Jumping into the deep end

[dezcookies]

Hi guys.

I'm new to the whole aquarium scene and I ran into this forum and thought it be a great place to start. Anyways so I have 2 tanks. A 130L and 40L

40L
10 neon tetra
1 Siamese fighting fish
2 molly
-will add 1 bottom dweller soon

130L
3 corydora panda
1 Otocinclus
7 phantom tetra
-will add
2 Cucoo catfish
2 Bala shark/silver shark
x Dwarf gourami
x Red tailed black shark (possibly depending on if they are okay with pandas)

How do those tank list sound to you guys. Let me know what you think or any personal experiences with any of these fish and their personalities.

Many thanks
DezCookies



Getting addicted...

[Coursair]

Ok so you have a 40ltr = 10.5g

You are way overstocked !! Check AqAdvisor to help with stocking. Do not buy more fish. You need to return or rehome most of them.

You can do 1 Betta plus Ghost Shrimp or a Snail
Or
You can keep 5 Neons and not much else.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

130ltr = 34g
Your current stock is ok and you could move your Mollies to this tank and your Neons.

Do Not add Bala Sharks !! They get 10-12" and need a much bigger tank.

If these are new tanks, don't buy anymore fish. Adding too many fish too fast will crash your tanks.

Test your water with an API Master Test kit.

Do large weekly water changes or sooner if needed.

How long have your tanks been up ?

Sorry for the bad news on the 40 ltr. But if you don't reduce the stock , your fish will start to die. Mollies are semi-aggressive in my opinion. They can be major bullies around food.

Please research the fish you have and ask if you need our help before buying any more.

Store employees will often say anything to make a sale. Not all of them.

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[Coursair]

Cories and Otos need to be in groups. Fill out your schools once your tanks are stable. FYI I never put Otos in new tanks. They need biofilm as they are wild caught and usually will not eat packaged food. Single Otos usually waste away. 😢

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[dezcookies]

I see. Thanks so much. I get different information from the fish stores. They said my betta and 10 neons are okay in the 40L tank

So oto needs to be in schools and lives off natural bio stuff? Do they not eat algae wafers?

Also I love my cory and oto. How many should I have of each for them to school?


Getting addicted...

[dezcookies]

These tanks are not cycled. Fish store said if you let the filter run (new filter no seeds) for a week it will be cycled. So I got the fish 2 weeks after to be safe.

I do 25% water changes every 5 days and use the Api master test kit to monitor the water quality.


Getting addicted...

[emerald76]

It's very hard to get otos to take prepared food. I had some and they died within days because there wasn't enough food. A round oto is a happy oto. If I were you, id let some smooth river rocks stay in a bowl of water in the sun for a while. Have several and when they get algae covered out them in the tank. As soon as one is clean take it out and add another. You will need a lot of these thought but it's probably the best way. Another way to get them on prepared foods would be to fill a 2.5 or so and let it sit in the sun until it is full of algae. Add your oto and a sponge filter. As they eat through the algae put some wafers and fresh veggies in the tank. Eventually they may take some but you should probably still supplement real algae.


Emerald76

[Coursair]

Originally Posted by dezcookies

I see. Thanks so much. I get different information from the fish stores. They said my betta and 10 neons are okay in the 40L tank

So oto needs to be in schools and lives off natural bio stuff? Do they not eat algae wafers?

Also I love my cory and oto. How many should I have of each for them to school?


Getting addicted...

I'm sorry you were given bad advice. IF your larger tank has room, you can eventually have 5-6 Otos and 5-6 Cories.

What species of Cory do you have ?

6 or more is ideal but you'll need to factor in all your fish.

Besides growing Algae on smooth rocks, if you can get it Repashy makes an awesome gel diet. It comes dry and you add the water and microwave. My Otos LOVED it 🐳🐳

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[aqua_holic]

Agreed that the 40L is overstocked, and agree about the mollies.

There are a number of nano fish that you can keep in your 40L - much more than just a betta or a few neons. Personally, I don't think it's right to sacrifice school size in order to fit fish into a tank and for that reason I think you should stock fish that top out at an inch or less. A large group (10+) of ember tetras, chili rasboras, or celestial pearl danios would do very well in a tank that size. There are other nano fish options as well.

[dezcookies]

Originally Posted by Coursair

I'm sorry you were given bad advice. IF your larger tank has room, you can eventually have 5-6 Otos and 5-6 Cories.

What species of Cory do you have ?

6 or more is ideal but you'll need to factor in all your fish.

Besides growing Algae on smooth rocks, if you can get it Repashy makes an awesome gel diet. It comes dry and you add the water and microwave. My Otos LOVED it 🐳🐳

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I have 3 corydoras panda at the moment.
Unfortunately Repashy doesnt have an australian reseller.

Originally Posted by emerald76

It's very hard to get otos to take prepared food. I had some and they died within days because there wasn't enough food. A round oto is a happy oto. If I were you, id let some smooth river rocks stay in a bowl of water in the sun for a while. Have several and when they get algae covered out them in the tank. As soon as one is clean take it out and add another. You will need a lot of these thought but it's probably the best way. Another way to get them on prepared foods would be to fill a 2.5 or so and let it sit in the sun until it is full of algae. Add your oto and a sponge filter. As they eat through the algae put some wafers and fresh veggies in the tank. Eventually they may take some but you should probably still supplement real algae.


Emerald76

The entire tank is smooth gravel so should i just scoop some of those out into a bowl or two and do that? Also do i need anything for the process to start or does algae just grow in the sun on the gravel without anything?

[emerald76]

Get a bunch of decorative river rocks or something similar- your gravel won't help. Algae will just grow.


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[amyb_70]

Hi, I'm fairly new myself. I have had so much helpful advise from Coursiar and Emerald, I've never personal gotten advice from the other, but anyway they are all right. Trust me when I say follow what they are advising you will save yourself a ton of time, energy,frustration , and money, you will most likely save some fish as well. If the store won't take them back try an independently owned store most will give you a credit. If you can't do that rehome them as suggested if it's free or less than you paid you still got something good. You saved the fish and learned a valuable lesson sooner than later. IME I also agree most are just looking for the sale, not yours or the fish best interest. This site is great and helpful also google information. I know it's hard but look see what you like, go home do serious research then if you have room make your purchase. It's easy to buy spurr of the moment, don't most times ( being new) you'll wish you researched the fish first.


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[emerald76]

I bought a fish from pet...art, it didn't work, took it back and they took it, saying they would put it in QT. As soon as they went into the back, I heard water being poured into a sink or something and then something flushed- they came back with my bag and gave it back. Um, acclimation much or just instant death?


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[Fresh2o]

Originally Posted by emerald76

I bought a fish from pet...art, it didn't work, took it back and they took it, saying they would put it in QT. As soon as they went into the back, I heard water being poured into a sink or something and then something flushed- they came back with my bag and gave it back. Um, acclimation much or just instant death?


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Very sad. I think that's why I've stopped buying fish there (or anywhere). I still get shrimp and plants, but those are from the generous folks on this forum.
Lots of good info and discussions here. Some get heated. That's when I break out the ::
I like to use the Search function to find threads that mention a partcular keyword. Also Google.


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[amyb_70]

I'm curious if your not getting fish from lfs where do you buy? I imagine ordering online would be costly with shipping fees. Not to mention what if they die 2 hours later? I have only seen DOA guarantee.


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[BigRedsReefs10]

Live aquaria is great, they offer a 14 day guarantee, the cost of shipping does suck though but there selection usually makes up for it IMO.

[amyb_70]

Thank you, I'll have to check the site out. Lfs are more and more frightening every time I go. Guess the more I learn the more things seem off.


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[Fresh2o]

Originally Posted by amyb_70

I'm curious if your not getting fish from lfs where do you buy? I imagine ordering online would be costly with shipping fees. Not to mention what if they die 2 hours later? I have only seen DOA guarantee.


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I am currently on a hiatus. When I do get them, I'll probably order them through my LFS. I just need to get my QT setup.

Too often I see a post that says "I just got new fish" followed by "I think my fish are sick". Been there and done that.


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[aqua_holic]

Originally Posted by Fresh2o

Too often I see a post that says "I just got new fish" followed by "I think my fish are sick". Been there and done that.


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Hahaha this reminds me of fishing. People always ask me how the fishing has been, citing all the pictures in the paper of people with fish. My standard response - you know what you don't see pictures of? All the people who didn't catch anything

I think it's the same here - people don't complain about the healthy fish they buy, so it can seem like there's a disproportional amount of sick fish. Too, a large number of those fish got sick because of the conditions in the keepers tank.

[pls1210]

I love the way you have that little tank set up. The decor is awesome!

[amyb_70]

So true about I got fish, my new fish are sick, I bought a pregnant fish thought it was a male. I got the nerite snail on Friday it was dead.


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