Freshwater Encore...

S

snarciso

AC Members
Feb 12, 2007
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Hey guys and gals, got some questions, but let me tell you all a little about my background.

I started off 7 years ago with a simple 150g freshwater tank, then progressed to a southern ciclid tank and finally an african cyclid tank. After about a year of having a african tank, i moved up into saltwater keeping. A simple fish only tank and then keeping several soft corals. When i moved to my new house i went all out and built a fish room, a custom 240g starphire front inwall setup...i had a total of 500g with skimmers, wavemakers, a 150g lagoon, and fully populated reef. I was propagating corals and making my own reef food.

But now me and the wife are expecting a new child and i need to cut down on some of my hobbys. So the reef was broken down and sold off. I now have just the 240g tank and a 75g sump. I removed about half the sand, and most of the live rock. I added several of the largest pieces of live rock, in hope that it would provide cover and homes for the new freshwater fish i plan on keeping. I added several air stones, and river gravel and a bunch of faux freshwater plants. I filled the tank and sump with RO water, and bioballs/carbon to the sump along with heaters.

With all the expertise i have with saltwater setups, i lack tremendously with freshwater.

i have been running this setup fishless for 3 weeks. I've been hoping that my pH would drop, but its stuck at 8.0, probably because of the rock and old sand. I added 5 blue gouramis yesterday and they seem to be doing fine, especially with the huge swimming room. my questions are:

1. Is my setup ok?
2. Is my pH ok, or should i worry, especially with the large variety of fish i plan to keep?
3. i am currently running a uv filter in line, will it be ok?
4. When can i add more fish?
5. Any problems with my stocking list?

Stocking list:
freshwater stingray
irredescent sharks
loaches
more gouramis
swordtails
angelfish
cory cats
mollies
rainbowfish
tetras
rasboras
platies

thanks
 
your pH is fine dont worry, mine is the smae, WITHOUT the rockowrk :D

as for your stocking....
blue gouramis are very aggressive fish, especially toward toher gouramis and other fish that are smaller than they are. it would probably be in your best intrast to take them back to the store

not sure aobut the stingray; Rallysman would have more info on that subject

ID sharks get to big for your tank. they get to three feet long with the "smallest" species, and the largest gets to 9.

which loaches were you thinking of getting?

more gouramis would only lead to disaster

swoardtails are hardy and pretty cool, but they can be nippy. if you want angels, go with paties instead. they are pretty much minature versions of swords, but they dont nip.

angels are awsome fish. a school of six would look great in your giant tank.

coryodras are awsome too, especially in large groups

mollies can also be nippy, so its not advisable to keep them with angelfish

rainbows are hyperactive, and they may stress the angels. a big school of bosemani would look great in your tank instead of angels.

tetras are better choices to ahve with angelfish because they are not as jumpy as rainbows or dainos. a nice school of congos would be perfect for your tank.

i guess you already had platies in mind :D
 
Do you really think I should part with the blue gouramis, they would be hell to take out in such a big tank...

When do you think I can add more fish? And which ones first, especially with the gouramis in there?
 
how big are they?

you can tell the gender by looking at the dorsals... males have spines sticking out and females do not. females are more tolerant of one another, but they will still kill fish that are smaller than they are.

just to make sure, do they look like this
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=973
 
they're about 1-1.5". that link is exactly what they are. Are you talking from experience with them or from what you have heard?

Thanks for the help...

Never answered the question: when can i add more fish?
 
i am talking from experience here. my blue gourami killed my paties and attempted and almost succeded in killing my black skirt tetras and my corydoras. when it was sold to me i was also under the impression that they were peacfull.

i wouldnt add any more fish until they are out. any fish that you add now will be seen as less dominantand could be killed. if they are killed, the fish that killed them will most likely see itsle fas the most dominant, and then it is going to go after the other gouramis.

BTW, if you like gouramis, pearl gouramis are a much better choice and there can be multiple pearls per tank.
 
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