So, I was perfectly happy with a 60F shrimp tank. My wife started asking to add fish to the tank. I did some research on shrimp friendly fishes. Purchased 4 Cory Trilineatus which was actually labeled Cory Juli at Petco. These fishes are fun. So, I wanted more. We then scoured all the local fish stores in the area one weekend and ended up with some Danio Margaritatus (Celestial Pearl Danio).
The CPDs were skittish. They were pretty much hiding behind the rocks everytime I enter the room. I thought they'd be more active if I got more friends. The LFS only had 5 left. One died on the ride home because the seller taped the bag and accidentally trapped one fish where he folded the bag, so it died by suffocation. The second one died the next day. It didn't look healthy since day 1. It was swimming sideways. So, with only 3 left, we thought they were shy because it didn't have any friends.
I ordered 6 more CPDs from an online seller. For some reasons, the CPDs I received looked different from the ones I have and from pics I found on a majority of sites I found. So, I decided not to mix them up.
While all this was going on, I had ordered some shrimps to add to my tank. My tank had been pretty empty for awhile. Before adding the Cory cats, there were only 3 Snowballs. There were more Snowballs and a few CRS, but they didn't make it past the July/August heat. I've installed ceiling fans since. So, the shrimps eventually made it to me 4 days ago, Thursday.
By Saturday, I wanted to get more fish, but I thought my tank was too small to house more fish. So, I got a 60P. I moved all the rocks, shrimp sand, plants and critters over. I also added an extra bag of shrimp sand. Currently, plants in my tank are Anubias Nana, Round Pellia and True Rotola Indica. Along with the 60P, I also purchased 8 Gertrudae Rainbowfish and 12 Boraras Brigitae.
So, on Saturday afternoon, I moved all my new fishes into a pail with tank water and all my old critters into their individual pail with tank water. My new shrimps were in a soup bowl filled with tank water and Java moss. I then tried to move everything from the 60F into the 60P as well as getting the water ready within 24 hours. Man, this was tiring.
I filled my new tank up with about 5 gallons of water from my old tank and tossed the rest. I filled up the new tank with RO water from my kitchen sink mixed in with some montmorillonite clay. I can only do this about 2 gallons at a time because my filter water can only filter that much within a few hours time. And, I ran the water through the Eheim 2236 for a whole day to make sure the water is at least as cycled as it can be within 24 hours. I know this isn't enough time, but, by the afternoon, 3 of my Boraras and my 1 and only CBS died from what I assume is not enough O2 in the pail and ammonia build up from their own waste.
Anyways, by 11pm this evening, I was able to dump all the critters back into the tank. They seem to be thriving. Fed them, and they seem to have a good appetite. So, hopefully, there's no floating bodies come tomorrow morning.
When I dumped the critters back in, I put the fishes in first then shrimps last. Why? Because the new shrimps I received are all juvies. And, I was scared that they'd be eaten by the fishes. I knew these fishes were supposedly fish friendly as I learned from research and what the fish seller told me, but I was still filled with trepidation. So, I dropped the juvie CRS into the tank and armed myself with an aquascape gardening tool to shoo away any fish that might attack the CRS. Well, the fishes did try to nibble him at first, but, though he's a juvie, the fishes' mouth weren't big enough to eat him. So, afterwards, I dumped the rest of the shrimps in.
Man I am beat. But, I want to write all this down while it's still fresh in my head. Here's some quick shots of the critters:
CRS
Blue Velvet
Snowball
Cory Trillineatus
Borara Brigitae
Gertrudae Rainbowfish
Final thoughts:
The tank is somewhat "done". I really didn't spend any time aquascaping. Well, I suck at aquascaping. But, I was in more of a rush to get the tank filled and move the critters in. So, the scape is not ideal but doable. The scale or perspective (whatever you call it) is somewhat flat. I think I will add one more taller plant maybe an Anubias Barteri to give it more "altitude". And, I will add more shrimp sand to the back of the tank to give it more of an incline grade for an added perspective.
Regarding the critters behavior, they are all over the place. They are a total mess in terms of the way the school in the tank. No order at all. And, they are VERY active.
The shrimp safe fishes I got are really small, so, that's part of the reason why the way they move is "messy". And, it's kind of hard to discern which fish is which from a distance because of how small they are. Supposedly, after the Gertrudaes get older, they will have more interesting looking fins well at least the male ones will.
If I had to do it again, I might not get the Boraras or the CPDs.
I hope the shrimps are not food by tomorrow morning.
Lastly, do I need new lily pipes? The ones I got now are pilfered from my old 60F which is a 7" tall tank. Not sure the current pipes are providing enough circulation. Well, it is, but I am really blasting the current now which is probably one reason why the fishes are very active right now.
Anyways.. sleep time.
Tank population zero... before I moved the critters over.
The CPDs were skittish. They were pretty much hiding behind the rocks everytime I enter the room. I thought they'd be more active if I got more friends. The LFS only had 5 left. One died on the ride home because the seller taped the bag and accidentally trapped one fish where he folded the bag, so it died by suffocation. The second one died the next day. It didn't look healthy since day 1. It was swimming sideways. So, with only 3 left, we thought they were shy because it didn't have any friends.
I ordered 6 more CPDs from an online seller. For some reasons, the CPDs I received looked different from the ones I have and from pics I found on a majority of sites I found. So, I decided not to mix them up.
While all this was going on, I had ordered some shrimps to add to my tank. My tank had been pretty empty for awhile. Before adding the Cory cats, there were only 3 Snowballs. There were more Snowballs and a few CRS, but they didn't make it past the July/August heat. I've installed ceiling fans since. So, the shrimps eventually made it to me 4 days ago, Thursday.
By Saturday, I wanted to get more fish, but I thought my tank was too small to house more fish. So, I got a 60P. I moved all the rocks, shrimp sand, plants and critters over. I also added an extra bag of shrimp sand. Currently, plants in my tank are Anubias Nana, Round Pellia and True Rotola Indica. Along with the 60P, I also purchased 8 Gertrudae Rainbowfish and 12 Boraras Brigitae.
So, on Saturday afternoon, I moved all my new fishes into a pail with tank water and all my old critters into their individual pail with tank water. My new shrimps were in a soup bowl filled with tank water and Java moss. I then tried to move everything from the 60F into the 60P as well as getting the water ready within 24 hours. Man, this was tiring.
I filled my new tank up with about 5 gallons of water from my old tank and tossed the rest. I filled up the new tank with RO water from my kitchen sink mixed in with some montmorillonite clay. I can only do this about 2 gallons at a time because my filter water can only filter that much within a few hours time. And, I ran the water through the Eheim 2236 for a whole day to make sure the water is at least as cycled as it can be within 24 hours. I know this isn't enough time, but, by the afternoon, 3 of my Boraras and my 1 and only CBS died from what I assume is not enough O2 in the pail and ammonia build up from their own waste.
Anyways, by 11pm this evening, I was able to dump all the critters back into the tank. They seem to be thriving. Fed them, and they seem to have a good appetite. So, hopefully, there's no floating bodies come tomorrow morning.
When I dumped the critters back in, I put the fishes in first then shrimps last. Why? Because the new shrimps I received are all juvies. And, I was scared that they'd be eaten by the fishes. I knew these fishes were supposedly fish friendly as I learned from research and what the fish seller told me, but I was still filled with trepidation. So, I dropped the juvie CRS into the tank and armed myself with an aquascape gardening tool to shoo away any fish that might attack the CRS. Well, the fishes did try to nibble him at first, but, though he's a juvie, the fishes' mouth weren't big enough to eat him. So, afterwards, I dumped the rest of the shrimps in.
Man I am beat. But, I want to write all this down while it's still fresh in my head. Here's some quick shots of the critters:
CRS
Blue Velvet
Snowball
Cory Trillineatus
Borara Brigitae
Gertrudae Rainbowfish
Final thoughts:
The tank is somewhat "done". I really didn't spend any time aquascaping. Well, I suck at aquascaping. But, I was in more of a rush to get the tank filled and move the critters in. So, the scape is not ideal but doable. The scale or perspective (whatever you call it) is somewhat flat. I think I will add one more taller plant maybe an Anubias Barteri to give it more "altitude". And, I will add more shrimp sand to the back of the tank to give it more of an incline grade for an added perspective.
Regarding the critters behavior, they are all over the place. They are a total mess in terms of the way the school in the tank. No order at all. And, they are VERY active.
The shrimp safe fishes I got are really small, so, that's part of the reason why the way they move is "messy". And, it's kind of hard to discern which fish is which from a distance because of how small they are. Supposedly, after the Gertrudaes get older, they will have more interesting looking fins well at least the male ones will.
If I had to do it again, I might not get the Boraras or the CPDs.
I hope the shrimps are not food by tomorrow morning.
Lastly, do I need new lily pipes? The ones I got now are pilfered from my old 60F which is a 7" tall tank. Not sure the current pipes are providing enough circulation. Well, it is, but I am really blasting the current now which is probably one reason why the fishes are very active right now.
Anyways.. sleep time.
Tank population zero... before I moved the critters over.