Help stocking a 55 gallon.

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Here's a pic while they are acclimating. My tank has been steady at 77 degrees. Their noses have faded since they got put in the bag. They will brighten up again soon I hope!

I looked at all the fish in the tank and they all looked really healthy. No weird spots, no dead fish. These ones had good color and looked alert and were swimming around happily. I hope they love their new 55 gal home!

 

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More pictures! It took an hour to acclimate. Then they were in the tank for 45 mins with the light off. When I turned the light on their noses had brightened back up! I love these guys!

Next time I think I will either get the glo lights, orange Von rio's, or gold pristella's. It's very hard to decide!!

 

[Laser]

Nice pictures, I like the rummies.

 

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Nice pictures, I like the rummies.

Thank you! I like them too.

 

[Coursair]

Rummy Nose are great. Frozen or live food will color them up super bright !

 

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Rummy Nose are great. Frozen or live food will color them up super bright !

I tried to get frozen but the guy advised me against it because they were defrosting the freezer today and the food was a little thawed.

Showing more color! Little green yellow spots are showing up on their heads! I fed them some flakes but they didn't eat. I will try again in the morning. I have the lights off now so they can really get settled in.

 

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Any hints on how to coax them out of hiding and how to get them to eat?

 

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I rather enjoy the him of the filters and the trickling sound that they make.

The Rummies spent the afternoon racing back and forth along then back wall of the aquarium. They noticed the food this evening but didn't eat it. They just spit it out. They all seem to be doing very well.

 

[Lycie]

The rummies are so cute and they look very happy in their new home its exciting to read other peoples stock stories as I am (im)patiently waiting to start stocking my new 180litre!

 

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I really want to get more fish. Please tell me it's a bad idea. My water levels are still good. I tested pH Ammo and trites today all good. I just added the 5 rummy nose on Friday. It's too soon for more right?! I should just get a new plant today.

 

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I showed great restraint and purchased 2 plants and some frozen bloodworms. I also talked the guy into throwing in a stem of ?hornwort? For free. I got some kind of amazon sword and some ludwigia palistrus.

 

[janky]

you got the rummynose!! I love those little guys!
I got a school of the X-ray ones in mine...

Yeah, if your ultimate goal is salt, keep that in mind at all times.
You said when you are ready to make the jump you'll have a 20 or 30 gal to rehome all the freshwater fish into?
Again, keep this in mind. With a 30 gal (being generous) you could do a school of tetra, some snails/shrimp, and maybe a couple center piece fish - but don't let that "new fish" addiction take over!!! You have a ton of room in the 55, but remember that you won't necessarily have that space in a 30 and there will come a day when those fish need to move out.

If the school of tetra is your only stock right now, maybe consider 1-2 "centerpiece" fish that get 3 inches or so (rams?) and I'd leave it there.

Or if you are really craving a new tankmate, think snails or shrimp
I can definitely attest to enjoying watching my snails and shrimp go nuts in their 20 g tall! And one of my snails is colossal! He's bigger than any fish I have in that tank!

 

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you got the rummynose!! I love those little guys!
I got a school of the X-ray ones in mine...

Yeah, if your ultimate goal is salt, keep that in mind at all times.
You said when you are ready to make the jump you'll have a 20 or 30 gal to rehome all the freshwater fish into?
Again, keep this in mind. With a 30 gal (being generous) you could do a school of tetra, some snails/shrimp, and maybe a couple center piece fish - but don't let that "new fish" addiction take over!!! You have a ton of room in the 55, but remember that you won't necessarily have that space in a 30 and there will come a day when those fish need to move out.

If the school of tetra is your only stock right now, maybe consider 1-2 "centerpiece" fish that get 3 inches or so (rams?) and I'd leave it there.

Or if you are really craving a new tankmate, think snails or shrimp
I can definitely attest to enjoying watching my snails and shrimp go nuts in their 20 g tall! And one of my snails is colossal! He's bigger than any fish I have in that tank!

Yeah. I'm trying to keep that in mind about the number of fish I have. If I have 5 Rummies and add 8 of another tetra, will that be ok to move to a 30 gallon one day? Of course a few snails and shrimp too.

I just bought some frozen bloodworms. I thawed a whole cube. That is alot of worms. Wow. So I gave two worms to my betta and about 8 or 10 to the tetras. I was just glad to see them eat! I think they all got a bite before they stopped being interested in them. Better than nothing. Today they are racing along the front of the aquarium, probably because I just put the new sword plant in the back left corner. I have thought about a center piece fish and I'm thinking about this one kind of angel fish I saw in a picture. It was a picture of a 300 gal tank and it was full of white angels that had a creamy orange color on their heads. I don't know about rams... Are they hard to care for? Do they have to be in pairs?

At any rate, what on earth do I do with the left over worms?!

And here is a couple of photos I just took. They don't stop moving!

 

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I've been giving some thought to German blue rams. I just don't know if my water parameters would be good enough for them. My pH is 8.0-8.2 and I'm pretty sure I have hard water. We have well water and I'll get buildup on my sink sprayer and shower heads. A pair of German blues would be really pretty in my tank, but I don't know I'd they will be able to adapt to my water conditions. I'm open to other centerpiece fish ideas, as long as I can transfer them to a smaller tank (around 30 gallons) when I change my 55 to saltwater.

 

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A. DIATOMS!!! I am starting to get diatoms in the tank!

Seeding filters with old media is awesome. It's been a week since I started my tank. Levels of ammo and trite have been zero the whole time and now diatoms!

B. So... Are ghost shrimp good at cleaning up old food the fish don't eat? I need to read about them today.

C. I'll be getting a couple of zebra nerite snails. What do I supplement them with? I gave my one nerite one of those bottoms feeder tabs and he ignored it. The MTS ate it though...

D.I think I will get another school of Terra's this week. Maybe black and blue neons...

E. If I go German blue rams what do I do to lower my pH? I've read peat moss will do something? And I know driftwood will. I just need to find a new big piece of it. Can someone explain the peat moss deal to me?

F. I've noticed one of my Rummies has separated himself from the other 4 and he's kind of hanging out in one area. He's a little smaller than the others. His color is still good and I see nothing wrong with him. He just isn't hanging out with his friends today... Should I add some freshater aquarium salt just incase he isn't feeling great?

 

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That rummy hiding died this afternoon. I have no idea why I have a tank of death. That's 7 fish that have died so far.

 

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Another rummy down. That's two now. I have a tank of death. I just did a big pwc and took out all my rocks. I think they are causing the high pH. My tank is so sad looking now. I'm going to get pool filter sand tomorrow.

I turned the lights off early tonight so the fish can rest. Here's a pic before lights out.

 

[Coursair]

Test your source water to see what it's starting at. You can do 1/2 tap 1/2 Distilled or R/O water to see if that helps. Test before you use that mix.

I'm sorry for your losses, that is rather high PH for some Tetras. Tho tank bred are more adaptable.

Did your tests show anything out of whack when you lost fish ??

Rocks can add stuff to water. There are ways to test your rocks.

 

[Bearchumjs]

Test your source water to see what it's starting at. You can do 1/2 tap 1/2 Distilled or R/O water to see if that helps. Test before you use that mix.

I'm sorry for your losses, that is rather high PH for some Tetras. Tho tank bred are more adaptable.

Did your tests show anything out of whack when you lost fish ??

Rocks can add stuff to water. There are ways to test your rocks.

No other test parameters were off. I had 0 ammo 0 trites 20-40 trates. PH was the only thing off. I'm going to soak my big rocks and test the pH in a few days. I'm also replacing all the small rocks I was using as substrate with pool filter sand. I'm going to get some peat moss and add it to my source water that I've had sitting on the counter. I have read that people with cichlids use it to keep their pH lower. If it doesn't lower it too much I'm going to add a handful to my small filter and see if that helps my tank water. the only problem I can see with that though is that when I do water changes my tap water will probably be higher than the tank water. That creates a different problem... I can try the RO water mixture too. Either way though I'm going to have to mix my water a few days before my water change.

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I replaced my rocks with sand and driftwood.

The good news is that my last 2 fish seem to be doing well!