a few ??

J

Joseph Keenan

AC Members
Aug 14, 2008
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Howdy ya'll! Pretty much of a newbe here and to having fishies. And seems like everyone I know (or posts I read) have different ideas about the same things.

I guess the main reason for my getting into fish keeping is the aesthetics of it. Like the colors, the motion, the sound of the fish and tank.

I have a 20 Gal fresh water tropical tank. Color wise I am going for cool colors (greens and blues) with a touch of red here and there to add contrast.

I have 6 Mixed Fruit Tetra, 3 glowing Tetra, 2 gold snails, and a pleco. Also have 6 plants ready to go (need to grow, right now the "seeds" look like baby poop in the tank).

Anyone have any suggestions for other fish that might suit the look I am going for?

Oh I do have a question about the light cycle. How important is it to simulate the natural day/night cycle? I work nights and I want to have the light on while I am working and off when I am sleeping (during the day) this way i can enjoy seeing my fish on my days off.

Will it freak out the fish and plants to have the light on for 15 hours a few days in a row and then only 10 hours for the next day?

Thanks for any help or suggestions or ideas.

Joe
 
No, it shouldn't freak them out. Depending on what plants you have will determine how much lighting you need.
 
15 hours of light is to much and will lead to algae outbreaks.

I run my tanks in my kids rooms at night. A 10 hr lighting period works great.

It won't bother them at all to run the lights on at night and off during the day.
 
8-10 hours for the light cycle IMO. Also what type of pleco is it? The most commonly sold varieties get VERY large.
 
I'm working a 12 hour shift at work.... so best bet would end up being for me to get a timer to put the light on?



:nutkick:
Another stupid question.

I bought some generic fish flakes. Packaged by the pet store... So any guess on what brand they are *lol*.

Anyway the little fishies don't seem to go to the top to feed. I was watching this morning and they were waiting for them to fall in order to go ape poop over them and feed. However when I turn off the light and are watching the fish they tend to swim to the top of the tank to attack the bubbles from the aerator and filter.

Should I look into getting food that sinks?
 
If you want to keep the pleco, then yes, you should get some algae wafers. It sounds like you havent had the fish long at all, sometimes it took a few weeks, even months for some of my new fish to stop waiting in the middle for food and to start looking at the top.

Just want to give you a heads up on the pleco, commons (which is almost certainly the one you have) get HUGE. Usually up to 16", though its not odd that they grow bigger. They also leave a large amount of waste, which isnt good for the rest of your fish. IMO, I would take him back now, instead of later. A bigger, uglier pleco is much harder to rehome :goldfish:

It doesnt sound like you've cycled your tank, either. Take a peak at this link, its quite useful.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598
 
What I do to feed my mid-level fish is to get a light pinch of food, sink it underwater, hold it for about a second, then release it into the filter's current so it sprays all over the tank. I would return the pleco, most of them get to be 18 inches and will need a 200 gallon tank. How long have you had your tank?
 
The lighting does not have to be consecutive hours. I have a timer that turns the lights off during the afternoon and on again when I return form work. I keep the total to about eleven hours a day. Much more than that invites algae problems and I think could stress the fish over time.

What did you mean by 'mixed fruit' tetra?
 
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