petermc

Is it normal when introducing new fish into a community tank to get abit of chasing? Recently when introducing a very young gold severum my elephant nose took a disliking to him and chased him off and on the first night and then it was all over and today i have introduced some young angel fish and this time the gold severum is doing a wee bit of chasing despite bein a smaller fish. Is this normal behavior? Thanks Pete

At this stage ive only got in there10 colombian tetra,a 2y/old elephant nose and a young gold severum who is a lil fatty:-) But by the time i add possibly 4 angels,some bottom feeders(undecided at this stage) and everythings grown up im sure they will make abit of mess.. I guess i just want to do all i can to keep a clean tank for them! Two fluval 405s it is! Thanks for the replies;-)

Am running in my 450L community tank..once tank is fully stocked will this be enough? Alot of you all i see are running two filters in tanks this size? If not enough would it be more beneficial to run another 405 or wait for the animates 50% off and upgrade to the fx5? Ideas? Thanks!

Yeh these metal halides...who here uses them on fresh water? What are the running costs like? And what is there to know about setting them up?

The lights are the same length as the tank...i have since noticed since writing this post that also because of the lenght front to back of the tank(650mm) that moving the lights back and foward are showing shady spots and bright spots so could running another pair of t5s be a good option? So you all trim your plants back once they reach the surface of the water? (eg: cabomba)? Thanks for the replies guys... Plants are proving alot more difficult than uptight fish! Pete

Hey all. Im currently running two T8 bulbs(39w,power glo) on a 450L tank (1000mm long,700mm high&650mm front to back) I am running the lights for approx 12 hours per day.I have several plants in tank,the cabomba is doing reall well but a couple of the other plants(unsure on sorts) are good and healthy looking on top leaves and the ones closer to the bottom of tank are going brown...Does it sound like the light is not penetrating right to the bottom of the tank? What could my next step be?More light?Another pair of t8's?

I feed the elephant nose once lights are out and he is really good at getting his share. So angels are still a option thats great....what other options could work with the severm instead of? Just considering all options...any other mild mannered south americans?

Yeh all the tetras are approx 1-1.5inches. Keeping to a community sort of idea what would make suitabe tankmates? Could i still go down the angel fish road(put in 3 babies) or put in some other south americans?

Hey all...At the moment i have one large elephant nose who is very laxd fish and 10 colombian tetra in a 450L tank. I am still stocking and want to get advise on wether a young golden severum could work with this mix ? Thanks heaps for any replies Pete

Hey all,have now listed my location on profile(wellington) I have now added the second edition after the tetra,a two year old(approx) elephant nose,what a character! Have had him five days now and is dead set on eating bloodworms and nothing else. All water tests are testing spot on and plants are growing really well already...especially the cambomba which the elephan nose loves to sit in the middle of:-) Will figure out how to post pics and get some on asap.

So 3 would be a safe number to go with then if i was planning on keeping them long term? Kind of a catch 22 isnt it...more peaceful in a group and yet i dont have the space for a group.haha. The only other fish that will be haring that mid-upper water will be colimbian tetra,6 congo tetra and a golden shark.. Hope these arnt silly questions i just like doing things right first time.

Hey all. I bought this tank with the intention of eventually keeping discus but the more i have looked into all my options i have decided to go down the community tank road.My tank is 1000mm long,650mm front to back and 700mm high. I have just finished cycling it with 5 colombian tetras which are all a good size(1 inch) and they all seem very happy and active. I have a few ideas at this stage but would love input as to what has worked for everyone. I would like to increase the amound of colombian tetras to about 10 in total and a small school of conga tetra(say about 10 also) Fishi would like to include... Tri colour shark. Angel fish (4-6) buy all young Small group of clown loaches and a pleco down bottom. I would really like a feature fish of some sort but unsure what the story is with how the angels will be. Input and ideas? Thanks Pete

So what fish would you all say would be suited to a tank of my dimensions? I dont want to just start throwing anything in and the regreting it down the track. Are discus suited to a tank of my dimensions? And if so what would be reccomended to be put in with them? Thanks Pete

My ammonia levels have reached 0.25 and have been stable the last couple days.I'm doing about 20% water change per day at this stage.Should i expect to see the ammonia levels get any higher than this with five small fish? Also should i be keeping my small daily water changes up until ammonia and Nitrate levels are both at 0 again? Then prehaps every other day in the short term? My long term goal as far as fish go at this stage are black knife ghost fish,a couple clown loaches, a pleco undecided at this stage as far as algae eaters go but want to increase the size of my colombian tetras(had incorrect name first post) slowly from five to approx 20 and down the track as the tank becomes established along with my experience i would love to try my luck with a small group(five or six) discus.. From what i have read on here all these fish are compatible,would this be right? And as far as stocking levels go how would i be going as they all mature to full size? Thanks for all the help people Appreciate it. Pete

Thanks for the replys..I have taken your advice and this afternoon i went out and bought five mexican tetras... I will keep a close eye on ammonia and do a daily water change....is 50% water change needed in such a large tank(440L) is coser to 25% ok for these daily changes? The other question i wanted to ask about is lighting...i have been running them(two 39w t5 bulbs) for 12 hours a day but was informed at petshop today to start with five hours and work up to eight? What do you all think? Oh and i live in Wellington Thanks again Peter

Hey all...first of all great site...have found lots of useful reading which has helped me in choosing my equipment for my first tropical setup. My tank is 1m long,700mm high and 650mm front to back running a fluval 405,300w jagar heater and twin t5 lighting,i hope im doing well so far? I spent the day yesterday landscaping the tank,planting and filling with water.I used the reccomended dosage of cycle,aqua plus and plantzone. I have now reached the point where i am getting lots of people saying different things in regards to cycling and was hoping that the friendly people on this site might be able to poing me in the right direction. I have put two flakes of food into the tank as i was told the cycle needed something to feed off and to continue doing this daily while every other day putting the reccomended dosage of cycle back into the water. I have also been told my ammonia level will rise and then fall followed by NO2 and NO3 and once it has gone through that cycle it is okay to add a few small fish and again watch levels and if need be do small daily water changes until biologial filter again adjusts? Sorry for the very long ramble...i hope is makes sence and please correct me if i am on the complete wrong track...this is my first time and i really wana make a good go of it. Thanks in advance for any advice Peter