"a bunch full of questions"

[honey-lovin]

hello people. i have made some time to sit down and write out some questions that have been playing on my mind for a while now.

i have upgraded my 55gal. fresh water community tank with a fluval 305. i have to say it was 250 dollars very very well spent. it seems i can leave my tank for near 3 weeks and my water parameters will only change a little bit.

problem is that by that time the filters mechanical filtration seems to be at its max and im wondering if i should be rinsing fortnightly and doing staggered 50% water changes fortnightly as well.


next question is regarding fry and my tanks population.

due to the amount of live bearers i have they all doing the breeding thing rather well. i know the rule of thumb " 1 inch of fish per gallon " but is it alright to exceed this rule, if so how much?


next up is about my failed attempts to breed bristle nose catfish. i have had one spawn from my colony since i have had them. i have 5 BN's 2 males(around 10cm in length) and 3 females (1 around 12cm in length and the other 2 about 6-7 cms) they live in the slate caves and objects i have in my community tank but im wondering if they are not breeding due to lack of space or different needs. who knows?





lastly im am moving in a few months from now and will be taking all of my 50 adult live bearing fish along with the rest of them. and im trying to work out the most stress-less way of transporting them all.

i was thinking about just buying another 55 gal. aquarium and setting it up in my new place with my fluval 305 to keep up the beneficial bacteria and keep the parameters stable. i think this option sounds best as it will mean the fish can literaly go from one home to another in the least amount of time possible rather than messing about with 50 odd fish, filter, tank, water, objects and moving and getting it all back together again at the other end.

what do people think? plus it means that ill have a tank for fry support


thank you for you time reading this. you can refer to my profile for my tank setups/info

hope you have a great new years.

 

[mfdrookie516]

for the filter, i dont exactly know what fortnightly means, but i clean my canisters every other week. In all of my tanks, i do a 50% PWC each week, and clean one canister one week, the other the next. The 1" per gallon "rule" is really not a good rule to follow. There are so many factors involved. What you have to do is look at the bioload the fish are adding to the aquarium. For some fish 3-5g per inch is more appropriate, where some fish you can actually have the 1" per gallon. I dont really see a need in buying a new tank, unless of course you want one (who wouldnt?), as long as you keep your filter media in a bucket of water, you shouldnt see any issues unless you are ridiculously stocked.

 

[mgamer20o0]

i have upgraded my 55gal. fresh water community tank with a fluval 305. i have to say it was 250 dollars very very well spent. it seems i can leave my tank for near 3 weeks and my water parameters will only change a little bit.

hate to be the barer of bad news... Aquarium Canister Filters: Hagen Fluval Multi-Stage 05 Series Filters lol

problem is that by that time the filters mechanical filtration seems to be at its max and im wondering if i should be rinsing fortnightly and doing staggered 50% water changes fortnightly as well.

weekly water changes are best. depending on the bio load i clean my canisters monthly or some times longer. wont hurt anything to clean them every couple weeks just clean them in old tank water.

i dont exactly know what fortnightly means

Happening or appearing once in or every two weeks.

due to the amount of live bearers i have they all doing the breeding thing rather well. i know the rule of thumb " 1 inch of fish per gallon " but is it alright to exceed this rule, if so how much?

not a very good myth to use. you might want to keep the males and females apart or find something that keeps the fry in check.

next up is about my failed attempts to breed bristle nose catfish. i have had one spawn from my colony since i have had them. i have 5 BN's 2 males(around 10cm in length) and 3 females (1 around 12cm in length and the other 2 about 6-7 cms) they live in the slate caves and objects i have in my community tank but im wondering if they are not breeding due to lack of space or different needs. who knows?

how big of caves do you have? if the cave is too big and the male cant trap the female in there its a little hard for them to breed.

lastly im am moving in a few months from now and will be taking all of my 50 adult live bearing fish along with the rest of them. and im trying to work out the most stress-less way of transporting them all.

how far is the move?

what do people think?

what i would do is buy a couple rubbermaid tubs or 5 gallon buckets. move the fish into the buckets or tubs. drain most of the tank remove the substrate and decore and put them in another bucket or tub. take the filter media out of the filter and float it in with the fish. take down move the tank set it back up put everything back together. it really depends also how far you are going. you might need to add a air pump or heater in with the fish.

 

[Robert H]

hate to be the barer of bad news... Aquarium Canister Filters: Hagen Fluval Multi-Stage 05 Series Filters lol

This person is in Australia, so I think its 250 AUSTRALIAN dollars...

 

[marchmaxima]

Yeah $250 is a pretty decent price here for that filter. Smaller weekly changes are better, but I often leave it fortnightly with no noticable difference. Just keep an eye on your parameters in the second week. You'll see soon enough if its not working.

I also like your idea of setting up the other tank in your new place and then moving the fish once its setup. Sounds sensible to me. As long as the fish aren't without a tank/filter for too long that is... (i.e: more than 12 hours and I'd keep a very close eye on things.

 

[honey-lovin]

hello people. iv just popped on to say that i have had a highly successful time with my bristle nose. i have bought an extra 2 females. which makes the clan 2 male 3 female and they have bread very nicely. i have a head count of 20 to 30 maybe more little suckers in my rearing tank and others that survived in my community tank (big smiles) they are about 1-2 weeks old now and are growing really fast.

another good bit of news is that my dominant male has entered his log again and appears to be preparing for another spawn soon.

thank you very much for all of your advice. i have put up 2 more pictures on my profile of my latest aquarium setup.

 

[discus_lover]

nice to hear that your bristle nose will breed soon....

 

[sieski]

Yeah $250 is a pretty decent price here for that filter. Smaller weekly changes are better, but I often leave it fortnightly with no noticable difference. Just keep an eye on your parameters in the second week. You'll see soon enough if its not working.

I also like your idea of setting up the other tank in your new place and then moving the fish once its setup. Sounds sensible to me. As long as the fish aren't without a tank/filter for too long that is... (i.e: more than 12 hours and I'd keep a very close eye on things.

Theres only one thing as nice looking as a good fish tank and that your eyes <<<<< lol or are they.... choices choices lol

 

[honey-lovin]

i have made up my mind.

before i move (which has been postponed) i plan to build nice cabinets for all of my aquariums. including the new 4ft aquarium i shall buy as i move. im planning to separate my bristle nose and put them in the new aquarium maybe buy 2-3 more females. im also planning on breeding dwarf gourami's as a new creative avenue. i hope that the bristle nose will get on well with them and the two will breed nicely as one needs a dry season imitation and the other needs a wet season imitation. so as i finish breeding one ill trigger the next by reversing the tanks water temps and water levels.

im also thinking it would be great to put a colony of cherry shrimp in with them

does anybody know if the three will have compatibility troubles?


my bristle nose male has come out of the cave without any signs of a breed. not sure what happened there... im thinking of making clay cylindrical caves with one open end for them to breed in and fire them. is this all that is required to make them aquarium safe???

last question.

how the bloody **** do i stop my fluval 305 sucking up babies. bristle nose and other fry haha. i feel awe-full everytime i find babies in the canister.

thank you for keeping up with me

 

[sieski]

i have made up my mind.

before i move (which has been postponed) i plan to build nice cabinets for all of my aquariums. including the new 4ft aquarium i shall buy as i move. im planning to separate my bristle nose and put them in the new aquarium maybe buy 2-3 more females. im also planning on breeding dwarf gourami's as a new creative avenue. i hope that the bristle nose will get on well with them and the two will breed nicely as one needs a dry season imitation and the other needs a wet season imitation. so as i finish breeding one ill trigger the next by reversing the tanks water temps and water levels.

im also thinking it would be great to put a colony of cherry shrimp in with them

does anybody know if the three will have compatibility troubles?


my bristle nose male has come out of the cave without any signs of a breed. not sure what happened there... im thinking of making clay cylindrical caves with one open end for them to breed in and fire them. is this all that is required to make them aquarium safe???

last question.

how the bloody **** do i stop my fluval 305 sucking up babies. bristle nose and other fry haha. i feel awe-full everytime i find babies in the canister.

thank you for keeping up with me

I was told cherry shrimps would make nice snacks for my dwarf gouramis.


netting over the filter inlet will stop the babies being sucked up. From what I have read on gouramis breeding (as I am thinking of it myself) water flow causes problems as they build bubble nests with are very easily disturbed (I have had several chances of viewing them now) Everywhere suggests a sponge filter as it creates very little flow and fry don't get caught up maybe a couple of them would be better?

 

[honey-lovin]

ah yes. very true. i have read that guppy fry are tasty snacks for gourami adults and fry.

it might be that i have to re-think my two 2ft tanks and make them breeding grounds. i have about 50+ medium sized babies (live bearing mix(size=1cm to 3cm) and the other tank has my albino axolotl. im not sure if i want to sell him yet. i haven't made up my mind on breeding axolotls as yet. i could sell my medium sized babies and use the that tank for breeding and then switch them out to the main tank again after breeding.


netting over the end of the fluval intake hey. hhhmmm that could work but what about debris that needs to get through?

is there any specific product designed for such a problem?

i was looking into under gravel filters that i might attach to the end of the intake of the fluval.... any opinions ?

also hehe! i thought about putting a large aqua one sponge filter on the fluval intake. not sure what that would be like though :S

 

[honey-lovin]

just wondering. on the topic of gourami breeding. how many of their eggs actually survive per spawn?

 

[sieski]

just wondering. on the topic of gourami breeding. how many of their eggs actually survive per spawn?

No Idea never had a spawn or never noticed. If they sp[awned I had no survivors due to bad eggs or them being eaten lol but I believe they never spawned due to busy tank and current keep disturbing the nest. Though he did "curl" underneath her a few times, but she just teased him then left him frustrated lol

 

[mattrox]

how the bloody **** do i stop my fluval 305 sucking up babies. bristle nose and other fry haha. i feel awe-full everytime i find babies in the canister.

thank you for keeping up with me

You can put a sponge from an internal filter over the inlet tube, it acts as a prefilter to. Keeps some gunk out of the canister.

 

[cabezon]

for the filter, i dont exactly know what fortnightly means, but i clean my canisters every other week. In all of my tanks, i do a 50% PWC each week, and clean one canister one week, the other the next. The 1" per gallon "rule" is really not a good rule to follow. There are so many factors involved. What you have to do is look at the bioload the fish are adding to the aquarium. For some fish 3-5g per inch is more appropriate, where some fish you can actually have the 1" per gallon. I dont really see a need in buying a new tank, unless of course you want one (who wouldnt?), as long as you keep your filter media in a bucket of water, you shouldnt see any issues unless you are ridiculously stocked.

you sound like me. I have a 205 and a 404. I love them. I have the center trays filled with polyfil and the tank is crystal clear. I just did a substrate change, and the 404 did a great job of keeping the water clear. the sponges were all BROWN. I do the same thing with the alternating. but since I dont clean the ceramics in the top basket, it is probably overkill.

OP-- now might be the time to get a 75 or 90 gallon. it is still 4 foot long, but 18 inches front to back and wither the same height, 75 or a little taller, 90. You caould move the fish and filter together as long as the water is the same temp and Ph. I love the shut off on the fluval. no water spilt! good luck.