PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[raytan12]

Hi,
i aledy got another lighting from Nature on Saturday,18W, did not get my previous light modified, was told that my current lighting, 9W + 18W should be sufficient. My riccia has bubbled tremendously, what a beautiful sight. my glossostigma and xmas moss are growing, can notice them, new shoots and xmas moss turning green.

But just now went i got home, i looked closely into my tank i could find TINY WHITE WORMS, about a few, maybe more , yuck![] what are those worms? what do i do to get rid of them? there are also some TINY INSECTS skipping around in the water, a few, not too sure how many, maybe more hiding. what are these too???? will they harm my plants? what to do?????????? please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my tank is 1 week old? should i add otos or shrimps in aledy? please advise. will the otos clear the worms and insects?

[DEA]

the tiny insects should be copepods whilst the worms should be nematodes
if you have fish in there they will finish them off
usually seen in new tanks when there's an excess of food

[raytan12]

hi DEA,
i do not have any fish in there yet, so what can i do? will they multiply? my plants are just starting to grow, afraid the fish may disturb the growth of the plants. is it fine if i don add any fish yet? will those things harm my plants?

[DEA]

nope
they're pretty innoculous actually
only thing is they get to be an eyesore in big numbers

[hwchoy]

ray, now's a good time to figure out what fishes you would like. And I think it is high time to have lots of shrimps and otos []

[raytan12]

Hi hwchoy,
my riccia has not grown fully yet. is it ok to add them? i intend to have these in my tank. 1.5ft:
1) 2 otos
2) about 10 shrimps
3) 3 pencilfish
4) 1 spotted puffer (small)
5) 5 guppies
6) maybe some other tetra, about 5

[ryan]

yes pple normally add algae eaters and shrimps on the first day or second lah! (someone correct me if i'm wrong)...
anyway... 10 shrimps are definately not enough... trust me! once they are in there you'll hardly notice them...
you'll need abt 30-60... []
good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

[raytan12]

really? so many? my tank is only 1.5ft, 10Gallon. what if there's no more algae, my shrimps will be targetting on my plants next, then i;ll have a botak tank with only my shrimps and fish. please advise, i do not wish to make this kind of mistake. i really put in all my money, my energy and effort into my tank, if i really need to put in otos and shrimps,i'll get them soon

[hwchoy]

ray, go for 60 malayan shrimps. they not only eat algae but also go for the debris, uneaten food, etc. They only eat certain plants which is quite uncommon.

BTW, do you really want a puffer? they go for fins especially if you have guppies. and they swim very fast so it is close to impossible to catch them later. if you're worried about snails, just use to finger to crush them. Just crush, don't have to remove, supper for your fish and shrimps.

[hwchoy]

BTW, my tank (25 gal) has 130 malayan and still don't look crowded. There are also 9 otos and they all look well fed, hanging long poos. Believe me, running out of algae is a much better problem []

[nizz]

----------------
On 3/18/2002 12:36:53 AM

Hi hwchoy,
my riccia has not grown fully yet. is it ok to add them? i intend to have these in my tank. 1.5ft:
1) 2 otos
2) about 10 shrimps
3) 3 pencilfish
4) 1 spotted puffer (small)
5) 5 guppies
6) maybe some other tetra, about 5
----------------

Hi Ray

U bought ur puffer yet? I'm looking for a new owner for my spotted puffer. Tell me if u want it ok?

Nizz

[raytan12]

how big is the puffer? i'm afraid my guppies will have no tails. i think i may not get puffers. i think i'm going for those cute bumblebee fish, forgot wat they are called

[hwchoy]

bumblebee goby, get enough of them you can make deep-fried bumblebee soon-hock