My new tropical aquarium setup.

[Stigmorgan]

Smaller cichlid like rams and the apistogramma family will be fine with plants, South African cichlids are generally from either lake tanganyika and lake Malawi, these two can't be mixed in the same tank as the waters are very different, Malawi cichlids are generally herbivorous so will eat and destroy almost all plant matter you put in, those from lake tanganyika are hit and miss, some will destroy all plants some won't.

 

[Stigmorgan]

a friend and I found out about a shop yesterday so went to see what stock they have and were very pleased, I fell in love with most of the pieces of wood they had in stock and spent a couple hours going through them all and ended up choosing two pieces, sho who must be obeyed almost had a heart attack when I got home and told her I'd spent almost £200 on wood, merry Christmas to me :ho2 :deer :ho2

 

[ColeyS1]

That's does look very promising! My first experience with bogwood wasn't great. I soaked it for weeks outside etc etc buy I still had issues with fish dying. I've been contemplating buying two rams for a tenner for...months. They really do bring me so much joy watching the tanks ! I do a daily scan of the tanks and still feel a bit touched when I spot a poor fish- The two goldfish seem unphased by anything!When people say they have a quarantine tank to they just mean they have a tank of water ready to separate them? I cant quite figure out how I could have an empty tank full of helpful bacteria ready unless I'd just need to do frequent water changes...?

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[sunnybob]

Two reasons for a quarantine tank.
The main one is to put new fish into for a week before you put them in the main tank. This will stop any diseases or parasites from the shop being introduced to your very expensive collection of fragile animals. This tank will have its own filter system and be treatable with medicines.
The ultimate level of this is to practice total hygiene. the quarantine tank should have it own nets and nothing should ever be put from one tank into the main tank. And that includes your hands without washing them thoroughly first.

Sounds like a lot of fuss, but just work out what an epidemic would cost you

The other one is as a hospital tank for any fish that shows any sign of illness or being attacked by others.

 

[Stigmorgan]

You don't need to have a tank set up empty all the time, just a spare tank for emergencies stored somewhere is fine, you can take a little media from your running filter and add it to the filter in the quarantine tank to seed it with the bacteria you need.

Bogwood if bought from an aquatics store shouldn't harm the fish unless it has been contaminated somehow, the tannins released when it is new can have a slight effect on the Ph but shouldn't be enough to kill fish unless they are already very sick/stressed.

 

[ColeyS1]

Two reasons for a quarantine tank.
The main one is to put new fish into for a week before you put them in the main tank. This will stop any diseases or parasites from the shop being introduced to your very expensive collection of fragile animals. This tank will have its own filter system and be treatable with medicines.
The ultimate level of this is to practice total hygiene. the quarantine tank should have it own nets and nothing should ever be put from one tank into the main tank. And that includes your hands without washing them thoroughly first.

Sounds like a lot of fuss, but just work out what an epidemic would cost you

The other one is as a hospital tank for any fish that shows any sign of illness or being attacked by others.

That does make sense Bob. I guess I've been lucky just introducing them to the main tank as I go. Have i also been lucky using the same cleaning sponge for my coldwater goldfish tank and my tropical tank ?

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[ColeyS1]

You don't need to have a tank set up empty all the time, just a spare tank for emergencies stored somewhere is fine, you can take a little media from your running filter and add it to the filter in the quarantine tank to seed it with the bacteria you need.

Bogwood if bought from an aquatics store shouldn't harm the fish unless it has been contaminated somehow, the tannins released when it is new can have a slight effect on the Ph but shouldn't be enough to kill fish unless they are already very sick/stressed.

Taking some noodles from my main tank makes sense thanks.


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[sunnybob]

Fish are livestock. livestock get illnesses and diseases, thats a fact.
A good dealer will not sell an obviously bad fish, but sometimes its not obvious, and sometimes a busy assistant will just bag it for you without paying attention.
The more fish you have, the more money you have invested in the tank.

So theres the financial aspect, and the "pet" aspect to consider.
It makes sense to protect your investment by keeping any new thing (fish, plants, bogwood) away from the main tank.
You can dose the quarantine tank with bactericde and parasites for fish AND plants. You can closely observe the seperated tank for several days to see if the fish show signs of disease or illness, and if snail eggs or other parasites appear on the plants and bogwood.

Bogwood is not very often actual bogwood, because thats quite rare by comparison to old roots that have been hacked with a chainsaw and soaked in strong tea for a month or two. That used to go on over 30 years ago, I'm sure its commonplace nowadays. I would put a new piece of bogwood in its own water for a week and then take a PH reading (and even DH if you have that tester).

If your goldfish tank is healthy, and your tropical tank is healthy, swapping stuff is not an issue. But ANY addition to EITHER tank brings the risk of calamity closer.

 

[ColeyS1]

Thanks Bob, my only one other question (for now.....) is how long should tank lighting be on for the plants to stand the best chance of growing nice green and healthy. I've had an electronic timer ready to go for months but have never got around to setting it up. At the moment it gets switched on for around 5 hours a day,i only switch on one of the tubes aswell.

Other than the fish eating it,the leaves are also quite yellow and brown in places. Would that be due to lack of light or something else entirely?
Thanks as always,
Coley

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[Phil Pascoe]

https://tropica.com/en/guide/make-your- ... ess/light/

You'll be surprised how much you need for perfect conditions.

 

[sunnybob]

Heres the answer to your light question, by asking a question;
How many hours of sunlight does the plant get when it in its native setting in the tropics?

1 hour, 3 hours? :roll:
Nah. 8 to 14 hours of blazing sunshine is the answer :shock:
How many watts of power are you using? How many watts of power is in the the sunshine? :shock:
Having frightened you silly, its not quite that bad (hammer) .
Where in the room is the tank? South facing window? good. Far corner of a room with no windows? very bad.
Lights on in the room for 8 hours? good. lights on for 2 hours in the evening? very bad. 1 x2ft warm white tube on the tank? very, very bad. As many full length tubes side by side as you can fit in the lid with a mixture of grolux and north light? Pretty good.
You get the drift? Theres no quick answer from a distance, but the rule of thumb is that "more is good".

Just like watching the fish for their health, the same rules go for the plants. Do they go brown and rot? More light. Do they flourish and grow quite quickly? youre on the money. Does the tank glass and everything in the tank go bright green with algea? too much light.

Your tank
Your ambient lighting conditions
Your planting and fish stocking levels
Your rules for lights. 8) 8)
But always be prepared to adapt your rules as fish and plants multiply. Nothing in a tank is constant.

 

[Stigmorgan]

Thanks Bob, my only one other question (for now.....) is how long should tank lighting be on for the plants to stand the best chance of growing nice green and healthy. I've had an electronic timer ready to go for months but have never got around to setting it up. At the moment it gets switched on for around 5 hours a day,i only switch on one of the tubes aswell.

Other than the fish eating it,the leaves are also quite yellow and brown in places. Would that be due to lack of light or something else entirely?
Thanks as always,
Coley

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Without knowing every little detail such as tank position compared to windows and room lighting I would suggest starting with the timer being on for 6 hours a day and adjust it as you need to, too much light and algae will take over, there are many factors that have an effect other than lighting such as available nutrients which will be affected by how much you feed the fish, how many fish you have, even how many plants you have and if they are are dying off or thriving and how much and how often you do water changes, basically every tank set up is different and you will have to trial and error to find the balance that works for you, read a lot and watch YouTube, take what will work for you. My current small tank is lit for 8 hours a day, the fish are fed 6 days a week and I change 15-20% of the water every 2 weeks, this regime will have to change when everything gets moved to the new big tank and it could take a few months to get the balance back.

 

[ColeyS1]

Went to bed last night and all was well with the fish tanks. This morning I go in the kitchen to find my nieces goldfish had got stuck in a hollow plastic rock ornament. I tried to gently pull which didn't work and in the end left the ornament upside down which eventually worked and the goldfish wriggled free.
Is the stress from being trapped for who knows how long likely to kill the fish within a few days? Is there anything I can do in the meantime?

There's a white patch where the scales have rubbed off, is this likely to get infected if left untreated? The worst thing is I sent my niece a video of them both on Wednesday showing how happy they both are.

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[sunnybob]

Pulled it backwards :shock: :shock: (hammer) (hammer) =D> =D>

Should not be any problem health wise, but keep a close watch and if there is any bullying from other fish seperate it, even a big kitchen bowl will do for a goldfish, as long as you arrange it so the the thing cant jump out.

If the affected area shows any wispy fungus type threads, treat with any bactericide you have. In fact you could do that anyway. 8)

 

[ColeyS1]

Thanks Bob. I put some medication in the tank, hopefully it'll pull through. One of it's small flappy wing arm things doesn't seem to be moving as much as the other now. Hopefully it might recover in a few days. If it wasn't my nieces I adopted I wouldnt be quite as bothered, that said I do enjoy seeing them race around the tank on a daily basis.

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