Just started my first aquarium 29g

[JM1101]

I have 6 different plants types, with 1 molly, 5 zebra danios, 5 neon tetras, and 6 platys. (2 male, 4 female) Am I on the right track here or can anyone offer any input or advice? I just changed out 3 galons of water today and did my 2nd water test and everything is right where it should be with the exception of hard water, which I hear isn't really an issue.

 

[mimiheart]

You will have baby platies. Watch the male platies so that they don't get into it too much or so that the dominant male doesn't intimidate the non-dominant male. (May or may not be a problem.) With the siphon you have on that filter, if you want to keep the babies, you might want to add an intake sponge. I like intake sponges anyhow because they increase the surface area for beneficial bacteria. You will probably end up needing to add root tabs, but I'm not a plant person, I just sort of put them in and somehow mine end up living. (And taking over some of my tanks.)

 

[JM1101]

Thank you. Yes we had babies the first night and they were food for about 4 days for the other fish. I will look into getting a sponge for the filter, I like that idea. And the plants so far have all grown nicely. The horn wort has gone crazy and I've already taken trimmings from it 4 times. My goal is to have a nice little bush in the back left corner of the tank.

 

[mimiheart]

hornwort can end up being very messy -- I have that and there are needles everywhere! It does grow well, though.

 

[JM1101]

Newbie question- In my planted tank, will the gravel need replaced or taken out and cleaned in a strainer periodically? I know some of the more heavily planted areas will be hard to clean and I will get what I can vacuuming once a week when I do about a 4 gallon change. I am still new to aquariums and dove right in after about 4-6 hours of research. Love this app! Look forward to hearing all of your suggestions and input!

 

[Fresh2o]

Newbie question- In my planted tank, will the gravel need replaced or taken out and cleaned in a strainer periodically? ..,

Not needed if the plants you keep have roots in the substrate. Meaning, if you are keeping Java fern, Anubias, and mosses, then you could/should vacuum the substrate periodically. Otherwise, you risk damaging the plant's root and removal of vital nutrients from the substrate.

 

[JM1101]

Just replanted the horn wort in the back of my tank and did a light vacuuming and found a couple dozen babies in my bucket. So now I have them in a small bowl with rocks and a few pieces of horn wort. Powdered up some flakes for them to eat for now. Not sure if they live if they will be in a new tank or used for feeders yet. I've had babies before but these are waaayyy smaller than the ones I've previously seen.

 

[JM1101]

There is one hanging off the rock. There's at least a dozen in there for sure.

 

[mimiheart]

I call those guys eyes with tails. They're good at hiding.

 

[JM1101]

Just trimmed and replanted. I think it looks nice!