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New aquarium, looking for recomendations! | by hyzenthlay | 2004-09-24 14:26:36 |
| What's your tap water pH? |
by zelda |
2004-09-24 14:51:36 |
If you get fish that are happy living in the water hardness, pH, and alkalinity (which in the aquarium community is something different than pH :P ) that comes out of your tap, you won't have to struggle with altering it. There are all kinds of ways to tweak pH, but they're a pain, and never work consistently-- you get spikes and troughs. There are some *very* simple test kits to check the pH (hardness and alkalinity are a tad more challenging but not rocket science) at the outset, and once you know what you've got you can work with it instead of against it.
As a rule of thumb, egg-layers (like your tetras, plus danios, barbs, etc.) like slightly acidic water. Live-bearers (guppies, mollies, swordtails, etc.) usually like slightly basic water, and also a bit brackish (low levels of added sea salt). Talk to the aquarium staff about the water preferences of any fish you think are pretty; if they say "Huh?" go elsewhere. I rather like danios; they're active swimmers, come in subtle but cool patterns like leopard, and are of a similar size and (probably) temperament to your tetras . The long-finned varieties might be a temptation to fin-nippers, but the short-finned varieties are just as much fun to watch. An algae-eater like a bristle-nose pleco could be a useful addition; they stay small enough for your tank, but can be hard to find. Sailfin plecos eat algae, but get HUGE. Otos ( also called otocinculus or Chinese or Siamese algae-eaters) are adorable little guys, but have a variable reputation-- some say they are completely peaceful, but I've also heard reports of them growing up and attacking mid-swimming fish.
Check also on the oxygen requirements of the dwarf frogs. For fish, there's a very crude equation that you get one inch of fish per gallon (standard geometry; tall-forms are much less 'cause it's really about surface area, not volume). The tetras are little guys, but two frogs could go a long way toward filling your tank; I dunno. Always better to underpopulate than over.
How long have the betta and tetras been in residence? I assume you know to build up slowly so the tank has a chance to establish its bio-filtering bacteria before a load of waste gets dumped into the system. Hope this helps. |
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[ Reply ] |
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Yep | by hyzenthlay | 2004-09-24 15:09:04 |
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