Hi! Some help with my new aquarium please!

[mr.trooper]

Hello! I had fish a LONG time ago, but have not for years now. I would like to start up a new tank, but am essentialy doing if from scratch.

Here is my data, as per the Sticky:

* 25 gallon tank
* Planning on using a Bio-Wheel
* Medium sized smooth gravel as a substrate
* Not sure Exactly, but i know the water in our area has a naturaly high PH. Will get this tested later
* I like fish of all kinds, but mostly:

- Catfish (especialy fancy ones like Angel Catfish, but I HATE Plecos)
- Bumblebee Gobies (I hear these fish like hard water?)
- Crabs, shrimp, and crayfish
- Koli Loaches
- Congo Tetras
- African Butterfly fish

I am planning to have a few live plants to help out the BioWheel. Any recomendations of easy to grow plants and lighting would be appreciated. Someone told me that watter ferns are eeasy to grow, and dont need as much light? Thanks!

[Gill]

Originally Posted by mr.trooper

Hello! I had fish a LONG time ago, but have not for years now. I would like to start up a new tank, but am essentialy doing if from scratch.

Here is my data, as per the Sticky:

* 25 gallon tank
* Planning on using a Bio-Wheel
* Medium sized smooth gravel as a substrate
* Not sure Exactly, but i know the water in our area has a naturaly high PH. Will get this tested later
* I like fish of all kinds, but mostly:

- Catfish (especialy fancy ones like Angel Catfish, but I HATE Plecos)
- Bumblebee Gobies (I hear these fish like hard water?)
- Crabs, shrimp, and crayfish
- Koli Loaches
- Congo Tetras
- African Butterfly fish

I am planning to have a few live plants to help out the BioWheel. Any recomendations of easy to grow plants and lighting would be appreciated. Someone told me that watter ferns are eeasy to grow, and dont need as much light? Thanks!

Give a quick visit to the inventory of plants on this site as well as plantgeek.net. This should give you a good idea on what you will be able to grow! Just make sure you have fluorescent lighting of the correct Kelvin and wattage! A quick search will give you more info on this.

You might want to go with a finer gravel for easier planting, but its not that big of a deal.

You won't be able to have all those fish listed because of compatability issues and tank size, but you probably know that. And if I'm not mistaken, I think that bumblebees are a brackish fish, although they are able to survive in freshwater. Just something to keep in mind.

[TomK2]

Welcome back into the hobby, and welcome to AA! I took a few decades off too, and am glad to be back in the hobby. You have to have a plan for cycling the tank, so read up on the articles section of AA. Basically, you either start from scratch and cycle fishless byadding ammonia, use fish but then have to go extremely slow to avoid ammoia and nitrite spikes, or get a bacteria seed from an established tank or BioSpira.

if you decide to cycle with fish, I have some advice at http://home.comcast.net/~tomstank/to...s/page0017.htm

[mr.trooper]

Thanks guys. Could someone tell me what of those fish ARE compatible? It looks like i am going to be able to do a littel bigger tank then i previously thought. might be able to bump it up to a 35.

I am looking at a Butterfly fish and maybee 3 loaches? I see that the PH for a butterfly is 6.5, and the loaches like 7? I dont realy know much about PH so is this acceptably close for them to live together?

If iv got any room left, what would be a good mid-water community fish that would do OK being the only one of its kind?

Thanks again guys!

[JustOneMore20]

I've never heard of angel catfish. Can you find a website that describes them and post the link?

I hear differing answers on the bumblebee goby. I've heard they are freshwater and that they are brackish, so I'm not sure which one to believe.

Crabs and crayfish will eat smaller fish. I wouldn't put them into a community tank unless it was big (~55g). A 25g would be too close of quarters for one of those. As would a 35g.

Kuhli loaches would be great. They are social fish, so I'd go with a group of 5 or 6.

African butterfly fish would be great. Just don't keep any small slow fish with it (like small neons)...they might eat them.

I believe Congo tetras get a little too large for your size tank. They max out around 3 inches and really need a large group. They can be timid at times. I'm not sure how big a 25g or 35g is, but a 3 foot long tank is the recommended minimum for Congos.

Diamond tetras are that silver color, not quite as stunning as Congos, but still a pretty fish. They stay smaller, so I think they would work. I'd get a school of 6-8.

A good centerpiece mid-top fish is a gourami. A dwarf or honey gourami would fit in nicely. They can also be kept alone.

[sudz]

Even if it is a brackish fish, i believe you can slowly ween them to be 99% freshwater fish.

A guy at the fish store claimed he got a silver molly to survive for a year in a salt water tank, over a span of 2 months he added more and more salt.

I do not agree with him, as this is not what the fish's genetics had in store for it, and must have made the fish, at the bare minimum - under stress.

[mr.trooper]

Originally Posted by JustOneMore20

I've never heard of angel catfish. Can you find a website that describes them and post the link?

Synodontis angelicus http://fins.actwin.com/species/index.php?t=9&i=376

Thanks for all the advice guys and gals! I'll look at some Gouramis.

[tbonem91]

Originally Posted by mr.trooper

Synodontis angelicus http://fins.actwin.com/species/index.php?t=9&i=376

Thanks for all the advice guys and gals! I'll look at some Gouramis.

the first pic on that page isnt an angelicus - its an Eupterus

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...p?image_id=156

Just an FYI

here's another good pic of an angelicus

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...p?image_id=196

[mr.trooper]

Opps! Thanks for the info!

[RoK]

Synodontis angelicus can get over 20".
I've always heard bumblebee gobies are brackish.
Crabs and crayfish are best kept in a species tank. Many types of shrimp are ok though.
Kuhli loaches would be fine.
Congo tetras do get a bit big, even for a 35g. Diamond, lemon, or some other smaller tetra would work.
African Butterfly fishes are predators so I wouldn't put them with fish small enough to fit in their mouth.

[hc8719]

rok is right, most gobies are brackish, and even more are completely salt water.

sure they are born in freshwater, but will deffinatly need brackish water as they age

[JustOneMore20]

Even if it is a brackish fish, i believe you can slowly ween them to be 99% freshwater fish

They won't live as long though, in full freshwater, if they are a brackish fish. Yes you can put any fish into water that isn't suited for it and it will live for awhile, but not like it would in the appropriate water. If the fish is brackish, keep it in a brackish tank with other fish that like that water.

The planet catfish log on the Synodontis angelicus says it gets around 9.5in. Even that is too big for a 25 or 35g tank. I'd take it back and get some cories that are small enough to live in your tank. Or get like a 100g tank so you can have a group of those guys.

[mr.trooper]

Hey, hey, im back.

Iv got my tank set up and started on the fishless cycle.

Running some medium grit smooth gravel

Iv toned down my fish choices a bit. Right now implanning on going with a single Banjo Cat, and a pair of Bandit Corys. a PH of 7 seems to be right in the middle of bolth their prefered ranges, and they are bolth known to be peacefull community fish.

I am using a Bio Wheel Penguin 150.

I tested my water. The PH is very high, and is around 8.5. I noticed that the alkalinity is also ver high, around 240 or 250. What should I use to get the PH and Alkalinity down to aceptable levels?

[JustOneMore20]

I'm not sure about how to get the pH down....but I'll comment on the cories. They are shoaling fish, so you'll need more than a pair. I suggest you get atleast 4...6 would be even better.