water change leads to lack of appetite and quick breathing

[Jim Powers]

Almost looks like a trout stream from this angle.

[angelfish83]

OH and dude- your nitrate kit is FAAUUUULTY...
Its difficult to get a good nitrate kit. You have to shell out about forty bucks.

This is the kit I bought at petsmart for much more money. The seal was intact under the cap. Seems like a good name brand...

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... ips25tests

so should i assume my nitrates are under control? I don't have $40 just for nitrate testing.

OH its a strip test?

Ya its faulty. I guarantee. Those things are so inaccurate its a joke.

Garbage garbage...

You should be ok just do lots of water changes. Do em every day at 10% to 15% for four or five days... if youre worried

As per wood, you should be close enough to the wetlands there that the wood will not be a problem. You should be able to find some very nice stuff if you go for a short drive.

Just wash the crapp out of it.

Theres probably some really good wood dealers down there too..

[mikev]

I would not use such strong expressions, but strip tests are indeed not the best.
What they are good for is a quick check that everything is more or less ok, nothing more.

They also are not cheap if you figure out the cost per test.

[angelfish83]

I would not use such strong expressions, but strip tests are indeed not the best.
What they are good for is a quick check that everything is more or less ok, nothing more.

They also are not cheap if you figure out the cost per test.

Sometimes strong language is warranted. They're crapp.

[Emma Turner]

Angelfish83, you have already been warned about the way you are writing your posts. If you can't say anything without being so aggressive or using swear words, then don't say anything at all please. Strong language is not warranted at all on the Loach and Freshwater forums.

Emma

[angelfish83]

Angelfish83, you have already been warned about the way you are writing your posts. If you can't say anything without being so aggressive or using swear words, then don't say anything at all please. Strong language is not warranted at all on the Loach and Freshwater forums.

Emma

I didn't realize that I was using strong language...

[shari2]

there are funny/friendly euphamisms and/or comments and then there are the cr*p ones...

[USFMarine]

ok, I added a whole bunch of rocks and tried to make hiding areas for the loaches. In the first little bit of observing them, they seem to really like exploring all the new spots.

Also, I added a MarineLand Maxi-Jet 900 power head, rated at 230gph on the right side of the tank blowing left. The rippling and surface agitation is well seen in the below videos. In addition to the power head, I removed the spray bar and now have a simple tube output from my Fluval 403 on the right side blowing left. The intake for the 403 is seen on the far left side.

The current in the tank is much stronger, everyone seems to enjoy it except my black angelfish. I have the bubble intake on the powerhead up pretty strong, the ripples would be much "smoother" if I didn't have the bubles up on high.

http://www.marshallmoorheadphotography.com/3.mpg
http://www.marshallmoorheadphotography.com/4.mpg

[chefkeith]

great job!!

[angelfish83]

Lose the angel. Waaaay too much current. Its terriby uncomfortable. Not wise to keep those alone or with fish as fast moving as everything else you have there. very very bad choice. I was an angel nut for years trust me. Ditch it.

Otherwise pretty nice stuff. A couple of those rocks are mildly calciferous so watch your kH and pH and see if they start to rocket up...

[USFMarine]

Lose the angel. Waaaay too much current. Its terriby uncomfortable. Not wise to keep those alone or with fish as fast moving as everything else you have there. very very bad choice. I was an angel nut for years trust me. Ditch it.

Otherwise pretty nice stuff. A couple of those rocks are mildly calciferous so watch your kH and pH and see if they start to rocket up...

My friend was getting rid of her black angelfish.. If I didn't take it, it would have gone down her toilet! If I remove it now, my tank will look quite empty.. what should I replace it with.. the silver dollars are quite boring too by the way.. only the 2 females are left, they're ugly and they're so skittish they often scare the loaches with their sudden bursts of swimming..

so if I gave away the silver dollars and angels, I need something to entertain me when the loaches are all hiding...

[angelfish83]

Anyone who would flush a perfectly healthy fish down the toilet is quite ignorant.. Im sorry I had to say that.

Give them to a good quality pet shop or a friend who can house them. But not together. THose fish dont go together.

Something that would work would be something like some of the larger rainbows. If you can afford Denisons barbs they are stunning and adapt easily to warm water.

[/img]
denison $15ish each

boesmans rainbow $3 ish

Tiger barb - if you get these you cant get any other fish for the water column. $2-3ish

You can get four denisons and four rainbows. It'd look stupid though. Get either six denisons or eight rainbows. The denisons get huge.

In your situation, with that tank, I'd get eight boesman's rainbows personally

Additional acceptable fish would be


Black cherry or Black Ruby barb. Hard to find em this nicely colored though... Usually quite poor quality...


The Cherry barb. Should be kept in big groups of over fifteen. The female is brown and the male is orange or reddish. This is a very small fish compared to the others.


Crown Ruby. Often called Bolivian Rams. They're not rams. They live near the bottom and are very mellow. Don't mind current much. Need lots of hiding spots.

There are dozens of choices. If you dont like these tell us and well give you more. Just make sure you ask so you get compatible fish. Always ask for advice when you get into a new hobby. Its gotten me nice aquariums, well built PCs and great stereo systems just to ask the right questions of the right people. You will save money too.

A word of warning:

Don't assume that because we recommended certain barbs and rainbows that any barb or rainbow is ok. Thats not the case. All the different species within a family of fish have different needs. For example, the dwarf neon rainbow is much more fragile and prefers less current than Boesman's rainbow. The featherfin rainbow is super super fragile and cant handle any at all current... etc etc.

Four Bolivian Rams and about 12 Black Ruby barbs would look nice in there, fill it out, and make a good foundation for when the clowns outgrow the tank and have to move along...

[Martin Thoene]

I was going to say Rainbows. A lot of people here have them in with Loaches.

Martin.

[USFMarine]

1. Where do you all buy your fish.. do you just visit your LFS or Petsmarts?

2. If I had just the 5 clowns, what else could be compatible that wasn't a community fish... I mean, something w/ more personality... a mild mannered south american cichlid?

3. If I got rid of the angel and kept the 2 silver dollars and the 5 clowns, what else could I add besides barbs..? The barbs just aren't doing it for me... I don't know why...

4. In other news, I found a 160 gallon tank w/ wet/dry filter, custom cabinet, and all accessories on craigslist for $400 (local pickup). I was thinking about it, but that's a huge undertaking...

[/img]

[angelfish83]

Just a little patience and a lot of time.

Think about the eventual rewards though...

Also keep in mind you will wanna spend mucho money on filtration for that thing if you plan to loach it...

So the barbs dont do it for you?

Well, there really isn't much we can do here conventionally speaking so you might end up with a lopsided fish list...

If you keep the silver dollars, get more silver dollars. You shouldn't have them in small groups. Atleast six.

Ideally you dont want stuff THAT turbocharged around the clown loaches. They will be mellower if the SDs come out.

In terms of keeping a south american cichlid in there... there really isn't a whole lot of stuff that can put up with a half decent current... that's the thing... You'd need to be really adept at making calm and non calm water zones. This is easy in a 160 but a smaller one like 55 presents difficulties...

You really can't do a whole lot along this avenue. The only things I could suggest would be stuff along the lines of firemouths and kin. Any other mellower SA's hate current except for bolivians and Nicaraguense, which would work out great in the 160, but again, too big for the 55 as they can reach 10" or more in some rare cases.


Pretty fish.


As per the firemouth, I don't really recommend it. There's a good chance it'll end up biting at your loaches, unless you manage to find one thats big enough to make sure its a female and you get it from a guy who assures you its mellow... Just not a good idea...

If you get the big tank, you have big options. Small tank, small options.

Bolivian Rams... SA cichlid... Lots of personality... only real legit choice at this point for cichlids.

If you want some different schooling fish you might try stuff like congo tetras... but everything that schoals and is small has the personality of a door knob- with the exception of Tiger barbs, which DO have personalities and you might find enjoyable. Just remember it sort of puts you in a corner of Tiger barbs, Clown loaches, and perhaps a pleco later on... Tiger barbs nip at other fish in the water column...

As per where to get fish, the best thing is to find what you want at a breeder or super reputable importer. Fish stores are a second choice. There are forums on the web where people swap fish and one may be in your area... but this is slightly fishy as you dont know the people.

For instance, if you wanted, say, a tank of seven large severums, you could order them in the mail from Jeff Rapps Tangled Up In Cichlids with confidence that you'd get textbook quality stuff arriving alive-ing...

If what you're REALLY after is personality, I very very strongly advise one of the following (they involve a complete fish revamp, perhaps no loaches in many cases):

1 A larg(er) puffer species. There is absolutely no comparison. Its like a little puppy that loves you its rediculous.

2 Get the big tank and get yourself something rediculously massive. The huge cichlids are like little pet dogs under water. Intelligent beyond belief.

Green Terror


Flowerhorn