like it much over 72 F, so I thought that might be a good middle ground for the other fish without hurting the minnows.

Seems that Angel Fish are really easy to breed, yet somehow fetch a high profit?

If they're easy to breed why are they worth good money?

>>2041279
Because when you breed them at home you get shit fish. You want beautiful morphs.

▲
▲ ▲

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>>2041281
Try again newfag

>>2041284
you triforce then

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>>2041285
Not your personal army beeoootch

Anyone ever grown crystalwort before?

It just seems to keep breaking off and floating around your tank. Does that not get annoying?

>>2041130
Those fish are White Cloud Mountain minnows, they come from China.

I'd say 3 (maybe) could easily live in a tank that size, I have 9 in a 17 liter tank with some shrimp, (to be fair I am upgrading in size very soon but they would do fine in there.)

They are extremely cheap, so hardy as bordering on indestructible, don't jump and come in a golden colour morph if that floats your boat more. Would highly recommend/10.

Don't forget whit clouds don't exist anymore in the wild due to their habitat being destroyed.

So by keeping them you're a conservationist

>>2041271
Most fish can spawn every few days, but you could return them to the tank until the females look eggy again.

>I just have one of those 30L plastic boxes you store shit in
You could toss a filter in there and it would be fine.

>>2041279
Only special color patterns sell high. Regular morphs are worth no more than the $5 PetSmart charges for them.

>>2041361
>Tanichthys albonubes
>Conservation Status
>Data Defficient

>It was believed to be extinct for over 20 years in 1980, but an apparently native population of this fish was discovered on Hainan Island, well away from the White Cloud Mountain.

They're bred end masse on farms, so it's not like they're in danger of extinction.

Random note, I used to interpret "White Cloud Mountain Minnow" as a mountain minor named for the "white cloud" on its side (the stripe). Come to find out, it's much less clever than that, and it's simply a minnow named after White Cloud Mountain, the place in China where it's found.

>starting planted aquarium
>3 days in and zero algae
I was told it was gonna be hell in there, but so far nothing. Did I actually do this right somehow?

>>2041391
Algae doesn't happen that fast unless you really screwed something up. Be ready for diatoms and other shit appearing though in like 2-4+ weeks

>>2041402
>diatoms
What?

>>2041405
Brown algae. It kind of looks like burrito splatter on the glass. Although the only time I've ever had trouble with it is when I used sand.
What method did you use to start up?

>>2041414
New af. What system? Just put some eco-complete in and put in some plants in that I got from my friend that actually knows his head from his ass about this.

>>2041424
Did you even start cycling?

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So I'm the guy who was having trouble with dead java moss.

So I think its making a return and recovering nicely. I've been removing any dead moss that detaches itself and the green area seems to be getting bigger.

>>2041300
It grows pretty quickly so it's a good alternative to duckweed or other floaters if you want a floating nutrient sponge. It's also great for breeding certain fish and shrimp. You can also grow it emersed as long as the humidity is kept up. I have mine growing emersed out of my HOB filter.

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>>2041436
Honestly, I might not have needed to mess with the java moss. The parrotgrass seems to be growing nice little places for fry to hide.

>>2041434
He's doing his cycle with bacteria booster.

>>2041460
You can't do a cycle with bacteria booster.
Shit you people are gullible.

>>2041465
I did my cycle with a bacteria booster. Shit worked well as fuck.
>Day 1: Plants and booster
>Day 2: Angelfish and cardinal tetras
Fish didn't get sick or even show any sign of being unhappy, and the water tests my LFS did for me came up green all three times. My water test kit arrived from China the next week and I haven't had any spikes yet, and the tank's been running for two years.
Bacteria boosters and cycling with fish in works fine, you people are autistic.

>>2041467
>I did my cycle with a bacteria booster.
no you didn't.

you're either lying, or too stupid to use a test kit, or you changed water every week, or your plants consumed all the ammonia.

bacterial additives don't do anything, this has been confirmed hundreds of times.

>>2041468
>I was there every single time anyone ever used a bacteria booster and can confirm that it worked zero times

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>>2041300
>It just seems to keep breaking off and floating around your tank
Yeah, that's mostly what it did for me at first. Eventually it settled itself into a corner where the filter wasn't pushing it and just sort of sat there. The shrimp liked it.

>>2041472
>nobody else has ever seen it work, but trust me, it did!

the simplest explanation is anon did a cycle with fish and falsely thinks fish get sick or die every time you cycle with them, so he assumes that since his fish didn't get sick the booster must have done the cycle instead.

In reality cycling with fish doesn't usually kill or sicken the fish used. Until about 10 years ago all fish tanks were cycled with fish.

I wish the fishless cycle meme would go away

>>2041473
No I mean I'm growing it non floating tied to a rock and it keeps floating away

>>2041482
it's not going to.

it's by far the most popular method in saltwater (shrimp in a sock). Saltwater fish are expensive, people aren't going to cycle with them if they can avoid it.

>Eleocharis

Ok

>Eleocharis parvula

Still with you m8

>Eleocharis parvula var japonica mini

Fuck off

>>2040243
Kill yourself. Saving this for future cringe threads.

>>2041485
Shrimp in sock is b8. Fuck you. My room smelled so bad.

>>2041482
It won't because 90% of posters are Reddit fags. Never lost a fish to fish cycle and there was no damage to the fish and lived longer than expected life expectancy.

>>2041478
>"Everyone who has seen it work is lying"
>"No one has seen it work"

>>2041482
Right? Why bother applying science to make animals' lives more comfortable?

>>2041467
original question poster. dont know what the fuck you're going on about with bacteria but Im not gonna be an asshat and add fucking tetras after 2 days. waiting 5 days then Im adding a couple pepper corys.
yeah I guess Im not doing fishless cycle so I have to wait a while before adding fish

Does a fishless cycle actually work?

>have had my tank set up for almost a month
>put in a plant and a rock from my established tank
>had a fish in it for 3 days then took it out
>had my two filter cartridges from other tank for a week
>put a little fish food in everyday
>no ammonia

Should I just put in some ghost shrimp. It's gonna be a rcs tank

>>2041529
Maybe do a water test? As long as it's all good for several days in a row I'd say it's shrimp ready.

>so many rcs I've actually cycled a tank with a few in it and had most live.

>>2041529
Did you test for nitrite and nitrate? Usually if you do that much cycled media it skips ammonia altogether.

>>2041529
It's a meme m8

>>2041003
Ouch, that sucks man. Yea I've learned my lesson going with the nuclear option. I used Chemiclean, and it completely bleached two of my largest corals, which where red colored, and I now assume that the red coloration was due to cyanobacteria.
Did you never try wrasses or some shrimp? I've found going with a natural predator is the best option to deal with a pest

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What are these weird white spots on my new false jewel killifish. Both the male and female have what appear to be raised washed out scales. I don't think it's ich, as I've seen it quite a bit.

>>2039757

if you find this hard then maybe you should consider the company of plants

>>2041632
>id you never try wrasses or some shrimp? I've found going with a natural predator is the best option to deal with a pest

The/my sixline wrasse and pipefish do eat redbugs but they don't really put a huge dent when it comes to controlling them.

There's only 2 ways to kill redbugs and that's dipping them with Bayer insecticide or interceptor-de wormer (the pills crushed in a mortar and pestle)

>>2041758
Also when I added the treatment I fully expected it would kill worms and Crabs not that I have a lot to begin with or any I added in myself.

its either my corals or my amphipod and worm population

>>2041239
You do realize that there is a HUGE difference between "fancy" goldfish like fantails, and the common backyard bred county fair goldfish, right?

>>2041448
>>2041436
No offense bro, but your tank water is dirty as fuck.

>>2041760
You should just reorder a bunch of them online, now that you have a clean slate. theres a few websites that you can buy amphipods,copepods,mini brittles, and stuff like that

>>2041775
I don't know...looking up the caresheet for fancies, they even say they are huge waist producers and need a big area. They also grow to a foot.

Just seems like they are better for small ponds.

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>>2041274
>>2041246
Ok, so back with some more ideas. I moved a different table to that spot, an oval shaped wood one with much better support under the wings. I measured it, and it's 3'9" by 2'9".

I think what I want to do is try a ceramic piece that's been completely glazed, maybe even custom order one with some small glass windows put in the sides. I don't know how much that will cost, but custom ordering it would be fun and I could make it as tall as I want.

With that I was thinking about getting a few ceramic wax melters of different heights and shapes to put the plants roots in and maybe give the fist some cover? I could either put them to one side and make a sort of mountain out of them and maybe use that as a little water fall, or I could space them out around the sides.

As for making a small water fall, I want to put that one one side and maybe have a small bit of land/island over something hollow that the fish can swim under. My idea for this was that someone said algae might grow, and snails like to munch on it, but I wasn't sure if there are types of completely aquatic snails, or if they need to come up on land to breath.

So these are my ideas so far, tell me what you think of them, and how I might go about making a good filtration system with this setup and where I might be able to put a heater/temp regulater. I mentioned earlier that I want to get a couple Black Skirt Tetra, Kuhli Loach, and White Cloud Minnows.

>>2041821
fish some cover*

Don't read into that

>>2041821
Sounds like a pain in the butt to clean. Can you imagine getting fish poop out of all the crannies without a total breakdown?

>>2041823
Hmm...is the glaze that much different than glass? I had the idea in my head that if it was completely glazed ( like some bowels you keep in the covered for dishes ) that it would be much easier to clean, instead of that ruff, unglazed glay.

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What would be the best rule of thumb for the amount of tropical freshwater fish one can add to their aquarium? I've heard everywhere that 1" per gallon is the way to go but the person i buy my fish from is saying that is an old rule and i could put way more fish in my tank than that.

I just recently started it up on Jan 2nd. Its a 29 gallon (30.1in x 12.5 in x 21.6 in) tank and currently inhabiting the tank are 4 cherry barbs, 1 red tailed shark, 3 yoyo loaches, 2 honey gouramis, 2 dwarf gouramis, 2 rams and a bamboo shrimp. How many more inches of fish can I add if any? To me my tank just looks empty for some reason

(Pic Related: My Aquarium) Rate that shit while your at it

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>>2041847
You are actually overstocked. 29 gallons is too small for a fully grown RTBS or a small group of Yoyos

I'd remove them, remove the 2 Dwarf Gouramis (since they're more likely to quarrel with the rest of your tank than the more peaceful temperament Honeys), and boost the Cherry Barb school a little

Aqadvisor.com is usually a good reference to how stocked your tank will be, use that to start off

>>2041825
The glaze is one thing, the fact that it's hollow is another. This is water so fish poop collects inside, outside and all over everything, glazed or not. If you can't stick a cleaning tube inside it becomes a place for disease unless you take it out and manually clean it. Also plant roots can go deeper than you think.

>>2041853
Ok, so it would be better to have some plants just floating or hanging around the sides then? And, can you prune roots? I don't want the plants getting too big for the tank.

>>2041851
in 6 months to a year i am prepared to purchase a 50 gallon at the minimum if that makes a difference. Right now the yoyo's and the rtbs are 2 inches each. could i get my with the 30 gallon as of now?

>>2041851
Aqavisor is a fucking meme. It actually thinks you can overstock a shrimp tank with less than 100 shrimps.

Finally getting my first fish tomorrow /aq/. Starting off with some standard issue pepper corys. Any advice on what to look for (temprament, health) when I'm picking them out?

>>2041780
Yeah I've noticed its become 'shadier'. Any idea how I could fix that?

>>2041924
make sure they're not dying

>>2041937
What kind of filter are you running?

>>2042008
The normal filter. It has two little foam pad things in and I its rated for 55-60 gallons

>>2041924
Are you the one who was gonna do a fish-in cycle with the cories? Cories are a bit sensitive, you might not want to start off with them.

Make sure you get at least 4 but more is better!! They're way more fun to watch with a big school.

>>2041858
You need to slow down, first. That's way too many fish to add in at once, you need to add only a few at a time. I'd return the shark, it's gonna be too big for your tank and that's a LOT of big fish for such a small tank.

I wouldn't keep two kinds of gourami together. I also wouldn't keep rams and gourami together.

1" is just a loose rule of thumb, but basically 4" of neon tetras is way less of a bioload than 4" of pleco, so keep that in mind if you want to exceed the rule. The person you buy fish from is telling you that you can put more fish in just wants to sell you more fish.

Your tank looks great though! I'd return some of the bigger fish and grab a school of something like tetras or rasboras.

>>2041529
The fishless cycle absolutely works. The only debates are based on its effectiveness vs. fish-in cycles, and the best method of adding ammonia.

>>2041878
thts what i thought.. thank u for the verification lol

>>2042066
thank u for the advice its much appreciated. but i kinda feel embarrassed returning fish/pets to the store though. u think they would have a problem with it?

>>2041847
1 inch per gallon only makes sense if you take it to mean 1 cubic inch of fish, and in either case it comes down to filtration and water changes. Your tank is fine from a water quality standpoint.

Compatibility is a different story. Gouramis have a tendency to fight each other, the shark will get aggressive and is too large for the tank, and cherry barbs generally do better in larger numbers.

>>2041924
Get at least 6, and get the most active ones they have.

>>2041851
>>2042066
i really wish i woulda came here for advice than taking advice from the fish store owner

>>2041878
You don't have to listen to aqadvisor regarding that, but it's still a good general guideline to keep people from overstocking their tank

>>2042094
Don't listen to people at LFS, especially chain stores like Petsmart/Petco

90% of the time they're wrong

>>2041847
Beautiful tank bro.

>>2042108
thank u! now if i can just get the livestock right lol

will corycats school with their albino cousins?

>>2042092
Is this some kind of fucking meme? As long as you take care of water and don't let things get out of control it does not matter. My Oscar grew 6 inches in my 15 gallon and lived a 5 years. Way longer than most fish live. I just did 2-3 times a week water changes and two filters. This shit pisses me off.

>>2042015
Do a water change, take the foam pads out and hold them in the container with the tank water you're going to throw away, squeeze both pads gently, place pads back in filter and throw away the water.

>>2042176
>Is this some kind of fucking meme?
>My Oscar grew 6 inches in my 15 gallon and lived a 5 years.

lol

Oscars grow up to over a foot long and live 2-4x longer than that

>>2041775
Fantail goldfish do stay shorter than common ones, but they still get 6-8 inches long, and it's generally the same amount of fish (and therefore poop) as a common goldfish, just in a fatter package. The reason fantails are recommended for indoor aquariums and single-tail goldfish aren't is because fantails can't swim very quickly by comparison, and aren't going to be impeded by a tank 2½-3 ft long. Regardless, any kind of goldfish wouldn't be recommended with white clouds.

>>2041809
Certain breeds of fantail goldfish (regular fantail, ryukin, oranda) are okay for outdoor ponds if it doesn't get below freezing, but they're generally less tolerant of extremes than their single-tail relatives. They also aren't very good at getting out of their own way, so if you have raccoons, cats, or predatory birds outside where you live, you would have to cover the pond.

>>2042088
definitely not, lots of people return fish. aqadvisor isn't completely accurate, but it's a good starting point. if I were you I'd grab a decent sized school, it'll really help your tank :)

when you pick fish, keep their temperament and where they like to be in the tank: top, middle, or bottom. Right now you have only 4 middle dwelling fish (the barbs) which is possibly why it feels empty.

I'm surprised your such a newbie- your tank looks amazing!

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>>2041821
I'm confused how you'd plant the wax melters. Are you talking about putting the plants in the shallow dish at the top?
I don't think it'd be too hard to clean. You might have to root around in there using an airline tube as a siphon, but I wouldn't consider that difficult. The waterfall might need to be broken down once a month or so for deep cleaning.
Aquarium snails are all fully aquatic. They don't need to come out of the water, but crawl out just because they want to (nerite and mystery snails are know for this). You could stop them if you could design the container with a lip like in pic related.
Are you planning on heating it? 72 is pretty cold for skirt tetras and kuhlis, and black skirt tetras aren't that fun to look at from above. If the container is large enough (~2 sq ft), peppered cories are fine down to about 65°F.

>>2041825
>glazed bowels
Yum

>>2041855
Aquaponics baskets ("net pots") and floating plants like water lettuce and frogbit would probably be the easiest to deal with.

>>2042176
Your Oscar died at the human equivalent of 3' tall and 30 years old. Congratulations.

Requesting again: does anyone have the PDF of Diana Wastald's book?

What's a cheap light I can get for a planted 55 gallon? I'm looking at cheapo LED ones on Ebay but I'm not sure what's suitable for a moderately lighted tank. I might just get 4 brooder lights and do daylight CFLs :/

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>>2042238
I got these 100w lamps and clfs from Lowes.
It only cost me 26 bucks for everything just makes sure you get the 6500k
It's a older picture I've had decent growth.
I bet you could get an extra one just to be safe.

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>>2042247
This is one month later.
It was only 11 bucks for a 2 pack of 24w 6500k CFLs

What's a cooler bottom feeder: bamboo shrimp or cories?

>>2040899
I had a similar looking piece of wood too, it was covered in the same slime within a day.

All of the plants that were attached to it died after a week, scary stuff.

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>>2042252
Can you get like 5+ cories? If you can't I think the bamboo shrimp would be better. They are cool looking.

>>2041847
>>2041851
Aqadvisor is often best taken with a grain of salt, but I agree with most of the main points.
Cherry barbs don't school even loosely and don't seem to behave any differently in large or small numbers. I wouldn't suggest keeping them alone, but 3+ is fair IMO. I will agree that more is better, though.
29 gallons is commonly given as a recommended minimum for RTBS, which seems reasonable for a 5 inch, non schooling fish. They do get much more territorial as they get older, so it's probably best not kept with slow, peaceful fish like gourami and rams.
Yoyo loaches aren't aggressive, but rather just incredibly boisterous and have a tendency to knock into things on occasion. However, they're social and they get enormous, so even a 55 gallon would be too small to care for them properly. Pygmy chain loaches would be a good alternative, but they have a reputation for munching on plants.
I wouldn't keep honey and dwarf gourami in the tank, but either or would be fine. The tank is more than big enough and densely planted enough to accommodate two male dwarf gourami.

Recommended you return the yoyo loaches, the RTBS, and one or the other gourami. Kuhli loaches would be good. If you want a larger centerpiece fish, you can get one (or a trio) of swordtails, or a medium sized gourami like thick-lipped or pearl (they might be okay with the honey gourami, but they'd be best as the only gourami in the tank).

A 50 gallon tank would be good for one of the "shark" type barbs and some medium sized loaches (angelicus, zebra), but I wouldn't even consider putting yoyo loaches in anything less than a 75.

>>2041878
"Stocking level" is just based on the square footage of the tank. You can change the height all you like and it doesn't change. Their stocking rules for inverts in general seem a bit wacky, and they do come up with some weird notes and warnings. I also feel like the water change schedules they recommend are always way overblown.

>>2042247
I've been doing 5000k which I have read are fine. I like your set up! I was thinking of hanging them from a curtain rod, a little hesitant to do that since I rent lol. Your tank looks good!

>>2041924
Look for ich. Make sure they're not breathing heavy or swimming funny.

>>2042175
Albino cories are usually C. aeneus, or green/bronze cories. They shouldn't have any issue schooling with green cories, though I'd recommend at least two of each color (no loners). I wouldn't try making them school with other species.

>>2042238
Aquatraders has Odyssea T5 fixtures for cheapish, you could rig up some 4' T8 shop lights (4 bulb), you could do the dome lamps like >>2042247, or you rig up some of those cheap LED spot lamps on eBay (2 20 watt or 4 10 watt).

>>2042252
Bamboo shrimp are not bottom feeders and will not do anything close to the same job as cories.

>>2042238
>>2042264
Apparently Aquatraders no longer lists the lamp I was thinking of under their "lighting" section, but the page for it still exists and you can place an order for one, so, uh... yeah. I'm not really sure what to make of that.

http://www.aquatraders.com/48-inch-2x54W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52123p.htm

>>2042263
Definately go for the 6500k,

>>2042222
Ya, I think I might toss the wax melters idea and just go with some hollow tubes or something similar for the fish to hide in.

As for the temp, some of the care sheets are saying black skirts are fine with temps between 70-79 degrees.

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/characins/BlackskirtHifinTetra.php

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/tetrafish/blackskirttetra.php

The Kuhli loach I am a little worried about, as most articles are saying 74 for the low end, but I don't know if that is just an idea temp? I don't want to minnows to be too hot either.

I was wondering though if it might be possible to have a warm and cool side on the tank. I don't yet know how aquarium heaters work, but if I got a submersible one I wonder if I could have it on one side and work the flow of the water so that it cools down a few degrees by the time it reaches about halfway to the other side. Maybe some rocks or plants could aid with that. There is also a window right next to where I want my tank, and it might act as a balancing factor to cool it off if it starts to get too hot.

>>2042298
I'm also planning on having the tank and plants set up for a while before I put anything living in it. I want to make sure I know what the flow is going to be doing and the temps are going to be on a consistent basis.

>>2042301
Ehh blackskirts are pretty hardy. You might get those sooner.

>>2041847
Also, when should i do my first water change with my new tank. my current filter is a top fin 30 power filter

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How can you tell the difference between young angelicus loaches and yoyo loaches?

>>2042385
Polkas will have a less pointed face.
They also usually have two dots in each black stripe, or at least a figure of 8 shape pattern instead of the Ys and Os.

How much would it cost to start breeding siamese fighting fish?

>>2042416
>betta splendens

How important is activated carbon in fresh water aquariums?

>>2042558
Depends? If you have fish you might as well have it. It's really cheap. It soaks up dissolved organic material, most importantly. Also takes out chemicals and heavy materials. It's no more necessary than a filter is in a planted and lightly stocked aquarium, though.

>>2042562
I have a 30 gallon tank with an axolotl, she is getting old (10 + years) and she is having trouble fighting off gill fungus, it's never been a problem in the past and I figure beefing up the filtration should help prevent a new infection

>>2042558

Personally, if you are doing regular water changes, I don't think it matters - you will hear/read varying opinions on this of course. I experimented with my 20g - I cut the carbon out of the inserts for my power filter and still performed my water changes. I did this for a while, running the insert for 2-3 months or better (swishing in the change water to clean). Then, later, I would replace the insert without removing the carbon. I didn't notice a difference - no change the occasional diatom growth. Note that I didn't really pay attention to the smell of the water.

That said, if you *don't* do regular water changes (you should), carbon *will* make a difference.

Has anybody done surveys of /aq/? I'm curious to know if people here are just casual hobbyists or 4 tank fishNEETs

>>2042573
It's mainly memeshrimp/betta/corydoras/neon tetra keepers here.

Bump limit imminent, new thread:

>>2042592

>>2042592

>>2042592

>>2042260
>red rail shark
>barb
Top fucking kek. It's apart of the carp family.

>>2040898
panda garra's are social and territorial, they find a favorite rock and defend it from conspecifics, but they become withdrawn and dull colored without conspecifics.

>>2042948
see >>2042594

>>2042969
Kill yourself faggot. This thread hasn't even reached the bump limit. So bump.

>>2043001
Autistic or just shitposting?

>>2043015
Poor baby did you take your pill today?

>>2043015
You mad because you're the autisic nigger who posted a new thread long before bump limit?

>>2043021
simmer down

>>2043040
You have the downs don't you?

I have two beautiful fish I got from petsmart - blue longfin leopard danios? - thing is, I've never seen this fish ANYWHERE else. It's definitely a leopard Danio, they look identical to the normal leopard danios at any rate - and theyre definitely very blue. Are they just rare variations or what?

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>>2043046
They're probably glofish, genetically modified danios.

>>2043062
Those are zebra danios ("Danio Rerio") leopard danios are "Danio Rerio" too, but genetic variations thereof. afaik leopard danios aren't glofish'd yet though they are the same species.

>>2043301
They're also not that blue either (bump.)

>>2043301
Anybody?

>>2043815
They might just be painted/tattooed.

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>>2044262
>three days after bump limit he's still trying to bump the old thread

>>2044045
I've had them for a year?

>>2044304
Niga just post them in the other thread

>>2044377
Is 4chan really this autistic??

Holy shit wtf