21 gallon tank big changes

[michael15]

So with this fish tank some many things are going to leave. First thing to go is my rainbow colored gravel I will remove that. secondly is the plants for those i am going with java fern, java moss, hornwart, dwarf sagittaria, anubias and amzon sword. thirdly is the fish I have an idea on most of the fish i want and those are 8 ron vio tetras, 8 harlquin rasbora, 10 khuli loaches and a bristle nose pleco. Now for the questions

1. What is the best dirt to use?
2. Will i need to recycle my tank when i add the dirt?
3. Is their a special pair of scissors to trim the plants back?
4. When is the best time to trim the plants back?
5. Will this to many fish to go into the tank?
6. which one of these fish makes the best center piece fish to top off my tank
The Bolivian ram, Kribensis, Dwarf gourami, or African butterfly fish?

 

[jglover]

How much filtration will you have? For that amount of fish, you are stocked to the max and you will need a minimum of an AC50 on the tank. I have a heavy stocking in a 20 gallon high and run two filters, an AC20 and an AC30. These both keep the water quality good as long as I am vigilant with my tank maintenance. The general routine is a 30% water change every five days which tends to keep my nitrates at about 10-20 ppm.

For the centerpiece fish, I'd go with either the bolivian ram or the dwarf gourami. A krib or the butterfly fish could likely be aggressive. A DG is hit or miss on aggressive behavior and rams are typically peaceful. Plus the ram and DG maybe a little easier to keep.

 

[treemanone2003]

So with this fish tank some many things are going to leave. First thing to go is my rainbow colored gravel I will remove that. secondly is the plants for those i am going with java fern, java moss, hornwart, dwarf sagittaria, anubias and amzon sword. thirdly is the fish I have an idea on most of the fish i want and those are 8 ron vio tetras, 8 harlquin rasbora, 10 khuli loaches and a bristle nose pleco. Now for the questions



1. What is the best dirt to use?

2. Will i need to recycle my tank when i add the dirt?

3. Is their a special pair of scissors to trim the plants back?

4. When is the best time to trim the plants back?

5. Will this to many fish to go into the tank?

6. which one of these fish makes the best center piece fish to top off my tank

The Bolivian ram, Kribensis, Dwarf gourami, or African butterfly fish?

I'll try to answer in order here to help you along.

1. No clue. Wait for a couple others to chime in as I've seen a few that folks are pretty happy with.
2. More than likely a recycling period will be needed.
3. Any will do IMO. As long as they are sharp. There are a few brands that can be found that are specific for aquarium use but I don't think it's absolutely necessary.
4. Any time you see die off or they are just getting out of control.
5. Sorry but I don't feel what you've suggested above is ideal. The Tetras and Rasboras yes, but no on the Loaches and Pleco. IMO they need bigger tanks.
6. As a centerpiece, the only one I saw listed would be the DG as being fit for that size tank. The others all need a much bigger tank IMO.

As jglover pointed out, filtration. And plants are great in keeping a good system going but as mentioned, an excellent WC routine is a must !!! The one thing I didn't see above is lighting. That will need to be addressed at some point for the needs of the plants.

Edit : The African Butterfly is a notorious jumper so a tight fitting top is a requirement. The volume of plants, besides lighting, may also need a fert and co2 supply as well.

 

[michael15]

5. Sorry but I don't feel what you've suggested above is ideal. The Tetras and Rasboras yes, but no on the Loaches and Pleco. IMO they need bigger tanks.
6. As a centerpiece, the only one I saw listed would be the DG as being fit for that size tank. The others all need a much bigger tank IMO.

As jglover pointed out, filtration. And plants are great in keeping a good system going but as mentioned, an excellent WC routine is a must !!! The one thing I didn't see above is lighting. That will need to be addressed at some point for the needs of the plants.

Edit : The African Butterfly is a notorious jumper so a tight fitting top is a requirement. The volume of plants, besides lighting, may also need a fert and co2 supply as well.

My filter is a tetra 30 - 60 i think that's good enough and as for the light to be honest I don't really know I have had it for a good while but i would say medium - highish. As for co2 i am going to make one in the next few days. I thought that the kuhli loaches don't make a huge bio-load unlike the pleco which makes a huge one

 

[michael15]

Oh yeah and can the fish live off brine shrimp, white worms, black worms, blood worms and chopped up frozen earth worms?