Some final questions before fish

[Broke EF]

Thanks for the help guys! I will pick up some other treats, and different flakes this week. I just added in 8 Diamond Tetras, and 6 Panda Corys!!! I was drip acclimating the Panda's and I walked by and saw one of them in the bottom of the bucket! Luckily there was enough water in the bottom already for him to be able to be safe. I couldn't get him in the net though, so I had to pour the bucket through the net and then straight to the tank. He could have only jumped in the last 5 min at the most. They are all in the bottom together grazing away They are probably my favorite fish so far. All of the Tetra's seem to be schooling together, not very tightly, but they are all mixed together. I don't have a problem with that as long as they are all getting along.


Sean

 

[Gboy66]

Thanks for the help guys! I will pick up some other treats, and different flakes this week. I just added in 8 Diamond Tetras, and 6 Panda Corys!!! I was drip acclimating the Panda's and I walked by and saw one of them in the bottom of the bucket! Luckily there was enough water in the bottom already for him to be able to be safe. I couldn't get him in the net though, so I had to pour the bucket through the net and then straight to the tank. He could have only jumped in the last 5 min at the most. They are all in the bottom together grazing away They are probably my favorite fish so far. All of the Tetra's seem to be schooling together, not very tightly, but they are all mixed together. I don't have a problem with that as long as they are all getting along.

Sean

Dude awesome! Your lucky, your lfs ha exactly what you wanted!!! Did you call ahead or somthing? Maybe once you your rams, or a centerpiece your tetras will school more, souds great though! pics...

 

[Broke EF]

Yeah, I am pretty lucky. I did not call ahead, but the main LFS I go to is pretty big and has a good variety. There tanks also look very nice, and well maintained. The Lemon Tetras came from a not so local LFS that I happened to stop at while I was waiting for the wife. The Diamonds we saw a few days before, but today that tank only had 3 in it (it had 6 a few days ago), BUT they had just gotten a bunch in that were in another tank so I was able to get all 8. It also seems that they always have the Pandas, but today it looked like they only had a couple. That is until he lifted up the piece of driftwood where a whole lot of them were hanging out. They also have a LOT of GBR's, and Angels at all times. The only fish I don't think I can get from any of my LFS (without ordering) would be the Starlight Pleco.

Here are a couple of pics of the Lemons from yesterday.

I really need to learn a thing or two about taking fish pictures. I also probably should have cleaned the glass, and used a different lens (this one has been having focus problems), but you get the idea. I will keep the pictures coming.


Thanks,
Sean

 

[librarygirl]

Those are excellent pictures. Much better than I've been able to take so far.

I have Panda's too, your'e going to love them, they are adorable and very comical .

 

[Broke EF]

Thanks! I still know that I can do better The pandas are by far my favorite so far. They are cute little buggers Everyone is active and getting along so far. I turned the light on because we had some guest come by, and all of the fish seemed fine with it. I noticed that the Lemons seemed a lot more colorful today I also noticed that a few of the Diamonds have some nipped fins Will they heal, or stay the way they are? I have to assume that this happened before I got them since everyone seems to get along so well.

Anyway, MORE PICS!!!!

Diamond Tetra (and some dirty glass)

More Diamonds (and more dirty glass )

Lemon, with some Diamonds hanging around

 

[Broke EF]

And last but not least, some PANDA'S!!!!!

Let me know what you think!

Sean

 

[Gboy66]

Lol i love the pics, and the lemon/diamond combo was a nice choice, very gopd match. Yes, the fins will heal over time, just keep up the great water quality!!

 

[Broke EF]

THANKS!! If you cant tell, I am a little excited I am really happy with the combo of tetras, they go well together. That was a good call on the Wife's part since she is the one who wanted the Diamonds. I am glad she did, because I think I like them better than the rummynose.

Great to hear that the fins will heal. I will do everything I can to keep the water as good as I can get it. Thank you all for all of the help!


Thanks,
Sean

 

[Gboy66]

THANKS!! If you cant tell, I am a little excited I am really happy with the combo of tetras, they go well together. That was a good call on the Wife's part since she is the one who wanted the Diamonds. I am glad she did, because I think I like them better than the rummynose.

Great to hear that the fins will heal. I will do everything I can to keep the water as good as I can get it. Thank you all for all of the help!

Thanks,
Sean

Ya! Psh, just like woman to like diamonds I can definatly tell your excited! It always is exciting...make sure you dont take thigs too quickly though, it will be a bummer when you are done with your whole stock! (your not goin fast btw just sayin)

 

[Broke EF]

Well, a Panda died today. He was hanging in one spot in the bottom of the tank all day (wife was home today) and didn't even move for food. I had to poke him to get him to move, and then about an hour later he was belly up I already went to the LFS and got a credit (too late to acclimate anything tonight). They also tested my water for me, and it was perfect which I already knew but its nice to get a second opinion.

On the plus side, all of the other fish are very active and seem to get along great! Tomorrow I may go get the replacement and some other foods / treats for them. What are some good recommendations?!


Thanks,
Sean

 

[Gboy66]

Well, a Panda died today. He was hanging in one spot in the bottom of the tank all day (wife was home today) and didn't even move for food. I had to poke him to get him to move, and then about an hour later he was belly up I already went to the LFS and got a credit (too late to acclimate anything tonight). They also tested my water for me, and it was perfect which I already knew but its nice to get a second opinion.

On the plus side, all of the other fish are very active and seem to get along great! Tomorrow I may go get the replacement and some other foods / treats for them. What are some good recommendations?!

Thanks,
Sean

Awwww man sorry! He must have been just sick, not your fault... As for treats! Nls pellets, frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis shrimp, algea/ vegie pellets!

 

[Broke EF]

Well just a quick update. I went to a not so local LFS last night which was beautifully set up with great tanks. They were a smaller mom and pop shop, and had a good variety of fish. They had an amazing saltwater collection, made me REALLY want saltwater. Anyway, they had some excellent looking Lemon Tetras. Like I said before, I have only seen one store that had them (and I bought them all), so I picked up two to fill out my school. So now I have a total of 8 Lemons, and 8 Diamonds, and they are all getting along great I also planned on grabbing some kind of treats for them, but I kind of forgot. I looked when I first got there and I saw freeze dried blood worms, BUT I remembered that freeze dried was less desirable. I couldn't remember the reason, just that I should pass on them. So today when I go pick up my Panda's (I think I am going to get 2, and bring them up to 7 total), I will pick up some treats.

I also turned up my heater a touch so that I can start slowly getting the water temp up for the GBR's. It was at 76, and I think I am going to try 79-80 ultimately. I didnt want to crank it all the way up there though, so I will do it a little at a time over a week or two.


Sean

 

[Mikey214]

Sweet panda's ! Can I get panda Cory's if I only have gravel and no sand ? I think I read that somewhere :thinking:

 

[Broke EF]

Picked up two Pandas today, they seem to be doing very well. I also got some veggie pellets, but they didn't seem to go for them. All of the blood worms were freeze dried, so I may have to just order some from online.

Anyway, now I am trying to find my Pleco. I wanted a Starlight (L-183), but that seems excessively hard to find. I did find a King Tiger (L-066) that I like a lot as well. It says that it needs a lot of flow and oxygen. I am wondering if I will have enough of both for it? I have the Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75, and I just ordered up another Aqueon QuietFlow 50 (and another Aqueon Pro 200w heater) today. I also have two 10" bubble wands on the sides of the tank. Should that be sufficient? If so, I will probably order one as soon as I can which may not be all that soon though.

Ill have some new pics tomorrow, probably some full tank shots as well.


Sean

 

[Gboy66]

Picked up two Pandas today, they seem to be doing very well. I also got some veggie pellets, but they didn't seem to go for them. All of the blood worms were freeze dried, so I may have to just order some from online.

Anyway, now I am trying to find my Pleco. I wanted a Starlight (L-183), but that seems excessively hard to find. I did find a King Tiger (L-066) that I like a lot as well. It says that it needs a lot of flow and oxygen. I am wondering if I will have enough of both for it? I have the Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75, and I just ordered up another Aqueon QuietFlow 50 (and another Aqueon Pro 200w heater) today. I also have two 10" bubble wands on the sides of the tank. Should that be sufficient? If so, I will probably order one as soon as I can which may not be all that soon though.

Ill have some new pics tomorrow, probably some full tank shots as well.

Sean

Oh go for that pleco! Saound cool! Well, everything seems to be goin well! Sounds fun

 

[librarygirl]

Picked up two Pandas today, they seem to be doing very well. I also got some veggie pellets, but they didn't seem to go for them. All of the blood worms were freeze dried, so I may have to just order some from online.

Anyway, now I am trying to find my Pleco. I wanted a Starlight (L-183), but that seems excessively hard to find. I did find a King Tiger (L-066) that I like a lot as well. It says that it needs a lot of flow and oxygen. I am wondering if I will have enough of both for it? I have the Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75, and I just ordered up another Aqueon QuietFlow 50 (and another Aqueon Pro 200w heater) today. I also have two 10" bubble wands on the sides of the tank. Should that be sufficient? If so, I will probably order one as soon as I can which may not be all that soon though.

Ill have some new pics tomorrow, probably some full tank shots as well.


Sean

Congrats on the Pandas. I love mine. What temp is your tank on? Pandas tend to like cooler water but they should be OK if it isn't too warm, I think. They are still adjusting to their new home so it isn't odd if they don't feed for a day or two. Once you get more they'll feel safer too and you may see them be more active. Mine usually feed on whatever I'm feeding the fish, either flakes, New Life Spectrum Pellets, or frozen foods, or peas. I add an algae wafer or some shrimp pellets a couple of times a week for them and they love those as well. Enjoy! I'd love to see a tank pic. It sounds like you have enough aeration and flow to me. Usually the fish will let you know if they need more; if you see them gasping at the surface for air that could be an indication you need more oxygen but your current setup sounds fine.

 

[Broke EF]

The tank is now 76 almost 77. I know the Panda's like the cooler temps, but I need higher temps to keep Rams. I am hoping I can get away with 79-80 which is on the cool side for the rams, and not too high for the Pandas. Though I have seen people keep Pandas up to 82. I want to slowly raise my temps, and keep an eye on them as I do to see any changes in behavior. If they start looking unhappy then I will drop it back down and skip the Rams.

I checked in on them this morning before I left for work, and the Pandas are staying more in a group! They seem happier with the addition of the two new guys, and they all seem to be good so far. Hopefully I dont have any more casualties. The tetras are still very active, and the coloring on the Lemons is good. I am going to try and keep an eye on the damaged fins on the few Diamonds to see how they are doing.

So next up is a Pleco once I pick which one I want (I am leaning toward the King Tiger). Then as long as the Pandas seem to be OK with the raised temps, a pair of Rams. Then after those guys are good, comes the Angel and its fully stocked! Of course, it wont happen as quickly as it sounds but I am getting close to being "done"

Once again, thanks for all of the help and advice!
Sean

 

[Broke EF]

Well I cam home to another casualty, a Diamond Teta this time. I tested the water right away and my Nitrates were a little high (probably around 30ppm), but everything else looked good. I did about a 50% water change after I took the body out. Rest of the fish seem to be OK, but I always say that I hope (again) that I don't loose any more. I'm fairly sure its nothing that I am doing, or have any control over, but I still don't like it.

Also after reading about various Plecos all day I think I am back to the L183. I found a source for them, and it eats algae. Most of the others I liked did not eat algae, which is one of the reasons I wanted a pleco.

Once the tank clears up some (TONS of Micro bubbles when I do a water change) I will get some pics.

Sean

 

[Gboy66]

Well I cam home to another casualty, a Diamond Teta this time. I tested the water right away and my Nitrates were a little high (probably around 30ppm), but everything else looked good. I did about a 50% water change after I took the body out. Rest of the fish seem to be OK, but I always say that I hope (again) that I don't loose any more. I'm fairly sure its nothing that I am doing, or have any control over, but I still don't like it.

Also after reading about various Plecos all day I think I am back to the L183. I found a source for them, and it eats algae. Most of the others I liked did not eat algae, which is one of the reasons I wanted a pleco.

Once the tank clears up some (TONS of Micro bubbles when I do a water change) I will get some pics.

Sean

Ah man sorry! It has to be the trates...i suggest a smaller water change every day for the next week.....just to make sure you dont lose any fish

 

[Broke EF]

Yeah, Im not sure if I will be around tomorrow or now. I have that other hobby on the weekend That is part of why I did the 50% today. But I will be on top of it starting Saturday for sure.

While we are on the topic, how can I reduce the bubbles when I fill the tank back up. I'm using a python, and it just pumps out micro bubbles like crazy the whole time.

Sean