Odd first aquarium situation

[JustOneMore20]

I also thought glass cats got bigger, but after doing some research, there are 2 different kinds. Asian glass cats (Kryptopterus minor), seen here only get around 3 inches, while African glass cats (Parailia pellucida), seen here get 6 inches. The African glass cats have an opaque black spinal chord, while the others have a clear spinal chord.

If you have the smaller ones, you should still upgrade the tank for them and the angels. They need a group of atleast 6, more if you can. All the angels and the glass catfish still won't be happy in a 30g IMO. I'd go bigger.

Check in the local newspaper and on Craigslist.com for used tanks. Used tanks are fine to use, you just need to leak test them for a week or so to make sure. If the seals leak, all you need to do is resilicon them. I have found some killer deals in my local paper...75g tank and stand, $60....too bad I don't have room for it. I will definitely never buy a new tank again....unless its a small one and affordable (under $30). You can use some pool filter sand as substrate if you can't find cheap gravel....and other equipment isn't all that expensive.

[Shayna]

Not everyone lives in the US with cheap prices like that. If I wanted to buy a brand new 10 gal where I live, I'd have to pay 40+ euros (51+ US$). So naturally I only buy used tanks. Even the used tanks can be rather expensive.

As for the angels, if all you can fit in is a 30 gallon if you upgrade tanks, I'd suggest you return all but one angel. IMO a pair of angels need at least 55 gallons. I definately wouldn't put a breeding pair into a 30 gallon if there is other fish in the tank as they are cichlids and can get pretty aggressive when breeding. Not to mention it doesn't look good in my eyes to have two fish the size of dinner-plates in a tank that small.

[rich311k]

I have kept breeding pairs in 29 gallon tanks for years. They do just fine. They look happy to me, they are bright and colorful and show no signs of fin damage or anything else resulting from fighting.

[phreeky]

Well being new to the aquarium game, I wasn't thinking about all this when I bought the setup and fish. I don't understand why people are confused why somebody would want a small tank - it's not primarily for cost reasons, but for location and preference (looks).

I live in a town house with relatively limited space, and it sits on the upper section of a kitchen bench. It looks nice with the fish at their current size, they swim around lots and have a reasonable amount of room, but I certainly didn't expect the fish to grow all that much.

Here a 10g tank is probably around the AUD$60 mark (~$45 US), just to give you an idea of what things can cost. Naturally they aren't produced in the quantities as over there so the cost has to be higher. I'd love a tank bigger than 30g, I'd even go up to 100g, but there is nowhere to put it.

On a positive note, I did see the lfs giving somebody credit for some fish when I was there, so there is the possibility I suppose. Are there any fish with a similar look but stay nice and small?

edit: btw, no heater atm. Water sits around 25c (77 degrees fahrenheit i believe), too low? That's the temp now and it's winter here btw.

[JustOneMore20]

Sorry...we didn't know where you were located...you should put that in your profile, so we'll know to recommend things or not depending on where you are located.

[phreeky]

Valid point

Also those pointing out the angelfish/neon tetra incompatibility, yes I was never looking to combine them, just mentioning maybe having in two separate tanks.

If I can keep the neon tetras alive, I think a reasonable school of them would look awesome. Looks like I'm gonna have to stick to those sort of fish for this smaller tank.

[DarylF2]

I have 4 Neon Tetras and 3 Otocinclus catfish (with a large Wistera plant, 3 Aponogetons, and a small Java Fern) in my 6-gallon Eclipse tank and I love it. Its beautiful and quiet and the fish & plants are healthy and doing beautifully.

Perhaps a setup like this would be to your liking too?

[phreeky]

It does, HOWEVER, the good news is the other half has given the go ahead for a bigger tank also, so we'll see how things go.

I've been told by a couple of people that a smaller tank will at least initially slow their growth, so I've got a few weeks to get things together. I will try and take some of the filter material from the smaller tank and get it cycled quicker.

Also gotta go buy me a proper testing kit, only got a pH tester at the moment. I'm colourblind so the testing might be up to my partner, but I may be fine as they seem to be mostly shade based - any other colour blind people here? Red/Green btw.