Team-BHP - My Fishkeeping hobby

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Quote:

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03 (Post 5037224)

There is no algae floating on the surface. However, there is algae on the walls, and the water has a slight greenish color. I will keep the filter running 24x7 and see if it improves the water appearance.

A few suggestions from my side

Cover the pond with green shade net(75% or 90% shade), you can use 1/4 inch PVC pipe to make a frame for the net.

Replace the transparent filter hose with opaque ones. Algae will grow on the inner surface of the transparent hose and clog it overtime.

Fill the bottom with substrate(i suggest JBL manado) up to 2 or 2.5 inches and plant a few Sagittaria sp dwarf, it will form a nice carpet in a couple of months. Your cabomba will also start to spread. As the plants grow and propagate, nutrient absorption will be balanced and water will become clear.

Also introduce floating plants like water lettuce or greater duckweed.

Golden algae eater can help in algae control but they can grow more than 8".

This is how my bathtub pond started
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post4335883

This is how it looks like currently,it is established and almost self sustaining

https://youtu.be/JrSHR0KRqBo

The only maintenance i do, is prune off excess plant growth, water top-up and remove algae patches from the scrubber(1:20 - 1:30 in video) every couple of months. You can also see the algae eater in action at 1:40.

Hi everyone, I would like some help and guidance from the experienced hands (deathwalkr and others) on this this thread.

The background is that as a fallout of the covid crisis, one of the residents in our colony is out of the country and not planning on returning. He had an aquarium in his place, that was under the care of the live in help for quite a while. The tank had been completely neglected and was bought to the notice of the animal lovers group that we have within the society. The absent owner requested that someone take the aquarium and care for it properly. I collected the tank day before yesterday, cleaned it out with the help of a ‘fish’ guy who also visits homes to maintain aquariums. There were only two survivors – one goldfish (roughly palm size, when measured from mouth to dorsal fin tip) and a suckermouth catfish (a little bigger than the goldfish). Another fish was unfortunately already dead. We emptied the tank, got it my place, filled in fresh water. The suckermouth seems okay, the goldfish was looking a little worse for wear, with one small injury near its eye.
I transported the tank to my place, filled it with fresh dechlorinated water and put the two fish back in, he also added some medicine (blur tinged) to the tank.

The dimensions of the tank in centimetres are 60x30x47 (LxBXH). I am attaching a picture of the tank for reference. By my calculations this would be a 20 gallon tank.

Currently, my only objective is to provide a stable, healthy environment so that these two fish recover from the past traumatic few months. With this in mind, I am thinking I need to do the following on priority
1) Get a decent filter (or filters) for mechanical, bio and chem filtering.
2) Get a testing kit for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
3) A python type hose to change the water (15% every week) It is a long way from the nearest bathroom and I don’t fancy hauling buckets to and fro, not to mention the mess it will create!

Given the lockdown situation here in Delhi, I would prefer to order stuff online. I did a quick search on Amazon for filters, but most seem to be of the cheap mechanical variety. I would prefer to buy a high quality one (this applies to all my purchases, I take good care of my stuff, so I usually buy the best I can afford rather than replace things frequently due to failure). Are any of the specialized aquarium online suppliers reliable?

Also, while I have kept fish as a child some 30 plus years ago, it was in the glorious bliss of ignorance! More information available today means that there is also a lot more to think about. I bought (and finished) a “freshwater aquariums for dummies” book yesterday, so that is the extent of my knowledge. I do however intend to take up the hobby once more, now that this unplanned ‘adoption’ has happened. But like I mentioned before, I am going to go slow, and prioritize the well being of these two guys first.

Budget wise, I am quite flexible, and am not looking at low cost options. Any guidance from the experts is most welcome, especially for the filter, since I think the one that came with the tank is pretty much on its way out. I am attaching a picture of the aquarium also, for what it’s worth.

Hey lone ranger,

It's good that you decided to adopt the aquarium. I understand you wish to ensure that the goldie and pleco do well under your care in that tank.

Judging by their sizes, they should be ok for a while in that tank. The common pleco is one of the worst fishes sold in the trade. They sell it as a tank cleaner and say it eats the other fishes waste! They more or less ensure that a small pleco is sold to almost all new customers. Those things grow huge, are crazy waste machines and usually end up in the nearby water source leading to chaos.

Anways, let us work with what we have.

Since both fishes are pretty high waste generators, you will need a good biological filter to ensure the water stays clean. Mechanical filtration will help in keeping it clear. That along with the weekly water changes should suffice.

I am a big fan of the Aquaclear filters. You can look for them here:

https://indianaquarium.com/collectio...28550783402089

The AC50 might be overkill but if price is ok then it would be good. Will also help in future if you plan to get a slightly larger tank. The AC30 seems to be out of stock.

I like the HOB filters because they are much more accessible and not prone to leakages unlike Chinese made canister filters.

Get a small piece of driftwood for the pleco to munch on and acts as cover for the goldie to retreat into.

Don't overfeed the fishes. They don't know when to stop eating :)

For New Delhi winters, get a heater so that temperature is maintained. I would also suggest to remove that hood and get a clamp on style led light.

I hope the fishes do well in your care. Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by deathwalkr (Post 5062960)

I am a big fan of the Aquaclear filters. You can look for them here:

https://indianaquarium.com/collectio...28550783402089

Many thanks for your detailed reply. I will make sure the Pleco is ‘upgraded’ to a bigger tank as and when he needs more real estate 😊

What is your opinion of Eheim canister filters-they seem to be well made, reliable products. Would I unnecessarily overspending?

For that tank and for those two fishes, i think it would be overkill :) but not as if you shouldn't.

You can also look at Fluval.

One of my tetras seems to be in its final stages. It generally floats upside down, flutters around, and then goes back to floating. I first thought it will die by the next morning but it has been several days. I don't know if it is in pain and if it is more humane to euthanize it by putting it in cold water (as suggested online) or flush it down the toilet? What do experts think? The guy is around 2-3 years old. Three other tetras from the same batch seem to be doing fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaguar (Post 5064408)

Fishes have a bladder full of gas which helps them maintain balance as they pirouette through the water in three dimensions. When that gas bladder malfunctions they tend to go bottom side up. In my experience there is usually no cure. Deathwalker might have a suggestion. My observation has been that in a week or two they die. Putting it in a mug full of icy cold water and ice cubes is said to be a humane way to euthanize them. Being cold blooded animals their inside metabolism shuts down in a couple of minutes.

A couple of videos of my shrimp tanks

This one is a no filtration tank. The internal filter has not been turned on for more than a year now.
https://youtu.be/jQmonuwCd3E

A smaller tank with hang-on filter.
https://youtu.be/NQ_6sGstBHQ

Quote:

Originally Posted by badboyscad (Post 5071011)

A couple of videos of my shrimp tanks

This one is a no filtration tank. The internal filter has not been turned on for more than a year now.

If you have time, please describe what types of plants you have and how you maintain the tank.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03 (Post 5071026)

If you have time, please describe what types of plants you have and how you maintain the tank.

The tank has Dwarf Sagittaria for carpet, background consists of Ludwigia Repens, Cabomba, Foxtail, Hygrophila difformis and the floating ones are duckweed.

As for maintenance, i wipe the glass with a magnetic scrubber once a week, prune the plants and remove excess duckweed when they overgrow. Partial water change is done once in 4 or 5 months.

There are also a few filter feeders like moina and ostracods(scavengers) that do real good job keeping the water clean.

My aquarium guy says suckerfish has been banned in Karnataka, and not available anywhere from the past 3 months.

Apparently, once they become big, they are let into ponds and lakes. They are invasive species and destroy the water body's ecosystem. I had no idea these critters grow up to this size:

Experts caution suckermouth catfish’s impact on endemic aquatic species
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com...le33840319.ece

So till they figure out what species of cleaning fish is suitable, he has asked me to use the aquarium lights only for 2 or 3 hours a day. Switching off the lights apparently prevents the growth of green algae inside the aquarium.

Common pleco along with red tail catfishes, ir sharks, gator gars should have never come into the common aquarium trade.

Plecos are not "cleaning" fishes. They need to be fed just like any other fish in the tank.

And guys please do ask/read up before buying fishes.

Anecdote:
Few years back the LFS here got a small buttikoferi. Bought it, had it in a 4ft tank, grew up and sold it back to the LFS. While he was transferring it into one of his tanks, a guy saw it and said wow i will buy that. I warned him it is a very aggressive fish...he said he knows and that he's been keeping fishes for years with a who are you to ask look...next time i went to the LFS the butti was back in their tank... Apparently it killed off all the fishes in that person's tank and he came and returned it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03 (Post 5037224)

I will keep the filter running 24x7 and see if it improves the water appearance.

Another update. The greenish color is no longer present in the water. There is algae present on the walls of the pond, but I don't mind that since I can see the fish clearly. The pond gets a lot of direct sunlight, but algae is no longer an issue. The filter runs 24x7, and feeding is done once in 2 days. I clean the filter once a month and I change a bucket of water daily.

Has anyone tried breeding bettas? I'm planning to buy a pair and try breeding as a hobby.

Used to do it with my father many years back. Nowadays too lazy to do it :)