Ok, real quick, a work friend of mine gave my family a 40 (or 45?) gallon tank that we set up a few months ago. All in all it has been a nice community of fish, but I want to make sure I'm taking the best care of them that I can!
The set up so far is a whisper 40 filter and an air stone for good measure. We had plastic plants and a decoration (my Boyos call it the the monkey bars) until I noticed a couple white spots on the side of the tank and only one bala shark. Having had a small tank in the past, I knew it was the beginning of ICH. Went to Petco and they sold me an anti-fungal additive (shame on me). Went to a real local fish store and got the right stuff. Today is day four of treatment. Oh- substrate is lava rocks and black pea gravel.
As for the fish, they seem quite happy despite some minor losses. We started with 12 fish- 3 platys, 3 bala sharks, 3 fancy guppies and three spotted Cory cats. Later we added five neon tetras. We lost two of the cats, three of the tetras and a couple plecos (forgot to mention them). We were going to replenish the schooling fish but decided for the ICH to clear. They don't seem stressed at all.
Oh- add to that about four generations of Platy babies and counting, and six or so baby guppies. And two tiger snails. This is hard to keep track of!
Ok, on to the questions. First I'm concerned I'm not keeping the substrate clean enough. My friend said vacuum gravel and add treated water once a month, 25% water change. Is this enough?
Also I read the pickup tube for the filter should be 2" to 3" from the substrate, ours is closer to 8. I ordered two extension tubes for that.
I wondered too about algae control. The tank doesn't get direct sunlight, but the pleco and the snails aren't quite keeping up. Should we plan to add another pleco? Other ideas?
thanks all for advice in advance
The set up so far is a whisper 40 filter and an air stone for good measure. We had plastic plants and a decoration (my Boyos call it the the monkey bars) until I noticed a couple white spots on the side of the tank and only one bala shark. Having had a small tank in the past, I knew it was the beginning of ICH. Went to Petco and they sold me an anti-fungal additive (shame on me). Went to a real local fish store and got the right stuff. Today is day four of treatment. Oh- substrate is lava rocks and black pea gravel.
As for the fish, they seem quite happy despite some minor losses. We started with 12 fish- 3 platys, 3 bala sharks, 3 fancy guppies and three spotted Cory cats. Later we added five neon tetras. We lost two of the cats, three of the tetras and a couple plecos (forgot to mention them). We were going to replenish the schooling fish but decided for the ICH to clear. They don't seem stressed at all.
Oh- add to that about four generations of Platy babies and counting, and six or so baby guppies. And two tiger snails. This is hard to keep track of!
Ok, on to the questions. First I'm concerned I'm not keeping the substrate clean enough. My friend said vacuum gravel and add treated water once a month, 25% water change. Is this enough?
Also I read the pickup tube for the filter should be 2" to 3" from the substrate, ours is closer to 8. I ordered two extension tubes for that.
I wondered too about algae control. The tank doesn't get direct sunlight, but the pleco and the snails aren't quite keeping up. Should we plan to add another pleco? Other ideas?
thanks all for advice in advance