[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by iamswift

Planted aquarium guys, what all-in-one fertilizer(s) do you suggest?
I'm using aquatic remedies' "plant food", but results are so-so.

Can't go wrong with Seachem products. Give them a try. Flourish is their all in one fertilizer if memory serves me correct.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by iamswift

Planted aquarium guys, what all-in-one fertilizer(s) do you suggest?
I'm using aquatic remedies' "plant food", but results are so-so.

I’m running a planted setup, my second stint from the last two years. I don’t use any fertilisers and yet grow various plants which are growing so aggressively that I regularly have to prune and throw away plenty of plants. While preparing the setup I had used ADA Super 4 and nothing regularly. I provide 12hrs of lighting with an automatic timer and the lighting is by an ADA Aquasky unit. Some pictures of the current setup:




I don't have newer pictures but the carpet has grown and also the short grass has exploded and is spreading well.

By the way, there is a shop near my house which has an insane collection of exotic guppies, close to 30 different varieties in peak time. Haven't seen such a large collection anywhere else. The place is called Aqua Exotica.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Am getting a new Fish Tank Setup done. Size being a major limitation, it is a 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 ft. size Tank. This replaces my previous Tank Setup of the same size. In my previous Tank, i have had Platis, various Tetra types, Mollies, Guppies, Rasboras, Danios and few other small fishes whose names i do not recall now. I used to have 10-12 small size fishes at a time in my previous Tank.

Now, i plan to have a minimalistic setup with just 1 or 2 mid size fishes. The Aquarium guy from whom i am getting the Tank suggested i can keep 1 Flowerhorn or a pair of Discus. However, reading the previous posts here suggests it is not a good idea to keep a Flowerhorn in this size Tank. Is there a small size Flowerhorn that can be kept which doesn't grow too big in size? Or any other mid-size fishes that are easier to manage.

Looking for opinions and suggestions from @deathwalkr and other Aquarium experts here.

That tank is small for Discus. They are schooling fish. It needs at least a 3 ft tank amd a school od 6 to thrive.

If going for a rocky Setup Cichlids can do well.

[iamswift]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Flourish is their all in one fertilizer if memory serves me correct.

Thanks for suggestion. I just checked but Flouish seems to be only for trace (micro) elements. For macros (NPK), seachem has different product sets, one each for each of the macro element.

Originally Posted by audioholic

I don’t use any fertilisers and yet grow various plants. I had used ADA Super 4 and nothing regularly.

Nice setup. Hope to see the latest with all carpet plants grown.
Power soils do leak fertilizers into the water column. That explains your non use of fertilizer additives and yet lush growth of rizhomes.
Can you please share the list of plants you have in the setup?

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by iamswift

Planted aquarium guys, what all-in-one fertilizer(s) do you suggest?
I'm using aquatic remedies' "plant food", but results are so-so.

I switched to Utkarsh Agrochem aquarium fertilizers an year back and am pretty satisfied with them. Their lineup includes NPK Macro set along with EDTA Micro Mix, both in powder form. Just need to mix them in water and you are good to go. I have 4 tanks so I got a pack each and they have lasted me for more than a year.

Alternatively, you can go for APT3 Complete. Its an all in one concentrated formula and did provide good results for me.

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Now, i plan to have a minimalistic setup with just 1 or 2 mid size fishes. The Aquarium guy from whom i am getting the Tank suggested i can keep 1 Flowerhorn or a pair of Discus. However, reading the previous posts here suggests it is not a good idea to keep a Flowerhorn in this size Tank. Is there a small size Flowerhorn that can be kept which doesn't grow too big in size? Or any other mid-size fishes that are easier to manage.

If you want fishes that would engage with you and act like a real pet then flowerhorns are your best bet. But they demand atleast 3 feet long tanks. Given your limitations I would suggest a pair of angels.

[iamswift]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

I switched to Utkarsh Agrochem aquarium fertilizers an year back and am pretty satisfied with them. Their lineup includes NPK Macro set along with EDTA Micro Mix, both in powder form.
Alternatively, you can go for APT3 Complete. Its an all in one concentrated formula and did provide good results for me.

Utkarsh is additional work in mixing but seems cost effective. Where can we get it? Amazon links don't have stocks. Utkarsh themselves do have a website but seems just starting.

[abhi3284]

Meet Sparkles, the new handsome member of our Home.

Am still trying to get used to a Bare bottom Tank, which looks empty and a bit weird to me, and which unfortunately clearly highlights it's poop and mess.

[deathwalkr]

That's a lovely Flowerhorn. Good find that.

Bare bottoms are easy to clean, get a good filter. But I'd prefer to have some gravel substrate for your FH to dig around.

Hope you are prepared to upgrade to a bigger tank as time goes on and your FH gets bigger.

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by iamswift

Utkarsh is additional work in mixing but seems cost effective. Where can we get it? Amazon links don't have stocks. Utkarsh themselves do have a website but seems just starting.

I had ordered from their website which was functional untill a month back as one colleague of mine also ordered. Just checked now and it's not working. Surprisingly stocks are not available at Amazon too which was not the case earlier. I would say you can wait for sometime and see whether their site gets restored.

[abhi3284]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

That's a lovely Flowerhorn. Good find that.

Bare bottoms are easy to clean, get a good filter. But I'd prefer to have some gravel substrate for your FH to dig around.

Hope you are prepared to upgrade to a bigger tank as time goes on and your FH gets bigger.

For sure. I will be tracking its growth & size and upgrade to a 3 Ft. Tank maybe 6 months down the line. That also buys me enough time to convince my better half.

Noob question maybe, but is the Filter supposed to suck in the Flowerhorn Poop / Waste, as i see it lying down at the bottom. Also, it is slightly bigger in size compared to other smaller fishes waste. It makes my cleaning Task using a Siphon / Net every alternate day more difficult managing the top cover of the Tank, as FH's may jump.

The current Filter i am using is Sobo wp 1108f. Does this suffice or any other better recommendations for my current size FH Tank.

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Noob question maybe, but is the Filter supposed to suck in the Flowerhorn Poop / Waste, as i see it lying down at the bottom. Also, it is slightly bigger in size compared to other smaller fishes waste. It makes my cleaning Task using a Siphon / Net every alternate day more difficult managing the top cover of the Tank, as FH's may jump.

The current Filter i am using is Sobo wp 1108f. Does this suffice or any other better recommendations for my current size FH Tank.

Filters may or may not be able to pickup fish waste depending on the placement of its inlet pipe and suction capacity. Looking at the placement of your filter it's very unlikely that's it's going to pickup much waste. One big advantage of bare bottom tank is that you can easily siphon off waste so please continue to do that regularly.

If you haven't yet bought any water test kit then would highly recommend to get one. With the tank and filter you have, it's advisable to test your water parameters periodically and do water changes accordingly(assuming you are already aware of tank cycling process). For big fishes, filter with good amount of bio media is a must and I don't think your filter has any. You might want to invest in a good canister filter(atleast 1000l/hr). Aquaclear HOBs are also a good option as they have good space for media and last long.

[abhi3284]

Couldn't bear the bare-bottom Tank look, so added a couple of Lava Rocks and few natural River stones. Nothing pointy that could harm the FH. Looks better now.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Couldn't bear the bare-bottom Tank look, so added a couple of Lava Rocks and few natural River stones. Nothing pointy that could harm the FH. Looks better now.

Wait till he gets big enough to pick up those stones and drop them on the glass!

Get a gravel bed for him to keep busy

[pyrodrive]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for an asian arowana. Specifically high back golden within a budget of around 15k.
Found a few sellers but reliability is doubtful. If anyone finds smallish high back goldens in their local fish stores please let me know.
My 1500 liter tank is ready for new occupants after a decade and half of blood bath with dozens of red belly piranhas.
An old pic of the tank, all fish in there were home bred.