Tank setup update

NancyD · Post by **NancyD** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 4:42 pm

Beautiful tank Keith even without the added excitement of the water bridge crossings. Well done!

Keith Wolcott · Post by **Keith Wolcott** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:51 pm

Thanks Nancy and Graeme.

At night there are 9 fish in the large tank (2 kubs, 6 striata, and 1 SAE) and 8 during the day. One striata (I think it is the same one) seems to be comfortable making the water bridge crossing and for three days now has been in the large tank at 5:00 in the morning, but goes back to the small tank by about 9:00 AM and spends the day there.

Keith Wolcott · Post by **Keith Wolcott** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 7:09 pm

I have set up a second 75 gallon tank as a river tank for hillstreams. No fish yet, but here is a picture with the other 75 gallon and 300 gallon in the background.

palaeodave · Post by **palaeodave** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 7:11 pm

I'd probably just move into that room. More pictures would be tolerated

Keith Wolcott · Post by **Keith Wolcott** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 9:32 pm

Thanks palaeodave. I like just sitting in the room. I took a lot of pictures today, but nothing really turned out except the one above. I took a trip to a not so local LFS called Sailfin in Champaign, Illinois yesterday and picked up some rasboras. I'll try again for some pictures tomorrow. I got some very nice Rasbora borapetensis (brilliant rasbora) and some Rasbora trilineata (scissortail rasbora). They are in quarantine now, but should look nice in the big tank.

Emma Turner · Post by **Emma Turner** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 9:35 pm

Your tanks are looking fabulous, Keith. That's a great picture.

What hillies are you hoping to purchase?

Emma

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 9:42 pm

3 of 4 walls. That makes it official......It is now only known correctly as the fish room.

Keith Wolcott · Post by **Keith Wolcott** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 9:47 pm

Thanks Emma. I really like the look of Sewellia lineolata. But I'll have to see what I can find.

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 5:20 am

Everything is looking great.
There is some interesting behavior they can show with the water bridges. If they have a favorite sleeping spot in one tank, then that's the tank where they'll spend the most time in. Keep an eye out for territoriality behavior. Some of mine use to squat all day in their favorite spots so that they wouldn't lose them. I'd end up only seeing the squatters at feeding time. The main reason why I like using PVC pipe for caves is because the pipes eliminate much of the territoriality and squatting.

Keith Wolcott · Post by **Keith Wolcott** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 6:33 am

Tinman- We are calling it either the T room (for tank room) or the fish room.

chefkeith- Since I have not put food in the water bridge for a while, I have not had much activity across it. I had three SAEs in the 75 gallon and two moved to the 300 gallon some weeks ago. Since then the last SAE had been in a funk just lying around with almost no activity and even very little interest in eating. I think he/she was lonely so I caught her out and moved her to the large tank two days ago and she has been very active and happy to be back with her friends.

I have been doing experiments with PVC pipe and I have not been getting the same results that I most often hear about here (that loaches like PVC pipe). In my quarantine tanks I have put three pieces of PVC pipe on one end of the tank and several stacked pieces of wood on the other side of the tank. Then over the several weeks of quarantine, I watch where the loaches spend their time. I have seen a loach swim through the pipe a few times, but I have never seen one just sitting in the pipe. They spend all of their hiding time under and around the wood. I am coming to the conclusion that if there is enough natural wood cover, that they prefer it to PVC pipe. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with PVC pipe. It is clearly an easy way to provide lots of cover for the fish. But my loaches and I both prefer the natural look of wood.

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:14 am

I was mostly thinking about snug crevasses that only one can squeeze into and sleep in.

I agree that wood cover is preferable to the fish also. I wonder if it has anything to do with color? I think I'll experiment with the black pipe that I have and see if they like that better.

There certainly are downsides to pipes, like the aesthetic one that you mentioned. Loaches like pipes that are snug. This can be a problem if you have loaches of different sizes as they can pack a pipe like a sardine can and may have problems getting out.

wasserscheu · Post by **wasserscheu** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:38 am

The good thing with pipes is that water can flow through, I guess they like flow for more effective breathing. Also the snug feeling may be key. I personally also like wood, but pipes are practical.

Here a clown causing a traffic jam by sleeping in the pipe.

Here a former q-tank setup. There may be a Garra in there with a Tiger behind

Instead of catching the tigers out, to move to the main system, I just hooked up the smaller part of the former q-tank-combo to the mains system. Thus the tigers remained in their beloved pipe with flowing water through it. The larger tiger posses the pipe now, about 5 feet in lenght, he patrouls it. Garras and Ancistrus clean it. Garras get chased out by the tiger.

wasserscheu · Post by **wasserscheu** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:42 am

Keith, what I forgot to mention about your great addition, I found it wonderful to sit in an U-formation of tanks like you have.

It creates a very special feeling. I actually wanted to write a thread about it once, but now your setup is the best example. And you have a much nicer photo of it. That is the ultimate loach experience

Keith Wolcott · Post by **Keith Wolcott** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:40 pm

Thanks Wolfram. I do like the U setup, but at times I wish that I also had eyes on the side of my head so that I could watch them all at once. I also like all of the plants in your tank and your success with the commuter pipes.

To show the layout of my tank room I took two videos. The first shows the tanks and the second shows the filters and pumps.

Keith Wolcott · Post by **Keith Wolcott** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 9:27 am

Here are some pictures of the dither fish that I got last Thursday. I had hoped to obtain Rasbora wilpita, but that fell through when the ordered fish turned out to be Rasbora daniconius. These get a little too large at 15 cm so I decided to go with the choices below.

Rasbora trilineata (scissortail)

Rasbora borapetensis (Brilliant, red-tailed, or blackline rasbora)

One of each.

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