Fish Tanks :)

needmorespeed · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:18

Shep_Cobain said:
Mate, the fish grow to the tank. It will take 10 years for a clown loach to grow that size, thats why they are £40 + to buy at that size.

I have a pleco that grows to 1 metre but he wont ever do so and ive had him for 3 years and hes the same size.

That isn't true most fish will continue to grow to there full size just not as quickly as they would if they where in a proper size tank. Some fish like gold fish will stop growing externally but there internal organs keep growing leading to a long and painful death for the fish

MiNxYyY · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:20

Ahh,All you need to do know is drop a Pirahna into the tank and see how long they last

Mull3t · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:32

MiNxYyY said:
Ahh,All you need to do know is drop a Pirahna into the tank and see how long they last

haha, my mate did that, the Phirana was crazy. Defo the next fish I want to keep if/when all my tropical fish pass away

Shep_Cobain · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:37

Malt_Vinegar said:
Mr Tommo,

Have you ever been to Maidenhead Aquatics? (I think this is the nearest to you - http://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/store_details.php?storeid=26 )
They usually are very good, not been to any in the midlands but there are a few near you. They are the best LFS chain I have ever used. Wide selection of tanks and fish stock including loads of odd-balls and large fish

We have the maidenheads near us. Thats where i go

Hes a great chappy and tests my water for free every 3 months.

needmorespeed · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:40

Mull3t said:
haha, my mate did that, the Phirana was crazy. Defo the next fish I want to keep if/when all my tropical fish pass away

piranha are actually very boring fish unless they are hungry and they need to be kept on there own or in groups of 4 or more which would require a large tank and very good filtration

avrc · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:50

Not a great pic but here's my 97 gallon. The floating plants have spread somewhat since that pic and now cover the top.

Mull3t · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:51

^^ Thats crazy, looks scary haha.

mr tommo · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:53

Malt_Vinegar said:
Very nice tank!

Cichlids, a biggy of an Angel, and a pair of red parrot fish?

What sort of filtration do you use on that, and what is your water change/feeding schedule?

Yep thats right and 3 plecs too which are hidden.

Im not too keen on changing the water all the while. When I first had the tank, I was changing x amount of water every week/2 weeks and had countless numbers of fish dying. I change about 10% water every 6-8 weeks. Wash the filter foams out every 2 weeks and change them every 6 months.

Its a very laid back approach I know but its been working for me now for 3 1/2 years.

Ive got Algae wafers for the plecs, cichlid pallets and normal flakes. I also throw in the odd frozen bloodworm every now and again. They get fed every 1-2 days.

Malt_Vinegar said:
Mr Tommo,

Have you ever been to Maidenhead Aquatics? (I think this is the nearest to you - http://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/store_details.php?storeid=26 )
They usually are very good, not been to any in the midlands but there are a few near you. They are the best LFS chain I have ever used. Wide selection of tanks and fish stock including loads of odd-balls and large fish

No I haven't but thanks for that, I will certainly try them the next time Im in need of some fish

Mull3t said:
Very nice!

Love your tin of fish goodness! ive got a goodies tin aswell, treatments etc etc

Actually, its a tin consisting of 2 staple guns and staples, I wasn't planning on firing them into the tank, Honest!

mr tommo · 27 Jan 2009 at 15:58

needmorespeed said:
them fish should not be together you have african and american cichlids mixed together they require different types of water and different foods. not to mention the agressive nature of the Ps Crabo(common name bumble bee cichlid the yellow and black one in the top middle of the tank). I'm very surprised he hasn't killed the rest of the fish yet

I know they shouldn't, but they have been togther in that tank for 6 months now and not a single fish has died.

I never used to have any Cichlids, thye were all inherited from a neighbour who was getting rid of his tank. I had them off him a couple of days at a time and they settled in nicely.

My sister came home with a few tetras after an afternoon shopping which I knew were never going to last and they didnt. Ive also got a silver shark in there too which was in there about a month before the cichlids were added.

That Angel fish is 4 years old now, the red parrot fish are 3 years old and so are 2 of the plecs.

Mull3t · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:02

mr tommo said:
Actually, its a tin consisting of 2 staple guns and staples, I wasn't planning on firing them into the tank, Honest!

oooooo

now I look the nerd for having a tin of fish gadgets haha.

needmorespeed · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:07

mr tommo said:
I know they shouldn't, but they have been togther in that tank for 6 months now and not a single fish has died.

I never used to have any Cichlids, thye were all inherited from a neighbour who was getting rid of his tank. I had them off him a couple of days at a time and they settled in nicely.

My sister came home with a few tetras after an afternoon shopping which I knew were never going to last and they didnt. Ive also got a silver shark in there too which was in there about a month before the cichlids were added.

That Angel fish is 4 years old now, the red parrot fish are 3 years old and so are 2 of the plecs.

You are doing well then

I have 6ft long 100g tank which was just for Malawi cichlids i got a group of Crabo's when they got big 5-6" they promptly went on a killing spree.

mr tommo · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:11

Mull3t said:
oooooo now I look the nerd for having a tin of fish gadgets haha.

Haha, here fishy fishies, its treat time...

needmorespeed said:
You are doing well then I have 6ft long 100g tank which was just for Malawi cichlids i got a group of Crabo's when they got big 5-6" they promptly went on a killing spree.

I'll be getting rid of it staright away if that happens, Im actually quite attatched to the Angel and parrot fish so Im not having anything touching them.

Ive got to say, although frowned upon the parrot fish are amazing. The only fish that seem to have a personality! Great watching them dig and spit gravel around. They also react everytime someone walks in the room and do a funky dance when hungry!

wez130 · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:12

I've just set up a 3x2x2 marine tank with sump, finally cycled and got 2 hermits and a toadstool leather, need more clean up crew yet though.

a bit empty as of yet, but heres a pic.

mr tommo · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:15

Nice ^, Im going to go for a Marine tank when I get a house.

MiNxYyY · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:17

Nice wez,Would look awesome with tropical fish.

needmorespeed · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:18

this is my tank

This is my male Ps Crabo

if yours goes black like mine its a male and will become very agressive if it stays yellow its a female and they don't tend to be as agressive

wez130 · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:18

i used to do trops, marines are so much nicer and more interesting to watch, especially keeping a pair of percula clowns (nemo) with a host anemone, and all the different corals, leathers etc you can get make to a much more colourful tank. Of course, it's about 10 times more expensive than keeping tropicals lol.

MiNxYyY · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:19

I like the tank into the wall,cool design

mr tommo · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:32

My Ps Crabo is a lot more yellow, so hopefully it won't turn into a murderer!

Rhaos · 27 Jan 2009 at 16:33

With regards to cycling tanks guys, my advice is to go onto some professional fishkeeping forums and ask there. A lot of information people are mentioning is wrong. The proper way to cycle a tank 'properly' is to use ammonia and water test kits for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites. Ideally you need to build up a colony of bacteria that can fight off ammonia produced by fish. So adding a little fish food every day or so for a period of 3 days is no way long enough. A proper cycled tank can take up to 4-6 weeks
before you even consider adding fish. Alternatively if you wish to be barbaric, you could just stick some cheapie fish in to cycle the tank for you, but will take a long while before you can add additional fish. Its always best to understock than to overstock.
And should you want to go the way that 'avrc' has with his lovely planted tank, you're looking at including a full blown CO2 system which for amateurs can look quite daunting but tbh its not that bad.

Soon as I can I'll post some pics of my first planted tank. And if anyone wants a good link to a fishkeeping forum let me know, theres one I regularly use and its one of the most friendliest forums I've ever belonged to.