Tank size Vs No. of fish

[Anonymous]

Looks pretty good.

Interesting just putting the potted plants on top of the gravel.

I would have done it differently but the plants look pretty healthy.

My "gut feel" and strickly a personal opinion is the slight hase will hopefully fade over time and both it and what appears to be algae on the substraight is the result of having nutrients in the tank not being fully consumed by the plant life.

But then Cal's tank was much much worse when we started adding plant life to it. Much more cloudy with green water and some algae. but as that thread documented at some point it just came in and has remained that way.

If your water does start to cloud up, you might try killing the lights until it clears. or adding more plants to consume more nutrients.

Once you get the plants and fish helping each other out, the system just keeps on going and going and going. With Cal's tank his kids even took pictures to school because the tank was so awesome. That's pretty good for a tank with just a $7 light, no water changes, no filter, no circulation, and not cleaning the glass for over 6 months.

Keep us posted. and hope you are happy with it. that is what really counts.

 

[Studz]

algae on the substraight

its not algae its just a slight mix of substraights, as the tank came with some, but it wasn't enough, and they didn't do one that matched it.

the water is a little cloudy, I think thats coz I disturbed the gravel while put the plants in.

I have move the plastic plants closer to the chest, this seems to have calmed the shark down he isn't darting out at evrything now.

if the water does get worse I'll leave the lights off until it clears as you suggested.

I might just have to send the shark to 'school' (ba bum cha!) to teach it that the corys are there to help, not hinder him/her lol (not sure what it is yet.

 

[Anonymous]

right it is a rainbow shark then, I had read it on the net and in the pet store that it was a red-finned Shark.

rearrange the tank how?

I have a treasure chest, which doubles as a cave, that is where the shark mainly stays.

I have 3 plastic plants, and 3 living plants,

should I arrange the plants around the chest/cave exit hole? or what,

thanks for your help

cave on one side, plants arranged in an independent 'cluster(s)'.

placing the plants right next to the cave makes them the same 'shelter' as the cave :wink:

 

[beanpole209]

Your tank looks nice studs keep it up !

 

[Studz]

ah! I never though about it like that.

as I said earlier I moved the plants and this seems to have worked, the shark happily swims in 'his/her' little area now, and does come out but it doesn't chase the other fish now, maybe they were all too close before and therefoe the shark saw them all as 'its' 'hood' lmao!

evil shark, but cool

 

[beanpole209]

when your tank becomes established I would get a knife fish there awsome to watch.

 

[Studz]

I've heard of a hatchet fish, whats a knife fish?

 

[Studz]

I've done some looking into those knife fish, my tank aint any where near big enough. they grow to like 48cm??

would need about a 30gallon tank, I only have a 13gallon.

or did you mean, once MY tank is established, YOU will buy a knife fish for your tank,

lol

 

[Anonymous]

I've done some looking into those knife fish, my tank aint any where near big enough. they grow to like 48cm??

would need about a 30gallon tank, I only have a 13gallon.

or did you mean, once MY tank is established, YOU will buy a knife fish for your tank,

lol

there are quite a few species of knife fishes-the smallest growing species will require at least a 20-30 gallon tank

fyi:

the knifefishes are practically blind, and create a weak electrical field around the body, which enables them to navigate and swim just as easily and quickly backwards, as forwards, with equal maneuverability.(it's also how they sense prey and hunt

this is also the reason why the 'ghost' tube accesories work- the fish senses the clear tube as a solid and opaque object, not seeing that it's clear, which leads to them 'hanging out' in the tube readily, for easy observation

the 'back ghost knife' is so named because the natives where the fish is found believe that they are re-incarnated as that fish, hence the name 'black ghost'-it was an issue when the fish initially appeared in the trade, as the locals refused to collect them for 'whitey' , hehe.

just some interesting background info for your reading pleasure

 

[Studz]

cool, sound like an interesting breed of fish.

but I'll stick with what I've got for at least a few months.

 

[beanpole209]

I'm sorry I thout your tank was a 20gl but ya I love knife fish ive had several there awsome and they dont grow to awfully quick but ive seen some really large ones heres the kind I like http://bham.bluereef.zapto.org/photos/beanpoles_reef/images/507/original.aspx

 

[Studz]

some nice fish there.

I'll have to wait till I move out to buy anymore, or a bigger tank.
As I have no space left in my room now.

lol, I already have to sleep on a sofa bed, because I of the desks I bought for my room (they were actaully bigger than what they said in the catologue)
and I'm a Computer Science Student, so my room is full of computer junk lol.

if all goes well with this FW tank, I may try a Reef Tank in the future, once I have my own house

what are the running costs of a reef tank, on average?

 

[Anonymous]

some nice fish there.

I'll have to wait till I move out to buy anymore, or a bigger tank.
As I have no space left in my room now.

lol, I already have to sleep on a sofa bed, because I of the desks I bought for my room (they were actaully bigger than what they said in the catologue)
and I'm a Computer Science Student, so my room is full of computer junk lol.

if all goes well with this FW tank, I may try a Reef Tank in the future, once I have my own house

what are the running costs of a reef tank, on average?

If you apply what you learn from this tank, the cost of running a reef tank will not be much more. except for the higher cost of the live stock.

but if you do it using the methods from your LFS and these boards it will be very easy to spend $1500 in addition to the $250 or so for a 55g tank, stand, and hood. and that is just for setup and does not add a single fish or coral. Just the way the industry is.

but then even FW planted with all the industry stuff can be very expensive also.

 

[Anonymous]

some nice fish there.

I'll have to wait till I move out to buy anymore, or a bigger tank.
As I have no space left in my room now.

lol, I already have to sleep on a sofa bed, because I of the desks I bought for my room (they were actaully bigger than what they said in the catologue)
and I'm a Computer Science Student, so my room is full of computer junk lol.

if all goes well with this FW tank, I may try a Reef Tank in the future, once I have my own house

what are the running costs of a reef tank, on average?

a typical reef setup, top to bottom, will cost you about $50/gallon over the first year of operation :wink: