165 Impulse Build (56k) --- New FTS post #208

[daworldisblack]

Originally Posted by jcgd

Oh sweet. If you could give me some names I'll shoot them pm's. I'm not much for sitting and hoping to find a for sale thread. I prefer to look more actively. I'm on GTAAquaria as well... Same username.

On GTA the guy with the Erio. S. and Tonina Belems is Charlie1. The rest of the guys are on OVAS(Ottawa Valley Aquarium Society) which i am not sure if you're part but I don't think they are on the GTAquaria forum.

[driftwoodhunter]

I just found this while searching for experiences with blue tetras - what a fantastic tank! Seeing your vids on YouTube made me happy I picked blue tetras - but I now know I need a lot more than nine - lol. I loved how you used "Wipeout" as the music for the feeding frenzy LOL

[jcgd]

Originally Posted by daworldisblack

On GTA the guy with the Erio. S. and Tonina Belems is Charlie1. The rest of the guys are on OVAS(Ottawa Valley Aquarium Society) which i am not sure if you're part but I don't think they are on the GTAquaria forum.

Thank you. I'll try to get in touch with them.

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

I just found this while searching for experiences with blue tetras - what a fantastic tank! Seeing your vids on YouTube made me happy I picked blue tetras - but I now know I need a lot more than nine - lol. I loved how you used "Wipeout" as the music for the feeding frenzy LOL

Yes, you'll want lots of them. A few were missing tail fins when I got them, but that were a few hundred packed in a 60 gallon or so. They are very feisty fish. Roseline barbs are know to be aggressive eaters and the blues show them how it's done. The tetras go at my hand when I put it in the tank, they are prett bold.

Very pretty, especially under dim lighting. They look purple under blue light.

[jcgd]

30 more Boehlkea fredcochui - These guys are tiny, considering they are from the same batch as my first 50 added a few weeks ago. My first batch looks FAT.
30 Otocinclus affinis - Lost two before I opened the bag, another 1 or two since. They guys aren't too strong. They don't have full bellies like they shoot. I'll have to fatten them up.





Just need to wait for my Corydoras sterbai to get out of quarantine.

[driftwoodhunter]

On one hand I can't wait for the Blue tetra's quarantine period to be over, on the other I worry that they will disrupt my tank - and wonder if I should save them for a tank of their own... decisions, decisions!

[jcgd]

You have 9 was it? How big is the tank and what's in there? They like a lot of room and will get nasty when they feel cramped. The roselines are big and tough so they can't really be bothered, but the blues are aggressive eaters and I can see them fin nipping if in a small school or tank.

[CmLaracy]

Originally Posted by jcgd

Very cool, I love it. Originally I thought the hardscape in this tank was too much and too dramatic... I was wrong, the plants are really helping in softening the overall effect as they fill in, and they'll continue to do so until it's completely balanced. I'll certainly be following this one more closely

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by jcgd

You have 9 was it? How big is the tank and what's in there? They like a lot of room and will get nasty when they feel cramped. The roselines are big and tough so they can't really be bothered, but the blues are aggressive eaters and I can see them fin nipping if in a small school or tank.

Thanks for asking and helping! I didn't want to hijack your thread and I appreciate you sharing your experiences with the Blue tetras...

The tank I originally bought them for is a standard 125g, 6 feet long. I have 12 adult Columbian tetras plus 10 or so fry up to 3/4" in size, plus 10 Buenos Aires tetras (the most aggressive things in the tank - maybe assertive is a better word, though one female is a bit of a bully), also 4 Harlequin Rasboras and 5 Black tetras, refugees from a 40b tank I changed over to a grow-out tank for the rest of the Columbian fry. That's all I have in the 125, so 31 adult fish and 10-ish fry that will grow up to be 2" fish. I worry about over stocking, and I'm hoping it's a bit light on stock so I can consider adding the Blue tetras (a bigger group than the nine would be ideal). Right now I use a 19"x22" Poret foam Hamburg Mattenfilter plus a Marineland Emperor 400 HOB for filtration. Low lights (I like a dim tank) and no added Co2. Lots of driftwood, and what I would call moderately planted.

[jcgd]

Hmm. I would feel okay putting them in that tank. At least the Columbians and Bluenos Aires are pretty tough fish. Plus there are enough to act as dithers. If you really like the blues, I would say go for it. Six feet is nice and long, and if you have issues you likely have room to get a bigger school going.

[jcgd]

I hacked the left side back, the P. stellata and A. gracillis are growing very fast. They fill in the left side fast and the right lags behind. there's a bunch of L. arcuata in the foreground, just to see if I can keep this batch alive. So far so good, but it's very green... just like everything else in the tank.

[driftwoodhunter]

I like how you created a clean diagonal line from the top left edge to the center. Between that and the curve of the two areas of driftwood, you have such a nice circular composition going on - this is one of my favorite tanks!

Yep, the other tetras are tough nuts, so I hope they won't be bothered by the Blues. I really like their color and activity level - I never knew they were so active until I saw your videos. I want a subtle splash of color in the tank - not the brightness of neons, for example. (I also don't want something as common as neons)

Thanks for your thoughts!

[xenxes]

Wow, epic!

[Jeromeit]

.... i am officially jealous of your scape...

[ua hua]

[/QUOTE]

This shot of your tank looks great. I have never seen anyone do a huge school of blue tetras before and I think that is the key to curbing their aggression as these are some nasty little tetras. I had a school of about 24 years ago and it helped a little with their aggression so having the big school you have I think is best for them. They are a beautiful fish and look great if you have a blue/purple light to show their colors best. How is the CO2 reactor situation working out so far?

[jcgd]

Originally Posted by CmLaracy

Very cool, I love it. Originally I thought the hardscape in this tank was too much and too dramatic... I was wrong, the plants are really helping in softening the overall effect as they fill in, and they'll continue to do so until it's completely balanced. I'll certainly be following this one more closely

Thanks, glad you are liking it. At first I had too much wood, and I removed some and moved a bunch around. I was very worried about the rock, I was hoping to receive all large rocks, but I only ended up with around three decently large ones. It's was like trying to build a retaining wall out of rubble. What I have would be perfect for a small tank, scale wise. The rocks are very harsh, but I'm hoping to soften them with little bushes of plants. I like the look I have now, and the way the center is framed. I'll have to get a pic, but I kinda designed it to be viewed from the couch. The straight on FTS that I post look a little different then what I stare at all day.

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

I like how you created a clean diagonal line from the top left edge to the center. Between that and the curve of the two areas of driftwood, you have such a nice circular composition going on - this is one of my favorite tanks!

Yep, the other tetras are tough nuts, so I hope they won't be bothered by the Blues. I really like their color and activity level - I never knew they were so active until I saw your videos. I want a subtle splash of color in the tank - not the brightness of neons, for example. (I also don't want something as common as neons)

Thanks for your thoughts!

Thanks man. I'm not sure how that left side is going to shape up. As the plants on the front right of the left mound grow in, it'll be harder to maintain that line. I guess time will tell.

The blues are the most aggressive tetras I've seen so far, just go for a big group of them. I've got around 75 now.

Originally Posted by xenxes

Wow, epic!

Thanks man.

Originally Posted by Jeromeit

.... i am officially jealous of your scape...

Haha, and I'm jealous of yours!

Originally Posted by ua hua

This shot of your tank looks great. I have never seen anyone do a huge school of blue tetras before and I think that is the key to curbing their aggression as these are some nasty little tetras. I had a school of about 24 years ago and it helped a little with their aggression so having the big school you have I think is best for them. They are a beautiful fish and look great if you have a blue/purple light to show their colors best. How is the CO2 reactor situation working out so far?

The shot is a little over exposed, but whatev. I'm trying to get better at pics but I'm still a newb at taking pics. I've need to get some external flashes and try shooting at night when there isn't all that glare from the windows.

Still playing with the co2. I got a 20" filter housing in the mail, but I haven't decided if I'll use it or not. Right now I'm running it through a DIY needle wheel on a Eheim 1250 and shooting it in the general area of the return pump in the sump. Less micro bubbles in the display this way. It doesn't seem to be wasting too much more co2 than when I was pointing it straight into the return intake.