40 gallon biotope build

[nanofish]

Stock pictures really suck. Especially since we're not talking about some mom and pop store. This place is huge and I've seen plenty of posts on here talking about/linking to it. Buy a camera and have some take pictures. It's not that hard. Why would anyone buy online when they use pictures they bought, at least one of which I found to be mislabeled? /end rant.
Sorry that just annoys me. The mislabeled picture is the thing that really makes me leery. Lots of fish do look alike but it's hard swallow using a longnosed corydoras species pic for a shortnosed one. I really don't want to waste a two hour drive. If it's a starlight then that'd be great. Starry night? Still pretty great. Peppermint? Ehh, nope not good at all. So maybe I'll stick with the peckoltias instead.

 

[absolutangel04]

If it was me, I would stick to the peckoltias. Of course breeding in a community tank does not always work, but it would be awesome if you could spawn the leopard frogs. There could actually be some money in that.

 

[nanofish]

So it has absolutely nothing to do with you being my friend and knowing you'd get one if they did spawn?

 

[absolutangel04]

Nope.
Is my innocent face working?

 

[nanofish]

I really doubt I'll be able to breed them. I'll just be happy if I keep them alive for years. Anyone have any suggestions on caves though?

 

[absolutangel04]

You can hide pvc pipes under all the driftwood. YOu can even coat the pvs pipe with aquarium safe epoxy and then roll it in the sand for a nice sandy-looking cave. I typically just use clay pots and the fish don't complain.

 

[nanofish]

Yes ma'am. They also sell plecos spawning caves with the one end closed. I saw those for sale as round, square, and even D-shaped. I have no idea what diameter though. Peckoltias need it big enough to raise the dorsal fin halfway...yeah I'm a nerd and like my research.

 

[absolutangel04]

Thats cool. I have never seen those before. I shall google that.

 

[nanofish]

PLECO CAVES!!!! and Breeding Logs just to see the looks of some. More options than I thought.

 

[nanofish]

Good picture update time. Hooray!

 

[nanofish]

Couple more of closeups.

 

[absolutangel04]

Those pictures look awesome! I really like how the leaves look in there still. It just makes such a cool atmosphere.
I saw the links. Those do look pretty cool. I bet they would look super cool in there with all the leaves. I wonder how well they work. It seems like something a little bottom feeder would like though.

 

[absolutangel04]

The tetras look good too! How big are they now?

 

[nanofish]

She did a great job with the pics. I think the Rosy tetras are about an inch and a quarter. The silvertip is still in there and he's slightly bigger. The kitty tetras are slightly smaller and the gold tetra is the tiniest one. She tried for a while to get pics of the corys but no luck. The top closeup shows both kitty tetras while the bottom close up shows the silvertip on the upper right and I think that might be the gold tetra at the top of the same pic.

You can definitely see the algae in the middle of the tank in those pics, but for some reason I think it makes it look even more realistic.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, I agree.
It actually looks like the rosys are bigger than that in the picture. Of course, water changes perspectives though.
The pictures definitely look great. Ihave had a really hard time geting shots of any of my tetras because they are just so darn quick.

 

[TheFishBoss97]

wow, just browsed through this and saw the pics, just amazing!

 

[nanofish]

Yeah, I agree.
It actually looks like the rosys are bigger than that in the picture. Of course, water changes perspectives though.
The pictures definitely look great. Ihave had a really hard time geting shots of any of my tetras because they are just so darn quick.

You might be right. Some of the bigger males are look close to an inch and a half. I think my rosy tetra breakdown is 7 males and 1 female. She's easy to spot from a distance since she has a white tipped dorsal fin.
You do take good pics though. POTM champ afterall

 

[nanofish]

wow, just browsed through this and saw the pics, just amazing!

Thank you! That made me smile for sure. I love how it looks but that's just me personally. I know it's pretty simplistic compared to some of the aquariums I've seen on here.

 

[nanofish]

OK absolut (or anyone else), you have me thinking about the leopard frogs, but before that you had me thinking of dwarf cichlids. I'm looking at all the possibilities to decide what I like right now.
I don't want a ton of different species, but I don't think that would really count in this case. Since the cichlids are diurnal and the plecos are nocturnal I really shouldn't have a disorganized mess. Still like some thoughts on that.
So really the question comes down to territortality, especially given that leopard frogs are mildly that way. I'm not sure how a single cichlid is in regards to this. Could they co-exist*? What about a less territoral dwarf pleco? Any thoughts?

*All fish have individual personalities so nothing is guaranteed.

 

[absolutangel04]

Hmmmm... the most territorial pleco I have ever kept was a bnp. In my experiences with them, there were no issues, but I don't know about the dwarf plecos. My educated opinion is that it should be fine provided that enough caves are available for everybody.