FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Well, I have a 29g that isn't finished cycling yet. I have Amazon swords (too big for an 18" tank, I know, but my husband picked it out) two very small borneo swords, and three small umbrella plants. Not sure of the scientific names, or if the common names are correct, my husband just came home with them one day. It's being cycled with two female mollies at the moment. It has a little salt, but not enough to quite make it a brackish tank. It could go back to freshwater probably with two or three water changes. I have hard, alkaline water with a ph of 7.8. My husband likes livebearers, but I don't want the tank to end up overstocked. Would a ropefish be ok in a 29g with maybe 6 platies? Stocking suggestions welcome, keeping in mind later on down the road I may have to add an algae eater, or some bottom feeders.

daeraelle

Hi there,

I am not familiar with a ropefish, but do you mean This One?

That seems a little big, with 35" .

Or are there other kinds of ropefish as well?

And for the umbrella plant - is that Cyperus alternifolius? That one I believe is not a submersed plant (although I am not sure). I also saw a plant called Schefflera referred to as umbrella plant, but it is also not submersed.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The info I have found on ropefish says they get anywhere from 12 inches to 36 inches. Which is still too large for a 29g tank.

If you don't want a tank full of livebearers, why not have tetras and gouramis or an angel. Or a pair of rams.

*Kristin*

if u make it freshwater i thnk u could go with

2 angles
2 rams
4 yoyo loaches or 3 wood shrimp http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/r90001.htm
and mabey a school of rummy nose like 6 or 8

I think 2 angels would be too much. They get big...and 2 would make a 29g look like a 2g. Maybe one would work. There is not enough room in a 29g to have 2 separate territories.

And personally, I wouldn't put yoyos in a 29g either. They get pretty fat...or atleast mine are. They are also very active and will sometimes chase other fish..I don't think a 29g is big enough for those rambunctious(sp?) guys.

*Kristin*

I also think one angel would be the limit. You mentioned platies and they would be fine, just keep in mind that angels are notorious fry-eaters. That would help keep the population down though.

You could also have an angel with a school of harlequin rasboras, and then later add a group of cories. That's a nice setup as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I had a ropefish for two years in high school, but he never got longer than about 11 inches. My three year old niece fed my fish one day while I was at school... with incense oil (that's when I stopped keeping fish, it was apparantly too dangerous at my house). So I guess I never got to see him grown. I'll look those plants up and make sure they are supposed to be there, thanks for letting me know. I have plenty of time to decide. Better to take my time anyway than to jump into something. I'll have to work hard to convince my husband he wants something else too and make it seem like his idea, . I would like to add some kind of shrimp, but they just don't have enough color to me, like they might blend in with the substrate.

LF, neither of those plants look anything near the plant he brought home. It was from the pet store and it said it got around 6 inches tall, and it was in a bunch of three plants. I couldn't find anything on google that even closely resembled it. Here's a picture of it. Sometimes the leaves roll up like an umbrella... I guess that's why they call it that. But it doesn't help me to know what it is. I'll try to get a pic of the leaves rolled up.

Attached Image:

daeraelle,

Interesting story on how you once had, and lost, a rope fish. But shouldn't the fact that is was 11" after 2 years had hinted to you that a 29G, even at that fish size, would be too small? The fish was then as long as your tank was deep. Seems proportionally a little off to me (not a fan of large fish, just look at my name - LITTLE_FISH).

About the plant - I did some more research and now I think I have something for you - Spathiphyllum Wallisii:

a) The good news: I think it is This One.

b) The bad news: This Is what the Tropica site has to say about it. In particular, the "only lasts a few months" comment should be of interest.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Even with some length ropefish just look small. I got him initially when I didn't know anything about them or how big he would get, he was a baby when he was bought. I just miss him, I loved that fish. He ate out of my hand and would swim through my fingers. And his name was Mac, he looked like a little bald man for some reason.

It's kind of good that plant eaters don't eat them, The mollies keep picking at the amazon swords for some reason. They haven't touched these plants, lol. I'm not sure the amazon sword is being eaten, but it does look ragged.

The mollies keep picking at the amazon swords for some reason

Mollies are good algae eaters as well, it is part of their diet.

They may eat some very small algae of your sword that the human eye cannot see yet (or maybe can).

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The plants really appear to have been bitten out of. I hope the fish are eating them, or at least tearing them up. It doesn't look like anything else is wrong with them does it?

Attached Image:

To me it doesn't look like someone ate these leaves. It looks more like the leaf is disintegrating.

The top photo seems to indicate a section where the leaf has a cut, maybe caused by bending the leaf. I cannot indicate what may be the cause for the leaf on the bottom photo.

Also, it could be a nutrient defficiency, check This Link for a list of symptoms if plant food is missing.

How is the light in the area where this plant is located?

Ingo

Attached Image:

Close-Ups of Issues

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hi,
With mollies, darned near ANY plant is considered food.
They are herbirvores. You may be able to "distract" them
by providing vegetables or other plants that are less
expensive and grow faster such as anacharis, water sprite,
or wisteria.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

My husband and I are on our way to the petstore for more plants. The only ones that have any problem are the amazon swords, and they have more light than the other plants, I'm not sure how I would check for nutrient deficiency, but I'm pretty sure that's fine, the borneo swords and that other plant (whatever it is) are doing fine. But I see the mollies actively trying to eat these, so... I think that's the problem, they'll go by and just try to rip pieces off of the leaves. I feed them algae flakes, plus regular tetra food that kindof has a mix of everything else. I thought the algae flakes would distract them a little, but only until they've eaten them, lol. I think I might go get some kind of floating plants, so I wouldn't have to lower the water level and stand on a chair to plant them, lol. I could just stick them in. Maybe that will keep them busy for a while.

I'm not sure how I would check for nutrient deficiency

You don't really check. You can usually tell if there is a nutrient deficiency if there are holes in the leaves, or if they are turning yellow. Are you adding any fertilizers?

Also, what is your nitrate level? Do you check for phosphate? Nitrate and phosphate can be checked, but usually its a good idea to add Potassium and Iron.

How much light is over the tank?

*Kristin*

The leaves aren't yellow, and don't have holes, except the leaves that are being picked at all the time. I'm not adding any fertilizer, and the nitrates are at 40ppm. I also have no idea how much light it is. Just the hood light that came with the tank. It's a 20W fluorescent I think. It's over the back of the tank, and the amazon swords are both in the back underneath the light.

After the tank is cycled, we're going to be changing a lot in the tank. My husband decided to trade the mollies in and get some platies. He saw some dalmation red tail platies he really liked today. As far as aquscaping, there's no hardscape yet at all, and the plants can be changed. I think he wants 5 platies, which would leave us a little bit of room, maybe for some bottom feeders of some sort, and some algae eaters if we ever need any. I'd like an interesting centerpiece fish, but I can do without it. I could always scoop the babies out as feeders for my fishtank. Or I could just talk my husband into another tank for the babies, lol. I might not bother with the plants so much. I need to find a few hardy plantsthat can live with little attention, I love animals but plants just die on me all the time. I think the only plants I've EVER had success with have been some of those "grow your own aquarium plants" and a cactus.

and the nitrates are at 40ppm

How come? That is a rather high level of Nitrates for an extended duration. The fish will not be happy over time A major water change is in order, if you ask me. And the identification of the source for the high value.

OK, I never had Mollies so I don't know how much worse they are than Platies, but my platies would only eat healthy leaves of very soft plants, like Star Grass. Again, the picture you posted does not seem to show a healthy leaf. Maybe your Mollies nibble at it because it is dying and as such softer (decomposing).

Hope this helps,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I'm not sure, I didn't test the water during the first week, so I thought I missed the ammonia spike during cycling. So, the ammonia is at 0, and nitrites have been at 10ppm and the nitrates have been at 40ppm for a few days. I'm going to go buy some new tests sometime today. I had a water change planned for yesterday and some stuff went on and I was away from the house all day long. Now that everything has calmed down and my husband is at work I'll get it done today. I have the entire day off work. I was thinking about taking the plants out and trimming the three leaves that have been being eaten and replanting. I wanted to put some driftwood in there, but I can't find any at any of the fish stores or pet stores I go to. The one store I know that will at any given time have a wide selection of rare fish and tons of fish products is in GA. The only privately owned petstore here is a fish store... but it isn't that great, and they only open when they feel like it, which is like 2pm to 6pm and I'm always at work. I doubt they're open today either. I may have to just buy some rocks or something from pet land.

Then again... if the plants are dying in there, then maybe I should just take them out. Until I go down to part time, I have limited time with the fish tanks as it is. The plants seem to be making things more difficult.