ABCDemily

This is basically the documentation of the setting up, figuring out, and filling with fishies.
Today-24th June 2009.

Piccy one: Washing the gravel with a pressure hose, and my boyfriend


Piccy two: My dog William want's to help with the leak check!


Piccy three: No water in yet, but moving into place soon!


I'll update as we move along

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JESS01

I should have tried doing that, i like that idea.

aquarist48

Good pictures ABC Can't wait to see it up and running.

ABCDemily

Ages ago, I think we spoke of reverse undergravel filters.
Well here we have one fine specimin!

It sucks through the power head and blasts the water down the tube, through a plastic sheet and back up through the gravel

I do have a Hagen Stingray on the way, which I'll wire in.

The aquascape is nowhere near completion. I've still got more silk plants to put it and built up stuff around the plastic tube.

I'm adding four black neons with TSS. After this, I'll be adding a single Bolivian and my single female guppy.

Note: It's not as shallow depth wise as the photo makes it

The one on the left has a very green theme and needs a big prune

My room's blue as well, so the background o the new one fits nicely.

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bolivianbaby

Beautiful! It's coming along quite well.

ABCDemily

Thanks a lot! The water was a little cloudy, but appears to have settled now

ABCDemily

Today we added six pristella tetras along with the TSS. We originally went for five black neons, and when we got into the car they were covered in cysts or parasites. So went back and the shop gave us six pristella tetras instead. They are loving their new home, and keep trying to eat the gravel in the intake tube

bolivianbaby

Pristellas are beautiful. They're great schoolers, too. Sorry you weren't able to have the black neons, but I hope you're happy with the pristellas

ABCDemily

Everyone's happy as can be! The TSS has worked, everyone's super happy and swimming around, shoaling and eating well. I'm thinking of either adding a single or two rams. May be pushing on sizing limits, but I do have double filtration. Because the Bolivians have been living in the LPS for about three months, they're all paired up

bolivianbaby

Yay! Can't wait for the pics!

ABCDemily

They are now living in a fully cycled tank, TSS'd
Their lovely tails are all red again, they faded for a while lol

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ABCDemily

The Bolivian Ram will be making his way in soon, it's got to be within the next two weeks as the French family will be here soon! My only female guppy is living in here as well now, I do have a female juvie who'll be added (She's half Endler, so she's teeny tiny!)

bolivianbaby

I really like how your tank looks. Great work. I know you'll really enjoy your bolivian ram. Our have so much personality, we named them.

ABCDemily

We've already named mine, he's still in the shop though! He is called Cassini, after the probe that went to Titan (one of Saturns moons) to scan for land and life sustainable resources.

I like the name, even though it's a little girly. I'm still deciding whether a yellow/gold or a normal ram is cooler LOL!

bolivianbaby

Can't wait for the pics!

harpua2002

Nice start Emily, and good pick on the pristellas. I used to keep the gold variety, and they are some of the hardiest tetras around!

As far as GBR/gold ram (same species) vs. Bolivian ram, it's really up to you. Either would do well with the pristellas, the GBR/GGR are more colorful, and the Bolivians are much more hardy. Some may disagree, but I think Bolivians have more personality.

ABCDemily

I love the pristellas, they're so active and every time I go near the tank (It's on my desk, so quite a lot) they're always zooming around looking for food. I love the gold varieties, and I was originally going for black neons. But when I got to the LFS they appeared to have gas bubble disease. The pristellas looked super happy and zooming about, and they gave me six for the price of three because I pointed out the neons!

I think I'll go with the normal Bolivian, I guessed that the gold's would be less hardy. Thanks a lot for the input

ABCDemily

I picked up the Ram today, he's teeny tiny! (I picked him out because he was the smallest and I wanted to watch him grow, and I didn't think anyone else would want him LOL!)
His name is Tarabuco, which is a place in Bolivia

bolivianbaby

Great name! These guys are fun to watch grow up! Every week, it seems like they show new color.

Can't wait to see the pics-nudge, nudge

ABCDemily

I'll have photos up mega soon, when I get home. He's so small, the pristellas are bigger than him! I'm worred about him not feeding as they are sneeky and super fast, they snatched all the food whilst he hid in the corner Any ideas on feeding the little guy?

bolivianbaby

I feed floating food to my rainbows and platys and kinda "throw" the cichlid food so it sinks. Mine has learned to watch me to know where it's going to fall. He'll also munch on the algae wafers that I feed my cories. Since he's so small, whatever you feed him, make sure it's crunched up.

He'll learn your feeding methods and where to go so he gets food. Just "throw" his food into the corner so it falls and he'll eat.

Keep us posted on his progress! After he gets used to you, his personality will really come out! I think you'll be pleased with him.

harpua2002

You may not get him to eat today, since he'll still be stressed from the move. It's not a big deal. Most fish IME take several days, or sometimes more, to settle down and start eating. Once he figures out you're throwing food in there, he'll eat voraciously I'm sure.

ABCDemily

Well when I fed the tank before I went out, eeryone snjapped up their food, he seemed a little apprehensive, and then once it'd all gone realised that there was actually food there and started rooting round for some. He's an awsome little boy, he's yellow right npw, with black sripes, and the black spot in his middle, with the flash on my camera it shows up his blue back end. He's just so little lol!

And thanks for the tips on how to feed him. I think 'll feed flakes to the Pristellas and Guppy, and use some Micro Pellets that sink fast near him. Hopefully it'll click that they are food!

ABCDemily

Meet Tarabuco! He's really coloured up since yesterday, and he's feeding well and zooming all over the tank, he's also schooling with the pristellas!

The first picture is the one from today, the second is from when I got him home His favourite corner is where some rocks and shells make a little hidy place, as well as near the other front corner.

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bolivianbaby

He's beautiful! He looks almost like a gold ram. Congratulations!

Please keep us updated with pictures and as his personality comes out more and more

harpua2002

Oh, lol... I thought you meant you were getting a Bolivian ram! Nice GBR you've got there.

ABCDemily

:O! I thought I had a Bolivian Ram! He cam from the Bolvian Ram tank! Oh dear. There was only one Ram tank, and they were all labled Bolivians! I'll inform them that they have two different kinds in there.

Is there anything else I need to know additional to the Bolivian info? Apart from the fact that they are notoriously hard to look after He does seem very happy right now though.

Thanks for the heads up lol!

harpua2002

GBRs prefer higher temps than Bolivians. 80-83F is good for them. Not much else to note, really; the care requirements are the same. You'll keep up on water changes so I don't have to advise there.

On a side note, I don't think quality GBR stock is hard to care for. The problem is finding quality stock to begin with. You mentioned yours is very small, and I can see from the pic that it isn't nearly as colorful as an adult GBR. This is a good sign IMO. Poor quality stock often appears colorful as juveniles because of the use of color-enhancing hormones, which as I understand it weaken the fish and shorten its lifespan.

ABCDemily

He's only an inch big right now bless him! Generally, as it's a chain pet shop, they have to have high quality stock otherwise nobody'll shop there really, and all the fish I've ever gotten from there have lived out their full potential.
I'm glad his colour looks good. I mainly bought him so small so I could watch him grow up, so it's nice to know he hasn't been messed around with (hopefully)

Thanks for pointing out my rather bad faux pas! I'll probably up my w/c's in that tank as it is, as witht he four juvie guppies it's a wee bit over the limit, but they're off to a friend of my boyfriends family on the 10th of August!

ABCDemily

Here he is again

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