annielauri
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2007
- Messages
- 55
Very Nice!!!!
New setup - Tank cycle log - 1 month update
- Thread starter neilanh
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
Big Al's is poor with their shipping confirmation emails. Twice now I've RECEIVED the package before its ever actually showed shipped! Don't fret, the place is incredible in price and service and I wouldn't be surprised if you get it today. AFAIK they are not open on the weekend so that would explain the lack of email response (if it was sent later in the day).
Pics look great, glad to see you're finally a fish-keeper and not just a bacteria breeder.
Oh and for photographing them, I recommend no flash and manual focus. Autofocus cameras can't judge depth properly through the tank due to the glass tank and moving objects in the water. #1 rule though is USE A TRIPOD! I can't stress enough how bad pictures will be without one. Since you're not using a flash (if you want a natural shot), the shutter speed is probably 1/8th of a second or so. Even a good photographer has a tough time keeping a steady shot during that long time!
Oh, and where is the 3rd piece of driftwood? (the one with the sharp edge)?
Pics look great, glad to see you're finally a fish-keeper and not just a bacteria breeder.
Oh and for photographing them, I recommend no flash and manual focus. Autofocus cameras can't judge depth properly through the tank due to the glass tank and moving objects in the water. #1 rule though is USE A TRIPOD! I can't stress enough how bad pictures will be without one. Since you're not using a flash (if you want a natural shot), the shutter speed is probably 1/8th of a second or so. Even a good photographer has a tough time keeping a steady shot during that long time!
Oh, and where is the 3rd piece of driftwood? (the one with the sharp edge)?
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
I got a response from them this morning that said:
While I can understand running out of stuff, I feel they should have notified me and let me know my order would have been delayed. I keep hearing great things about bigals on here, but this isn't impressing me. I ended up buy some food at the LFS that will hold me over until it arrives.
Fish are doing well, eating like crazy and getting along. I've got 1 of the peppered cory's I'm a little concerned with, so I'm keeping an eye on him. He's smaller than the rest of the group and much less active that the others, I'm trying to help make sure he gets food and see how he does.
I put a cucumber slice in last night, noone's seemed to have touched it. Tonight they'll get to try frozen bloodworms.
I've also learned that none of my fish like shrimp pellets. I keep having to net them out of the tank.
I'm gonna try some more stuff with the camera. I've tried the manual focus thing, but this camera just isn't prone to doing that easily. However, video turns out really nice.
I haven't put the 3d piece in. Out of nowhere it started floating, and the sharp edges are a concern. I bought some slate in case I had to weigh down the centerpiece, but didn't need it, so I think I'm going to build a cave out of it for the left side of the tank. I also picked up some new plants that aren't the usual fake plant stuff that I'll put in probably next weekend with the PWC.
Big Als said:
While I can understand running out of stuff, I feel they should have notified me and let me know my order would have been delayed. I keep hearing great things about bigals on here, but this isn't impressing me. I ended up buy some food at the LFS that will hold me over until it arrives.
Fish are doing well, eating like crazy and getting along. I've got 1 of the peppered cory's I'm a little concerned with, so I'm keeping an eye on him. He's smaller than the rest of the group and much less active that the others, I'm trying to help make sure he gets food and see how he does.
I put a cucumber slice in last night, noone's seemed to have touched it. Tonight they'll get to try frozen bloodworms.
I've also learned that none of my fish like shrimp pellets. I keep having to net them out of the tank.
I'm gonna try some more stuff with the camera. I've tried the manual focus thing, but this camera just isn't prone to doing that easily. However, video turns out really nice.
I haven't put the 3d piece in. Out of nowhere it started floating, and the sharp edges are a concern. I bought some slate in case I had to weigh down the centerpiece, but didn't need it, so I think I'm going to build a cave out of it for the left side of the tank. I also picked up some new plants that aren't the usual fake plant stuff that I'll put in probably next weekend with the PWC.
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
Keep an eye on that cory. Of my 3 original's 1 never seemed to do anything but sit in the same spot all the time. Never ate, never played with the other two, and eventually (about a week later) I found him dead and 1/2 eaten. It's possible he was being attacked by the tiger barbs, but that still wouldn't explain his lack of eating.
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
Thanks, that's what I'm concerned about. He's acting much better today than he was the past 2 days, being more active and playful, so hopefully he's on the rebound. At the shop he was in a tank of about 20-30 of these, and being so small I assume he wasn't getting enough food since it was being eaten by everyone else. He is the smallest length wise of the 4 I got, and he is significantly skinnier, which is why I believe the food thing. I didn't hand select these from the tank at the LFS, and I didn't realize how much smaller he was until we were home (1+ hour away).
I'll keep ya posted.
On another note, had a bit of a scare and had to leave work early in a rush. So I'm home early today, and found one of the ottos perched up on the cucumber, which made me feel better. I haven't specifically seen any of them eat anything I've fed, so I was a little worried. Since I don't really have any algae either, I'm worried about them eating. I'd really like to see the other 2 perch up there and get some nourishment before I take it out this evening.
Is it uncommon for any of my fish, specifically the rainbows, to not feed at the surface? Nothing will touch anything until it sinks, which isn't a big deal since I have some pellets, but flake just kinda floats on the top until it's logged enough to sink, then they get eaten. I expected the rainbows to attack the surface with food, is this not the case?
I'll keep ya posted.
On another note, had a bit of a scare and had to leave work early in a rush. So I'm home early today, and found one of the ottos perched up on the cucumber, which made me feel better. I haven't specifically seen any of them eat anything I've fed, so I was a little worried. Since I don't really have any algae either, I'm worried about them eating. I'd really like to see the other 2 perch up there and get some nourishment before I take it out this evening.
Is it uncommon for any of my fish, specifically the rainbows, to not feed at the surface? Nothing will touch anything until it sinks, which isn't a big deal since I have some pellets, but flake just kinda floats on the top until it's logged enough to sink, then they get eaten. I expected the rainbows to attack the surface with food, is this not the case?
mugginns
Aquarium Advice Regular
I'd say that is normal for fish still acclimating to their surroundings. Let them get used to it and they'll be happily eating as much as they can from the top of the water.
zenkatydid
Aquarium Advice FINatic
my turquoise rainbows have a great feeding style - they won't hang out near the surface (havent you heard - thar be dragons!) but will dart up, grab some flake, dart back down again, ridiculously quickly. it's great to watch! but they are definitely not comfortable at the top.
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
neilanh said:
Your Oto's will have more than enough food once the diatoms start up. You probably will never see the outbreak because IMO it is the #1 favorite food for them. Normally in the next week or 2 you should start to see faint signs of diatoms (look in places where the Oto's can't get to). I've been thinking about trying to "breed" my own diatoms for my Oto's. They feed off silicates so something like a coarse piece of plastic/glass would be a great place for them to grow. The bonus is that they require no light so you don't have to worry about algae causing problems.
Until they acclimate most fish do not feel safe near the surface. I've been QT'ing my dwarf gourami (an upper level fish) and he has been hiding near the bottom of the tank until late last week. Last night I added him to the main tank, but the last couple of days he's been coming to the surface to eat FD blood worms and krill. So just give them some time!
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
Good to know, thank you. I'm new, so of course I question absolutely everything. lol
So last night my daughter and I got to take out some aggression on a slab of 16x16 slate with a hammer and a chisel. I highly recommend this to anyone that needs to unload some stress. We created a cave out of the debris. (ok, the cave was our main goal from the get go - haha)
After we got the pieces the way we wanted I hammered down the edges so they're not so sharp, and boiled it for about an hour to make sure it was clean. Tonight we'll assemble it with some silicone. I think that stuff needs to sit for like 24 hours, so we'll put it in the tank in a day or two. I'll get pics too. Is there anything else I should do before it goes in the tank? It's just slate, so I figure it's pretty safe.
So last night my daughter and I got to take out some aggression on a slab of 16x16 slate with a hammer and a chisel. I highly recommend this to anyone that needs to unload some stress. We created a cave out of the debris. (ok, the cave was our main goal from the get go - haha)
After we got the pieces the way we wanted I hammered down the edges so they're not so sharp, and boiled it for about an hour to make sure it was clean. Tonight we'll assemble it with some silicone. I think that stuff needs to sit for like 24 hours, so we'll put it in the tank in a day or two. I'll get pics too. Is there anything else I should do before it goes in the tank? It's just slate, so I figure it's pretty safe.
David14259
Aquarium Advice Freak
Sounds cool Neilan! Where are the pics! :x (thats my angry there are no pics yet face).
Yeah, just make sure the silicone is completely dried before putting it in the tank. I'd let it dry for longer than it says on the tube just to be safe, especially if you have some thicker blobs of it.
They do have silicone designed for aquariums, so I'd be sure to use that instead of regular silicone. You probably know this already. Have a good day.
D.
Yeah, just make sure the silicone is completely dried before putting it in the tank. I'd let it dry for longer than it says on the tube just to be safe, especially if you have some thicker blobs of it.
They do have silicone designed for aquariums, so I'd be sure to use that instead of regular silicone. You probably know this already. Have a good day.
D.
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
Can't wait to see the cave. Depending on the weight make sure the base is pretty large. You need to disperse the weight over a pretty large area or you risk stressing the glass. If you can position it in a corner of the tank, all the better.
A day or two will be fine for the silicone. Once the outside cures there is no real harm to the fish or structure. Now don't put huge globs, but keep a good bead to prevent it from collapsing over time.
All that extra silicone is really going to make your Oto's happy.
A day or two will be fine for the silicone. Once the outside cures there is no real harm to the fish or structure. Now don't put huge globs
, but keep a good bead to prevent it from collapsing over time.All that extra silicone is really going to make your Oto's happy.
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
It's not big, so I don't think the weight is going to be an issue. That's an interesting aspect I never considered before however. There is no base to it either. Well, you'll see it. I'll get pics during assembly tonight.
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just as long as it isn't an upside down pyramid or weight over 50lbs and you should be fine. Also if its sitting on the substrate as opposed to on the glass bottom, that will GREATLY spread out the load.
Also if its sitting on the substrate as opposed to on the glass bottom, that will GREATLY spread out the load.
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
50 pounds... lol
I feel now that you guys have set your expectations of this WAY too high. If so, you're going to be severely disappointed. lol
I'm guessing it's 3 pounds.
I feel now that you guys have set your expectations of this WAY too high. If so, you're going to be severely disappointed. lol
I'm guessing it's 3 pounds.
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
Alright so the cave isn't turning out as well as I planned... Think I'm gonna have to rethink it and start from scratch.
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
neilanh said:
Pics!
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
I lost a cory cat last night
No idea why. Water params are fine, all the other fish seem okay, I didn't see anything on him when I netted him out of the tank. They were all doing fine at feeding time last night.
Wasn't even the little guy I was worried about.
I found him stuck to the XP3 intake this morning
No idea why. Water params are fine, all the other fish seem okay, I didn't see anything on him when I netted him out of the tank. They were all doing fine at feeding time last night.
Wasn't even the little guy I was worried about.
I found him stuck to the XP3 intake this morning
