My first fish tank

[e[V]o|ut|on]

Aquatic plants love cooler temperature. So unless your aircon is set to below 18, you do not need a heater in your tank.28 is a bit on the high side. Infact, when I conduct workshops on planted tank appreciation, I usually recommend not higher than 26 degrees.

You can also have more plant but that may not necessary means that the fish would have lesser swimming space. For example, if you have a lawn of glossos or hair grass, that would still have provided a lot of space for the fishes to swim. For small tanks, stay away from big bulky plants. Even for anubias, go for the pettie anubias as they are really small and cute. It is about a choice of plants.

Hope this helps.

yupz, thanks bro. It has definately helped me understand better.

My aircon's set at between 23-25degrees depending on how warm the night is. However bro, you mentioned that the plants love cooler temperature, but what about the fishes? I read that especially the tetras love temperature of around 28degrees. If i remove the heater, would it be too cold for the fishes then?

[tetrakid]

Lol, talking of plants and fish makes one ponder a lot about the whole thing.

To me, keeping aquatic plants and keeping fishes are two entirely different and even somewhat mutually-exclusive hobbies. Normal cultivation of garden plants itself already poses tough challenges to lay people. Aquatic plants poses even bigger challenges because of the added complexities of water chemistry involved.

On the other hand, keeping fish healthy is also a challenging activity by itself, as many hobbyists will know through experience.

So to simplify things and to make one's hobby enjoyable and as worry-free as possible, it is better to separate the two and concentrate on the one which gives one more satisfaction. Which means to say, if one likes aqua-gardening more, one should concentrate on that. And if one likes fishkeeping more, one should concentrate on that.

[e[V]o|ut|on]

Lol, talking of plants and fish makes one ponder a lot about the whole thing.

To me, keeping aquatic plants and keeping fishes are two entirely different and even somewhat mutually-exclusive hobbies. Normal cultivation of garden plants itself already poses tough challenges to lay people. Aquatic plants poses even bigger challenges because of the added complexities of water chemistry involved.

On the other hand, keeping fish healthy is also a challenging activity by itself, as many hobbyists will know through experience.

So to simplify things and to make one's hobby enjoyable and as worry-free as possible, it is better to separate the two and concentrate on the one which gives one more satisfaction. Which means to say, if one likes aqua-gardening more, one should concentrate on that. And if one likes fishkeeping more, one should concentrate on that.

i agree to a certain extend. of cos if able to maintain both, in this sense in an aquarium, would be ideal, right?

[tetrakid]

I also like both, which means to say I like aqua-gardening as well as fishkeeping. Everyone loves to have a well-planted aquarium with a lot of plants and fish too.

But my style of "choot pattern" now is just to keep a handful of plants, but I concentrate more on my fishes. So when the plants are sick, I simply replace them by buying new ones from the fish shop. I pay a lot more attention on my fishes' health than the plants. If I pay more attention to plants' needs, my fish will not have enough close attention to remain healthy. Plants' needs are different from fish needs.

Although plants depend on fish poo and waste as nutrients to survive, the need for more C02 is not healthy for the fish. Putting in more C02 while at the same time reducing oxygenation (by reducing surface agitation) will make the fish unhealthy and disease-prone.

i agree to a certain extend. of cos if able to maintain both, in this sense in an aquarium, would be ideal, right?

[felix_fx2]

i agree to a certain extend. of cos if able to maintain both, in this sense in an aquarium, would be ideal, right?

Put the long story short. Only 1 aspect will excel very well.

Plants, Fauna (fish/shrimp)

The other is ok will survive but might not thrive.

Btw, please mind the sms lingo is not allowed. After you post, take a glance at your own posting. Still have time to edit.

[gmrobert]

Hi to all,

This is a very interesting thread. I'm really interested in the platy and surface oil.

How does the platy help with the surface oil? do they eat it? If having platys in the tank helps then i can throw my skimmer away.

[tetrakid]

Platys are very sensitive fish. Putting them into a tank with muck on the surface is sure to stress them a lot. Platys are beautiful fish, but they can also die easilly without warning or simptoms.

It is very sad when one has favourite Platys and see them die for no apparent reason, probably due to their special vulnerabilty to internal parasites. They can suffer in stillness before dying the very next day.

[David Moses Heng]

A few things to note here.

1) The key to a beautiful aquatic garden is to strike a balance between the two. How to do that is hard to put into words. I will share with all my newest 3 aquatic 422 garden in November once the tank mature. I may not share at all if I am not please with the outcome.

2) As far as I am concerned, I have not encountered issues with my platies dying due to the oil firm. Infact, what I notice is that they do get fatter. of course with frequent water change, the oil firm issue gets better.

Hope this helps.

[e[V]o|ut|on]

Hi All,

I just did a water change today, the first after i got the fishes. As usual, changed about 20-30% water. Added in the chlorine remover.

However, the water still seems dirty, cloudy and brownish in colour. I already tried to remove as much dirt (fish poo, leftover food etc) as I can, washed everything properly as well.

Is there anything wrong with what I did?

[tetrakid]

If your tank is 'seasoned' and clear, you will find that after a water change when you add good clean water,
the whole tank will become a bit cloudy and not clear. This is normal as it is due to bacterial action.

This is why it is best to make small water changes frequently, eg daily rather than big water changes.
Moreover, waiting longer will expose fish longer to higher concentration of final nitrates in the water.

[e[V]o|ut|on]

Thanks bro for the information.

Basically, not much change before and after water change, still cloudy. Will monitor the next few days.

[tetrakid]

A few days is not enough.

If your tank has never been clear at all before, it means it has not been seasoned yet.
A seasoned tank is very clear and beautiful to look at. You have to wait many weeks for the water to be clear.
If you change water before it becomes clear, it will never have the chance to be clear. It takes many weeks to become clear.

Thanks bro for the information.

Basically, not much change before and after water change, still cloudy. Will monitor the next few days.

[e[V]o|ut|on]

So means to say I should not change water until it has become clear?

[David Moses Heng]

Hi All,

I just did a water change today, the first after i got the fishes. As usual, changed about 20-30% water. Added in the chlorine remover.

However, the water still seems dirty, cloudy and brownish in colour. I already tried to remove as much dirt (fish poo, leftover food etc) as I can, washed everything properly as well.

Is there anything wrong with what I did?

May I ask how you washed your media?

[tetrakid]

Water change during tank seasoning (or cycling) is purely to protect your fish from ammonia poisoning. If you have many fish before the water is seasoned, they will produce a lot of ammonia by their poo. That will be problematic. So it is important not to have to many fish in it so that you can minimise water change to allow the good bacteria to develope without being disturbed much. With more fish you will need to change more water (to dilute the poison), and this will disturb the smooth bacteria growth process. In any case even if you do little water change, putting fish too early into an unseasoned tank will destroy the fish's internal organs and the symptoms will appear later on.

So means to say I should not change water until it has become clear?

[e[V]o|ut|on]

May I ask how you washed your media?

I use the siphoned water to wash them.

Water change during tank seasoning (or cycling) is purely to protect your fish from ammonia poisoning. If you have many fish before the water is seasoned, they will produce a lot of ammonia by their poo. That will be problematic. So it is important not to have to many fish in it so that you can minimise water change to allow the good bacteria to develope without being disturbed much. With more fish you will need to change more water (to dilute the poison), and this will disturb the smooth bacteria growth process. In any case even if you do little water change, putting fish too early into an unseasoned tank will destroy the fish's internal organs and the symptoms will appear later on.

Oh no! This does not sound good. I have like slightly over 20 fishes in the tank.

[felix_fx2]

You can read this up and do further research.

http://www.bestfish.com/breakin.html

[tetrakid]

It is a common situation among new hobbyists. Often, they are attracted by the beautiful setups and decide to take up the hobby themselves by seeking out the most beautiful and expensive fish they can afford. They then buy the fish and set up their tanks, not knowing there are many things to learn first before getting expensive fish.

But it is valuable experience.

I use the siphoned water to wash them.

Oh no! This does not sound good. I have like slightly over 20 fishes in the tank.