A few mistakes and the odd success at the start of an obsession.

[Ben Hooper]

So I have had the tank running for a couple weeks but wanted to document everything so far and see what people think and what I have done wrong... A couple bits are obvious so far.

Hardware
Rio 180 w/T5 Lights
Eheim 2236 with smashed (pond) Alfagrog
Co2 FE
In line diffuser
200w internal heater
'Ada' lily pies
Glass check valve and bubble counter
Solenoid
Tesco Low Dust Cat Litter

Loads of other bits but there the main parts

Can't seem to get tapatalk to let me login to upload images so that outs a bit of a spanner in the works...

 

[Alastair]

Hiya. You can use the mobile version on your web browser of the phone and just click the 'upload imgur' and you can select your photos

 

[Ben Hooper]

Thanks,
Getting ready with substrate in

An attemp at planting

Though I still don't love it I think it is 'acceptable'. There is a time lapse of it being planted but there is about half of it planting hair grass so not sure it's worth it.

 

[Ben Hooper]

After settling overnight the tank looks a lot better!

Dosing hadn't arrived yet and glass check valve is rubbish so having to manually turn co2 off and on which is a little difficult.

Some of the plants quickly became my favourites and seemed to be the ones with a bit more style. I have found it surprising that plants I hated have started to grow on me (toilet brush forest)

Toilet Brush Forest:

A splash of red

The windswept look

 

[Ben Hooper]

So a couple weeks ago I started dosing with micro and macro while regrettably my check valve was still broken so co2 was a little less consistent. At the same time I broke my filter clip but luckily superglue seems to have done the trick and though I avoid carrying it by the handle it seems to be holding.

Last Tuesday got my fish and I really should have listened to what I knew was right and buy less but stupidly I bought what I thought would be nice and gambled a bit on comparability...

Most of all I wasn't sure about puffer fish but the wholesaler said they would be fine so I went for a couple.

Item Qty
Red Comet Plat 20
Neon (SML) 50
Black Neon (MED) 10
Silver Tip Tetra 10
Lemon Tetra 10
Blue Tetra 15
Rosey Tetra 5
Rummy Nose 1
Neon Rainbow 2
Otto 10
Dwarf Puffer 2

It is a nice collection of fish and they do look amazing and as there are a few different types there is something happening in every part of the tank.

At the moment they are on a diet of frozen bloodworm but I have ordered Tetra Prima Mini Granules so they can have a mixed diet and would like to make there own food in the end


Had a little mishap Thursday and the pump broke again and this time superglue would work, neither did cable ties but rubber bands and gardening wire did just about!

During this panic I opened the pump to find 5 baby fish! so scooped them up and put them in the shrimp tank.

 

[Ben Hooper]

Ordered the new part Thursday night and it arrived Friday and meant I didn't have to worry about the pump anymore but I might replace it is that pump powerful enough for the tank?

Also got co2art.co.uk to send them the correct check valve (Hight Quality CO2 Check Valve Non Return | CO2Art.co.uk - CO2 Aquarium Specialists) which was nice and it works great so set up the solenoid at the weekend and have got my schedule all setup now!

Little bit of a bitter sweet weekend at had a fatality, one of My Rainbow Neon seems to have died which is a little bit annoying and seems to have been a sign of things to come

 

[Ben Hooper]

So the fish are from a wholesaler and I would normally quantine but as it was a new tank I didn't see a problem and due to the number of fish didn't see another option.

So today I have noticed the fish acting differently and think one of the puffers has become very aggressive but not sure if he is fin nipping or if they have all got ill. The puffers where very shy but this one seems to have grown a lot and is ready to take on the other fish while the other one is still hiding away.

Regardless of this I am not 100% sure he catches the fish... Or may just be in denial. But some fish seem to have ick so could this be causing the fin damage the damage seems to be to all species other than blue tetra.

So is this ick or something else? Am I going to have to get rid of the puffer? is there any chance the other will stay docile so I can keep her? Is there any point getting another and try get a female?

What ever is wrong what's the best way to treat it along with water changes?

Notice of the 3 in focus the top one has a chunk in the tail missing is this an illness or nipping?

Tested the water as well:

 

[Conger]

OMG are you serious? Did you put 130+ fish in the tank in one go? Was the filter matured on a different tank?

 

[webworm]

Looking at those test results, and the ick that is obviously present on the black neons, I'd say you've got a tank full of very stressed inhabitants. I'd start with daily water changes of 25-50%

 

[Ben Hooper]

Filter was on a small tank for a bit and then moved over to this tank while it was empty for 3 weeks.

I have been doing 50% changes every 3 days but will move over to 25% daily for a bit is there any other things that can help?

Are the fins related to ick or is it from fin nipping or something else?

 

[Wallace]

Wow. Like others have said, if it were my tank I'd be carrying out at least a 50% water change daily. I would also look to return / rehome at least half of the 135 fish that you have.

Although not entirely accurate, the Nitrate readings from your test are off the chart. Carry out as many water changes as possible for the coming week at least until you can see some better test results.




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[Conger]

The fish are dying/not doing very well because they are swimming around in thier own toilet. The filter cannot cope with such an amount of animal waste being dumped on it in one go. The usual way of doing this is to load the tank with fish gradually and allow the filter bacteria that deal with the waste to grow to match, not in one go.

Think of it in terms of the water burning their protective slime off them, or them breathing toxic water. The diseases (Ich) and other symptoms follow from this, and are not the main reason they aren't doing well. I'd follow Wallace's advice above.

 

[Ben Hooper]

The readings shown where just before a water change and I am dealing with the ick based on what webworm said and obviously using treatment and increased temperature the only part i am still unsure of is whether i need to get rid of the puffer if he is causing the damage to the other fishes fins.

 

[Wallace]

the only part i am still unsure of is whether i need to get rid of the puffer if he is causing the damage to the other fishes fins.

See my post above, and include the puffer in the re homing scheme.

For me, that many fish in that environment is asking for trouble. I would keep the 50 neons ( if they are all still alive ) and the 10 Ottos ( again if they are still alive ) and return / rehome the rest.



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[Lindy]

whether i need to get rid of the puffer if he is causing the damage to the other fishes fins.

Dwarf puffers are well known for nipping fins although some people do keep them successfully in community tanks. It tends to depend on the individual fish. I would rehome both puffers as they will struggle to compete for food with so many other fish in the tank. If the puffer seems to have grown alot it is probably altering its shape to look bigger if it feels threatened or is a male trying to defend his space. They can flatten their bodies and look more coin shaped too. Platies will breed like rats and increase your problems too.

 

[Ben Hooper]

Dwarf puffers are well known for nipping fins although some people do keep them successfully in community tanks. It tends to depend on the individual fish. I would rehome both puffers as they will struggle to compete for food with so many other fish in the tank. If the puffer seems to have grown alot it is probably altering its shape to look bigger if it feels threatened or is a male trying to defend his space. They can flatten their bodies and look more coin shaped too. Platies will breed like rats and increase your problems too.

Thank you for the advice I will move them to a separate tank straight away and work out what to do with them from there. The platies have already given birth but all of them have been munched as far as I can tell.

Thanks again for the info I think I have a game plan now and am getting a tap connector to make the water change a little easier then using a bucket of water

 

[Lindy]

If you have a spare tank for the puffers and could do a jungle style scape in it they'd be made up! Mine were extremely happy in a tank that was just full of floating java moss. They are fascinating fish to watch. The platies will keep giving birth, its what they do.

 

[Lindy]

Puffers also like it hotter that typical fish so keep their tank at 26-27 degrees.

 

[Ben Hooper]

Everything seems to have settled in the tank... Mostly

The white spot has been treated and I found out that my Nitrate was rather high out of the tap which didn't help matters so looking into getting a RO unit but as things go at the moment the fish are happy.

One puffer regrettably died a while ago (the only fish to and I suspect the remaining puffer played a part though I never saw anything) and the remaining puffer became much more docile and I assumed it must have been settled down due to not have a mate to become territorial but he is back to his old tricks... Not so much territorial but more fin nipping out of fascination, regardless I will move him out when the other tank matures a bit more. I had put the task on hold due to his new docile nature but have to change plans again. I am also wondering if he has snails to keep him occupied if he may be distracted but that's more hopeful then anything.

All in all the growth is good a couple plants need to be ripped out but I don't want to see them go