Low Tech 29G - Few Questions

[karce87]

I notice you have your java fern buried. Tie it to the driftwood might be a good idea. The rhizome will melt if buried

[Gootz]

Originally Posted by karce87

I notice you have your java fern buried. Tie it to the driftwood might be a good idea. The rhizome will melt if buried

Hmmm, thank you for the info. The java fern in my other tank completely died out and it seems now I know why!

What other options do I have for planting it in this tank?

[Wannaberooted]

Sorry to hear about your losses. Have you considered the place you are buying your fish might not have healthy fish to begin with? It's hard to say, but look at all the tanks closely and look for fish that are unhealthy or already dead. I won't buy from one store in town here as there are always dying fish in at least one tank.

[Meganne]

add more plants that will help water quality and remember small weekly water changes (10-20%)

[karce87]

Originally Posted by Gootz

Hmmm, thank you for the info. The java fern in my other tank completely died out and it seems now I know why!

What other options do I have for planting it in this tank?

crypt wendtii is fun. More java fern I guess. Anubias is also a good addition.

[Gootz]

Originally Posted by Wannaberooted

Sorry to hear about your losses. Have you considered the place you are buying your fish might not have healthy fish to begin with? It's hard to say, but look at all the tanks closely and look for fish that are unhealthy or already dead. I won't buy from one store in town here as there are always dying fish in at least one tank.

I have indeed. I typically buy from Petco because I love their 30 day return policy and I know the aquatics guys there which means they treat me well, put in special orders whenever I ask and allow me to return no questions ask. However, there are 2 major problems with Petco. First is that their stock sells out quick, so unless I go in and either pick up what I want the day it comes in or I ask my guys to set aside what I want, it's gone pretty quickly. Which means that the fish don't have time to settle in and destress from the shipping. That is a PITA. The second thing is that they order from the cheapest possible breeder and this does in turn affect the quality of their livestock sometimes. Certain breeders who are giving the lowest price are cutting corners and/or have inferior "products".

So sometimes I will go to my other LFS, which has a better variety of fish and I have yet to buy a fish that died shortly after "adoption". However, there are 2 downsides with them too. One, they don't offer any sort of warranty. And two, they are more expensive.

So it's a tossup. My guys at Petco really try to help me out and go the extra mile for me, so I like to give them my business and support. But my guard is definitely up with them.

Thoughts?

Originally Posted by Meganne

add more plants that will help water quality and remember small weekly water changes (10-20%)

Absolutely. Will probably do about 20-25% weekly.

Originally Posted by karce87

crypt wendtii is fun. More java fern I guess. Anubias is also a good addition.

So far I've got some Java, 1 anubias, 1 banana plant and this unidentifiable fern tied to coconut husk (see pics on first post). I didn't want to add any more plants until the tank was humming along nicely. Would it be bad to add some now that all of the levels are evened out or should I wait until after I have added some fish? I do have some Crypt in my other tank. Could I just pinch off a little and add it to this tank (at least I know it's coming from another healthy tank haha)?

[Wannaberooted]

Boy, that is a tough choice then, but generally, you get what you pay for. My brother used to be the district manager for S. CA Petco's and he said it varies wildly on the death rates of fish depending on who took care of the fish at each store. Hopefully your buddies are in the good category. I've never had a fish die inside a warranty so I don't really consider it. I just watch the fish for a while before I buy them to make sure they are acting normally, and don't have any Ich or anything.

I'd say go ahead and add some plants.

Good luck!

[Gootz]

Originally Posted by Wannaberooted

Boy, that is a tough choice then, but generally, you get what you pay for. My brother used to be the district manager for S. CA Petco's and he said it varies wildly on the death rates of fish depending on who took care of the fish at each store. Hopefully your buddies are in the good category. I've never had a fish die inside a warranty so I don't really consider it. I just watch the fish for a while before I buy them to make sure they are acting normally, and don't have any Ich or anything.

I'd say go ahead and add some plants.

Good luck!

I know the manager well and he genuinely cares about the department. But he's not there 100% of the time and not all the employees who work in the aquatics dept are as caring as him. Out of the 5 who work it, I'd say 3 of them care. Without going into too much of the details sometimes things happen and now I just try to be more cautious.

I'm probably going to transplant one of the crypts I have in my other tank after I do my next water change this weekend. Any other suggestions on other plants that would work well in my (very low tech/low light setup)?

[Django]

From what I can tell it's a banana plant on the rock. I've never heard of a banana plant attached to anything though. Does it have those things that go down at the bottom? A pic of the plant might be useful.

[Gootz]

Originally Posted by Django

From what I can tell it's a banana plant on the rock. I've never heard of a banana plant attached to anything though. Does it have those things that go down at the bottom? A pic of the plant might be useful.

I'm talking about the fern attached to the coconut husk, not the banana plant. Thanks though.

[Gootz]

I picked up the rest of the shoal of Juliis, so now I've got a total of 6 along with the oto and 1 assassin snail. I'll let the tank adjust for another week or so before adding anything else.

After adding new fish, how long should I wait until I do my next water change? I did one 3 days ago and added the fish last night.

[Wannaberooted]

I'd check ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates every day for a few days, and if you show any ammonia or nitrites, or nitrates get to 40, do a change. If nothing shows, don't bother. Maybe others would do something different.

[Wannaberooted]

I wasn't very clear, you should do a weekly water change regardless, but you may need to do one earlier if your raising the stock level starts showing ammonia or nitrites, or 40ppm nitrates. Sorry about that.

[Gootz]

Originally Posted by Wannaberooted

I'd check ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates every day for a few days, and if you show any ammonia or nitrites, or nitrates get to 40, do a change. If nothing shows, don't bother. Maybe others would do something different.

Originally Posted by Wannaberooted

I wasn't very clear, you should do a weekly water change regardless, but you may need to do one earlier if your raising the stock level starts showing ammonia or nitrites, or 40ppm nitrates. Sorry about that.

Thanks for advice. Levels are all perfect! Ammonia and Nitrate readings are at 0 and Nitrates are around 25-30. Considering these levels, should I still do the weekly water change tomorrow?

The Juliis are looking very content. They are eating well, active and swimming around together a lot.

[Wannaberooted]

I'd still do a water change on a regular basis, I do 25% a week. My nitrates show about what yours does right before a water change. It goes down, and slowly creeps back up through the week. I've found that with my water supply here in Eau Claire, a big water change effects almost all my plants in a bad way. I have a high pH from the tap, which the tank lowers. I top the tank off due to evaporation with distilled water once and a while. You want to strive for stability, wild swings in anything is bad.

Depending on a lot of things, like what you use for water, plant density, stocking, fertilizers, light levels, oxygen levels, CO2 levels, and the boogeyman in your tank, you will have to change things slowly and observe what happens. Keep reading everything having to do with any problems that occur, and then read some more.

I'm glad you like your julii's, they should be very happy in your tank. They don't get very big, and they will keep things tidy. Just don't overfeed, that might be the hardest part of keeping a tank. The fish always seem hungry, but they are gluttons.

Good luck, pretty soon you can fill in your middle and top levels of your tank with fishies.