Returning fish nut

It has been a while since I was lurking here (2 ish years) and a lot has gone on in that time.

I still have my 53 gallon.

However, I have moved house (which was beyond stressful). I have gone from an ancient ground floor flat to a younger 1st floor flat close to the coast. Caused a few issues regarding the 53, but once the dimensions and, most importantly, the all up weight had been accepted by the new landlords, it was all madness and stress getting everything moved and installed. I also had to deal with a raft of repairs to the flat itself after moving in....everything from a leaking roof to dodgy electrics. The flat, I discovered afterwards, had been left empty for 18 months prior to me taking it and maintenance was very much stagnated. But we are now fully watertight and functioning.

With the new start, I decided to push the boat out a bit on the equipment front.

Filtration is a combined sponge/air filter and a Fluval FX2 (which as a relative newby to externals, I am very impressed with it)

I also have a Fluval CP2 wavemaker, a Fluval T300 heater, a 9w GKM and an Eheim air200.

The fish are loving it......George, my Bristlenose who I have had from an egg, is the boss. He keeps the rest in check, a mix of Golden Blue Emperors, Blue Emperors, Albino Cories, Panda Cories, YoYo Loaches (sent in error by supplier - wanted Zebra - but seemingly healthy and happy and keeping pest snails controlled). Stocking is borderline high, the FX2 is dealing with things exceptionally well, very impressed with that.

I still don't "do" live plants...tried a batch before I moved home and they were an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. So have decided to stick to what I know I can use successfully.....chunks of lava rock, drainpipes, guttering, bogwood and silicon/silk plants. The fish are happy, healthy and breeding without permission, so they are satisfied with the decor and despite a borderline high stock level, everyone has room for the zoomies and quiet moments, so all good.

I had to leave my 30 litre and 112 litre behind due to restrictions on weight, so they found a new home with an old neighbour.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Breeding fish are a good sign of that. While live plants are nice to look at, people have successfully been keeping fish without them for decades so I wouldn't be concerned about not having them.
Fish stocking is as much an art as it is about a head count. As long as you keep fish that occupy the different strata of the tank ( top, middle and bottom), you can keep a good number of fish without issues. I'm not sure those " stock calculators" take that into consideration.

Andy Sager said:

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Breeding fish are a good sign of that. While live plants are nice to look at, people have successfully been keeping fish without them for decades so I wouldn't be concerned about not having them.
Fish stocking is as much an art as it is about a head count. As long as you keep fish that occupy the different strata of the tank ( top, middle and bottom), you can keep a good number of fish without issues. I'm not sure those " stock calculators" take that into consideration.

Click to expand...

I tend to agree on the stock calculation sites. Not only do they not take into consideration the various levels that specific fish inhabit but they also don't take in the actual size of the fish....for instance one of my YoYo's is around 2.5 inches and the rest are 1.5 inches long, yet all the same age...and despite what is said online about them, they have only been in my aquarium a few months and have already produced an unplanned extra YoYo.

I have never had any issues with breeding......tbh they tend to out breed the average rabbit without any encouragment from me.

Another added piece of equipment that I forgot to note in my initial post, I have always used RGB Nicrew lighting, but decided to give the Interpet Eco-Max a try with controller. The light is absolutely excellent....the controller, not so much (technophobic self has given up trying to set the blessed thing and it sits in a drawer in the kitchen)

With the FX2 I went a bit mad on the media too. I have JBL BioNitrEx, JBL SilicatEx, Fluval ZeoCarb and various grades of sponges and fleece. It is working superbly. Both JBL products last around a year before they require replacing, so although relatively expensive in initial outlay, they quickly pay for themselves in longevity.