It all started when the 2 beta i bought for my daughter promptly died in their 1/2 gal tank within 10 days of purchase. This was couple of months ago and i started a vigorous aquarium research and have spent countless hours on the net reading various details about both freshwater and marine.
Now, i possibly can call myself an expert (but in theory). So, i have put together the best possible test kits, a 20 gal tank, a canister filter and various media, a seperate 20 gal quarentine tank with completely seperate duplicate items. Now i am ready for the final setup. After reading a whole bunch about planted tanks, i decided against it because i want my kid to have a easy to maintain first experience. The two biggest nuisances in freshwater tanks are algae and snail population explosion, in my opinion. To counter and prevent an algae outbreak, i have decided to employ a phosphate reactor. Now, i need to prevent and counter the snail outbreak. I know the chance of snails in unplanted tanks is not much. But, i have heard that snails do show up (i dont know from where) even in new tanks that dont have real plants. I would love to hear from people who have had this experience.
To prevent snails, i am thinking of including a loach in the new tank. Dwarf loaches would be the only choice i feel, since the tank is small. So, i am thinking of starting up the tank with about 4 male guppies (no females, to prevent guppy population explosion). The bottom dwellers would be 4 dwarf loaches. In my research i have not found any loach thats smaller than the dwarf loach. After a few months, i can add couple of more fish, if tank is stable and without problems. I would like comments from people who consider themselves freshwater experts or professionals. (I mean people who have run tanks for atleast 10 years).
By the way, my plants are going to be silk plants from local craft store. I will make sure that there is no or minimal iron bending parts in these plants. My filter media is going to be sintered glass, some carbon, phosphate controls, and final layer of poly-filter to absorb the iron that might wind up in water column. I considered purigen, but poly-filter is better, as purigen leaches Na+ ions. As far as i have read, poly-filter does not release anything in return for the things it absorbs.
I think the 4 fancy male guppies, and 4 dwarf loaches will coexist fine. I only wish i could find a snail eater that looks more pretty than the dwarf loach and which would put up a display for my kid. If i was not thinking of snail prevention, i would not include the loaches as a selection for my tank.
I considered zebra loach, but they dont come out as much as the dwarfs, even though the zebra looks more pretty.
Comments welcome - S.
Now, i possibly can call myself an expert (but in theory). So, i have put together the best possible test kits, a 20 gal tank, a canister filter and various media, a seperate 20 gal quarentine tank with completely seperate duplicate items. Now i am ready for the final setup. After reading a whole bunch about planted tanks, i decided against it because i want my kid to have a easy to maintain first experience. The two biggest nuisances in freshwater tanks are algae and snail population explosion, in my opinion. To counter and prevent an algae outbreak, i have decided to employ a phosphate reactor. Now, i need to prevent and counter the snail outbreak. I know the chance of snails in unplanted tanks is not much. But, i have heard that snails do show up (i dont know from where) even in new tanks that dont have real plants. I would love to hear from people who have had this experience.
To prevent snails, i am thinking of including a loach in the new tank. Dwarf loaches would be the only choice i feel, since the tank is small. So, i am thinking of starting up the tank with about 4 male guppies (no females, to prevent guppy population explosion). The bottom dwellers would be 4 dwarf loaches. In my research i have not found any loach thats smaller than the dwarf loach. After a few months, i can add couple of more fish, if tank is stable and without problems. I would like comments from people who consider themselves freshwater experts or professionals. (I mean people who have run tanks for atleast 10 years).
By the way, my plants are going to be silk plants from local craft store. I will make sure that there is no or minimal iron bending parts in these plants. My filter media is going to be sintered glass, some carbon, phosphate controls, and final layer of poly-filter to absorb the iron that might wind up in water column. I considered purigen, but poly-filter is better, as purigen leaches Na+ ions. As far as i have read, poly-filter does not release anything in return for the things it absorbs.
I think the 4 fancy male guppies, and 4 dwarf loaches will coexist fine. I only wish i could find a snail eater that looks more pretty than the dwarf loach and which would put up a display for my kid. If i was not thinking of snail prevention, i would not include the loaches as a selection for my tank.
I considered zebra loach, but they dont come out as much as the dwarfs, even though the zebra looks more pretty.
Comments welcome - S.
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i may not know all the fishes, but in general have a pretty good idea about freshwater systems. I considered the dwarf puffers, and they do look pretty, but ruled them out as they are aggressive.
