ctsfishtank
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi all,
we are not new to freshwater aquariums but our knowledge is limited. We were given a freshwater tank with fish and supplies several years ago. In our uneducated attempts to manage the tank, we've had our share of failures. Unfortunately, it's the fish friends that pay the most. We've lost many but in the past year or two we've improved our skills.
Our 29 gallon tank houses tiger barbs and bristlenose plecos. Until recently, we had a beautiful rainbow shark. In the past few months, while performing water changes, we found our bn plecos are breeding. We have had 2 fry survive separate batches but now only one has survived to 1 1/2 inches in length. We had a batch of 45 fry in a net box hanging off the inside of the tank as our nursery.
Recently we have been fighting ich and so we lost 3 tiger barbs, the rainbow shark, the smaller of the 2 junior bn plecos and all our fry. We were heartbroken and tried all we could with water changes but our limited knowledge and experience have made it hard.
We are making a serious effort to learn more so we can do a better job taking care of these finned friends. We've recently set up a second tank because the bn plecos should probably have their own tank for breeding. The stress that caused the ick could have been addition of new tiger barbs and plants or just overcrowding with so many fry in the same tank. We are letting the new tank sit empty, running with heat, lights and a sponge filter right now. Our first tank has plants and gravel along with these ornaments: small castle, rock with plastic plants and a hollow rock where the plecos lay their eggs. The second tank does not have plants or gravel but has wood and terra cotta pots. I have a jar of water with rocks next the window to grow algae for the next batch of fry.
I am hopeful that with the input from more experienced aquarium owners, we will be able to have a better success rate.
we are not new to freshwater aquariums but our knowledge is limited. We were given a freshwater tank with fish and supplies several years ago. In our uneducated attempts to manage the tank, we've had our share of failures. Unfortunately, it's the fish friends that pay the most. We've lost many but in the past year or two we've improved our skills.
Our 29 gallon tank houses tiger barbs and bristlenose plecos. Until recently, we had a beautiful rainbow shark. In the past few months, while performing water changes, we found our bn plecos are breeding. We have had 2 fry survive separate batches but now only one has survived to 1 1/2 inches in length. We had a batch of 45 fry in a net box hanging off the inside of the tank as our nursery.
Recently we have been fighting ich and so we lost 3 tiger barbs, the rainbow shark, the smaller of the 2 junior bn plecos and all our fry. We were heartbroken and tried all we could with water changes but our limited knowledge and experience have made it hard.
We are making a serious effort to learn more so we can do a better job taking care of these finned friends. We've recently set up a second tank because the bn plecos should probably have their own tank for breeding. The stress that caused the ick could have been addition of new tiger barbs and plants or just overcrowding with so many fry in the same tank. We are letting the new tank sit empty, running with heat, lights and a sponge filter right now. Our first tank has plants and gravel along with these ornaments: small castle, rock with plastic plants and a hollow rock where the plecos lay their eggs. The second tank does not have plants or gravel but has wood and terra cotta pots. I have a jar of water with rocks next the window to grow algae for the next batch of fry.
I am hopeful that with the input from more experienced aquarium owners, we will be able to have a better success rate.
