My first attempt at a planted tank...build log.
- Thread starter Gulp
- Start date
Pic from today. A few of the plants are doing well...a few are struggling. I'm still having a hell of a time keeping fish alive. I'm down to 8 emperor tetras (started off with 15), and maybe 6-8 of my cardinals (started with 20). Still have about 5 or 6 neons. None of the penguin tetras have died though.....and the cat and snails are all very healthy. Not sure what's going on with the emperors as I thought they were pretty hardy fish. 
I'm really liking the emperors.....very active, the males get into little "flare the fins" battles with each other, and they look great. Hopefully I won't lose anymore:
I'm really liking the emperors.....very active, the males get into little "flare the fins" battles with each other, and they look great. Hopefully I won't lose anymore:
DAVIDFBT
Extinct? Since when?
Looks like the nitrate might be a problem. A few days ago it was less than 10ppm. This spike surprises me...especially with a decent amount of plants.:
I just did a 20% water change yesterday. Guess I'll be doing more tonight.
DAVIDFBT
Extinct? Since when?
Thre may be a couple of dead fishes rotting under somewhere you can't see. In any case, do a water change.
its hard to get neons and cardinals established, but once you do and they live a while, then you can add more to the mix. i have 8 cardinals that have lived in my tank for 2 months and i only now believe it is time to add more. good luck with them
how big is your tank?-which looks AWSOME btw
It's between 100-110 gallons.
My fish deaths have stopped...finally. Out of the 50+ neons/cardinals I put in...I'm left with a combo of 10. Only 7 of my emperor tetras are left (out of 15)....and I still have all 14 penguin tetras. Since things stabalized, I added some more plants earlier this week...and put some rasboras in the tank yesterday. 21 Hengelis, and 12 Harlequins....hopefully they will be stronger than the other fish I've tried.
A few pics from last night:
Hengelis:
Harlequin:
The emperors and penguins begging for food.....and the penguins are the only fish that seem to eat what I give them:
Not sure why my fish are so picky about eating. I can't tell if they are afraid to hang out at top long enough to eat (very tall and open tank), or they just don't like what I'm giving them. I watch every fish other than the penguins spit their food out after they taste it. They are still alive...so they must be eating something.
I'm trying regular "tropical fish flakes", spirulina flakes, tube worm cubes, and frozen brine shrimp (emperors actually like this). The fish I have in my office tank aren't picky at all and eat whatever they see (neons, rasboras...and a brevis in a 12 gallon tank). 
