Some question to ask....

[rick]

Hi guys,

Before i ask question , allow me to sum the spec of my tank.

4ftx1.5x1.5, 2inch JBL base fert, 1.5 inch gravel, co2 at 2bps, 4x36w PL light for 9 hrs/day, no liquid fert yet, no fish yet. current plants are some hair grass, amazon sword, vallisneria, rubin, java moss, temp at 28.5C.

Don't mind pls help me with the following...
1) In planted aro tank, what are the recommended tank mates? Especially need fishes who can feed on brush algae and spot algae. Can 2.5 inch SAE escape my silver aro?

2) Just started running the tank, with no liquid fert. the bbiggest prob now is that hair or brush algae start to cover my amazon sword and rubin. Hair grass have some "white dust" gather around. Glass start to have strands of algae too.
Have changed water 50%. But the algae seems to dominate the plants!!!!!

Please advise! Thanx in advance......

[Allen_1971]

Rick,

Vinz would probably be the best person to help you having experience with both Aro's and Planted tanks, however, we would need to know more info like the size of your Aro.

Please visit this thread and fill in the relevant info (cut and paste).

Off hand though, sounds like you have a major nutrient imbalance... my first guess would be that your nitrate levels will be pretty high.

[rick]

Thanks Allen, will try to cut and paste........

[rick]

Beginners Info Sheet
++++++++++++++++++

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH): 120 x 45 x 45 cm
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 4 x 36 W
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : 2 bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : Tank
Substrate Used : Lonestar & JBL base fert
Liquid Fertilizers Used : None yet (algae out even b4 any fert)
Frequency of fertilization : --
Tank Temperature : 28.5
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) : cannister
Filter media used : ceramic ring / bio sponge / wool


Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
---------------------------------------

Carbonate Hardness (kh): 0 now, adding some bicarbonate later
Total Hardness (gH): untested
PH :
NH4 (ppm): untested
NO2 (ppm): untested
NO3 (ppm):untested
PO4 (ppm): untested
Fe (ppm): untested

Bioload (Your Fish and Plants) : no fish yet / plants:hair grass, amazon sword, vallisneria, rubin, java moss
------------------------------



problem : Just started running the tank, with no liquid fert. the prob now is that hair or brush algae start to cover my amazon sword and rubin. Hair grass have some "white dust" gather around. Glass start to have strands of algae too.
Have changed water 50%. But the algae seems to dominate the plants

<PLs see the condition:

http://www.arofanatics.com/members/rcyt/plant/

[chia2k]

I think BIG SAE would help with the algae problem

[Simon]

Big SAE is never a good choice when it comes to algae cleaning, only small and those which have never tasted commerical fish food.. u can oso use yamato/malayan to help speed up the process.. frequently water change oso did a great deal in fighting algae and the most imprt tips is remove all the infected plants/leaves/areas manually

seems like u need some fast growers to help absorb nutrients.. try H. difformis.. from the pic, looks like u need to pack in more plants... or else algae will take charge

[Simon]

here r rick's pic

[sherchoo]

I would suggest starting Potassium ferterlazation ASAP. This would give an edge for your plants to grow and outcompete nutrient absorbtion over algae. Try adding some fishes/shrimps to start the N-cycle. Make sure it's fully cycled before adding your Aro in.

BTW, I dun know much about Aro keeping, but isn't unwise to keep pointy wood deco in an Aro tank?

[vinz]

Regarding keeping other fishes with arowanas.

You have to make it easy for the other fishes to hide and stay away from the arowana. Make sure there are large heavily planted areas, especially the midground and background. The taller plants will allow the fishes to stay hidden under the plants. Short carpet grasses are not suitable, as the fishes will be easily visible to the arowana. So keep short carpet plants to small areas. With your current layout, the fishes are going to have a hard time hiding. At the least, plant the left side heavily.

Tank size also matters. With a large tank, the fishes are less likely to be trapped if your arowana is a persistant hunter.

Avoid getting small top water fishes (e.g. rocket pencilfish, hatchet fish, zebra danios). Arowana's swim and hunt at mid and top water. Besides, there is little places to hide in the top water. No matter how fast a fish, if they have no where to hide, they eventually end up "hiding" in the arowana's stomach... permanently.

A well-fed predator is less likely to expend energy to chase after prey that are harder to catch. So make sure you feed the arowana reasonably well. This does not mean you should over-feed it. Just make sure its not starving. If you feed it regularly, it should rather wait for the feeding. If you feed live food, be prepared for it to consider it's normal tankmates as food.

Personality counts too. I've heard of aros that will even beatup large plecos, but it's unusual. Most will tolerate smaller non-arowanas as tank mates, unless they consider them as food.

IMO, any healthy SAE, or any agile fish for the matter, has a high chance of surviving in an arowana tank, provided there is enough places for it to hide, the tank is large enough and the aro is not unusually aggressive.

[vinz]

Re: pointy wood.

Depends on how jittery the aro is and the position of the wood.

A jittery aro that keeps dashing blindly about the tank when frightened can get hurt badly on the wood. As well as one that is chasing prey.

I'm concerned that the tall wood on the left. Due to it's height and position, it's quite likely for the arowana to crash into it when dashing. One way is to tie plants to the wood as a cushion. In normal circumstances, it does reduce the arowana's swimming area.

[juggler]

----------------
On 2/6/2003 11:33:42 PM

I would suggest starting Potassium ferterlazation ASAP. This would give an edge for your plants to grow and outcompete nutrient absorbtion over algae. Try adding some fishes/shrimps to start the N-cycle. Make sure it's fully cycled before adding your Aro in.

BTW, I dun know much about Aro keeping, but isn't unwise to keep pointy wood deco in an Aro tank?
----------------

Since the tank is w/o fish, there isn't enough nutrients for the plants. Especially N,P and K macro-nutrients.

Here's a cruel idea: Cycle your tank with platies or feeder shrimp/fish now. Feed them more often so there will be more N and P in the water. You can add K too. Later when you put in the Aro, these feeder fish will become food for it.

[rick]

Thanks everyone,

Will put in more plants to fight algae and for amll fish like small sae to hide,

Simon, seems like my plants are too little at the start. will try to add more inside.



will update you guys if the war against algae is won, if otherwise......... hee hee

[Simon]

the fight against algae is never ending.. patience is the best way to go