New to forum and planted tanks!

[kheta111]

Hello Aquarium Advice members! I was just hoping for some feedback, comments, or suggestions on my aquarium situation and set up seeing as how I am brand new to the hobby...

About a month ago I put together a planted tank from various Kijiji deals (Canadian craigslist). The tank is a 37 gallon tall (30"x12"x22") with a submersible heater, Penguin 200 bio wheel filter (running 2 cartridges), 24" t5x4 + moonlight LEDX2 light hood by Odyssea running standard plant bulbs(resting directly on the glass lid). The tank is moderately planted with a variety of species. some Val, Anubias, Rotala, Ludwigia etc. The hard scape is red Lava rock and dark brown Fluorite substrate. The tank is currently stocked with 2 dwarf Plecos, 2 Albino Corys, 3 Siamese algae eaters, 3 turquoise Rainbows, 2 dwarf Gourami, 2 large-ish Angels, 2 dwarf Puffers, and 5 Apistogramma Cocautoides; 4 female 1 male. I feed the tank a healthy pinch of flakes twice a day and half a cube of bloodworms once a day. I also use an overdose of flourish excel 2 caps a day, to battle a recent algae flare up ( hair and beard).

The tank seems for the most part peaceful though the cichlids fins are getting chomped by something I can't tell if they're doing it to each other or those sneaky little puffers are doing it. That being said I started out with 3 puffers but I found one dead 2 days after adding them, possible cichlid attack?

I was hoping someone could share their thoughts and insights on the this sort of set up. Should I add this or take away that etc. Thanks in advance!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Hello Aquarium Advice members! I was just hoping for some feedback, comments, or suggestions on my aquarium situation and set up seeing as how I am brand new to the hobby...



About a month ago I put together a planted tank from various Kijiji deals (Canadian craigslist). The tank is a 37 gallon tall (30"x12"x22") with a submersible heater, Penguin 200 bio wheel filter (running 2 cartridges), 24" t5x4 + moonlight LEDX2 light hood by Odyssea running standard plant bulbs(resting directly on the glass lid). The tank is moderately planted with a variety of species. some Val, Anubias, Rotala, Ludwigia etc. The hard scape is red Lava rock and dark brown Fluorite substrate. The tank is currently stocked with 2 dwarf Plecos, 2 Albino Corys, 3 Siamese algae eaters, 3 turquoise Rainbows, 2 dwarf Gourami, 2 large-ish Angels, 2 dwarf Puffers, and 5 Apistogramma Cocautoides; 4 female 1 male. I feed the tank a healthy pinch of flakes twice a day and half a cube of bloodworms once a day. I also use an overdose of flourish excel 2 caps a day, to battle a recent algae flare up ( hair and beard).



The tank seems for the most part peaceful though the cichlids fins are getting chomped by something I can't tell if they're doing it to each other or those sneaky little puffers are doing it. That being said I started out with 3 puffers but I found one dead 2 days after adding them, possible cichlid attack?



I was hoping someone could share their thoughts and insights on the this sort of set up. Should I add this or take away that etc. Thanks in advance!

Hello this sounds like a beautiful tank!

However, your stocking needs some work. You are quite overstocked for only a 37g.

"2 dwarf Plecos, 2 Albino Corys, 3 Siamese algae eaters, 3 turquoise Rainbows, 2 dwarf Gourami, 2 large-ish Angels, 2 dwarf Puffers, and 5 Apistogramma Cocautoides"

Let's get some things straightened out:

- do you know what type of pleco they are? Some get 5 inches long others can get 2-3 feet long...

- SAE, these are great fish, but they get big and will outgrow this tank. Once they hit 3-4 inches they don't consume near as much algae then younger ones do. I have one of these and have seen as he grows he eats less and less.

- Rainbowfish, also great fish but get 5-6 inches and super active. Really needs a tank 4 or 6 feet long to swim across. They will outgrow this tank.

- Dwarf gourami will fight each other. I'm willing to bet you have 2 males?

- Angels are fine in this tank but watch for nipping at each other.

-Dwarf Puffers, these guys most of the time are not community friendly. They are territorial and quite small. I would put money an adult angel could have one as a snack one day. They either get bullied, or they are the ones being bullies.

-Apistos, these are nice little fish and can work in this tank but if you have a pair I would dare say the other females might be in trouble. I don't know a lot about apistos though so someone else will need to comment on that.

All that being said the stock in this tank needs some tweaking.


Caleb

 

[kheta111]

Thanks for the reply Caleb.

I get the feeling fish/pet stores may leave out some information on on certain species to increase live stock sales; The pet store told me things like "SAE don't get that big" and "Dwarf Puffers should be fine in a community". The Plecos I believe are dwarf bristle nose, I remember selecting the species that only grow to 4-5". I suppose when the time comes I'll have to cut my SAE'S and Rainbows loose. Kind of a shame, the rainbows are starting to get their colour and it's quite beautiful. The two Dwarf Gourami are males ,but they don't bother with each other much, they kinda just graze on their own. The angels are buddies, always shadowing each other. The Puffers are pretty reclusive, they only poke out here and there. The Apistos are rather entertaining to watch the male's impressive colours are one thing and the courting is rather peculiar too. I'm not certain there's a partnership yet. The females certainly squabble around with each other, but the store does sell them as harem packages 3 to 1 females to males. I hope that paints a bit of clearer picture.

 

[ImACoolguy]

That does clear a few things up. Nevertheless some things gotta go.

Do you have a test kit? This can tell you just how "clean" the water really is. Just because it doesn't look dirty, doesn't mean it's not. Most waste dissolves into the water itself and becomes what's known as Nitrate. Nitrate in lower amounts is harmless, but as it rises can weaken the immune systems of fish. Overstocking means a lot more nitrates a lot faster.

If you can snag a used 55g you can keep those SAE and rainbows. It's 4 feet long and will support them.


Caleb

 

[kheta111]

I have the paper stick testers. Everything seems to be reading fairly normal. I've had the tank running for a month or so and have done one 50% water change a few days ago. I plan on doing water and filter changes like this every month. Ah yes a bigger tank would be awesome. I'd rather upgrade tanks than ditch my fish.

 

[ImACoolguy]

To put it bluntly, strips suck

They are often very inaccurate.

I would recommend a liquid test kit. It's more upfront but I've done the math and it's much cheaper per test in the long run than strips are. Strips are roughly $0.36 per test whereas a liquid kit is $0.03 per test.

And once a month water changes usually doesn't cut it for most tanks. Many on here including myself do water changes at least once a week.

Like I said in the previous comment, most waste dissolves into the water. Just because it looks clean doesn't mean it is clean.


Caleb

 

[Coursair]

Don't change filter pads !!!
Just rinse clogged pads with used tank water or with dechlorinated tap water. Use filter pads till they fall apart.

Keep testing your water and yes, expect to do weekly water changes.

Once your fish start growing and settling in and get to breeding size the true personalities come out.



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[Finntastic]

I agree with Caleb, he's kept pretty much all of those and knows a ton about them. I can help with the pistos though, a male with a few females should be okay to prevent territorial disputes and other stuff. The puffers are notorious fin nippers and are what's probably picking on the pistos.

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[Finntastic]

Welcome to the forum

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