Upgrades for my 50 gallon tank, video + pictures included, semi-aggressive

Adamson

Hello all,

I just posted a video on youtube of my tank so you could see it and tell me if I am doing anything wrong, or what I could do to make my tank better.

The fish I have in the tank are as follows
2 Clown Loaches, 1 Chinese Algae Eater, 6 Tiger Barbs, 1 Rhino Pleco, 1 Black Ghost Knife, 1 Red Tailed Shark, Feeder Guppies, 3 Minnows, and some snails.

I know the BGK will need a bigger tank, and I will either give him away or upgrade myself when it gets to that point.

I am not sure when plants I have in the tank, with the exception of the Duckweed on the top and bamboo(which is only there because I have had it for years and have no where else to put it), so if anyone could ID it that would be help. Also, are the pants I have suitable for my fish?

Currently I am feeding them flakes, sinking algae disks, sinking pellets that have the main ingredient "whole fish meat", frozen blood worms, and frozen beef heart. I put a dozen-ish feeder guppies in there yesterday and about half of them are still around.

I am treating the water with a stress-coat conditioner, a bacteria supplement, and a tiny bit of aquarium salt at each water change, and just started using once of those weekly plant food things.





What can I do to make my tank better? I would be interested in getting an air pump and getting some bubbles going, but I know that may not be good for the plants?
Am I feeding the right things? The BGK doesn't really come out and eat from what I can tell, so to feed him I will just throw a cube of beef heart in the tank before bed.
Should I get more hiding places or driftwood? More plants would be nice..
I have a ceramic little hiding place (picture below) but the fish don't really like going in it, is it the material, or maybe it is too dark or not tall enough? I got it at the LFS but it may have been for reptiles..



I would like an aquarium as heavily planted as some of Byron's, but I don't really know what to do..

beetlebz

let the plants fill in. In my tanks, i make them pretty. then, as the plants fill in, I take out the fluff (other decorations) lol

as for the rest of the tank, Its looking good! The stress coat, bacteria supplement and the salt are NOT necessary and I would say definitely discontinue their use. I save salt for ich, thats it.

for feeding, a wide variety is almost always agreed upon to be the best course of action. I have a whole dresser drawer full of stuff that gets rotated out for feeding times, not to mention a shelf in the freezer

im sure some folks will have some issues with the fish and quantity of fish, but im no expert there. I believe the clown loaches get good sized, and need to be in a bigger group.. the BGK has been addressed... not sure about the rest!

looking good though.

baggy007

hi adamson, your tank looks really nice, ive been looking for that type of house ornament for ages, can you tell me where you got it or what its called and how big it is please
thanks in advance

Adamson

The tiki house? I got it at Petsmart for $15-20, I can't remember what it is called, but I think that most of their stores should have them.

Thanks for the reply Beetle, the clowns are also one of those ones I might trade in if they get too big or I see any form of stunting.
Do you normally take off the metal weights used in stores to weigh the plants down and keep them together?

beetlebz

I remove the weights personally. Once or twice I have kept the weights on for a few weeks to get things growing, but I dont like tight clumps either. something always dies towards the middle. I break the bunches up and plant them an inch or two away from one another, so they fill out nice a bushy :)

Byron

This may sound a bit blunt, so please accept it in the spirit intended--of helping your fish.

The BGK should not be in that tank. It is way too bright, which is why he never comes out. This is severely stressful to this fish, it is nocturnal and needs a very dark environment. In another recent thread I and some other members outlined a good habitat for this fish. This fish will not last in a brightly-lit aquarium. Aside from the eventual size issue. If you intend to get rid of it I suggest you do it now, for its own sake. Then you can continue building your aquascape.

The other serious issue are the clown loaches and the Red Tailed Shark. I would get rid of one or the other. The info in the profile of the Red Tailed Shark explains why, so I won't go into that.

Loaches are highly social and absolutely must have a group, at least five. Given the eventual size of Clown Loach, this means a 6-foot tank minimum. I didn't see them in the video, which is not surprising, as being alone is highly stressful to all loaches. They may also be stressed by having the shark in the same tank; pheromones still cause stress even if there is no actual physical contact of aggression. Also, they need dimmer light.

Byron.