Our fishy friends....
Discussion
So what new aquatic friends do you have? What new gear do you have? Any newbies looking for tips etc. A wet alternative to the cat/dog topics. (Note: Frogs, Axolotls and other weird stuff is very welcome)
I've just spent some of my hard earned on 3 Purple Emperor Tetras, 10 wild caught Endlers and 2 CW032s at the SVAS auction, along with some decorations.
Over to you
I've just spent some of my hard earned on 3 Purple Emperor Tetras, 10 wild caught Endlers and 2 CW032s at the SVAS auction, along with some decorations.
Over to you
Edited by Poisson96 on Wednesday 16th March 21:28
Everything on hold at the moment. Going away for a bit of sun, so just want to keep the balance till I get back. I will probably drop a load of juveniles to the aquarist to lighten bioload on the tiny tank before I go.
Then, as I am running close to stocked when I have fry in the tank, it will be just some more shrimps when I get home and all looks right - if I can find some decent ones.
Gear? Nothing to buy except food. Staying very low tech.
Then, as I am running close to stocked when I have fry in the tank, it will be just some more shrimps when I get home and all looks right - if I can find some decent ones.
Gear? Nothing to buy except food. Staying very low tech.
Took a struggle not to buy a million fish at the auction, now I'm stocked. Best thing was the CW032s were £3 each, scarily cheap for such a rarity. Now I'm waiting for them to gain confidence and my other fish to gain colours, then we're good. Now, to get the third tank running XD
Edited by Poisson96 on Wednesday 16th March 21:28
Poisson96 said:
Took a struggle not to buy a million fish at the auction, now I'm stocked. Best thing was the CW023s were £3 each, scarily cheap for such a rarity. Now I'm waiting for them to gain confidence and my other fish to gain colours, then we're good. Now, to get the third tank running XD
Heh heh, the constant struggle of having enough water for all the desirable fish. I shouldn't need more fish. We have a marina under our balcony stocked with boats, and also some nice big local fish. The other side is the sea, and we have quite a few fisherman out there most days. I just might go UK marine... feels a cheap, lazy option if not quite so colourful nicking both water and fish from right outside my front door 
Actually, and a bit more seriously, now you mention it, I did see some nice celestial pearl danios for the fry tank last time I was out. And Mrs Seefive wants a puffer... which of course equals tank number three "'cos of shrimps in the other two tanks and brackish... etc dear" of course
This is not a hobby, it is an addiction.
SeeFive said:
This is not a hobby, it is an addiction.
I kept Koi for about 12 years, but when I rented the house, I had to rehome them and fill in the pond. A year later I went out for some dog food, and came home with a full 180l Juwel tropical set up - needed some fish back in my life. A few months later I bought a 125l Marine to learn about that.18 months later I have a 1200l reef system, the 180l Juwel tropical (tetras, cory, mollys, lampeyes and a betta - it's for the kids really...!) and a 40l dwarf puffer biotope.
So far, mine threatens to have cost me about £250,000 - yes, two hundred and fifty thousand !!
How? Well, the missus didn't like fish tanks, so after a 15 year hiatus, giving away about £3.5k of marine reef and freshwater tropical set ups I brought to the home, we are getting divorced and that is currently what I stand to lose.(*)
Funnily, the current squeeze likes fish - well she likes looking at them and selecting them from the fish shop, not the water changes, cleaning, testing etc. And we only have a small apartment right now, so it is small scale stuff.
I found an old daily fail link which shows that the likes of us lot are just scratching the tip of the iceberg. Enjoy!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1254095/...
(*) this dislike of fish tanks may not be the only reason for the divorce
How? Well, the missus didn't like fish tanks, so after a 15 year hiatus, giving away about £3.5k of marine reef and freshwater tropical set ups I brought to the home, we are getting divorced and that is currently what I stand to lose.(*)
Funnily, the current squeeze likes fish - well she likes looking at them and selecting them from the fish shop, not the water changes, cleaning, testing etc. And we only have a small apartment right now, so it is small scale stuff.
I found an old daily fail link which shows that the likes of us lot are just scratching the tip of the iceberg. Enjoy!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1254095/...
(*) this dislike of fish tanks may not be the only reason for the divorce
Edited by SeeFive on Monday 14th March 15:14
This guy spent about the same, but kept the wife, and "most" of the house - http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?...
Made national news last year, but such is the way of the tabloids, it was out of context.
There are loads of supersized "reefporn" threads on there - always good for inspiration, and learning from other peoples mistakes!
Made national news last year, but such is the way of the tabloids, it was out of context.
There are loads of supersized "reefporn" threads on there - always good for inspiration, and learning from other peoples mistakes!
I set up my first fish tank a month or so ago, had some real issues with keeping plants alive at first but got some nutrient stuff and some liquid CO2 which I add to the tank daily and the plants are thriving, sadly though the snails are too and nothing I try seems to get rid of them, I'm going to try assassin snails next.
Someone suggested cucumber in the tank and the snails would be attracted to it but they simply ignored it
I also made the mistake of buying a male and 2 female guppies and am now overrun with babies (Yes I know I shouldve seen it coming) I also bought a red whiptail catfish which I'd never seen before but am now in love with, on the recomendation of my local pet shop I added 2 female bettas to the tank but after a week they were both dead :/
I am giving the females to my friend who has a huge tank and no male guppies so that will stop the influx of babies, I'm going to replace them with more males I think as I like the look of them (don't know why so many people dislike guppies)
I've bought a second tank which I intend to pop a male betta in once I've decided on layout and scaping
Someone suggested cucumber in the tank and the snails would be attracted to it but they simply ignored it
I also made the mistake of buying a male and 2 female guppies and am now overrun with babies (Yes I know I shouldve seen it coming) I also bought a red whiptail catfish which I'd never seen before but am now in love with, on the recomendation of my local pet shop I added 2 female bettas to the tank but after a week they were both dead :/
I am giving the females to my friend who has a huge tank and no male guppies so that will stop the influx of babies, I'm going to replace them with more males I think as I like the look of them (don't know why so many people dislike guppies)
I've bought a second tank which I intend to pop a male betta in once I've decided on layout and scaping
I've never had assassin snails, but most sources report that they don't breed very fast.
However, if you're being overrun by snails then you're over-feeding. Reduce food by 50%, and the snail population will reduce. I had an explosion of pond snails after I introduced some hornwort from my pond, and that made me realise I was being too generous with the food. I'm much meaner now, and the snail population has reduced considerably. In the meantime, you can often siphon the snails out during water changes if you're using a large enough tube.
The cucumber trick does work, but you'll have to leave the cucumber slice for at least 24-48 hours.
However, if you're being overrun by snails then you're over-feeding. Reduce food by 50%, and the snail population will reduce. I had an explosion of pond snails after I introduced some hornwort from my pond, and that made me realise I was being too generous with the food. I'm much meaner now, and the snail population has reduced considerably. In the meantime, you can often siphon the snails out during water changes if you're using a large enough tube.
The cucumber trick does work, but you'll have to leave the cucumber slice for at least 24-48 hours.
Having set up a high-tech 25 litre nano tank over the last four months with intense lighting, CO₂ injection, external filter and heater, I'm now considering my next watery challenge.
Because I'm currently "between careers" and not earning, this time it's going to have to be on a shoestring. I've stopped spending money on the nano tank.
I'm considering a planted "pico" bowl, something like this bowl from Tesco for a fiver which by my sums would be about 4 litres. (Can someone double-check my sums - 10cm radius, 4/3 ?r³ - sound right?)
I'm thinking of an Ikea "Jansjö" LED lamp for lighting, which is only 70 lumens but hopefully that'll be enough - I won't have any CO₂ and will be trying to keep nutrients low so the light requirement should also be low, unlike my nano tank which has injected CO₂ and a generous daily nutrient dose.
It'll be unheated and unfiltered. The plants will be responsible for the majority of ammonia control. I'll have a substrate of garden soil, topped by gravel - a kind of "Walstad" setup. I'll start off with some pieces of dwarf hairgrass which I can pull up from the nano tank. I might try some HC as well, although without CO₂ and with low-ish light I doubt it'll grow. I can of course bung some hornwort in there, and I might scoop some Azolla caroliniana from the pond (it's a bit like duckweed but with a pretty, feathery leaf shape).
I will probably have to spend some money on plants; any suggestions? They'll need to be low-light, low CO₂ and small.
Needless to say, fish are out of the question in such a small, unheated, unfiltered container! However, I will probably add Malaysian Trumpet Snails, and once the bowl has matured for a month or so perhaps a nerite snail. If I'm feeling confident that the bowl has matured well then I'll consider adding a handful of red cherry shrimps.
Because I'm currently "between careers" and not earning, this time it's going to have to be on a shoestring. I've stopped spending money on the nano tank.
I'm considering a planted "pico" bowl, something like this bowl from Tesco for a fiver which by my sums would be about 4 litres. (Can someone double-check my sums - 10cm radius, 4/3 ?r³ - sound right?)
I'm thinking of an Ikea "Jansjö" LED lamp for lighting, which is only 70 lumens but hopefully that'll be enough - I won't have any CO₂ and will be trying to keep nutrients low so the light requirement should also be low, unlike my nano tank which has injected CO₂ and a generous daily nutrient dose.
It'll be unheated and unfiltered. The plants will be responsible for the majority of ammonia control. I'll have a substrate of garden soil, topped by gravel - a kind of "Walstad" setup. I'll start off with some pieces of dwarf hairgrass which I can pull up from the nano tank. I might try some HC as well, although without CO₂ and with low-ish light I doubt it'll grow. I can of course bung some hornwort in there, and I might scoop some Azolla caroliniana from the pond (it's a bit like duckweed but with a pretty, feathery leaf shape).
I will probably have to spend some money on plants; any suggestions? They'll need to be low-light, low CO₂ and small.
Needless to say, fish are out of the question in such a small, unheated, unfiltered container! However, I will probably add Malaysian Trumpet Snails, and once the bowl has matured for a month or so perhaps a nerite snail. If I'm feeling confident that the bowl has matured well then I'll consider adding a handful of red cherry shrimps.
Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Thursday 17th March 08:24
DannyScene said:
I set up my first fish tank a month or so ago, had some real issues with keeping plants alive at first but got some nutrient stuff and some liquid CO2 which I add to the tank daily and the plants are thriving, sadly though the snails are too and nothing I try seems to get rid of them, I'm going to try assassin snails next.
Someone suggested cucumber in the tank and the snails would be attracted to it but they simply ignored it
I also made the mistake of buying a male and 2 female guppies and am now overrun with babies (Yes I know I shouldve seen it coming) I also bought a red whiptail catfish which I'd never seen before but am now in love with, on the recomendation of my local pet shop I added 2 female bettas to the tank but after a week they were both dead :/
I am giving the females to my friend who has a huge tank and no male guppies so that will stop the influx of babies, I'm going to replace them with more males I think as I like the look of them (don't know why so many people dislike guppies)
I've bought a second tank which I intend to pop a male betta in once I've decided on layout and scaping
Watch out female guppies store sperm for a very long time. You will be overrun with babies.Someone suggested cucumber in the tank and the snails would be attracted to it but they simply ignored it
I also made the mistake of buying a male and 2 female guppies and am now overrun with babies (Yes I know I shouldve seen it coming) I also bought a red whiptail catfish which I'd never seen before but am now in love with, on the recomendation of my local pet shop I added 2 female bettas to the tank but after a week they were both dead :/
I am giving the females to my friend who has a huge tank and no male guppies so that will stop the influx of babies, I'm going to replace them with more males I think as I like the look of them (don't know why so many people dislike guppies)
I've bought a second tank which I intend to pop a male betta in once I've decided on layout and scaping
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
I've never had assassin snails, but most sources report that they don't breed very fast.
However, if you're being overrun by snails then you're over-feeding. Reduce food by 50%, and the snail population will reduce. I had an explosion of pond snails after I introduced some hornwort from my pond, and that made me realise I was being too generous with the food. I'm much meaner now, and the snail population has reduced considerably. In the meantime, you can often siphon the snails out during water changes if you're using a large enough tube.
The cucumber trick does work, but you'll have to leave the cucumber slice for at least 24-48 hours.
I have 4 fussy eating dwarf puffer fish in a 40l biotope set-up. I've struggled to get them to eat anything besides live bloodworm, but weaned them onto frozen over a couple of months. I purposely picked up a couple of snail infested plants from a fish shop and put them into my 180 tropical community and let the snails breed at leisure. I rarely see them during the day, but at night the tank is swarming with them. I use a piece of courgette in a small. weighted plastic box with holes stabbed in it to catch a bunch of them, and then drop them into the puffer tank which keeps the little aquatic jihadis very happy.However, if you're being overrun by snails then you're over-feeding. Reduce food by 50%, and the snail population will reduce. I had an explosion of pond snails after I introduced some hornwort from my pond, and that made me realise I was being too generous with the food. I'm much meaner now, and the snail population has reduced considerably. In the meantime, you can often siphon the snails out during water changes if you're using a large enough tube.
The cucumber trick does work, but you'll have to leave the cucumber slice for at least 24-48 hours.
I have two small clown loaches that also pick off the snails in the 180l, but the population is strong enough to withstand their onslaught and my harvesting.
BigJonMcQuimm said:
DannyScene said:
I set up my first fish tank a month or so ago, had some real issues with keeping plants alive at first but got some nutrient stuff and some liquid CO2 which I add to the tank daily and the plants are thriving, sadly though the snails are too and nothing I try seems to get rid of them, I'm going to try assassin snails next.
Someone suggested cucumber in the tank and the snails would be attracted to it but they simply ignored it
I also made the mistake of buying a male and 2 female guppies and am now overrun with babies (Yes I know I shouldve seen it coming) I also bought a red whiptail catfish which I'd never seen before but am now in love with, on the recomendation of my local pet shop I added 2 female bettas to the tank but after a week they were both dead :/
I am giving the females to my friend who has a huge tank and no male guppies so that will stop the influx of babies, I'm going to replace them with more males I think as I like the look of them (don't know why so many people dislike guppies)
I've bought a second tank which I intend to pop a male betta in once I've decided on layout and scaping
Watch out female guppies store sperm for a very long time. You will be overrun with babies.Someone suggested cucumber in the tank and the snails would be attracted to it but they simply ignored it
I also made the mistake of buying a male and 2 female guppies and am now overrun with babies (Yes I know I shouldve seen it coming) I also bought a red whiptail catfish which I'd never seen before but am now in love with, on the recomendation of my local pet shop I added 2 female bettas to the tank but after a week they were both dead :/
I am giving the females to my friend who has a huge tank and no male guppies so that will stop the influx of babies, I'm going to replace them with more males I think as I like the look of them (don't know why so many people dislike guppies)
I've bought a second tank which I intend to pop a male betta in once I've decided on layout and scaping
Once the females have gone I'll be choosing maybe 1 or 2 males from the current fry and will keep them, the others I will likely kill in some way
I realise this is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string?' question, but if I wanted to start a fish tank what kind of cost are we looking at? Say a tropical fish tank (not sure what the difference between tropical and marine fish is...) that has lots of plants and a few fish in, size wise I'm guessing at 70 litres but that's just based on a 60x30x50cm tank I found in a local-ish store.
Also any general pointes about where to look for hints and tips would be handy, I've read through some of the threads on here so know I need to check several water qualities regularly and obviously sort out heating and light depending on what fish I end up getting...
This is the tank I saw
http://www.swallowaquatics.co.uk/boyu-aquarium-ea6...
If anyone knows any decent shops in Norfolk that would be great too!
Also any general pointes about where to look for hints and tips would be handy, I've read through some of the threads on here so know I need to check several water qualities regularly and obviously sort out heating and light depending on what fish I end up getting...
This is the tank I saw
http://www.swallowaquatics.co.uk/boyu-aquarium-ea6...
If anyone knows any decent shops in Norfolk that would be great too!
Dr Mike if your other thread is to go by, you're a wizard. If anyone can pull off what you said, it's you
I haven't lost a CW032 (both appeared together last night)
Nige you need take things slow. Reaaaaally slow. 70 litres seems a decent amount. I recommend you don't go plant crazy yet, maybe start with a simple tank with simple, hardy fish (Guppies, Neon Tetras etc). The one listed has no heater, so will need one for tropical keeping. You also need all the stuff that goes with fish keeping. Bucket, net, strong area for the tank/cabinet, water treatment, filter start and patience. There is argument on how to start the filtration process, I still agree with waiting a set period (6 weeks) to allow conditions to settle.
I haven't lost a CW032 (both appeared together last night)
Nige you need take things slow. Reaaaaally slow. 70 litres seems a decent amount. I recommend you don't go plant crazy yet, maybe start with a simple tank with simple, hardy fish (Guppies, Neon Tetras etc). The one listed has no heater, so will need one for tropical keeping. You also need all the stuff that goes with fish keeping. Bucket, net, strong area for the tank/cabinet, water treatment, filter start and patience. There is argument on how to start the filtration process, I still agree with waiting a set period (6 weeks) to allow conditions to settle.
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