"Shallow Foreign Stream" - First NPT 20G Long

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

This is my first NPT. I did it because I got this tank cheap and I knew that NPT don't take much equipment and would not cost me much, and so far the only cost it gave me is the fish i'm going to be adding in there. The lighting, gravel, heater, powerhead, dirt, plants, decor, shrimp, fish (that's in there now) where all already on hand. Lets go through what I have going on. I named this tank "Foreign Stream" because when I just sit there and watch the tank it reminds me of a shallow stream and most of my plants and fish are foreign to the states.

Equipment:

• Aquarium Systems Maxi-Jet 400 Power Head 106 G.P.H.
• Aquarium Systems Visi-Therm 50 Watt Heater
• Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light-30" (36W)

Plants:

• Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig' "Sunset Hygro"
• Limnobium laevigatum "Amazon Frogbit"
• Ceratopteris thalictroides "Water Sprite"
• Microsorum pteropus "Java Fern"
• Pogostemon helferi "Downoi"
• Lilaeopsis brasiliensis "Microsword"
• Vallisneria americana v. 'Biwaensis' "Corkscrew Val"
• Cryptocoryne wendtii "C. Wendtii"
• Bacopa Caroliniana "Bacopa"

Inhabitants:

• Platydoras costatus "Striped Raphael Catfish"
• Neocaridina heteropoda 'var. Red' "Red Cherry Shrimp"
• Corydoras pygmaeus "Pygmy Cory" (soon)
• Variety of Snails

Decor:

• Natural Driftwood From Local River
• Large Rock
• Estes Shallow Creek Regular Gravel
• Dirt From Outside

Step by Step Setup of "Shallow Foreign Stream":

First I found a south window to place the aquarium in front of.

Next I cleaned the tank and set it in front of the window.

Then I added the dirt and filled it with water just above the dirt line. More like mud now, ha ha.

After that I added the gravel around the edges.

Next I planted the plants and added gravel around them, then I put down my decor and filled in the rest of the gravel.

When I was finished with the gravel I started to fill it up, after half way it wasn't that cloudy so I continued till it was full. I used a small dish so I wouldn't disturb the substrate.

On the day I took the last full tank shot (next post down for pic) I added my Striped Rafael Catfish and 10 or so Red Cherry Shrimp. I didn't count the shrimp I just took a net swoop through my RCS breeder tank. I'm hoping to add plants over time but letting it do it's thing for now. I ordered 10 Pygmy Corys i'm going to add them in this tank, they should be here next Wensday. I'm still debating what I should have for my showcase fish. At first I was thinking a pair of Apistos would be great but I don't want fish that will eat the adult shrimp, just keep the shrimp population contained. I'll have to search the web and see what I find.

I'll try to keep this as updated as possible. Always open to any suggestions because i'm going through a learning process, I accept all criticism as well .

Regards,
Ben

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Here is a full tank shot the day after filling it up.

 

[fisch]

Looks pretty good.
Instead of a showcase fish maybe you can add a school of fish. I always like tetras because they won't breed or bother the adult shrimp. The cories will probably take care of most baby shrimp.

When I set up a NPT a few years ago I threw in some anachris to help with the bioload until the rest of the plants grew in more. Just took it out after a few weeks.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Looks pretty good.
Instead of a showcase fish maybe you can add a school of fish. I always like tetras because they won't breed or bother the adult shrimp. The cories will probably take care of most baby shrimp.

When I set up a NPT a few years ago I threw in some anachris to help with the bioload until the rest of the plants grew in more. Just took it out after a few weeks.

Yeah I was actually thinking of some kind of school when I was typing that showcase fish thing out. I was maybe thinking about doing a little more natural looking school instead of tetras though. Maybe some dianos, like a silver looking one, just something that would look wild like.

Yeah I threw in some Amazon Frogbit to cover algae but since I only have some shrimp and one catfish in there i'm not to worried about the bioload at the moment. I tried to just use plants I had on hand from other tanks too so I wouldn't have to buy any but I think I might have to anyways .

 

[fisch]

Going with what you have on hand is always the way to go if you can.
Danio's would look pretty good.
BTW, how much soil did you add?

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

I'm thinking an 1in or so. Prob a little more.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Looks good so far! Nice fish/shrimp choices too. I like that driftwood.

Question...don't Raphael cats eat shrimp and small fish? I always thought they did, but if yours has lived with them before without issues, then it should be fine.

Just don't want your shrimp to get eaten (and cories, since they are shrimp size)!

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Looks good so far! Nice fish/shrimp choices too. I like that driftwood.

Question...don't Raphael cats eat shrimp and small fish? I always thought they did, but if yours has lived with them before without issues, then it should be fine.

Just don't want your shrimp to get eaten (and cories, since they are shrimp size)!

Well my Raphael cat is fairly small right now laying at 1 3/4 inches. I've heard they get quite large, i'm hoping he will get a lot with the fish he is with right now. I'm honestly not worried about the RCS getting eaten because I breed them and i'm not selling them though so I have a ton. The corys I would be worried about though. Once he gets larger we will have to see how everything turns out.

Here are some pictures of him since we are talking about the cute little guy.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Aww....he's really cute! I love their whiskers. Yeah he is a tiny guy. I just didn't want your Cories to get eaten. He'd probably be ok right now. Pygmy cories are tiny though, so when that guy gets bigger, start counting cories!

I'm gonna keep up with your log and see how this tank evolves.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Yeah I know those corys are tiny, that's why I got them they look way sweet. I got 10 of them so it will be fun watching them school around. When he gets bigger i'm definitely going to be watching him closely.

Thanks, i'm excited about how this tank is going to turn out myself so we are both in for a surprise ha.

 

[mgamer20o0]

poor cories i wouldnt want to be kept with that. they are night feeders going around eating fish on the bottom at night. they get big in no time.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

poor cories i wouldnt want to be kept with that. they are night feeders going around eating fish on the bottom at night. they get big in no time.

Like I said i'll be watching him closely as he goes. He won't be able to eat them til 3-4in anyways. So I have a little while.

 

[beglely]

Once the raphael gets big he will become the equivalent of a fish garbage disposal...everything goes in lol

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Ok guys I think we established that my Raphael cat will get big and be a threat to my other inhabitants. I'm obviously not going to just let him stay in there and eat my fish. He is going to be removed once he is large enough to become a threat.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

I'm getting 5 new plants to add to the tank, one of which I already have just more stems of it.

Bacopa caroliniana "Giant Bacopa"
Hemianthus micranthemoides "Pearlweed"
Myriophyllum heterophyllum "Red Foxtail"
Sagittaria subulata "Dwarf Sag"
Rotala Sp. 'Green' "Rotala Green"



I'm also getting some new fish for this tank, some pygmy corys. I'll be receiving 10 of them for this tank.


I'm also hoping to ordering some Central Mudminnows Umbra limi. They are cool little fish that look natural and I think would fit will in the aquarium.


I'll post new pictures once I receive the new plants and fish.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Hey Guys, Haven't gotten an update on here for awhile thought I would. So I posted a video.
This is just after trimming so plants might look cut off.

Just need some help why my water is so cloudy. Ideas to get rid of it? Water change didn't help by the way

Thanks,
Ben


P.S. Sorry about the weird sound, I don't remember anything printing on my printer at the time I made video but I guess there was stuff printing lol.

 

[Bige]

Raph cats are so tough looking. Good choice. I bought some rock from the floor of a fish store one time and put in my tank. Few days went by and then I had a raph cat. Store guy said that had been on the floor for at least a day. From a broke down tank.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Raph cats are so tough looking. Good choice. I bought some rock from the floor of a fish store one time and put in my tank. Few days went by and then I had a raph cat. Store guy said that had been on the floor for at least a day. From a broke down tank.

I should of upgraded my live stock list. That Raphy isn't in this tank anymore. I moved him into another 20G with bigger fish, he has gotten huge already. As soon as I get all my convicts out of my 55G and into others hands i'll be putting him in the 55.

 

[BigJim]

It's probably better to get the Raphael out of the planted tank anyways. When mine decides he wants to dig, he'll uproot just about anything.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

It's probably better to get the Raphael out of the planted tank anyways. When mine decides he wants to dig, he'll uproot just about anything.

Well he is just in another planted tank, but he has caused no problems.