[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by CarsAndDrives

I have a huge problem with small snails in my tank. What is the best way to rid the tank of pest snails. I have seen some drops available online, but not sure about the safety of my fishes. If anyone has any suggestion on the best way to address this? Are there any snail eating fishes I should be looking at?

Loaches love to eat snails. Cichlids as well. Or you could drop a lettuce leaf in the tank, wait for all the snails to congregate on it and simply pick them up.

Or there are snails that kill snails. Assassin Snails

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by CarsAndDrives

I have a huge problem with small snails in my tank. What is the best way to rid the tank of pest snails. I have seen some drops available online, but not sure about the safety of my fishes. If anyone has any suggestion on the best way to address this? Are there any snail eating fishes I should be looking at?

Depends on what snails you have. If you have ones with soft shells, assasin snails have helped me a lot in keeping the population under control. There are the harder ones with a steep spiral similar to Assassin, which have to be manually picked up. Usually as Deathwalkr has mentioned, they seem to always congregate in one place so I keep a net next to it, push the snails into the net and throw them away.

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by CarsAndDrives

I have a huge problem with small snails in my tank. What is the best way to rid the tank of pest snails. I have seen some drops available online, but not sure about the safety of my fishes. If anyone has any suggestion on the best way to address this? Are there any snail eating fishes I should be looking at?

You already have some good recommendations above in terms of fishes and assasin snails which can be considered. When I started my 1st tank I was heart broken to see snails appear everywhere and then their population just exploded. I used to manually remove as many I could specially during mornings just when lights were turned on. As I became more experienced with fish keeping and started to feed less the snail population also reduced and reached a state that was not bothersome. Also observed that they tend to thrive under low light but I might be wrong.

So if you feed your fishes less, maintain a regular tank hygiene regime and keep a well lit tank then you most probably would have their population under control without the need for any drastic measures. I would also recommend to not get too psyched about them. They are part of planted ecosystem and will find their way into our beloved tanks sooner or later. And please avoid any drops or medications.

[CarsAndDrives]

Thank you all for the suggestions. Will start with the loaches and assassin snails for now. This sounds more like a natural remedy and is better than using chemicals to eliminate snails.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by CarsAndDrives

Thank you all for the suggestions. Will start with the loaches and assassin snails for now. This sounds more like a natural remedy and is better than using chemicals to eliminate snails.

Assassin snails did the trick for me, but I think they were munching on the shrimp eggs. We found there were no baby shrimps after introducing the Assassins

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Thank you. Fortunately/unfortunately I am now in the process of setting up a new tank.

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Nothing gets me more excited than just the idea of setting up a new tank. Would be waiting for updates on your new setup.

The tank took some time to get built and then for the glue to dry due to the weather conditions here. Finally brought it home in its bare form and started work on it. It is very cumbersome to move the whole setup from one tank to other so I am taking it slow, with a two week timeline until the fish goes into the new tank.

Some pics of the new tank







As for the movement itself, I had a spare tank lying around which I used as an intermediate home for the fish rather than using a bucket or the like. Before the fish, I removed most of the plants and discovered that the undergrowth was massive. The Ferns which I had planted had stayed intact for a few months altogether and then suddenly grew all over the place. Now I have three containers full of plants.



Then moved the fish to the intermediate setup and did some vinyl sticking for the edge. My family had mixed opinion of doing this but I felt the front view should have an enclosing frame. If you people feel otherwise, please pour in your suggestions.

On the other hand, over the last one year, only two guppy fry have grown up to be full sized adults with wonderful colour. I have seen so many fry but some fish seems to be relishing them. This time I recovered around 11 fry and I am planning to find out the culprit(either Zebra danio or red tetra) and ditch them for good. Want to keep a self sustaining population of guppies in the future.


Still a lot to come and quite tiring compared to just changing the water or replanting the whole tank.

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by audioholic

As for the movement itself, I had a spare tank lying around which I used as an intermediate home for the fish rather than using a bucket or the like. Before the fish, I removed most of the plants and discovered that the undergrowth was massive. The Ferns which I had planted had stayed intact for a few months altogether and then suddenly grew all over the place. Now I have three containers full of plants.

On the other hand, over the last one year, only two guppy fry have grown up to be full sized adults with wonderful colour. I have seen so many fry but some fish seems to be relishing them. This time I recovered around 11 fry and I am planning to find out the culprit(either Zebra danio or red tetra) and ditch them for good. Want to keep a self sustaining population of guppies in the future.

Nice start. I have always wanted to document my tank setups but the task in itself gets so taxing that I just loose interest in clicking pictures or videos of the routine. They are always exciting to read if someone else is posting though!! If I may ask, what are the dimensions of the tank?

Crypts and Saggitaria do have deep and dense roots. Even small plantlets of crypts will have very long roots. They are great low tech plants!!

Guppies breed like crazy. If you do not have other fishes that might snack on some fry then you'll probably be overstocked in 6 months. If your tank has dense plants then a couple of fry from each batch should be able to survive and you can still achieve a self sustainable population. I am always wary of adding new fish(from LFS) in my tank as have had pretty bad experiences with fish diseases and parasites. So a self sustainable fish population is the way to go in order to have a stable tank!!

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Nice start. I have always wanted to document my tank setups but the task in itself gets so taxing that I just loose interest in clicking pictures or videos of the routine. They are always exciting to read if someone else is posting though!If I may ask, what are the dimensions of the tank?

Even I don't get time to document things in detail be it fish or even automotive work. But this time, since the tank change activity is spread over a few days, I have enough time in between to recuperate and then share some updates

My existing tank was 30in(L) X 12in(W) X 18in(H)
The new one is 30in(L) X 15n(W) X 24in(H)

The increase in width was done on purpose to enable a greater scope for aquascaping since 1ft of Width would not allow much of foreground background differentiation. But the increase in height was a mistake in specs. Had completely forgotten that I have an 18in tank and instead told the aquarium guy 2ft

Glass is 10mm which is thicker than the 6mm+ 8mm base I had earlier and is Saint Gobain toughened glass. The glass and pasting costed my 4500.

[Gansan]

I have had various aquarium fishes for some years during my school and college days. But basically I kept most of them in cement tanks in the backyard, keeping just a few at a time in a small glass tank in the living room. I have been thinking recently about getting a somewhat large glass tank and start the hobby again. Basically because our old house has become an apartment complex and there is no backyard for cement tanks.

But how large can a glass tank be, and still be safely kept on a table? Do large tanks require special furniture or stands? Because even a tank of 1X1X1 metre in size can hold a ton of water by weight.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Gansan

But how large can a glass tank be, and still be safely kept on a table? Do large tanks require special furniture or stands? Because even a tank of 1X1X1 metre in size can hold a ton of water by weight.

The total weight of the tank is always an important consideration and the stand it is kept on. Aquarium shops sell flimsy stands for even 2ft+ tanks. Even in half filled state the stands flex. In case of wooden furniture, we should be careful as to how much load it can bear, and also the wood must be resistant to any liquid related damage in the longrun. In my case I place the tank on a wooden cabinet made of thick plywood and with all round reinforcement and three vertical supports instead of two. It has lasted 12 years without any signs of bending, flexing or water related bloating. On top of the cabinet I have a granite slab to arrest any water that might trickle down.

Total weight of the tank and water will be around 200kilos.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Gansan

But how large can a glass tank be, and still be safely kept on a table? Do large tanks require special furniture or stands? Because even a tank of 1X1X1 metre in size can hold a ton of water by weight.

Depends on the table.

I would advice against keeping large fish tanks on tables which were meant for other purposes like a study table or something.

Like you said, large tanks can hold a massive amount of weight in water and you need good strong stands to support it.

Tall tanks are a PITA to maintain. Any tank more than 2ft in height is going to be tough to handle.

First finalize the space where you want to keep the tank, then the measurement and then the type of stand you need.

Avoid the readymade stands you find at the LFS. While they look pretty, they won't last.

Best get one made from a metal work shop and have it customized as per your needs.

A few pics of a stand I got a shop to make for me a few years back. Think it was for a 4x2x2ft tank

[ArTigor]

This thread is so helpful. I was contemplating fishkeeping for almost 5 years, but could not start as I had the notion that it requires a lot of involvement with regards to time.
Yesterday finally I decided to start off the hobby with a basic setup and some low maintenance fishes. My setup includes the following:-

Material

• Locally assembled glass tank 18in x 9in x 12in.
• Acrylic Cover
• 2 kg Coarse Sand
• 2 Plastic plants
• 1 Pump with sponge filter
• De-chlorination liquid
• Mr. Blue - blue liquid

Fishes

• 1 pair of Kissing Gourami
• 4 pairs of Cichlids
• 1 small suckerfish

As of now this is the basic setup I have started with. I took some tips from the shop owner as I am completely new to this, he advised me the following:

• Not to overfeed:- he gave me a kind of proportion as to 3-4 pellets per fish per day, but he also warned that one has to eventually understand the eating habit and make changes to the quantity accordingly.
• In case of short 2-3 day trips the fishes can do well without feeding, but in case of longer trips I should opt for an automatic feeder.
• Clean the sponge filter at least twice every week
• Replace the water every fortnight
• Add de-chlorine agent for every water change

As of now I shall look forward to maintain and gain experience with this basic setup, Do not want to be very ambitious and invest too much money and time. This basic setup shall help me learn new stuff as well as get acquainted with the fishes. Maybe after 5-6 months I may think of adding some plants or so to the tank.

Any tips/comments from members are welcome.

This is the picture of last night the water looks a bit cloudy as the sand left off some of the powdery substance, but overnight all of that has settled, and the water is clear in the morning.
The aquarium owner told me that initially for 2-3 days the Fishes may take time to settle in due to change, they might not eat well and may look a bit lazy, but as of morning the fishes seem to be active and moving around sprightly.

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by ArTigor

Fishes

• 1 pair of Kissing Gourami
• 4 pairs of Cichlids
• 1 small suckerfish

As of now this is the basic setup I have started with. I took some tips from the shop owner as I am completely new to this, he advised me the following:

• Not to overfeed:- he gave me a kind of proportion as to 3-4 pellets per fish per day, but he also warned that one has to eventually understand the eating habit and make changes to the quantity accordingly.
• In case of short 2-3 day trips the fishes can do well without feeding, but in case of longer trips I should opt for an automatic feeder.
• Clean the sponge filter at least twice every week
• Replace the water every fortnight
• Add de-chlorine agent for every water change

As of now I shall look forward to maintain and gain experience with this basic setup, Do not want to be very ambitious and invest too much money and time. This basic setup shall help me learn new stuff as well as get acquainted with the fishes. Maybe after 5-6 months I may think of adding some plants or so to the tank.

Any tips/comments from members are welcome.


Attachment 2508046

Local fish stores would be the last place I would go in search for any info around fish keeping. They only need to keep fishes alive till they get sold.

Can understand that you wanted to start with a small tank and see how it goes, but the choice of fish for that small a tank is not a good one. In your pictures I can't see 4 pair of cichlids but if they actually are then your tank is grossly overstocked. From what you have described you just started off with tank and stocked it with these fishes. So your tank is not cycled at all. If you do not change 50% water every alternate day you are at a very high risk of loosing some fishes specially with that small sponge filter. Please read aquarium cycling process as its key to having a long term healthy tank. Do not replace entire water every fortnight. That will be too late and not advisable. Change 50% water every alternate day for atleast 4 weeks. Then reduce frequency to twice weekly. Do not reduce this frequency further as your tank and filter are undersized. If I were you I would be looking to upgrade my tank size and filter due to the choice of fishes. If you intend to stay put with the tank and filter you might want to trade in the current fishes with something suitable for this tank's size like livebearers, danios, tetras and the likes.

[ArTigor]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

In your pictures I can't see 4 pair of cichlids but if they actually are then your tank is grossly overstocked.
Change 50% water every alternate day for atleast 4 weeks. Then reduce frequency to twice weekly. Do not reduce this frequency further as your tank and filter are undersized.
If you intend to stay put with the tank and filter you might want to trade in the current fishes with something suitable for this tank's size like livebearers, danios, tetras and the likes.

Thank you for these suggestions they are really valuable to me.
In fact they are 3 pairs and not 4, so 3 pair of cichlids, 1 one kissing fish and one single sucker fish, but now I understand that my tank is overpopulated, upsizing is not an option due to space constrains. Might just trade the pair of cichlids for tetras.
Will surely change 50% water every alternate day for the time period you advised, thanks for letting me know about tank cycle, have read about it now after you highlighted its importance.
Just to be on the cautious side, will addition of one more filter be useful?
At the worst I may upgrade the filter, but the tank will be the same, In this case maybe I shall keep the following composition:

• 1 pair of kissing fish
• 2 pair of cichlids
• 1 or 2 pair of tetras
• 1 sucker fish

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by ArTigor

This thread is so helpful. I was contemplating fishkeeping for almost 5 years, but could not start as I had the notion that it requires a lot of involvement with regards to time.
[/ATTACH]

Welcome to the hobby. Treat the fishes right and they will reward you with joy

As Maverick mentioned, the LFS is the last place to get advice regarding fishkeeping. For them it's just a business and they need you to come back to buy more fishes.

Now, your tank is a good starter tank but wrong selection of fishes, sadly.

Kissing Gourami's look odd in that little tank. I can't seem to id the cichlids in your photo, I can see what looks like Rosy Barbs. Few more pics?

Lose the pleco. They have no business in a tank that small and will contribute to a whole lot of bio load.

Get a hang on back filter for bio filtration for now. 50% water changes every week. Hope you washed the sand nicely before adding the fishes.

Usually people cycle the tank properly before adding in fishes.

Would suggest fishes that don't grow big like some tetras for your tank.

Enjoy the hobby and feel free to ask any doubts.