20 gallons of what was supposed to be fun.

[ticklemepunk473]

ok, ok I pulled all the rookie mistakes. I listened to the people at the pet store, I let my tank run fishless for a day ( to be on the safe side! ) then I rushed out to buy some fish.(I did have a friend that saved me some hassle by giving me a scoop of gravel from his established tank. THANK GOD!) This all has happened this weekend and now I am sitting with two dead fish in a baggie waiting to be returned to the pet store and three fish who seem to be having a good time even though I don't have anything fun in the tank as of this moment. When I went to pick out fish I had no idea what I wanted and ended up coming home with 2 Kissing gouramis, a Red tailed shark and a silvery catfish (that I can;t seem to find a similar picture or on the internet anywhere), and the obligatory algea eater. I put the fish in while they were in the bag as to aclimate them and then they seemed great except for a sluggish gourami. an hour later that one died and two hours after that the other gourami died. The ph was a little alkali and the ammonia is not even reading, the temp got a little warm (almost 82) and I think that might have contributed to their demise. However, the other fish seem to be doing well. the catfish has been swimming around like crazy on the side of the tank. Is this normal? and the red shark has been cruising the currents caused by my biowheel. So, I guess I just need some info so that when I go to the store I know what I am gonna get this time. Apparently I picked some fish that don't go with everything ( aka the red shark) although he seems pretty mellow at moment. I am thinking that live plants arent gonna be worth the work I would have to put in and I am already feeling overwhelmed. Am I going to be ok with fake plants?What kind of fakes plants should I get? whatever I think looks good? do I need sand or a cave-like area for my catfish since he isn;t really ever on the bottom? why did my kissers die? what should I get to replace my dearly departed gouramis? I was thinking about some bleeding heart tetras ? 3 of them but I am not sure. should I get something heartier ( no pun intended ) ? thanks for your help!


Ok this is a giant post! WOW holy crap over 2000 words! man I am officially a fish nerd. lol.

[PumaWard]

Okay,

First of all, don't get anymore fish for now. Go out and buy an ammonia test kit and a nitrite test kit, at the very least, if you don't already have one. You're going to have to let your tank cycle, which could take weeks, but maybe less since you had some gravel to seed yours.

There's a sticky at the top of this forum you can follow if you need cycling info. Only, you won't be adding any ammonia to your tank, your fish will do that for you, and you will need to be doing daily water changes, about 25%, 50% is better, when you start to get ammonia readings, and you will have to keep on doing this until both ammonia and nitrite read at zero.

During this time you can start planting up your tank and getting it looking the way you want it too.

As far as the kissing gourami, don't get anymore. They can get to 10'' long, sometimes larger. If you would like gourami, try a pair of dwarf gourami or honey gourami, and IMO, they are far prettier than kissers.

You're kissers died probably because of a great amount stress from being transfered from a place they were just getting used to, to another new place. They may have also been already diseased.

While you are waiting for your tank to cycle, a good idea would to do a lot of research on fish species. Pick out the kind of fish you want to keep and don't buy any fish that you don't know anything about. Go to the fish store with a list of fish you want to keep, and leave with those fish.

Also, you may want to read up on tank capacities online so you fully understand what kind of fish you can keep and how many of them you can.

[ticklemepunk473]

Yeah I have all the test kits and I read a crapload of stuff on cycling including the billion posts about it on this forum. I feel like I understand about cycling and I don't think I am gonna get anymore fish until it is over. I realize now that they chick at the pet store didn;t have a clue because the first thing I read about my fish when I got them home was thast they need a 55 gallon tank. I love my catfish and my shark so I hope I don't lose them in the cycling process but if I do it right I don't think I will. What I was more worried about was the plants. That is what I need for now I was curious as to what live plants would do the cycle or if it will be worth it to even try?

[Gunnie]

I started my first tank with plants, and cycled with fish. I didn't know anything about the plants, and found out that I prefer the plants with a large root system instead of the plants that come in bunches. The plants in bunches don't stay rooted in the gravel very well, and I found myself having to fix the tank all the time. I really like the different sword plants, and like the way the larger ones look in the background. My fish really seem to enjoy them because they hide between the leaves to rest and be left alone. I have also learned that when your tank starts to show nitrate readings, the plants consume some of these nitrates, and help keep the levels down. There is nothing wrong with plastic plants, I just prefer live ones even with the little extra maintenance.

[ticklemepunk473]

I went to return the corpses of my kissers today and I used the credit to buy some suitable food for my bottom feeders and a big rock with plenty of caves and tunnels and one good healty looking mondo grass. My red shark loves all of this (he has been swimming in and out of the grass ever since I got it in there) but my catfish it still swimming in circles on the side. Is this a sign of stress? or is this just my catfish being crazy? Will my mondo grass be ok with the amount of light from my standard hood lights? do I need to feed the plants w/ somekind of fertilizer too?
Thanks for your help!

[SimonWoodstock]

Check out the Aquatic Plants forum. They have a post at the very top about fertalizers and all that good stuff. If it doesn't help, the people in the forum will help you out.

goodluck w/ everything.

[SnakeIce]

uh I think mondo grass is a terestrial plant. there was a post in the plant forum about that a few weeks ago.... you could take that out and plant it in your garden :D

yep just searched mondo grass here in the plant forum and it is not an aquatic plant

so plant it in your garden or take it back for credit if you can

[ticklemepunk473]

crap.

[ticklemepunk473]

ok so what should I go with now? something that will be ok with normal lights and look cool. anything grassy? Are there other testrial plants that the petstore might be selling that I should be on the look out for buying? Either way, I guess I am starting a gaden on my balcony!

[Locust]

My 29 gallon tank is planted with just a 20W hood w/o any CO2 or ferts, so it can be done. Other then a few minutes tending them during water changes, my plants are maintenence free. The trick is to get plants that thrive in low light conditions, here are some plants of that I'd suggest:

Cryptocoryne - There's a wide variety of good looking Crypto's, some which resemble grass. They are vulnerable to 'crypt rot' so you may have to spend some time pulling off dead leaves until they get established but that should only be a one time thing.

Anubias - Anubias are expensive as plants go and you'll probably have to check around LFS's to find it, but they're nigh invulnerable. The plastic plant that lives. :)

Java Moss - This stuff grows pretty fast, and it's a nice contrast to the leafy plants. I've read complaints about java moss taking over tanks but I've never had more then a few errant strands (maybe a bigger problem with more light?). Just tie it down to a rock/driftwood and it'll stick on.

Java Fern - Like Java Moss you tie Java Fern to something rather then planting it in the substrate. Nothing much to say about it, except that I really wanted African Water Fern instead but couldn't find any. :(

There are a lot of other plants that you can get for a low light tank as well, these are just the ones that I can vouch for.

[ticklemepunk473]

thanks for the suggestions. I have been cruising the sites since I found out my mondo grass is a complete piece of crap and I have decided that a java fern or moss (probably moss) would look killer on the rock/arch thingy I got and from what I can see the rock is perfect for them to grow on. I am probably going to invest in an anubias if I can find a good one and now I just need something with height. are there any good background fillers? anacharis maybe?.

By the way my catfish is still being crazy. Any suggestions? Comments? Anything? My red shark is taking to doing the same thing occationally and I am getting curious.

[ewok]

i'm going to take a couple guesses on this.... the silvery catfish.

#1 iridescent shark (pangasius sutchi or pangasius pangasius)
http://planetcatfish.com/catelog/pangasii/pangasiu/172_f.htm

i'm betting that is the one, but i'll give you a couple more options. the pangasius is pretty much entirely unsuited to aquariums. sorry. they are monsters that can reach sizes of something like 52 inches. at the size you have tho, they like to school, which means about 6 of them to get it to somewhat calm down. *but* they are always skittish (unfortunately), i like them alot myself. they are easily startled and will do a mad dash at anything in the way or lie on the bottom acting dead.

actually....... try that one and post back if i'm wrong. the behavior fits. my next guesses would be in the "pimelodus" family. pimelodus blochi, which might work ok. there are several like that, very similar. 4-line pimelodus.... but these look like "normal catfish and have long flowing whiskers. pimelodus pictus is also pretty common but has spots. that might be the best bet for you in reality. it would be closest to ideal for your tank.

good luck

[MrGoodbytes]

Maybe it's a longshot, but the "catfish" might be a bala shark.

As to plants, I would highly reccommend Cryptocoryne wendtii (any variety should do fine). The Mi Oya variety can get quite big so keep up with pruning if you get that.

Hygrophila polysperma is a nice plant that grows well in low light. I didn't have much luck with it, because the stemms kept melting on mine, but you might have better luck.

Limnophila sp. should do well in your tank, if you have at least 1.5WPG. It's an attractive plant that resembles Cabomba, but you get less mess.

It may seem hard, but whatever you do, DO NOT impulse purchase anything living for your aquarium. The best thing you can do is go home, research it, and then if you can keep it, you can buy it. The same goes for plants.

You said you wanted to keep tetras earlier, and were thinking three. Tetras do better in larger groups (>6, ideally >50), so three is probably not enough.

HTH,

Graeme

[ticklemepunk473]

As for the 1st post it is definitely not one of those giant fish. it is a pictus catfish. I went to the pet store and found out. Do these like to school? As to the 2nd post, it is DEFINITELY not a bala shark and the plant was not an impulse buy. I went there looking to buy a grass plant for the aquarium and that is what I bought. I am sorry to say that I was sold a non-aquatic plant under the premise that it was meant for an aquarium. I have given up petsmart and I am going to have to make the trip into portland to get some quality stuff. so is my catfish just lonley?


PS thanks for the plant suggestions!

[MrGoodbytes]

I gave up on Petsmart a while ago. I found better prices elsewhere, more selection in equipment and livestock, much better plants (Tropica, not snail-infested mush), and the people actually know stuff about fish instead of hamsters.

Graeme

[ticklemepunk473]

yeah petsmart has screwed me pretty good but I think I am just giving up on asking advice from their employees . I think I will go and buy a couple more pictus from there though because I know that they all three total will have been from the same tank and they are hopefully as healty as the one I have already. Plus they have a good guarantee that my small local (twice as expensive) shop doen't have. There are only about three petstores in my area (excluding portland) and I have found petco to be worse than petsmart because their people are even more retarded( as if this were possible! ) and the other small mom and pop store has not so healthy looking fish and really grubby looking tanks.

[Lila]

I believe Pictus Cats prefer to be in schools. They are my most favorite catfish. I would always buy at least two and they would swim everywhere together.

[ticklemepunk473]

yeah I have fallen in love with pictus cats and I bought two more to keep my lonely one company and they have been getting on great! they swimm all around together like you said. they like to all circle together nose to tail it is so cute.