Fish Tange Stage 3 Fish life
Okay, so yesterday I went to fish store to test my water I wanted to get a cheap fish that I wouldn't be to terrible upset if it died, although it would still bother me, but the test is necessary.
You don't want to get a 25-50 dollar fish at first to notice the next day it's swimming upside down at bottom of tank. Because your fish should not be swimming up side down. He is dead if that is happening.
I also bought a new light ... 10,000k UV and a separate white light. I need this for my upcoming plants to survive. I talked to Adam yesterday on phone, and he said he doesn't think plants are a good idea because they die and get all over the tank. I said that's awful at first, but now that I'm thinking about it why where his plants dieing? Why would anyone buy plants if all they did was die and get all over tank? I think he didn't take care of his. He must not have the right lighting. Well also he said he was starting up a fresh water. Maybe a year from now we will see a post from him.
ADAM TANKS ARE DEFINITELY BLOGABLE.
Here is pictures of the tank: I
I circled the fish in red
..
I don't know enough about fresh water plants, but I am noticing my plant has many transparent leaves. I am guessing this is not healthy. I'm done buying stuff for the tank this mo. I want to see if everything can last a mo. Also out of money. But I am going to fish store today or tom. to test my water to and ask if my plant is in trouble.
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You are a very good writer steven, really well told. I too would not be happy if a $50 fish was "swimming" upside down.
And - i agree with your assessment of Adam and his plant caring ability. Adam has no skills for keeping things alive, I can't believe he's still breathing to be honest.
I'm glad you circled the fish .. otherwise I would have been like "nice tank, kinda lame with no fish though"
All this fish talk has me wanting a tank for myself. The next day I have free I'm going to get a tank as well. I need one for my office!
Brian: Yes, make sure you ask all your questions to the fish store... like is this fish aggressive.. does this fish eat plants... what lighting do I need... how much food should I feed them.. can I feed them live food... as a treat.. there is live food that comes in squares like 5 cm by 5cm and it has live food like shrimp and other things, but it should feed about 15 - 20 fish as a whole... and if you drop one in with only a few fish everything will die because your nitrite will go up. Basically my point is ask a lot of questions that come to your mind. All fish don't get a long with all other too.
Steven - I like seeing the different steps as you get your fish tank going. Cool circle around the fish, too.
I had a beta-fish, that one of my sister's friend's brother knocked over the tank. The fish was flopping on the ground. I picked him up off the floor (the fish not the brother) and he tried to squirm out my hand. I picked up the water with a spoon and I plopped the fish back in the tank. For a long time he wouldn't swim. Dad thought his back might be broken. But then one day, he just started swimming again. He was a great fish who I had for a long time.
Sorry for the lack of response since I last posted, been a busy week - it looks like you have been busy too Steven.
Everyone is doing very good on their aquarium development homework. African cichlids and plants may not be the best blend - the thing that I think would be most annoying is that, yes, African cichlids do like to do some housekeeping of their own with an aquarium (i.e. they will move rocks around and other decor/plants if necessary).
A lot of the time, in my opinion, was that the African cichlids focus was more on moving rocks but when they move the rocks around they can uproot the plants (maybe on purpose, maybe not). They are territorial (hence, my "personality" reference) and there is an element of a leader of the pack feel in the aquariums. In the past, I would rate these as medium fish to keep healthy (they are pretty hearty) and when I had them I did enjoy the wide range of colors that they brought to the tank and their aggressive personality. African cichlids with other African cichlids is probably best because other fish (including other cichlids - which most are usually considered to be in the aggressive category) may get their fins nipped up.
If you want to focus on the plants the best fish to pair may be molly's, swordtails, platy's, many types of catfish, and gourami's. They are usually pretty calm fish and should leave them alone for the most part.
Taking one step at a time is a wise move Steven - letting the tank settle for a bit should serve you well and give you more time to think and research what direction you would like to go. I haven't really been on aquarium websites but the aquarium books by Dr. Herbert Axelrod were always very helpful for me.
I jumped straight to post 3 for commenting - but love seeing your development stages. Tank looks good so far. I'd say after the month of letting things settle, you may want to invest in some sort of algae sucker fish. They are pretty resilient and will help keep the tank clean and manageable.
Seeing this makes me miss having a tank. I was always a fan of the cheap small fish that would swim as a group around the tank.