Monday's first tank - 28G

[missmonday]

Hello everyone! I hope newbies are allowed to show their tanks-in-progress as well, heh. I started this tank in early August, and has finished cycling.

Tank: 28 gallons
Filters: Tetra whisper EX45 & Fluval U2
Heater: Marineland Stealth Pro 100W - Temp 76F
Lighting: x2 T5/6,700K bulbs
Substrate: Sand

Plants: giant hygrophila, rotala indica, hornwort, amazon chain sword, water wisteria, crypt. lutea and crypt. spiralis (looking to add more too!)

Stocking: x9 gold cloud mountain minnows
x1 sunset/honey gourami
x3 mickey mouse platys
x6 panda corys
x5 kuhli loaches
x6 amano shrimp
x1 nerite snail

So far I only have the minnows, gourami and the platys. Any advice for a newbie? Could be about fish, plants, etc. Thanks!

(Included 2 pictures, tank now and tank in early August)

 

[brennae]

With the nerite snail they put their eggs all over the glass and they are not easy to get off. I wish I didn't have mine.

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[Hunter73]

With the nerite snail they put their eggs all over the glass and they are not easy to get off. I wish I didn't have mine.

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You know I have read others say that same thing. I think they are easy to remove. I have 5 nerite snails in my 46g and I use a small micro fiber towel and wipe them off. Sometimes it takes 2-3 wipes, but very easy for me to remove.


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[missmonday]

Are there any other snails that don't lay eggs frequently and don't eat plants? I'm reconsidering getting a nerite snail, but I'm only interested in keeping a single snail and don't want tons of babies or chewed up plants...

 

[brennae]

Mystery snail

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[missmonday]

Got my 10 gallon quarantine tank yesterday and got nice glass lids on both tanks! Before I was being very precarious by having the light (that was just a tad too small) rest on 2 paint sticks inside the tank. After having a terrible "what if" dream of the light falling in the tank and killing all my fish, I decided it was definitely time for lids.

I also got some frozen brine shrimp! They're Omega One brand. Everyone but my gourami, Mr. Mango seems to like it. He sure is a picky eater :s Any other frozen foods that anyone would recommend? Bloodworms?

 

[brennae]

Bloodworms, fish love them. Might try blackworms of your lfs has them. Usually they come live and kept in the back. Sometimes you can find them frozen.

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[missmonday]

Well, here are some of the pictures I promised.

Here's my new quarantine tank, 10 gallons with a nice lid too There were a bunch of Aqueon product samples inside like flake food and water conditioner, but I don't really plan on using either. I also got 2 plastic plants, and there's a few more plastic plants that I plan on taking from the DT and moving them to QT when I get more live plants. I also plan on putting a background on the QT. It's perfectly okay to leave it bare-bottomed too, right? No substrate? With plenty of plastic plants and hidey holes it should feel nice and safe, right??

Here's the lid on my DT too, which I found out is actually 29 gallons! The previous owner told me it was 28, but oh well, only a gallon off. You can also see my brother in the background.

This is my pregnant platy. How close is she to giving birth?? My mom says she looks like she's about to pop, when we got her she wasn't obviously pregnant. Don't worry, the fish doesn't have ich, it's just the odd reflective scale that another female platy has too, they're not spreading or anything. (I had previous thread about it and thankfully some other members cleared that up for me : D )

And now I'm trying my hand at frozen food! Thankfully, these look like they'll last a good long time, as one cube of brine shrimp fed my main tank twice and my betta tank too. I even got Mr. Mango to eat some I haven't tried the mysis shrimp or the bloodworms yet, as I just bought them today.

How would I go about preparing/giving blackworms to my fish if they're live? I've heard live food can sometimes contain parasites and I'm worried about that :s

 

[brennae]

To address the first question. A bare bottom for a qt tank is best. I actually keep most of my tanks bare on the bottom. It's easier to clean and see what the fish didn't eat etc. I really dislike gravel. When I use substrate it's either sand or eco complete.

I really dont know much about platys.

The blackworms need to be stored in a small amount of water in the refrigerator. My lfs sell them in 2 Oz portions. My mother didn't want them in the fridge even though they were in a sealed container so I would feed the 2 Oz over the course of the day and just left them in a cool place. They would last a day or so but then they start dying. Now I bought a fridge for fish stuff and I buy them by the lb. If you store them then you need to thoroughly rinse them daily. I've never had trouble by feeding worms of any sort. Now if you go buy feeder fish such as guppies, goldfish, Rosie reds or minnows then yes you are asking for trouble. They are raised in poor conditions and very over crowded.

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[brennae]

Oh so to feed the blackworms you scoop out a portion and mix with a bit of water and swish them around then take your turkey baster and suck them up and plop into the tank. Some people use their hands and sometimes I also use long tongs by Fluval made for aquascaping.

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[missmonday]

Oh okay great! The only substrate I've ever used (both for betta tank and DT) is sand, so I'm definitely more used to sand but bare-bottom is much easier (but not if you want plants to grow).

I'll keep an eye out the next time I'm at my lfs! Thanks for the tip c: I only plan on looking for some blackworms and preferably in some smaller portions too. I'll keep an eye out!

 

[missmonday]

Well, yesterday I purchased 6 Amano shrimp and an assassin snail--who already made quick work of the pond/bladder snail I had. I couldn't find the snail again (he's probably hiding somewhere), but here are some pictures I took of the shrimp

Mr. Mango also became way more lively when there were bags floating in the tank too

I also bought 4 more plants to add to the tank, so once I do my weekly pwc and add the plants, I'll add another picture for my tank growth progression

 

[TheresaM]

Nice pics of the shrimp!

 

[missmonday]

Thanks!!

Here is a picture of the tank now with new added plants.

The shrimp also decided that the helmet is the new algae buffet area.

But Mr. Mango says otherwise... He seems to be keen on protecting his helmet, even from the likes of shrimp!

 

[TheresaM]

Thanks!!

Here is a picture of the tank now with new added plants.

The shrimp also decided that the helmet is the new algae buffet area.

But Mr. Mango says otherwise... He seems to be keen on protecting his helmet, even from the likes of shrimp!

Love that second pic!

Looking back at your bagged shrimp pics, by any chance do you shop at Wet Spot?

 

[brennae]

Now I want gourami! I didn't realize they were so personable.

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[TheresaM]

Now I want gourami! I didn't realize they were so personable.

I know, right? This is why I should stay off build/tank threads

 

[missmonday]

Haha, thanks for the positive opinions, guys! Mr. Mango is my favorite inhabitant to watch, aside from the shrimp when I can find them

I do shop at the wet spot, but I actually purchased these shrimp from World of Wet Pets in the Beaverton/Portland area. Judging from the area though, it's possible they could be getting the shrimp from the same vendors, I'm not sure :0

I just came into the other shop to pick up plants but once I saw how active they were, I knew I needed to have some hehe, maybe I'll get more from the wet spot :0

 

[brennae]

Did you get on the wetspot mailing list? I really enjoy the newsletter. It is full of useful tidbits and tell about new fish available etc.

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[TheresaM]

Did you get on the wetspot mailing list? I really enjoy the newsletter. It is full of useful tidbits and tell about new fish available etc.

Definitely! The other problem with that is it's a reminder that they update their stock list on Fridays as well