Decoration questions...

[Lidralyn]

Well I asked some questions here before and got good answers. I appreciate them. I now have 5 Ghost Shrimp in the tank and 4 Neon Tetras. I had 5 but 1 died during the first night, so must have been a rough ride home.

Anyway, I want to bring the Tetra number up to 7 and then add 5 more Ghost Shrimp tonight or tomorrow. Then in a couple of weeks once the Algae level is higher I will pick up my Nerite Snail and then finally my Betta.

Here is the question I am having now. I think my shrimp have found a decent amount of places to hide, but I have been reading about the Neons and I read that they need low light and a lot of places to hide as well.

I typically leave my lights on continuously in the tank and I didn't really want to add any plants to this tank because I like it being open. I would be willing to add a bigger plant perhaps in the back left where the heater is, but I am concerned it might burn with the heater there.

Will 7 tetras be ok in the tank with the lights on constantly and no other decorations? Or is something else mandatory for them to be happy? AqAdvisor said with all of those fish they are still not overcrowded, but I twant them to be healthy and happy as well.

Any suggestions are welcome,
Thanks,
Lid

 

[jcolon]

A few more Neons will be fine and It's actually beneficial to have a lights out period. Just like we benefit from darkness for falling asleep ... fish, inverts and eventually your plants need a darkness period. Just get yourself a timer and set the lights on for the afternoon evening ... figure from 3pm -10pm. Excess lights lead to algae blooms which can become too much. Some plants for the back would really add to the look and will help your tetras be more at ease since plants offer hiding places. Yes neons are naturally used to more black-water conditions, which is why plants come in useful as shade.

As that's a stock fixture, low light plants like Anubias or Java Fern would be fine. They can be attached to either rocks or DW or the roots planted in the substrate. Just keep the Rhizome above the substrate.

 

[Lidralyn]

I am trying to stay away from live plants as last time I tried that I ended up with some massive pond snail issues and they would always get stuck in the filter.

I will look into getting a timer for my lights, hadn't thought of that. Will check with my local store soon. So you are suggesting to only have the lights on during the period from 3pm till 10pm maybe? And the rest of the time to keep them off?

Thanks for the advice,
Lid

 

[jcolon]

I am trying to stay away from live plants as last time I tried that I ended up with some massive pond snail issues and they would always get stuck in the filter.

I will look into getting a timer for my lights, hadn't thought of that. Will check with my local store soon. So you are suggesting to only have the lights on during the period from 3pm till 10pm maybe? And the rest of the time to keep them off?

Thanks for the advice,
Lid

Yep .. no need for lights on to be on ... particularly when no one's home (work, school hours etc) As for plants ... that's an easy solution ... give new plants an Hydrogen Peroxide Dip first. First time I tried dipping ... I had at least 4 dead snails. I did a 100% H. Peroxide dip for 3 1minute periods .. replacing the H. Peroxide each time. Gave the plants a good rinse with tap water and then into the tank.

 

[Lidralyn]

I may try that eventually, but for now I may stick with perhaps an artificial plant in the back left for them to hide in.

Will my heater hurt it if it's next to the heater?

Also, do I need a backdrop for the tank? Right now it is completely clear...which I like because I can lean over and look from the back since my fish seem to like to hide back there and sometimes it is hard to find them all to be sure they are still ok....with a backdrop it would be much harder to find them all...but might give them a more secure place to hide.