[badboyscad]

@wanderer4x4: Nice to see such a crystal clear planted setup. Please share more pics and details about the filtration systems in place.

[wanderer4x4]

Originally Posted by vij

Wow, simple superb @wander4x4 . Looks exotic! How much would these fishes cost approx?

Prices vary wildly depending upon the season, location, supplier etc. Biggest cost for certain uncommon ones are the transportation cost which makes the overall cost very high, particularly for my neck of the woods. Ofcourse, most of the above fishes are priced much much higher than the regular gold fishes, mollies and guppies everywhere you buy.

Btw, a lot of the "exotics" are endemic to India and more particularly to the North East. About 50% genus of tropical fishes are native to the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. Unfortunately, due to lack of awareness and conservation from govt most of these are extinct in their natural habitat. And now we celebrate these in our tanks after getting these imported from sellers based out of Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Not many people know that the genus Danionella which is considered "the" or one of the smallest fishes in the world are species from the streams and rivers of the Brahmaputra river system where it is possibly extinct now or almost on the verge of extinction. Sorry for the rant though.

Originally Posted by badboyscad

@wanderer4x4: Nice to see such a crystal clear planted setup. Please share more pics and details about the filtration systems in place.

Thanks @badboyscad. All the tanks run different filtration. The larger ones run external canister and hob in tandem while the smaller ones run primarily on hob with the flow speed regulated to run at about 50%.
To be honest, the filtration is nothing out of the ordinary, all are with the regular filter media such as sponge and ceramic rings and some regular wood or bamboo charcoal. Only that I do keep an eye out for any imbalance or any abnormality. Water change is about 30% every alternate week, sometimes in 3 weeks.

[Nonstop-driver]

So glad I found this thread.

We recently got a small fish tank with 7 mix breed soft fishes. We kind of rushed into fishkeeping without realizing the knowledge and maintenance it takes but 2 dead fish later, we are improving. It's been 2 weeks now and things are stabilizing. I've installed a heater and learnt to condition the water and replace 25-30% on weekly basis. Things are looking up

The reason I was looking for this thread is - we have a scheduled power outage from 6am to 11am this Sunday. I'll take the opportunity to replace the water again but the fish tank pump won't be operable during the outage. Should I be worried? As I said, we have 6 small fishes in a 10 gallon tank.

For reference: It is pretty much the same as this tank (My Fishkeeping hobby)

[deathwalkr]

Welcome to the hobby.

Please list out the fishes you have and depending on the bio load, you should be safe for the 5hr outage.

Worst case scenario, just get a battery operated air pump for a few hundred buck as backup.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

The reason I was looking for this thread is - we have a scheduled power outage from 6am to 11am this Sunday. I'll take the opportunity to replace the water again but the fish tank pump won't be operable during the outage. Should I be worried? As I said, we have 6 small fishes in a 10 gallon tank.

For reference: It is pretty much the same as this tank (My Fishkeeping hobby)

That should be fine but I am not sure why you're using a heater at this point of time considering its summer in most places. I suggest you leave the water to remain on the cooler side since higher the temperature the O2 saturation comes down. Since you are preparing for the power outage, leave the heater off from now and let the filter aerate the water properly. That should be no trouble for a five hour power cut.

[V.Narayan]

Gentlemen, Any solution for puffy eyes. I have two chichlids infected. I cant empty out the tank as it is too big (1000 ltr +) and has 20 fish. Any advice will be gratefully received.

[deathwalkr]

Tetracyclene used to be me goto medicine for puffy eyes. Change water, add med. Remove carbon if any. Good aeration.

Easier if you could do it in a doctor tank.

[Nonstop-driver]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Welcome to the hobby.

Please list out the fishes you have and depending on the bio load, you should be safe for the 5hr outage.

Worst case scenario, just get a battery operated air pump for a few hundred buck as backup.

Thank you. I am actually ashamed to admit this but I don't know the fishes I've :(
I think there's a Koi carp, a black widow tetra, Mollies, and a Cichlid?

I've shot a short video if it helps.

My fish tank

I woke up about 2 hours after the power outage and saw 2-3 fishes swimming near the surface. So I lowered the water level and replaced it with fresh water I had conditioned since the previous day. The rest of the 4 hours went fine

Thanks for suggesting the backup pump, I'll get one today.

Originally Posted by audioholic

That should be fine but I am not sure why you're using a heater at this point of time considering its summer in most places. I suggest you leave the water to remain on the cooler side since higher the temperature the O2 saturation comes down. Since you are preparing for the power outage, leave the heater off from now and let the filter aerate the water properly. That should be no trouble for a five hour power cut.

Thank you, I followed this. I live in Noida and my tank is in the dining hall which doesn't see any direct sunlight. When my first fish died within a day, the local store told me its because the water's too cold and recommended a heater to keep the water between 24-26C which is what I've been maintaining. With the winter chill now reducing significantly, I'll lower the heater settings a bit.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

Thank you. I am actually ashamed to admit this but I don't know the fishes I've :(
I've shot a short video if it helps.

Ah the typical starter pack suggested by the LFS :(

The black shark grows upwards of 2ft and has no business in the home aquarium.

Carps are the same.

Tin foil barb are also best kept in 6ft+ tanks or ponds.

The black widow tetra and gourami are ok in your tank

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Ah the typical starter pack suggested by the LFS :(

The black shark grows upwards of 2ft and has no business in the home aquarium.

True that. These LFS guys are hardly sincere in advise.
BTW, how resistant are these black sharks? I have an open well in my village(around 30ft each side and pretty deep with good water) and I have currently introduced guppies, followed by Mollies which have settled well, with good increase in numbers. The basic intention was to control algae and mosquito breeding. I was thinking of upping the game a bit by introducing carps and now shark seems to be a nice add. But I am worried if they will survive in such conditions. The water is sweet and there are no local fish here. I had earlier put a few plecos and algae eaters as well which have held up over the last few years. The plecos had grown upto a foot and a half the last time we caught them. But no sign of reproduction.

Is it a good idea to introduce sharks or should I stick to carp?

[deathwalkr]

They are pretty hardy fishes and would appreciate the space. But carps you would see thanks to their colour whereas these fellows might be as good as invisible.

[Nonstop-driver]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Ah the typical starter pack suggested by the LFS :(

The black shark grows upwards of 2ft and has no business in the home aquarium.

Carps are the same.

Tin foil barb are also best kept in 6ft+ tanks or ponds.

The black widow tetra and gourami are ok in your tank

The mistake's mine because I jumped into fishkeeping without reading about it But I hope to get better at this now!

The first black shark died within 2 days although I didn't understand why. LFS said it's because the water is too cold for them to survive. He replaced it with another black shark and this one is hyper active. Keeps gushing from one corner to another. Your comment makes sense because it might be finding the tank too small :(

Should I ask my LFS to take back the Shark, Carps and Barbs and replace them with tetras? Or should I replace them all with something that will find this tank and environment more enjoyable? I'm okay with fewer fishes as long as they thrive happily

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

The mistake's mine because I jumped into fishkeeping without reading about it But I hope to get better at this now!

The first black shark died within 2 days although I didn't understand why. LFS said it's because the water is too cold for them to survive. He replaced it with another black shark and this one is hyper active. Keeps gushing from one corner to another. Your comment makes sense because it might be finding the tank too small :(

Should I ask my LFS to take back the Shark, Carps and Barbs and replace them with tetras? Or should I replace them all with something that will find this tank and environment more enjoyable? I'm okay with fewer fishes as long as they thrive happily

You have to remember that for the LFS it is just a business without any requirement of providing warranty.

Fish died next day? Oh maybe water was bad, maybe water was cold, what to do...Buy heater buy chlorine remover etc etc.

For your tank, small species of tetras are ok or dwarf gouramis.

[Nonstop-driver]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

You have to remember that for the LFS it is just a business without any requirement of providing warranty.

Fish died next day? Oh maybe water was bad, maybe water was cold, what to do...Buy heater buy chlorine remover etc etc.

For your tank, small species of tetras are ok or dwarf gouramis.

True, and thank you once again, this is extremely helpful.

One last question, whenever the time comes to replace them, should I just get a bunch of same species instead of mix-community? Like 3-4 Guppies or Cichlids or 1-2 Bettas?

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

True, and thank you once again, this is extremely helpful.

One last question, whenever the time comes to replace them, should I just get a bunch of same species instead of mix-community? Like 3-4 Guppies or Cichlids or 1-2 Bettas?

Would avoid different species for now till you get the hang of things.

Yours is a one footer right? or was it 2ft?

Black widow tetras are a good starter fish as they are pretty hardy.

If you want to go the betta way, then get only one male. bettas are best kept alone or with bottom dwellers.

Guppies are always a good choice and these days there are pretty fancy and expensive ones available.