Stocking suggestions

[Sophia]

medium or dark blue?

i have used a shade of dulux called selwyn which looks medium blue on the swatch but in the back of the tank with black gravel it looks a bit darker again

[alanmin4304]

Your E. uraguayensis will eventually fill that aquarium by itself. I doesn't need high light once established as the leaves will grow up to the surface. The advantage is that it is the only Echinodorus sp. I know of that will get realy big but not go into an emersed form so that all you see in the tank is the stalks. I have one in a 500mm high tank with low light and the leaves are up to the surface. I also have some emersed with runners that I hope to have available way down the track. It is not easy to propagate---hence the price. I have had them a few years but have never had a runner while submersed.

[Joe]

so I'm off to roskill tomorrow to get 1 more to satisfy my need for even numbers of fish

Don't get even numbers. Make sure you have odd nubers of fish (unless it's a species that thrives in pairs, like your rams). Odd numbers look much better .

2 Blue Rams (babies only 1 -1.5 cm long at this point)

I like the pics of your tank, and the rams look really nice. You do realise yours are electric blue rams, a man-made mutation. The tank looks somewhat like an Amazon biotope. Stick to Amazon fish. They will thrive in your tank. Tip: Put boiled oak leaves on the substrate of your tank. Your fish will love it. It lowers the pH, which is what Amazon fish love.

While I was there I saw a really nice blue gourami that I'd love to put in the tank, but I feel it might be a bad move.

Blue gouramis can be aggressive, and like to be kept in pair or groups. They need large tanks, and grow quite big (10-15cm). Also, they wouldn't suit your tank, because of the fact that they are really large. They would draw attention away from your beautiful schooling fish, like the Cardinals. Stick to catfish, small cichlids and Amazon characins (like the tetras and pencil fish etc.)

[Brennos]

Don't get even numbers. Make sure you have odd nubers of fish (unless it's a species that thrives in pairs, like your rams). Odd numbers look much better .

I like the pics of your tank, and the rams look really nice. You do realise yours are electric blue rams, a man-made mutation. The tank looks somewhat like an Amazon biotope. Stick to Amazon fish. They will thrive in your tank. Tip: Put boiled oak leaves on the substrate of your tank. Your fish will love it. It lowers the pH, which is what Amazon fish love.

Blue gouramis can be aggressive, and like to be kept in pair or groups. They need large tanks, and grow quite big (10-15cm). Also, they wouldn't suit your tank, because of the fact that they are really large. They would draw attention away from your beautiful schooling fish, like the Cardinals. Stick to catfish, small cichlids and Amazon characins (like the tetras and pencil fish etc.)

Yeah I have been researching amazon biotypes, the guy at hff recommended the sword to suit the fish. I will be changing anything I need to to make it more Amazonian. the gouramis I saw were dwarf cobalt blue ones. not the monster ones but still, would not suit this tank. The rams I chose purely on thier looks, I wanted German Blue Rams, but the guy at HFF roskill had no idea what I was talking about, and they didnt have any I saw.

would of looked pretty cool in my tank.

I just did a full water test.

Ammonia = 0

Nitrite = 0

Nitrate = 0

Phosphate = 0

PH = 6.9

Going by the tests, every thing is fine, and It should be ok to start dosing with flourish, and flourish excel. P44, is there anything else i can do to help my plants out in the average light conditions. (ar620t light hood has 2x 18w pl's, and a lot of water to get through. And I don't want to change the hood just yet.)

[Joe]

Bring the pH down to about 4.5-5, because they prefer lower pH.

[phoenix44]

Bring the pH down to about 4.5-5, because they prefer lower pH.

No Joe. You don't deliberately reduce the pH of the tank unless there is a very specific reason for doing so.

Breeders often muddle with pH to mimic natural spawning triggers. it is best to have a stable pH and pH6-7 is very good.

[Caryl]

I agree with phoenix44. Most fish are captive bred and have no idea what pH they are supposed to prefer

My African set-up sat at 7.0, same as the tap water, and it didn't stop the fish from breeding. They did not know they were supposed to prefer 8.0 8)

[Joe]

It thought Amazon fished liked a lower pH. I was reading something about it ages ago in a book or on the internet somewhere about biotope aquariums. It said that Amazon fish liked a lower pH.

[phoenix44]

Any pH under 7 is low and anything over 7 is high.

[Brennos]

I'm not wanting to screw with the pH at all, as I'd rather it be 6.8-9 and be stable, than lower, and fluctuate. I prefer my tanks LOW maintenance, hence all the plants, and low stocking.

I added a new AL-20D lighthood today,and rearranged my driftwood, and Java Fern. Looks a lot better to me, and soooo much brighter. And no more ugly heater and filter intake on display, now for the spray bar hiding mission

[land_lubber]

So your the one that brought the E. uraguayensis I went to HFF to buy that but it was gone so I got that marble sword instead although they did say they could order one in for me.

[Brennos]

Guess so. Sorry, I can offer you some cuttings late on once its established? I could swap you for some cuttings from your sword?

Update.

[SamH]

Wow, that looks really good!

[Brennos]

Cheers sam.

[malevolentsparkle]

Any pH under 7 is low and anything over 7 is high.

but whos tap water is 7? mine certainally isn't. so as long as your adding a pH buffer you might as well make it more like the fishes natural enviroment. cardinals for example are usually wild caught and so have spent most of their lives in lower than 7.

[land_lubber]

What PH is your water coming out as?

[Caryl]

My tap water is 7.0 - 7.2. Councils prefer tap water to be slightly alkaline as acidic eats the pipes and it costs money to replace them.

[Joe]

Are those guppies at the top of the tank? If so, move them into another tank and let them breed so you have a constant supply of live food for your other fish (that is the only use guppies have).

[Ira]

but whos tap water is 7?

Mine is.

[BikBok]

Are those guppies at the top of the tank? If so, move them into another tank and let them breed so you have a constant supply of live food for your other fish (that is the only use guppies have).

I disagree. there are some beautiful big bodied colourful guppies out there that can add interest to many a tank. Not everyone likes big fish.

[Joe]

I'm not a huge fan of big fish either. I mean I think they're cool at the shop and stuff, but I wouldn't choose to buy them. I'm going to have a go at a couple of nano tanks with Sparkling Gouramis and little Boraras sp. shortly. I need to sell my Flag Cichlids and dismantle their tank to make way for the nanos.