New Aquarium

Well, coming down this morning and putting the lights on, and yes everything looks really clean and clear, and our snails (we reckon we have 7 of them) are out to play and seem to be quite happy and healthy - especially one in particular that was motoring across the back of the tank at a remarkable pace

The plants are definitely growing, and the bottom of the tank looks cleaner than it did yesterday morning - our syphon is long, so I kinda have no choice but to take the water out from the bottom of the tank.

The facts of thing now are that we have a 4ft tank that is 28" deep, with a good number of plants, rocks and hidey-holes. It has a good layer of substrate (Caribsea topped off with gravel), the heating now seems to be nice and stable at around 26.5º, the pH is has gently dropped to 7.2 (thank you, bog wood), it has an internal filter with noodles and woolly stuff, and in external filter with noodles, bio-balls, activated carbon and more woolly stuff; we have an air pump supplying two air-stones giving a moderate rate of bubbles, and decent lighting. Tests are showing no ammonia, a tiny amount of nitrites, and a small amount of nitrates (the same as our tap water). We have Quick Start on hand if more filter bacteria is needed, we have Stress Zyme that will be used weekly as per directions, we have plant fertilizer that will also be used weekly as per instructions and we have sufficient tap water conditioner to last us almost a year (not kidding). In addition, we have a bottle of Ammo-lock on hand, should any of the tests show that things are going pear-shaped, we can react and deal with it.

As of tomorrow afternoon, we will be home for at least four days to keep an eye on things, and as we all do with new pets, we will be fussing a little bit, even if that fussing is just watching their behaviour.

Bluntly, if fish don't/can't survive in the conditions provided, then there is something wrong with the fish. I do not remember this amount of faffing about the last time we had fish tanks (admittedly I was a kid into my teens), and no-one that I have spoken to around here that has fish tanks have any reverse-osmosis kit, or are buying special water.

I think this is like buying a car - you can keep spending and spending and get an Aston Martin and then (rightly) pour love and money into it from there on; but, you can be just as happy (if not happier) with a Skoda Octavia or Ford Mondeo, and have much less impact on your pocket.

 

We have residents, albeit most of them are absolutely tiny!

Meet Bungle:


And meet Zippy (he was named first, as he was zipping all over the tank)



Ten Tetras


Zebra Danios - by hokey can these wee fellas move!


Guppies! Whether is was just because the guy in the shop was feeling nice, or pure accident, but we ended up with two extra wee baby ones, one of which is less than a centimetre at a guess. It seems happy enough, swimming about and eating, and none of its tank mates are bothering it, so hopefully with a bit of care......

And a pair of Dwarf Gouramis



And finally, George - the gravel here gives some indication just how small these all are.


As everything is so small, the tank still feels quite empty, but that is a good thing I think as it now has time to settle in with fish in it, and they have plenty of space to grow and play (which they are doing as I type); as we bought all of these at sort of batch deals, we ended up with a few more fish than we thought we would, but again that is not such a bad thing either as it will be a good while before we have any money to buy any more.

 

Honestly not sure as the wee monkey is really good at hiding, and goes like the clappers when he is out

There was a lot of hiding going on yesterday (understandable), but today we have a much more active tank as they are all making themselves at home. I looked at the top of the submersible pump yesterday, and thought to myself that I was going to have to clean it today......... not a chance, I got up this morning and it is pristine clean (which I reckon was down to Bungle, as he was stuck to the glass right behind it when I looked).

The guppies are already being really friendly, and come towards us when we are there - the gouramis are curious, but shy and hide away when we catch them looking at us. I will be putting in a slice of cucumber shortly which should be a nice wee treat for them.

 

I swear you could not make this sort of stuff up!

Earlier on, the external filter was making odd noises, almost as though it was struggling to draw water in, so we commenced an investigation. Sure enough, the grille at the bottom of the pipe was looking a bit choked with some wee bits of guppy grass that had broken away the other day, so we switched the filter off for a moment and I set about removing the pipe with Mrs C supervising that I didn't brain any fish in the process.

Zippy decided he wanted to be nosy, and kept zipping about around the pipe I was trying to get out, so it was just as well Mrs C was watching - - the wee yelp that followed stopped me in my tracks.......... it turns out that we have no less than five miniscule wee fish, hiding away in the guppy grass; and when I say miniscule, I mean miniscule - they definitely weren't there yesterday, that is for sure. I have nothing in the way of nursery tank/enclosure, nor am I in a position to get one, so they are going to have to tough it out themselves. I thought we had something to worry about with the tiny wee baby guppy that we got free in with the others, but to have one give birth on the first night in the tank!!

 

Hi @ricky101

It is, but it was a case of batch pricing making it cheaper to buy a batch rather than less (bit nuts, I know), and the fact that the majority of them are absolute tiddlers. We are keeping an eye on everything and will react accordingly if anything goes awry. As for feeding, we have fed twice today, and small amounts only - this morning was a wee pinch of tropical flake, and this evening it was some freeze dried daphnia, and we watch them to see that it all gets eaten etc.

I have the heater currently unplugged as the temp rose yesterday to 27.5, and I was wondering if I had another heater problem (the stat is currently set to 22!) - - it now appears that it is purely that the tank is warm and it is not dissipating sufficient heat, as it hasn't cooled much through yesterday and overnight and into today. I suppose the 11mm thick glass might be at least partly to blame.

I don't even have a fan that I could point at the tank to aid cooling, so if it doesn't cool a bit, I am going to have to do a partial water change and slowly add some cold water.

 

Got them - fed them one wafer yesterday. Have left them be today, and will put another one in tomorrow.

 

I am hoping to avoid it, and in fact actively working to avoid it. Ours has had a couple of weeks to cycle, and I have a good few doses of QS on hand if it is needed. We also have Stress Zyme that will be added weekly as per instructions, and of course the plant fertiliser. If it does go pear shaped, then we have Ammo-lock on hand too, and of course a syphon and a bucket if we need to do a rather rapid water change.

We've just tested the water again, and no ammonia present. My worry at the moment is the temp being too high.