antbfc

Hi,

i have a 130 litre aquarium which has recently had some new fish added to it. 3 harlequins after i had them in with my betta in his 28 litre. After he had killed two overnight i moved them in. And now a friend of mine went to uni left his mum to take care of the fish which she neglected i saved the remaining fish and she threw the tank away. Nice ay :-/

My fish in there now are

9 platys
4 guppys
1 butterfly plec
1 bristlenose plec (still very small)
1 adf
3 harlequins

Amanda

I'd say you're pretty stocked right now, but it's manageable.

peacemaker92

I agree with Amanda. Just to be on the safe side always, make sure to keep up with your water changes and check your water parameters daily. Hope everything goes smooth with the new fish Best of luck!

Jaysee

I think you're fine, so long as you have a plan for the fry.

The butterfly pleco is actually a hillstream loach, if I'm not mistaken, and is a cold water fish that needs a strong current. They also need a lot of algae to eat, so you might want to look into cultivating your own. One thing you can do is get a bunch of rocks, put them in a glass container of water and leave them in the sun. This way, you can have a steady supply of algae covered rocks to swap in and out.

antbfc

ok excellent :-) so glad. The main reason i've thought it is because my tank gravel gets very dirty within 3 days of a water change. Is it possible to keep a spotless tank? Just thats what has been worrying me... maybe i'm overfeeding but i do stick to the 1-2 mins rule. I also have algae growing on rocks etc which i've heard is weird because i have a butterfly plec and a bristlenose. So i havent been dropping them their algae wafers because there is still algae in the tank

Amanda

Not all plecos eat algae, and the hillstream loach won't, I think.
Fish are always pooping, so I've never been able to keep a tank entirely spotless. If you have a lot of algae, check your nitrate levels.

Jaysee

Hillstream loaches come from mountain streams in China and Vietnam. They require very clean, fast flowing waters with high oxygen content to survive longterm. Their diet mainly consists of algae and other small organisms which grow on the submerged rocks. Specialized tanks are recommended for these fish because of their high flow and pristine water requirements. They also do not do well in temperatures above 75 degrees, or less depending on the species. They do best in groups of 3 or more. Plants, although not usually found in their native habitat, are recommended to aid in maintaining water quality.

Antbfc - If you are having trouble keeping the water clean you are most definitly overfeeding. The extra nitrates are fueling the algae growth. Can you find any areas that look like it's been worked over by a pleco?

How many times a day are you feeding?

Amanda

Ah well, that's why I said "I think"

antbfc

feeding once a day but i do try and keep it so they eat all in 2 mins. i think it can all go a bit wrong when i buy bags of live foods. Its bad you arent told enough information about hillstream loaches before you buy them. I'm going to set up a feeding schedule and get back to you. that ok?

peacemaker92

There's also a rule about feeding, that you should know fishes' stomachs are the size of their eye, so not to overfeed. Just remember that so you won't overfeed Good luck!

Butterfly

yep but most fish will keep eating even after they've had all they need. This causes them to produce more waste along with any food that may hit the bottom of the tank.
Jaysee is right on the money about the hillstream loaches although they won't eat alot of algae like a pleco does. Mostly what their eating is the critters growing in the algae.
Here's some great information on them, a tank suggestion and even pic of where they come from http://www.loaches.com/articles/hill...-the-fast-lane
Other than that as the others said with vigilance and water changes your tank will be fine Hope that helps
Carol

antbfc

excellent advise everyone thanks :-) as a rough guide is one flake enough to feed a single fish? my fish are guppies and platys so you cn judge the size they are full grown. should help me make sure they are getting enough


looked at that link my plec doesnt look anything like those loaches? any chance it could be a genuine butterfly plec?

Shawnie

is the algae brown? it could just be diatoms(new tank algae that will go away in time)...it doesnt sound like you have been overfeeding so I was curious what color the "dirt" or algae is...

antbfc

yea i thought it may be them but it has been about 3 weeks now. surely would have cleared up? i don't get them in my other smaller tank and thats newer

Shawnie

it can go on and off for up to a year with the diatoms ...and not every tank will get it ...can you get us a pic?

antbfc

o really i didnt know that!

afraid my cameras broken :-/

my lights are on for 10 hours a day, that sound about right?
also here is my new feeding schedule that i will use -

mon frozen bloodworm
tues freeze dried daphnia
wednesday tetra flakes
thursday frozen daphnia (and other various insects)
friday freeze dried bloodworms
saturday peas de-shelled
sunday off

what do you think? should all of these be judged in the 1-2 min feeding rule?

Shawnie

I keep my lights on anywhere from 8-10 hours..I think thats each a members own decisions....your feeding sounds great....again, if its diatoms, theres not much to do about it with the newer tanks..its an eye sore to some (I think it looks more natural as a perfectly spotless tank to me, isnt natural ) but it wont hurt anything

antbfc

ok thanks. was worried about bloat with the fish because of all the protein but glad i had it checked :-)

antbfc

sorry i never fully explained the outcome of this... my problem was i added new fish to that list that are already in the tank. i added 3 ottos and a school of 6 neon tetras :-s but due to the previous replys i've clocked that i may be overstocked. there just isnt anywhere else for them to go. i gave away what else i could from that tank and these were left. but over the course of the last few days there hasnt been a build up of faeces or murky water. what do you think? i do have another tank a 28 litre with a betta in it, it was too aggressive to keep with fish as it killed my harlequins :-( but do you think i could move my butterfly plec into that tank? he is 3 and a half / 4 inches long surely the betta would leave well alone?

josh11551

it sounds like it is good stocking wise i have 2 sunburst platies what type are yours?

josh11551

and it probably leav it alone just kepa good eye onit and watch them carefully... if u start seeing signs of harassment take the pleco out asap

gunner13

looked at that link my plec doesnt look anything like those loaches? any chance it could be a genuine butterfly plec?[/quote]

You probably do have a genuine butterfly plec, I had 1 about 2 years ago and they are quite flat with yellowy lines running across it's body with almost feather like fins. Likes to change colour too. Also commonly confused with the L052 plec. Nick

antbfc

gunner 13 yes that it exactly him :-)

josh - are you saying the tank is ok at the mo or only if i do take the plec out?

or anyone else got any suggestions/ideas

gunner13

The Pleco is fine in there. They dnt get too big, they max out at 5 inches and r not aggro at all, just keep an eye on your nitrate levels, shld b fine.
Nick

antbfc

right ok thanks, with that list of fish is there any more room or am i full now? because they said it was full before but since this another 8 fish are in there but it is still ok so just wanted to check

gunner13

I know ppl have different ideas on stocking of tanks and it is all about the life quality of the animals you keep, just remember to make sure the water quality is the best it can ever b at all times and you cant go wrong. JUST DNT ADD ANY MORE FOR NOW. All best m8.
Nick

Sorry how many fish have you got, and did you say it was only a 130 litre

antbfc

ok cheers mate