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Well, we've had our new tank going for a while now, it looks great!! These fish are so much fun to watch.

In the past few weeks we've upped our Cardinal, Black Neon & Glowlight tetra schools to 6 each. They all seem to be happier now, schooling more than they were before. We've also added two platys, male & female. We originally had two females but one died shortly after we brought her home. The orange/red platy is Pumpkin and the yellow/orange platy is Pikachu. (My son thought he looks like the popular Pokemon character ) We have four corys and two little ottos, along with three shrimp. The shrimp are very hard to spot, they hide very well and blend in just as well when they are out. I've tried getting pics of the shrimp but they are too transparent and quick, they just come out as little blurs.

So far everyone in the tank is doing well.

We did have danios in the tank but they were very disruptive, stealing the corys' food and sometimes chasing the tetras. So we returned them to the LFS and brought home the platys & shrimp. The rest of the fish actually seem a little happier now that the danios are gone!

I'll follow up shortly with some pics...

Our tank: 45 gallons
7x Cardinal Tetras 7x Black Neon Tetras
7x Glowlight Tetras 2x Ottos 2x Ghost Shrimp 3x Spotted Corys 3x Panda Corys

wow thats a big tank and not that many fish!!!

you technically could have nearly twice that amount of fish...


maybe add another school of six loaches?
clown loaches are really nice, but they do get rather large.
maybe some khulis or dojo loaches...


\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Here's some pics... 19 to be exact, I took a lot and couldn't decide which ones I liked best. It's hard to get clear shots of the fish, they're always darting around!!

This is the entire tank, all set up...

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3193.jpg

This is the best pic of one of our shrimps that I could get. It's upside down, on the edge of the driftwood.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3257.jpg


Here's a cory and an otto (clinging on the side of the driftwood)...

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3248.jpg

Pumpkin and Pikachu...

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3179.jpg

The tank from the right side...

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3230.jpg

The tank from the left side...

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3231.jpg

And the rest are just random shots...

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3255.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3254.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3239.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3226.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3223.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3215.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3210.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3201.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3196.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k16/PanClan06/IMG_3194.jpg



Our tank: 45 gallons
7x Cardinal Tetras 7x Black Neon Tetras
7x Glowlight Tetras 2x Ottos 2x Ghost Shrimp 3x Spotted Corys 3x Panda Corys

Brandeeno, you really think we could add more fish? We're afraid of overstocking. We may add two more corys, my husband likes the albinos. Then we'll probably just stick with what we have. We've heard tetras like bigger schools but they all seem to be fine with the numbers at the moment.

I forgot to mention... one of the Glowlights is huge!! She is so round, my son decided to name her Big Momma.

Our tank: 45 gallons
7x Cardinal Tetras 7x Black Neon Tetras
7x Glowlight Tetras 2x Ottos 2x Ghost Shrimp 3x Spotted Corys 3x Panda Corys

well, it seems like your tank is lacking some contrasting color... i really like the way it looks, but maybe you should add like 3 female bettas... with some deep reds and purples maybe... or maybe just a deep red or purple male...

i really like your set up btw...

looks really nice. just see what you want maybe some more of the platies?

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Thank you for the compliment on the setup, we're really happy with it. We wanted it too look as natural as possible.

We started out with the tetras in our son's smaller 7 gallon tank, so we just built up from there. Right now we don't want to add anymore fish, we're really afraid of overstocking. Maybe in the future.

There are times the tank seems to burst with color, I guess it depends on how the fish are schooling at the moment. My camera doesn't seem to capture the vibrant colors, unfortuntely.

One thing I will say about the corys: I'm not used to fish that just lay still on the bottom of the tank - sometimes sideways!! They've scared me quite a few times.

Our tank: 45 gallons
7x Cardinal Tetras 7x Black Neon Tetras
7x Glowlight Tetras 2x Ottos 2x Ghost Shrimp 3x Spotted Corys 3x Panda Corys

you shouldnt worry about over stocking...

if you add 1-3 fish you shouldnt have a problem...

plus a male betta will keep your platy population down and also establish a good "pecking" order in the tank... he will help the schools to be tighter and stay schooling...

a few female will just add more color and fill up the tank a little better.

i would really add a male betta to this tank. you willl definatley not regret it!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Nice tank MtbGirl........& beautiful platies!

Since you like the natural look so well, wait until the "new" wears off on the fish. When that happens, try planting a real plant maybe? One that takes low light. If you're leery of doing it like I was, then just get a package of Aponogenton bulbs at Wal-mart & stick them in the gravel. Your son will get a real kick out of seeing them sprout up in a short while & watching them grow. And YOU will like the natural look of them.

Good job with the tank, I'm glad it's all going so well with it.

very nice looking set-up Mtb! If you need mroe action from the Corys, get 4 more.... those are fish that need a nice shoal... witha tank that large, 8 would be great,a nd they will be more active!

Live plants are a must... find easy ones to care for like hornwort or anacharis, take your time adding them one at a time... the otos will thank you, they really like to have live, broadleaf plants... Wisteria would be great... easy, fast growers...

good luck!

Thank you all for the compliments. My husband would like to try real plants, we still have the old 7-gallon and he's thinking of using that tank to experiment.

We are definitely going to increase our cory shoal. Other than that, since we have lost a couple of fish, we'd like to wait before adding new ones. So far it seems to be the usual one or two that don't make it when you first bring them home. The rest of the fish all seem fine, we haven't lost any tetras so far.

A male betta sounds like a nice idea... those are very colorful, fancy fish. In time we'll add some colorful friends.

I love the look of a lush, planted tank, but how do you use the Python without upsetting them? We have a hard time keeping our plants from being "uprooted" during the cleaning process.

Our tank: 45 gallons
7x Cardinal Tetras 7x Black Neon Tetras
7x Glowlight Tetras 2x Ottos 2x Ghost Shrimp 3x Spotted Corys 3x Panda Corys

Don't worry about overstocking - you were very careful with your set up and gave it some thought instead of rushing to the LFS buying whatever looked exciting to you. All your fish are small and you can easily add the fishes as suggested. Plus you already know that your current stocking does not appreciate very active species like danios. Increasing your current schools is another option. I seriously hope that in time you will opt for live plants, it is also a lot of fun - especially when ambition kicks in and you want to grow some specific plants and create your own scape!

I am looking forward to see your tank mature

I love the look of a lush, planted tank, but how do you use the Python without upsetting them? We have a hard time keeping our plants from being "uprooted" during the cleaning process.

I believe the term planted tank refers to live plants, but in your case I will assume you are referring to your fake plants. The answer would be that there is no way to properly clean without upsetting them. The proper way to clean a tank is to mentally divide the tank into 4 parts, & every time you do a water change, you vacuum one of those sections, doing a different section at each change, so that after 4 water changes, every section has been cleaned. That way you leave most of the good bacteria behind in the gravel but also don't get too much of a buildup.

Technically you are supposed to remove everything in that 1/4 section & vacuum under it. Yeah, I know......it's a pain, isn't it.
With real plants you just vacuum around them & if there's a lot, you just wave your tube between them above the gravel to get the surface junk.

I'm learning to think ahead when it comes to decorating a tank......how hard is this going to be to clean? It tends to alter your decorating ideas somewhat then. Sorry I didn't have better news. We just have to take the good with the bad in this hobby. Good luck with that.

Again, thank you all. I'll talk to my husband, see if I can convince him to add a few more fishies after the holiday weekend.

Recently we lost a couple of corys, it seemed to be one after the other. So we're going to have the water tested and see what's what. The other fish all seem to be thriving, I read in another thread somewhere that corys are "delicate." So we want to make sure everything is okay before adding some new friends.

Yes, Patty, I was referring to our fake plants. I do love the look of plants, someday we would like to add real ones to the tank. Baby steps!! Thank you for your ideas, that's basically what we have been doing all along. I guess there really is no "easy" way, is there??

Our tank: 45 gallons
7x Cardinal Tetras 7x Black Neon Tetras
7x Glowlight Tetras 2x Ottos 2x Ghost Shrimp 3x Spotted Corys 3x Panda Corys

mtb, you should definatly add some plants prior to adding new fish!

i would go with the hybrid aponogeton bulbs because they are hardy and grow very well. the other thing is the bulbs have a "lifetime guarantee" where if some of the m die then you mail them in a standard envelope with your receipt, package and address and they send you back new fresh and often better bulbs...

they are cheap too, about 3.00$ for a package of about 3-7 of them...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Well... plants are really an after-thought right now. We'd like to concentrate on the fish for a while. We also have an extra little 7-gallon tank that we'll experiment with before with. We plan on eventually adding African dwarf frogs to that tank anyway.

We're thinking of adding 3 more coreys and upping our tetra shoals to 8 each. After that, is there room for any more fish?

Our tank: 45 gallons
7x Cardinal Tetras 7x Black Neon Tetras
7x Glowlight Tetras 2x Ottos 2x Ghost Shrimp 3x Spotted Corys 3x Panda Corys

how big are your cories?

if they are about 2 inches in length then you have about enough space for about 6-7 ADF. or you could add another school of tetras. how tall is your tanks as ADF don't like tanks taller than about 18 inches. they might do ok if you get good specimens, but they breathe air and must swim up to get it. i would say they are probably not a good addition to a 45 gallon and you might just want a coupl of them in the 7 gallon. plants should not be after though and there needs to be at least a few plants with the fish. you will also need aeration. plant will help remove waste and aeration will help keep oxygen concemtration to a minimum and can thus help maintain the health of a well or overstocked tank.

overall this tank is sounding like it is really coming arround!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Yeah the frogs will definitely go in the smaller tank, when we get them. Right now our son's class is studying crayfish in school and he might be bringing one home soon. So we're going to keep the crayfish in the 7-gallon for now and once it's gone we'll put ADFs in the tank.

The coreys will probably grow to be about 2 inches in length. We have three spotted ones, we'd like to add three albinos.

It's funny, we really are afraid to add too many more fish, in spite of everyone's suggestions here. We'll probably add 3 more coreys, up the tetras to 8 in each shoal, and maybe add one more female platy. Although we only have two ottos... do we need more algae eaters?

Our tank: 45 gallons
7x Cardinal Tetras 7x Black Neon Tetras
7x Glowlight Tetras 2x Ottos 2x Ghost Shrimp 3x Spotted Corys 3x Panda Corys

too many bottom feeders will up the nitrates and such!!!

if you are really worried about algae get an apple snail or some ghost/glass shrimp. they will keep the tank nicce and clean...

honestly you will also need some plants for the corries too! they do like a bit of hiding space as well as the ottos.

if you do get another platty get one of the opposite sexes to the other two. this eill provide some live food for your tetras every month or so and you mught actually end up having a few tank mates (or some live food for the crayfish?)

and also a cray fish might be a bit cramped in a 7gallon tank, but it would be much better than another parnets tupperware setup (my parents got some tetras when i was little from a class after learing about fish anatomy and put them in a tupperware with an airstone... the cats made a quick lunch of them...)

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"