|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
 Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 9:31 am
Recap: Totally customized bookshelf to make the tank fit. The filter it came with has been SUPER tempermental. But seems to be running smoothly with just a slight rattling noise now. Even when unplugged it starts up again without much trouble. Before (originally designed to fit my tv)  after:  Set up:  The current tenants are: Prince Zuko: Is a Butterfly/Dragon Betta.  working on a better pick Shy Clown Pleco  Hawaii Platies  And some snails Video soon to follow So after months of preparation and planning the tank is complete. However, I do find it a tad empty. I would like it if my platties bred then I would keep maybe 2. Or maybe add a zebra snail or two.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 4:37 pm
keep in mind that platies breed,not as bad as guppies,but they do,Im sure your betta wouldnt mind that wink lol
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 4:42 pm
Cowgirl-with-heart keep in mind that platies breed,not as bad as guppies,but they do,Im sure your betta wouldnt mind that wink lol I was wondering about that. But what do I do with babies then? Can I somehow just get all one sex?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 12:56 am
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Cowgirl-with-heart keep in mind that platies breed,not as bad as guppies,but they do,Im sure your betta wouldnt mind that wink lol I was wondering about that. But what do I do with babies then? Can I somehow just get all one sex? well,I know with male guppies (we never had a tank full of just male platies) but with Guppies they chase one another,all females would be great,but for the fact that you really would have a hard time getting your hands on some that have never been bred,you could try selling the babies,giving them away,or letting your betta do population control though....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 4:05 am
Looks like some wiptail catfish you have there :O
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 8:00 am
K, I'm gona buy the 15G and IF a 20-25G pops up that would also fit between now and when I cycle the tank I'll buy that and sell the 15 but I think I need to jump on the 15 it may be the biggest thing I can fit in the space I have.
The one thing I'm really worried about now is my schoolers breeding, how do I keep the population under control?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 4:18 pm
I'm getting the 15G tank on Monday. Next I'll buy sand at Toy's R Us and once that's done I'll start looking at plants.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 10:49 pm
That Betta you post a pic of, is not an imbellis. Looks like a Splendis that got his fins chewed up.
In the 15 you can do a small school of small Corries (like Pandas), or a medium school of Ottos. Dunno anything about those brown guys, and BNs get to big and poopy for a 15 gallon.
You can get all one gender of Platies. Google "sexing platies." Males have pointy a**l fins, and female have fan shapped ones.
How much you have to clean depends of what all you have in there. I can help you figure that out once you get your stock all figured out. You will have to do a water change (via syphon or Python for the best results and health of your fish) every week. I do 50% water changes every week for good measure even though I usually only need around 30%
I'd go with either the Platies OR the Barbs for the 15 gallon. In that small of a tank, if you had both, the Betta might go nuts with all that activity. I personally would go with the Platies. Not sure why lol I would say no more then 5 of either fish.
Not sure if you are looking to filters yet, but AquaClears are good filters. They are reletivly cheap, and work like an expensive filter (as long as you take a Q-Tip to the impeller every few months lol).
You could do a few snail if you wanted. Nerites are cool and dont breed in fresh water. Mysteries are cool too, but add horribly to your bioload because they like to eat, and eating alot means pooping alot. I wouldnt do any more then two of those. MTS snails are also cool, and are good for sand.
I dont think the order of the fish matters, since there are no aggressive involved. Just dont over load the tank. Only add a few fish at a time. And dont forget to do a fishless cycle =3
Easy live plants:
Water Wisteria
Aponogenton
Java moss
Java Fern
Lilly buld from WalMart/pet store
Anything you see attached to a rock or driftwood at the petstore is an easy plant to care for.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 6:27 am
Akari_32 That Betta you post a pic of, is not an imbellis. Looks like a Splendis that got his fins chewed up. In the 15 you can do a small school of small Corries (like Pandas), or a medium school of Ottos. Dunno anything about those brown guys, and BNs get to big and poopy for a 15 gallon. You can get all one gender of Platies. Google "sexing platies." Males have pointy a**l fins, and female have fan shapped ones. How much you have to clean depends of what all you have in there. I can help you figure that out once you get your stock all figured out. You will have to do a water change (via syphon or Python for the best results and health of your fish) every week. I do 50% water changes every week for good measure even though I usually only need around 30% I'd go with either the Platies OR the Barbs for the 15 gallon. In that small of a tank, if you had both, the Betta might go nuts with all that activity. I personally would go with the Platies. Not sure why lol I would say no more then 5 of either fish. Not sure if you are looking to filters yet, but AquaClears are good filters. They are reletivly cheap, and work like an expensive filter (as long as you take a Q-Tip to the impeller every few months lol). You could do a few snail if you wanted. Nerites are cool and dont breed in fresh water. Mysteries are cool too, but add horribly to your bioload because they like to eat, and eating alot means pooping alot. I wouldnt do any more then two of those. MTS snails are also cool, and are good for sand. I dont think the order of the fish matters, since there are no aggressive involved. Just dont over load the tank. Only add a few fish at a time. And dont forget to do a fishless cycle =3 Easy live plants: Water Wisteria Aponogenton Java moss Java Fern Lilly buld from WalMart/pet store Anything you see attached to a rock or driftwood at the petstore is an easy plant to care for. nnnooooo! BUT I WANT A PLECO! *throws a tantrum* Nilla said I coouuulllddd crying and yes, it was always platies OR barbs never both but stronly leaning to platies. And the betta honestly did not looked like he had torn fins, it's probably a crappy picture. And he looked huge in comparison to the splendons and was swimming along with another fish of equal size just totally chill about it. I know I saw MTS snails, I'll have to check if the others you posted are available. And yes, looking for an aquaclear filter and of course I will cycle first. By order, I guess, I mean like, do I need to work up some algea before getting a bottom feeder, especially if I am forced to get otos (though honestly I didn't see any at the store) or since betta's are territorial buggers, should I get that last so he doesn't go all nutso when I try to add fish to the tank. *wants a pleco*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:20 am
I was going to say the same thing as Akari- no way that's an Imbellis. The wild types simply don't have that much finnage, and they don't come in the colour ranges like that. Size isn't really an indicator, Helios is GIGANTIC compared to my other boys and he is definitely a Splendens. I believe the wild types are usually smaller, as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:21 am
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Akari_32 That Betta you post a pic of, is not an imbellis. Looks like a Splendis that got his fins chewed up. In the 15 you can do a small school of small Corries (like Pandas), or a medium school of Ottos. Dunno anything about those brown guys, and BNs get to big and poopy for a 15 gallon. You can get all one gender of Platies. Google "sexing platies." Males have pointy a**l fins, and female have fan shapped ones. How much you have to clean depends of what all you have in there. I can help you figure that out once you get your stock all figured out. You will have to do a water change (via syphon or Python for the best results and health of your fish) every week. I do 50% water changes every week for good measure even though I usually only need around 30% I'd go with either the Platies OR the Barbs for the 15 gallon. In that small of a tank, if you had both, the Betta might go nuts with all that activity. I personally would go with the Platies. Not sure why lol I would say no more then 5 of either fish. Not sure if you are looking to filters yet, but AquaClears are good filters. They are reletivly cheap, and work like an expensive filter (as long as you take a Q-Tip to the impeller every few months lol). You could do a few snail if you wanted. Nerites are cool and dont breed in fresh water. Mysteries are cool too, but add horribly to your bioload because they like to eat, and eating alot means pooping alot. I wouldnt do any more then two of those. MTS snails are also cool, and are good for sand. I dont think the order of the fish matters, since there are no aggressive involved. Just dont over load the tank. Only add a few fish at a time. And dont forget to do a fishless cycle =3 Easy live plants: Water Wisteria Aponogenton Java moss Java Fern Lilly buld from WalMart/pet store Anything you see attached to a rock or driftwood at the petstore is an easy plant to care for. nnnooooo! BUT I WANT A PLECO! *throws a tantrum* Nilla said I coouuulllddd crying and yes, it was always platies OR barbs never both but stronly leaning to platies. And the betta honestly did not looked like he had torn fins, it's probably a crappy picture. And he looked huge in comparison to the splendons and was swimming along with another fish of equal size just totally chill about it. I know I saw MTS snails, I'll have to check if the others you posted are available. And yes, looking for an aquaclear filter and of course I will cycle first. By order, I guess, I mean like, do I need to work up some algea before getting a bottom feeder, especially if I am forced to get otos (though honestly I didn't see any at the store) or since betta's are territorial buggers, should I get that last so he doesn't go all nutso when I try to add fish to the tank. *wants a pleco*I've done a lot of research on the bristlenose plecos, and they only get to about 4 1/2 to 5ish inches. They stay small. I have one in my 10 gal. tank. I did research to make sure I got one that would stay small while the tank was in its fishless cycle. smile I haven't noticed a lot of poop coming from him/her, either (it's starting to develop its bristles, so hopefully I'll know a gender soon. biggrin ). I wanna see pictures of your fish when you get them. Also, Congrats on your ability to get some! biggrin For building up algae, you probably don't need to. As long as you provide them with algae wafers, you should be fine. smile
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:26 am
Savage Destiny I was going to say the same thing as Akari- no way that's an Imbellis. The wild types simply don't have that much finnage, and they don't come in the colour ranges like that. Size isn't really an indicator, Helios is GIGANTIC compared to my other boys and he is definitely a Splendens. I believe the wild types are usually smaller, as well. I'd still like an Imbellis. The long flowy fins never really attracted me. It makes me more nervous than anything, about them getting nipped or ripping on a decoration. So maybe they threw that fish in there cause they were out of imbellis, maybe the fish this guy was chilling with WAS an imbellis, but he lacked color completely he was just totally dark brown. So hopefully they'll have more options next time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 10:47 am
As far as the pleco goes, below 10 gallons is simply torture and 10 gallons and up is okay but I would really recommend at least 20 gallons. Still, you should be fine, just keep up on water changes and whatnot smile
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 11:41 am
Ideally, 20g minimum for a BN. I've kept mine temporarily in a 10g. If you are a stickler about your water changes, minimum once a week and all, it works. But for me it was getting ridiculous, the entire bottom was covered in pleco poop, and that was with 1 big weekly change and several smaller changes throughout the week. It's been much better in the 20long, even with 2 plecos.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 3:09 pm
You had to get my hopes up before squashing them didn't you. I WANT a 20G but I just haven't seen one that is short and wide which I really need. I guess I'll have to visit the other store and see if they carry otos. Do they stick to the glass like plecos? I really liked that, thought they looked soo cute all open mouth.
Because while I intend to do water changes once a week. To be honest it will happen that it goes over if I have a competition or something.
But lemme just remind yall we're talking 24" long here... redface
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
