beginners 10g fully planted for my swordtails

[Aspencer]

My Swordtails are growing. When I got them, they were pale but over the course of 3 weeks, they have grown and colored up. In this picture, all three are getting a dark area of their topside. Is this normal?

 

[Aspencer]

Man, my Swordtails love the zuchini in the tank, the just hover and eat, almost all the time. I assume that it is healthy. Does anyone have any other veggies that fish like besides cucumber?

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Okay, changed lights in my 10g a few days ago to 2.4 wpg. Lights are on 9.75 hours per day.

Started dosing 3 days ago.

Have 4 small snails from new plants.

Feeding shrimp zuchini. Swordtails eating it too.

Algae is just starting on glass. What should I be doing?

Well, if you could invest in a few otos. They love algae! CO2 helps keep down on algae growth to my knowledge, and I had quite a bloom when I started dosing with ferts.

If those small snails are pond snails, you may wish to rid yourself of them as they reproduce like rabbits... Still trying to get rid of my population that came in on my plants.

My Swordtails are growing. When I got them, they were pale but over the course of 3 weeks, they have grown and colored up. In this picture, all three are getting a dark area of their topside. Is this normal?

I don't know enough about swordtails to be honest. With the new light, though, perhaps they're developing a "tan" from the higher UV? Truth be told, I don't really know. I'll defer to Fort on that one.

Man, my Swordtails love the zuchini in the tank, the just hover and eat, almost all the time. I assume that it is healthy. Does anyone have any other veggies that fish like besides cucumber?

Peas. Haha, just boil up and shell some peas, mash them a bit with your fingers and let it drip into the tank. It's an excellent laxative for your fish.

 

[Aspencer]

I tried taking a picture of the tiny snails. I have noticed two or three MTS, spiral ice cream cone shaped shell and then other rounder shelled ones. The pictures did not turn out.

I see lots of growth on the plants, especially with the red mellon sword and the rotola vietnams (lots of vibrant colored growth on the ends).

I have also turned up the Aquaclear filter to maximum and now have good water movement around the tank...looks like the ocean bottom with everything swaying.

The babies are growing like mad and venturing out into the clear water to swim and feed with the big fish.

I looks like only four of the biggest shrimp survived but maybe the smaller ones are still hiding. I have seen 2 molted shells laying about.

Will post my weekly picture on the weekend to document to growth.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Sounds like your tank is going superbly! Well done Aspencer!

MTS are pretty nice to keep around. I have a baby that I'm keeping. It's just that a lot of rounder ones tend to be pond snails and they're something of a nuisance.

I recently bought myself a second AC 50 for my 29G, and the extra filtration has really helped keep the water clear and my tank recovered from its mini-cycle in just a couple days.

Looking forward to the picture!

 

[Aspencer]

Weekly update:

I have dosing ferts twice a week. I have developed a brownish algae on the glass but I have also developed quite a group of MTS snails and probably a few pond snails. I assume that that brown stuff is diatoms, new tank syndrome.

My babies are big enough to come out during feeding time and compete with mom and dad for food. I have found a home for some of them when they get bigger.

The plants are growing like made, especially the Red Wendtii, Red Melon Sword, and the two Rotola Vietnam. They have vibrant new growth at the end of the stems.

My lighting is a 24w double tube CFL. I have just cut down lighting to 8 hours. Today, I am going to put a new fixture (I needed a antinic bulb) 24w T5HO 6700 bulb that runs the entire length of the tank. Should be better lighting but still under the c02 threshold.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Love it! Haha, convenient to have your tank right next to a sink, huh?

Also, can you recommend any good CFLs with Edison fixtures? I would like to perhaps get two some time and use it to cover the blind spots of my 22-inch T5HO's. Especially since two of my higher light plants needed to be in the corner.

And yes, that brown algae does sound like diatoms. You can get an algae scrubber and that should remove them for you.

 

[Aspencer]

I had a slight attack of diatoms last Friday. I added one Nerite snail. Over time and the snail, the glass is spotless.

A fellow teacher had a tank in his room full of guppies with overgrown algea or Java moss on the bottom, no light on top. I tested the water...parameters are 0/0/160...I told him to do a water change...I may have to do it myself...

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Oof, that's nasty. Yeah, my friend has a tank too and he doesn't really care to take the full care of it that he should. He says he's "just not into it" like I am.

So I did parameters and PWC for him this weekend...

 

[Aspencer]

Just ran into that teacher who teaches science by the way...he said he did change the filter and added charcol. "That should fix it!" I offered and he accepted for me to go in and do a water change.

 

[Aspencer]

I just ordered the Walstad book..any pros or cons with setting up a 20g long using that method?

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Not sure about the Walstad book.

Although replacing the filter and adding carbon probably isn't going to help your fellow teacher. He just cut his bacterial colony in half... Carbon is generally used when trying to leech meds out of the water. Otherwise it sits there and looks pretty.

He would probably do better with a bag of bio ceramics. :]

 

[Aspencer]

Yea. I was being sarcastic...and he was a science teacher.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Ohhh, haha, sorry... My apologies... I didn't catch the sarcasm in your message. xD Sorry about that.

Shouldn't science teachers know this sort of thing......?

 

[Aspencer]

I am getting to rehome my Swordtails to my 20g Long and move all my stem plants too.

Severum Mama has a trio of young Andlers livebearers that I want to put in this tank.

 

[Aspencer]

Getting ready to move my Swordtails out, at least the adults. Both females are ready to drop their babies again.

The tank is going great. I am hoping Severum Mama still has her Endler's when the time comes.