[GCNZ]

Hey guys, I recently joined just a few weeks ago as I had some questions that I wanted answers to (thanks to those who helped out) but I haven't really introduced myself to the forum so here goes.

I'm from New Zealand and I've kept a couple of goldfish for just over 2 years now but 6 months ago I started up a 15g warm water planted tank and it didn't take me long to want a bigger tank so about 4 weeks ago I started up a 35g long tank which is going well so far, housing 2 BN, 8 neon tetras & 6 Kubotai loaches. Planted with some water sprite, a couple of anubias and a half a dozen twisted vals.

I plan on gradually making the tank heavily planted as thats the look I like and I went for a walk today and found a neat piece of driftwood to replace the stuff on the left of the tank.

Heres a pic although some of you have already seen it... Any suggestions on anything really to make the tank look better fish/plants etc would be appreciated, I'm new to the hobby so I welcome your ideas and knowledge.
Hopefully i'll be a regular on these forums and I'll keep you updated on my progress

 

[surish333]

what type of fish r u goin for? aggressive or community type? angelfish could go well in there, maybe some rainbow fish might b a lil small of a tank for that tho. I love my tire track eel n bichir and dwarf pike but that tanks small for them. either for the long haul or just all around too small for them. discus fish look very nice in heavy planted tank also but again need more room. Have u thought of guppies? Mollies, Platys?

 

[GCNZ]

I did think about rainbows but yeah tank size could be an issue for quite a few of the fish... I think I will plan on getting the tank fully planted how I like it and then think about adding a centerpiece fish. I had a problem with aggression from my female BN (the original reason I came to this forum for answers) but moving them to the larger tank with more fish seems to be fixing this, I'm looking for a community that gets along well.

Here is one of the pieces of driftwood I found today...

 

[TitanTDH]

Welcome

Well the drift wood looks amazing, and IMO I think it would make a great centre piece with some rocks around it amongst the roots with plants growing out. Like an Island in the centre of your tank

My two cents

Cheers

 

[GCNZ]

I am hopefully going to use that piece on the left side of the tank and have the other large piece on the right of the tank, I want to keep the other piece in my tank because a- it gives more hiding space to help with the BN teritory & aggression and the loaches also like hiding places.
I can see myself getting a bigger tank already and i've barely had this one long!

 

[GCNZ]

Well i've put the new piece of driftwood into the tank, also bought maybe 20 or more java fern plants off trademe (New Zealand version of Ebay) which I will hopefully start planting on pieces of driftwood tomorrow. I think the new driftwood looks freekin' awesome in the tank BUT it doesn't really match with the other driftwood, different shapes/colours blah blah and I wanted to cut it to fit better but it's far too cool to cut and will be used in the future in a larger tank so it can just stay as is for now
Pictures do not do any justice... looks alot better in real life

 

[Flint]

After the removal of the new driftwood, I would move the other one back where you had it. It's a stunning piece. Mollies, Platies, Flagfish, Dwarf Gouarmi and Paradise fish are some reccomemdations for stocking. Personally, I would stock -

1 paradise fish
8 neon teras
8 harlequin rasbora
5 MALE black mollies
6 kubotai loaches
2 bn plecos

That's just me and what comes to mind, however.

 

[GCNZ]

I think i'm going to leave the driftwood in there, how it is in that latest pic. It looks better in real life but I think it fills in an empty space on the left hand side.
Thanks for the fish recommendations, most of them I havent seen before so it's good to have some names to google pics for.
When I was buying my loaches a fish that caught my eye were a pair of cobalt blue gourami, although I'm not sure whether these were the dwarf variety or not...
Are they ok on their own or better off as a pair?

 

[Flint]

You could do the gourami in place of the paradise fish but just one. I think it was the larger versioin vs a dwarf but as long as you just keep one there will be no issues.

 

[tankman12]

Definitely dont get a pardise fish. They are cold water fish and will kill the neons fast. The blue colbalt i think are dwarfs, how big are they? But you never want to do just a pair. Cuz the male will harass that one female a lot. Also do 1 male to every 2 or 3 females. Or were you talking about to males? Ya those to driftwoods look great! I would stock the tank like this,
15-25 neons (up the school)
6 loaches
2 bn plecos
And one male colbalt gourami or 1m and 2f (if they are dwarfs)

 

[GCNZ]

They were small, at a guess an inch and a half maybe 2"? Ok so a pair would not be good, what about 2 of the same sex, either males of females?

 

[tankman12]

The males are nicer and the females are dull. You could do a nice group like i said before, that would be cool. But 2 females will definitely work. To male, sometimes work but sometimes one male will own the other male and be aggressive to it, i wouldnt do it. Do they have females?
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[Flint]

Paradise fish are definately not cold water. They like 75-78*F which is considered tropical. They can be considered temperate as well because cooler water is a possibility as well but they aren't any more likely to eat neons than a gourami. I wouldn't do two dwarf gourami in a 35. In order for multiple to be kept, a proper group has to be formed. You need a larger tank for this. I also want to note that females are silver and not the blue you saw. The larger gourami are sold that small as well so I advise you to correctly ID them before you purchase them.
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[tankman12]

Gcnz can you find a pic of them on the internet and post it? That way we can know what it actually is.
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[Olympia]

If you want the gourami I think that's what you should get. From the name I do think they are dwarf gouramis, I would get just one. It's really hard to find females in the trade, they are likely all males. My dad just bought 4 dwarf gouramis and in 3 months we have only 1 left after the fighting... I don't know how some people make them work, but our last two stayed in separate corners of a densely planted tank until one died, presumably of stress. A lone dwarf gourami would make a nice centerpiece fish.

What do you currently have in your tank?

Paradise fish are pretty iffy. They are one of the hardiest tropicals available, and were the first tropical fish ever kept in aquaria! (fun history lesson time woop).

As for temperature Seriously Fish has this to say:

Is usually quoted as tolerating temperatures between 61 – 80°F/16 – 27°C but is known to survive even beyond these values, meaning it can be kept in an unheated tank in most cases. It's worth noting that it seems to exhibit the best colouration at around 70 – 75°F/21 -24°C.

Likewise they go on to say Paradise fish should be kept in species only tanks... I love them, being the first fish I ever kept, but they are just too unpredictable in communities.

 

[GCNZ]

I agree Flint, it would be necessary to ID them correctly first, theres no point finding a pic on the net of what I think they look like as it might be different to the ones they are selling, also yes the small size might just mean a young normal sized gourami, most of the fish they sell do seem to be younger fish.
I'm going to start planting all my java fern in the tank today, also some more anubias, hopefully get it looking nice and green

 

[tankman12]

HOPEFULLY!!! It will probably look great! Nothing is better than a nice planted tank.
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[GCNZ]

Heres a pic with the java fern planted, doesn't look the greatest as it was grown just floating in a tank so the leaves are pointing all over the place, hopefully they will all be pointing up towards the light in a week or two.

I've also got some longer lights coming as you can see by the photos this lights made for a shorter tank... sorry about photo quality

 

[Flint]

OOHH! You're gonna love new lights! I was awestruck when I changed the bulbs in my 10. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes!

 

[tankman12]

The java fern looks good. Once it grows in, it will look even better. What are you going to but in the middle? I would say some nice crypts. Or are you going to leave it open, and give the tank some more depth?
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