Fish tank sand

[Brookster123]

Monitor for aggression and rehome as needed

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[Gatorbait101]

If there is agression, is a 20 gallon tank big enough to hold either one of the groups till I figure out what I need to do?
Side note, I was looking at my 20 gallon tank yesterday and saw brown algae, so I took out all my decorations and did a 50% water change and cleaned all my decorations. One of the decorations lost color after I cleaned it. That worried me so I didn't put it back in my tank. Could the paint coming off cause problems?

 

[gilpi]

50 pounds of pool sand filter costs around 12 bucks at any pool supply store. I use it in my tank, it's clean and looks great. Many people here do it as well. I say go for it if it's what you want.
I have African cichlids, they rearrange the tank constantly but they'll do it with any substrate.
Pool filter sand is not as powdery as some other types of sand, I never had any issues cleaning the tank.

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[nirbhao]

If there is agression, is a 20 gallon tank big enough to hold either one of the groups till I figure out what I need to do?
Side note, I was looking at my 20 gallon tank yesterday and saw brown algae, so I took out all my decorations and did a 50% water change and cleaned all my decorations. One of the decorations lost color after I cleaned it. That worried me so I didn't put it back in my tank. Could the paint coming off cause problems?

Any time something changes color, the chemicals that make that color are going somewhere- paint chips or dissolved pigments or something along those lines. Did it change color during cleaning or just while in the tank?

 

[Gatorbait101]

It was covered in brown algae, so I took it out of the tank and cleaned it and then the color was gone. I am just leaving it out of the tank for now.

 

[Coursair]

Great! Thanks! So how does this sound: 1 rainbow shark, 2-4 angelfish, 2-4 firemouth, 2-4 black covets, anything else? Would the Oscar go with that or should I maybe do another set of smaller chichlids or a school of bosmani rainbowfish

My issue with Convicts is that they are the Guppy of the Cichlid World LOL. They pair up young and start pumping out babies. They'll defend those babies.

Rainbows are pretty awesome. But they are pretty fast fish. You need to decide what you like. Languid slow graceful Angels or active swimmers. You can try mixing both, but I always recommend to pick your favorite fish and build your stock and tank build around that.

Angels like planted tanks [emoji1360]

 

[kbforme]

have you considered a freshwater eel? got a tire track eel a month ago and hes easily my favorite fish. i went from setting up a general community tank to tailoring my tank just for the eel. you said you were going with a sand substrate and eels LOVE to burrow in sand. so far my experience has been that eelson(my eel) is much smarter than an average fish, in the month ive had him ive already trained him to curl up in my hand and eat the blood worms i give him.

 

[Gatorbait101]

I have never really seen any freshwater eels at a fish store! The closest thing I have seen is a bichir. How big is yours and how big will it get? Any comparability issues with the rainbow shark and angelfish?

 

[kbforme]

im new to eel ownership so keep that in mind, ive done a ton of research in the past few weeks however. freshwater eels will do well with other fish their size, they may eat smaller fish that can fit in their mouth. ive got a couple angelfish in the same tank as my eel right now with no problems, in there as well ive got 2 pitbull plecos, 4 khuli loaches, 1 beta and 1 molly. have had no problems at all. i honestly dont know much about freshwater shark species other than some of them are fin nippers so a shark may harass an eel, not 100% on that. some people say certain eel species do well living with each other while some dont, to be safe i would have just 1 eel. i bought mine at petsmart and he was mislabeled as a peacock eel, lol he may actually be a peacock eel as ive no experience but his markings are consistent with a tire track. they are shy in a new tank so just make sure if you get one hes eating for the first few days, took eelson about a week to get comfie and now he just swims freely about the tank usually, when hes not doing that hes burrowed in the sand with his head poking out(hunting i think).

when i got him he was about 3 inches long and after a short time hes grown almost another inch and gotten fatter. with proper daily feeding you will see your eel noticeably grow, at least mine does.

 

[Gatorbait101]

What size tank do you have all of This in? I just looked up the tire track eel and they say 24" or so and need a min of 125 gallon tank. I just didn't know if they would eat small chiclids or if it was too big for a 90 gallon tank.

 

[kbforme]

hes in a 29 gallon tank atm and when he gets big enough ill move him to a 90 gallon tank im setting up. ive heard a wide range of sizes a tire track needs ranging from 75 to 200 gallons. im sure the 90 will be fine for him and if your concerned that your 90 is too small for a tire track there are a few smaller eels like the peacock or one-stripe eel, they look almost identical, especially as babys.

actually give me your opinion on this because im not an expert and i dont know if this is dumb but for the filter im going to have a seperate 20 gallon tank which ill put a DIY pvc canister filter and pump in, ill have a gravity line right at the water line of the main tank feeding into the 20 where it will be run through the filter and pumped back into the main tank. ill also use the 20 gallon as a ghost shrimp colony to keep the eel fed.

 

[Gatorbait101]

That seems like a really good idea! I have seen some Diys like that and they seem to work.
As for the eel, I will have to see what eels are available and see if it will be safe. They are a nice addition to a tank though.

 

[kbforme]

thanks for the feedback, ive not had an aquarium for a while and forgot how much i love the hobby. its easy to decide if you want an eel, if you want to be more hands on with your tank than an eel is great but if you more just want a tank to look at with minimal maintenance an eel may be a bit too much work. they are basically scaleless fish so they are more prone to bad water and such so i personally do a 30% change every week at least. as ive been researching freshwater eels ive come across a few decent sites that sell them at a reasonable price. the up side to mail ordering one is the site will usually guarantee it lives for 2 weeks or so and you can always spend a little extra to buy an adult eel if you dont want a baby. i like watching him grow so i recommend getting a younger eel. like i was saying a bit earlier, you already have sand, its a bit more of a pain to maintain but i love the look and eels love the sand, give him some dark caves and real/fake plants and your set. lastly another thing ive picked up is if your getting an eel get a few friendly bottom feeders to help keep the substrate clean for your eel. as i said im just getting back into the hobby and like an idiot i neglected to cycle my tank properly and put some fish and the eel in just after 48 hours of putting water in and the eel has not only survived but thrived and gotten much bigger so it seems eels can be rather resilient.

heh sorry im having such a great eelie time over here i cant stop singing their praise. ive never had an aquarium fish that would not only eat from my hand but one i can teach to curl up in my hand and be fed.

 

[Gatorbait101]

They seem to have a nice personality if they curl up in your hand to be fed. I plan on haveing some corys in the tank or maybe a pleco so I have the bottom feeders down. I also havent done a tank in a long time and it is the first tank I have taken care of on my own. I will definitely get it while it is young so that it isn't too big for my other fish because I want to get all my fish as babies. I just need to make sure my water parameters are safe since they are scaleless

 

[kbforme]

coreys may be food for your eel, i would go with a pleco but if you really like coreys they most likely will be fine. they will for sure be ok when the eel is small but as he grows ive no idea.

 

[Gatorbait101]

Maybe I will keep the corys in my 20 gallon tank then. I will definitely have to learn more about them. Once I see how big they are (and their mouths) I will see how big my other fish have to be.

 

[kbforme]

im basically in the same boat, im just not keeping anything too little in the tank, as of now he couldnt even come close to getting a corey in his mouth.

 

[Brookster123]

You should start you own thread on all this.

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[kbforme]

sry a bit eel crazy lately.