bobo Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Heya, I'm setting up a couple of tanks on the weekend, so have a few questions. 1) Would there be any benefit in mixing JBL Florapol with Dalton's Aquatic Mix as my bottom substrate? I have some spare Florapol lying around. This spare Florapol is already mixed with gravel. So, I'd probably start with a thin gravel/Florapol layer, then a decent Dalton's layer, then my top layer of pebbles/gravel. Does this sound good - or should I just leave the Florapol out of it? TANK 1: ~20L 2) The first tank is an office tank I am setting up at home. I then need to be able to move it to work (I'll empty most of it). Will using Dalton's Mix give me a problem when I move it? should I avoid Dalton's in this tank? 3) Flora: Already have one decent sized Amazon Sword (the leaves actually point a little out of the top), surrounded by smaller Amazon Swords. I want it to look decent, but be easy to maintain. Am I right in thinking the Amazon Sword growth will be restricted if I cram them in? I don't want them growing too large in such a small tank. 4) Fauna: 1 Siamese Fighter. I want to keep maintenance and water changes to a minimum - so I thought I should probably leave the fighter as the sole occupant. Or would it be worth getting a 'clean up crew', like a couple of corys or a bristlenose. 5) Jumping Siamese Fighter: Can I get away with having the water level 2-3cm below the top of the tank, or should I look at having a glass pane on top? TANK 2: ~350L, 4'L, 1.5'D, 2'H 6) Stocking this tank. This is going to be heavily planted (with the Florapol/gravel, Dalton's, pebbles layers I mentioned earlier), low light, low maintenance. So, I want the stocking to be light without being too light. I was thinking: 7 Tiger Barbs 3-4 Gouramis - maybe Opaline 5 Zebra Loaches 1 Red Tail Shark 1-2 Bristlenose Pleco 1+ SAE How does that stocking sounds (in context of a low maintenance tank)? Too much? Too Light? Compatible? Do you think I should have some corys in there to help clean up, or will Zebra Loaches do a decent enough job at that (don't really want corys in this tank - unless they would be beneficial)? Any other species I should think about? Especially mid/top dwellers. 7) Are all those fish 'plant friendly'? Thank you for taking the time to read! Your responses are greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Welcome back Bobo! 1) I'd say if you have enough Daltons then save the Florapol for future use. 2) Daltons when stirred up apparently creates a very murky tank and sometimes results in an algae outbreak. Unless your CO2 and lights are very high, I'd just stick to regular gravel/sand. 3) I've found that if Amazon Swords don't have enough room to grow their leaves get all bent against the glass, not pretty at all. 4) 20L tank? I'd keep it to just the fighter. Pick a really nice one off a breeder, sure beats a sad looking pet store veiltail 8) 5) I would err on the side of caution in this case, I've had fighters jump 5cm+ and having lids gives a piece of mind. Also slows evaporation. 6) RTS and Tiger Barbs can be quite agro, gourami's pelvic feelers/fins may be nipped or nibbled. It's quite a large tank, why not stock a few angels as feature fish along with some bottom dwellers? 7) Yes they are if fed correctly. -Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Amazon swords ime just keep on growing! My fighters only jump if I have my hands in the tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobo Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Cheers Adrienne. Thanks Sam! A lot of your replies confirmed my thoughts, stocking remaining my only questions. Tiger Barbs: I like the idea of a highly active, entertaining fish, which means I'm trying to stock around them. Firstly, I thought if you kept them in a school (I could go for more than 7) they tended to confine their aggression to the school? What would make good tank mates for tiger barbs? If I moved away from tiger barbs, what would be some other active, entertaining species? I'm not sold on Angelfish - although the other half might be keen (in which case my opinions are a little redundant really). Do they show any interesting behaviours? I thought they sometimes chew on plants? Just looking for stocking ideas really... Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Don't know anything about barbs but I believe that angels like deep tanks and can also be agressive. They can also grow pretty big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ismart120 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Just on the SAE front with the RTBS, I've heard that they aren't always the best of friends (although mine seem to be fine, the RTBS is very relaxed though) and the SAEs will at least need to be in a group of some sort, they hide and mope around a lot when by themselves it would seem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have five angels in 120x40x40 tank and they do fight sometimes. Nothing serious but I may have to move some if they pair up. If you want a small fish with movement try Danios, they NEVER stop moving! :nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrenB Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Melon Barbs http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Puntius&species=fasciatus - look great - Very active - Not as aggresive as tiger barbs I have also kept them with tiger barbs and they have been fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobo Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Melon Barbs http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Puntius&species=fasciatus - look great - Very active - Not as aggresive as tiger barbs I have also kept them with tiger barbs and they have been fine. They look pretty cool - kind of like Tiger Barbs but without the aggression? Are the readily available here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrenB Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Yeah, although I've never kept them with any peaceful fish so don't know how they would go with tetras for example. I think they are known as 'semi-aggresive'. Not as readily available as tiger barbs but you should have no prob's tracking some down with large shops like Hollywood fish farm around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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