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Hi all!

I am getting a 35 hex with gravel, lights, filter, everything for FREE! The only thing is, what should i do if it is used? It held fish in it for 3 years. What should i do to ensure its safe? Re-seal the sides with silicone?

Also, what stocking should i put in? What plants should i put in also? Its going to be a LOW, LOW, LOW light tank. I am possibly going to upgrade the light in september.

I was looking for:
CHOICE 1
5 (insert name here) loaches, possibly coolie

2-3 Angels

8 neon tetras

OR

CHOICE 2
8 neon tetras

8 cories

(insert name here) a 3-4" center piece fish

OR

CHOICE 3
2-3 Angels

8 cories

6 glo-light ras

OR

CHOICE 4
same 3-4" center piece

5 kuhli loachs

6-8 glo-light ras

OR

CHOICE 5
2 convicts

1 talking doradid

OR

CHOICE 6
a pair of rams

2 angels

5 loaches

OR

CHOICE 7
Any african cichlids (insert name here)

5 coolie loaches or a barrage of shrimp



Can anyone suggest a CHOICE? I would prefer choice 7, but how would this fare in a semi-seasoned, semi-begginer fishkeeper's hands? Can anyone fill in the blanks?

Leaning toward the africans............

But i still want loaches. Will these fare well in an african tank?

What plants will do well in choices 1-4, and 6-7? Will java fern and Aponogeton grow in here? Aponos in the 1-4+6, and JF&Apono in all except 5. JF is my main power, along with anubias. Anubias grows anywhere though, so i am not too concerned.

Thanx in advance

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what should i do if it is used? It held fish in it for 3 years. What should i do to ensure its safe? Re-seal the sides with silicone?

Take my advice, don't reseal any sides if un-needed. To make sure the sides don't need resealing I would put some newspaper done on a flat surface, then slowly fill the tank. Give it about 10 to 15 minutes, after filling, then go look at each side and see if there's any dribbles or anything. And the same thing goes with me. The 20G hex I got was used. Just wash it out. IF you use any cleaners make sure you wash it out really well But if you ask me Sealing tanks is the BIGGEST PAIN I have ever encountered and unless you NEED to do it, I suggest you put that silicone away.

And for the stocking, OH BOY, even though I'm stuck on my stock I'll be happy to help with your stocking xD

I like CHOICES 3 & 6. I would put plants in all of them as long as your fish aren't reckless(even if they are you can PM me and I'll give you some tips on how to keep plants in one spot)

I like Anuabis, Christmas Moss and Java fern. My bulbs are like maybe 2 watts each? lol That's for my 10Gal so if they can grow in like .4 watts/per gal lol so Low, low, low lighting won't kill them. Just make sure you try to get higher lighting. I personally want to buy new lights for my 10gal because I want Flourescent, I have incandescent right now they heat up the tank. But it's put on hold because mom will be getting my Filter, more sealent, and some Live Plants(these are a "we'll see" thing).

Good Luck and tell us how it turns out!
-FS

10G- 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Upside Down Catfish
20G- 1 Goldfish
72G(maybe95)- Need Stock suggestions

Hi Gobyfan, Lucky you, getting a free tank setup.

First of all, you need to water test that tank, especially if it has been empty for a while, preferably outside if possible, if not outside then somewhere where you can minimise the damage if it does happen to fail, leave it full for a couple of days to be sure there are no leaks, resealing may not be nessesary if the silicone is still ok, but if it looks like the silicone has dried out, become brittle or has cracks in it or is peeling in any way then you probably will want to reseal it before water testing it.
Secondly, sterilise absoloutly everything possible.
Thirdly, just how low is low low low lighting in WPG terms, i cant seem to find a conversion for that and i'm sure it will make a difference to what plants you will be able to put in there, plastic plants are known to be able to tolerate such conditions but they wont grow very well

Now looking at your stocking choices, I may add a few others.
CHOICE 1
5x (4-6)kuhlii/weather or hillstream loaches, (6x)ottos maybe?
2-3x (2x) Angels...mmm tasty tetra snacks
8x neon tetras(*little neon voice*please don't put us in there) Find something else these wont work with angels ever In My Experience.
CHOICE 2
8x (12-20x) neon tetras
8x (6-8x)cories
1x 3spot gourami(any colour morph blue/gold/platinum) or 2-3x dwarf gourami or 4-6x croaking/sparkling gourami
CHOICE 3
2-3x Angels
8x cories
6x glo-light rasboramore tasy juvinile snacks...adults might be ok
CHOICE 4
1x 3spot gourami(any colour morph blue/gold/platinum) or 2-3x dwarf gourami or 4-6x croaking/sparkling gourami
5x kuhlii loaches
6-8x glo-light rasbora
CHOICE 5
2x convicts...can't wait to uproot/relocate the plants
1x talking doradid(not sure of compatability)
CHOICE 6
1x pair of rams
2x angels...mmm...tasty ram fry snacks.
5x loaches (kuhlii/weather???)
CHOICE 7
Any african cichlids (insert name here)
5x kuhlii loaches or a barrage of shrimp
...probably going to snack on the tasty shrimp maybe even kuhlii's, require expert cichlid advice on this one.
OPTION 8 - "Small fish plague"
12-20x neons
2-4x different schools of 6-8x small tetra/rasbora type fish
1x snail
OPTION 9 - "Tiger barb madness"
4-5x of each TB color morph(tiger/mossgreen/champain)

Gobyfan it is really difficult to pick a feature fish for someone else without some idea of what you are looking for there are just so many options, it would also help if you posted the actual dimentions of the tank and the filtration specs.

I think you would do just fine with choice number 7 but you might want to actually pick a few cichlid species you like, drop the other fish/shrimp for the time being and see what advice the experienced cichlid keepers can give you as to suitable tankmates. My guess is that you would only be able to keep one pair of cichlids as hex tanks generally don't have a lot of floor space for them to claim as territory, you might be able to sneak a few surface dwellers or a couple of catfish in there successfully, when we had convicts a few years ago they constantly uprooted the plants both real and plastic, and when they spawned they claimed 3+1/2 feet of a 5 foot long tank and all the other fish were cowering in fear at the other end of the tank, I eventually moved them to other tanks for their own safety, and let the convicts have the 5 foot tank.

I hope this helps you narrow it down a little,
GT

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Thanx a lot!

ACK! I totally forgot that angels will eat the neons! I feel sick........... I think i will go with......none of mine!

I like the small fish, and TB idea, but i already have TBs and small fish may make the tank look empty. I think so because there is nothing to focus on, and i may just get confused with everything swimming all around.

I came up with another idea!

"Balancing act"

12x Neons or Danios or Glo-light ras

6x Tiger barbs "green"

5x Kuhli Loaches

1x Pair of rams

OR

"Angel Paradise"

4x Angels(whats the max?)

5x Kuhli loaches

1x 3spot Gourami

OR

"Cyprinid Maddness"-Fluke of the Tiger barb Madness

10x Glo-light ras

8x Tiger barbs- Green and Reg.

10x Zebra Danios

OR

"Loach, Shark, SAE. How do you do?"

5x Kuhli loaches

1x Rainbow Shark

3x SAE(maybe) Or 5x Ottos

OR

"Ram Paradise"

1x Pair of Rams

8x Glo-lights Ras or Zebra Danios

5x Loaches or 3x SAEs or %x Ottos

OR

Finnally,

"Somewhere over the Rainbow(fish)"

5+ Threadfin Rainbowfish

5+ Bosemani Rainbowfish

5+ Dwarf Neon Rainbofish

3 SAEs or 5 ottos or 5 Kuhli loaches or 8 cories

_____

The prime thing i want to get is the loaches. I am focusing on the Kuhli loach, primarily because of its color and size. Also i might want the wather of dojo loach as a substitute, but i dont know much about them. Angels would look nice, and Rainbowfish are in stock here, especially the Bosemani. The Dimensions are still up in the air, as i havent had it yet. Im getting it next, next weekend. The LOW LOW LOW light tank thing is also up in the air, but i just know it is going to be because is a hexagon, so it is tall. I am only going to put in Java Fern and Aponogeton so it isnt going to be too bad. Tetras would love it, but im just not a tetra fan...... Neons are just nice because of their color. Rasboras are very cool looking, especially the glos, and the danios are hardy and wicked cool! I am only worried teh rainbows wont have enough swimming room for them to swim in.

So, what do you guys think?

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I'd go with:
8 neons
5 tiger Barbs
4 julii cories
4 riries
with some java ferns and hornwart and anubius.

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

Another option

"Tranquility"

2x Pearl Gourami

2x Angels

1x Pair of rams

6x Congo Tetras

OR

"Lengthy retreats"

1x ropefish

5x Loaches

1x Wrestling Halfbeak



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Here's my "Alternative Small fish Plague" suggestion ...

6 Otocinclus
10 Corydoras pygmaeus
12 Aplocheilichthys normani Lamp Eyes
12 Hyphessobrycon amandae Ember Tetras
12 Aphyocharax paraguayensis White Spot Tetras

All of these have turned up in my area recently, and I can tell you know, the Lamp Eyes may be tiny, but they're anything BUT inconspicuous - go take a look at this picture and see what I mean ... those eyes are stunningly iridescent, and against a dark background they make the fish look as if it's got headlamps!

Likewise, the White Spot Tetras are pretty spectacular when you put them in a planted aquarium with a mixture of light and dark foliage, so that different aspects of the finnage are shown off at different times ... here is a pic of this species.

As for the Ember Tetras, well they're a lovely intense orange-red, a pefrect complement to the other two species. Here's a page devoted to them.

Beauty of this collection is that the fishes will segregate into layers in a tall hex setup. The Aphyocharax paraguayensis will occupy the uppermost layers, closely followed by the Lamp Eyes, whilst the Ember Tetras and the Pygmy Corys will liven up the lower layers. And you've still room in that setup for 3-5 Kuhlii Loaches alongside the other fishes if you want.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thats A great Idea Cal! Wow.....I think i will come up with some more layering ideas......Any more?

I just saw some German Rams in the LFS today for $7! They are sooooooo small! I didnt know if they got THAT small. They will get eaten by other fish! The only problem with that stocking is that i cant find anything of what you said in any of my LFS, especially my FAVORITE store ever.

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How should i setup my tank?

What plants can/should i have?

Thanks!

><> ~=!Vote Today!=~ <><
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My first piece of advice: whatever stocking you plan to have, exercise patience. Stock piecemeal to begin with.

I would run with fishless cycling to start with. this, simply put, involves adding organic material to an otherwise empty aquarium in order to start the nitrogen cycle, and encourage the growth of the beneficial bacteria that oxidise waste nitrogen from the fishes. These bacteria are present in encysted spore form in the very air you are now breathing - chances are you're inhaling several thousand of them with each breath you take - so when the spores settle on a body of water, they soon wake up and start multiplying. However, they need food, and that is where you have to start intervening, to provide that food in the absence of fishes.

Now, the way to do this is to add small quantities of fish food to the aquarium as if you were feeding an existing population of fishes. Why? Simple. Some people make the mistake of dumping a large quantity of food in all at once and letting it rot. Not a good idea, because the end result smells awful. Put it this way, if someone dumped a dead buffalo in your living room, your living room would become pretty unpleasant in a short space of time. On the other hand, some kind soul popping bacon rashers in your freezer each night means you get to come down and cook yourself a nice bacon breakfast in the morning. Likewise with the bacteria - dumping a huge amount of food in one go is the equivalent of dumping the dead buffalo in the living room, whilst a smal pinch of food each day is equivalent to giving the bacteria their 'bacon rashers'.

Now, you'll need to do this for around six weeks. Hence my issuing the statement above about patience. Rushing things at this stage of the game will increase the chances of disaster. You'll need that six weeks in order to ensure that your bacteria population has matured to the point where the waste conversion proceeds along the full chain, resulting ultimately in the Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate steps. Your test kit will let you know when this has happened because what will happen is this:

[1] Initially, Ammonia levels will rise dangerously (to levels that may even be lethal to fishes);

[2] Then, Ammonia will drop, while Nitrite levels will rise in tandem, with Ammonia eventually dropping to zero;

[3] Eventually, Nitrite levels will drop to zero. At this point, the bacteria will be producing Nitrates, and this is a good time to start adding plants.

Once you've added some live plants, then you can start adding the first fishes. Stock VERY lightly to start with, and if possible, stock with bottom feeding fishes first, so that when you put in the top feeders later in the game, the bottom feeders will already be in place to mop up their left overs. Don't forget to FEED the bottom feeders when you add them!

Build up your stocking slowly, and the biological filter will adjust in time and balance itself to the loading produced by your fishes (within sensible limits of course). Once you have achieved your desired stocking, the aquarium should be established, and future stocking changes need less preparation than would be the case for a completely new aquarium, because you have an established bioilter in place.

The timescale you are looking at is around 3 to 4 months total, depending upon how many fishes you're planning to obtain, and the size of the aquarium. This gives you time to hunt down the fishes you really want, put down deposits on them to persuade the dealer to hold them for you (or if they're cheap enough pay in advance for the ones you're REALLY keen to have) and make arrangements specifically for those fishes. Oh, if you DO put down deposits or pay in advance, GET SIGNED RECEIPTS as proof of purchase!

You can also spend the time during the fishless cycling phase saving up for plants that you really want, instead of 'making do' with plants that your local stockists carry as part of their "bread and butter" trade but aren't really the ones you want. Remember, it's YOUR aquarium, and taking the time to plan like this and prepare for the stocking YOU want is part of the fun of the game.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002