Our new 200ltr community

[C_H]

Hey mate great tank you got there i have been reading and reading and you have insired me to have a go at a nice community tank.

I have a small nano planted tank pictured i have had it for about 2 weeks now and i just cant get the idea of upsizing. Then i saw this and i went straight down to the lfs and bought a 2 foot tank with black stand and hood and have started the cycle today and i have just started boiling the wood.

Im going to have some convict cichlids help with the cycle and then get some neon tetras, angel fish, bristle nose catfish and a pair of blue rams.

Cheers,

Drew

[SYNiC]

Good one mate, once you get the bug it's hard to shake. I would like another tank eventually, maybe some Cichlids or a Rainbow community. Just make sure you have enough room in a 2' for the stock you're planning on - those Angels like a nice tall tank, at least 18" high. And be carefull with neons, they could become a nice snack to Angels as that is part of their natural diet. I have heard of people putting Neons/Cardinals in with juvi Angels and they grow together fine, depends on the fish. At over $6ea for Cardinals where I am, I can't take that chance on a school of them

Good luck with it all

[C_H]

Thank you for the advice luckily i brought one the size that the owner of the lfs breeds his angels in.

And $6 each for neons i brought 10 for $9

Cheers,

Drew

[SYNiC]

At over $6ea for Cardinals where I am, I can't take that chance on a school of them

[C_H]

Is there something i missed or are cardinal tetras and neon tetras not the same?

Cheers,

Drew

[SYNiC]

Is there something i missed or are cardinal tetras and neon tetras not the same?

Cheers,

Drew

No they aren't. Neons are like what you have. Cardinals are almost the same, but their red stripe runs the full length of their body, unlike a neon. I think Cardinals have better color too. They are quite hardy and do not suffer from disease the way Neons do. They are difficult to breed in captivity - hence the reason for the higher price tag.

Neon;

Cardinal;

[C_H]

Oh yer mine are deffinetly neons those cardinals are nice.

Cheers,

Drew

[JLL]

Edit: Checked out the Cochu Tetra, I remember seeing it before now, they get to ~4/5cm from what I read. There is some awesome looking Rainbows out there, might have to read up a little more on those fellas...

Gee this thread is still ticking along....

The tank has come along well, good stuff. I like the way your Java moss is growing, I have a log covered in it and i think it looks great.

As for the fish, I was going to suggest rainbows, they are a good community tank fish. I have about 20 in my planted tank and think they are great. If you want some blue then try Melanotaenia lacustrus Plenty of blue and the colour really intensifies if you have randy males... Sorry I only have a head shot of one of mine handy and it does the fish no justice at all

[SYNiC]

How big do those guys get, a few inches? Aren't they shoaling fish?. I'm just thinking of numbers and how much room I have to play with. I like the Melanotaenia praecox, and how good are the Melanotaenia duboulayi!. I'll have to do a little more investigating.

Praecox;

Duboulayi;

[JLL]

My lacustrus are about 6-7 cm and I dont think that they get over 10. Like most rainbows, they will school if you have a lot of them but I have seen them act pretty well as a more individual fish if you have just a few of them. I also like the duboulayi though.

I would be a little wary about going of internet pics as well. I reckon that duboulayi pic has been photoshopped pretty badly. Also, there are so many varieties for many species that you might end up with a different fish than you hoped for.

The other thing i liked about the lacustrus is that the females are also an attractive blue colour so you can have all of them looking colourful.

[SYNiC]

I have a quick question about my Angels. I have two of them, and the last few days I have been seeing some behavior that I haven't seen before. One of them (the black one) has been shaking it's fins almost in a display, while the other is 3-4" away watching. Then they lock lips for a few seconds, this happens one or two times and they go their own way.

I'm pretty sure it's love, but just wanted opinions, as I haven't seen courtship between fish before. I had a look on youtube at some courting Angels, and the behavior was similar though not for as long as the ones in the video. I thought that my black Angel was still a little immature (I got it at Christmas when it was about the size of a 50c piece).

The thing that has me curious, is that they (more so the marble) are still quite aggressive to each other when it comes to territory.

What fish would be showing off (ie: the fin shaking display), I'm guessing the male?.

Wouldn't it be a fluke if I ended up with a pair!.

Just found this;

Angelfish of both sexes will also flash fins, face off, lock their mouths and twist around. When a couple has been formed, they will choose a spawning site and start cleaning it together.

Source

[oakes]

Sounds like you may have a pair there!

I just wanted to add my 2c re the rainbows. There are certainly some beautiful species available (I have had boesmani & lacustrus), and they will definitely love your planted tank. However like tetras they do best in schools, but most grow quite large and are very energetic. Your angels and small tetras on the other hand prefer a quiet environment with placid tankmates. Rainbows also tend to prefer harder water, though my guess is that aquarium bred specimens are pretty adaptable.

That's not to say it can't be done, but if you are going to go with them my choice would be the praecox due to their smaller size. Others who have had rainbows with angels or tetras may be able to dispel my concerns?

cheers!

[SYNiC]

I think I will give them a miss (for now). I want to get another tank down the track, maybe a 4/6' standard tank. I'd like to get some cichlids or natives when I learn more about them, so maybe that will be a good base for another tank.

[SYNiC]

Long time no update, but here's a quick update.

A few new fish, and some anubias on wood that I recently added. Also have removed the background in favour of an all blue one, removed all the Java Moss (too messy in my Fluvals intake), lots of Val added. Also made a moonlight out of 12v LEDs.

Pandas

Peppermint BN

Great looking fish

Red Phantom Tetras

Anubias on wood.

Moonlight.

Hope you like,

Cheers.

[Priscacara]

Just saw the date on the post so I'm a bit slow I think :-). Love the pics you posted, I dont have any corys or peppermint BN's..........at least none of mine look quite like yours but if I can find some nice dark ones I might add a couple into my frontosa tank.

btw did you end up with a pair of angels?

[SYNiC]

Nah mate, the Angles have learned to live together. I guess the fanning of the fins and stuff was more a territorial thing.

Getting some new stock soon, not sure what though. I lost one of my Red Phantoms Tetras last night, so that was a bummer. Added a heap of Val, and another sword on the weekend. Have a 40cm LED moonlight in the mail also, so that should light things up a bit better at night.

Just been battling an outbreak of BBA. Removed my airstone to try and keep CO2 up to help plants out compete algae, also added a small 200LPH powerhead to help circulate water around the plants.

[SYNiC]

So this arvo, I modded the light housing in my hood. The standard Jebo uses 590mm T8's, and most of the tubes I've seen are 600mm (24"). I opened it all up and and pulled the tube sockets out of one end of each tube, cut the zinc aluminium & repositioned the sockets back ~10mm.

Now I've got brand new tubes running, so hopefully my swords will kick off again, running 2 x tropical & 1 x daylight. The red & blue spectrum in the tropical tubs is bringing out some great colours in the fish.

Also replaced my 2 LED DIY moonight with a 30cm 10 LED moonlight.

Running timers as follows;

12pm - LED moonlight on

1pm - All three T8's on

9:00pm - drop down to 1 T8 (tropical)

9:30 - all T8's off

11:30 - moonlight off.

Scored a new Java Fern also, two pieces to go on this wood - held on with fishing line until the roots do their thing...

My pm is getting big... Loves treats of fresh cucumber, he comes out to play in the moonlight.

New LED moonlight I added a few weeks ago...

[dobbin4]

Hey that panda's fins have had a chomping, A rainbows grow quite lg in a lg tank.Seen them 15cm.

Those lights are cool.Nice spoting on the Pepp.

[SYNiC]

Yeah, the Panda was like it from the LFS, I actually didn't realise until I had got it home. I can't remember what else was in there with them, but it's come along good.