Freshwater Riverbed

[emmykenzie]

Hi Guys! So it’s finally done! I set up my 120 G tank and transferred my filter bacteria & a portion of the water from my 65 G! Set up this tank to give my Clown Loaches more room to grow!

Equipment:
Marineland 150W Precision Heater
Fluval 150W Heater
Oase Thermal 350 (adding my filter from my 65 once I add my loaches)
Fluval 6500 K (considering buying a second once the plants really take off)

Feeds/Chemicals:
Hikari; Freeze Dried Spirulina Brine Shrimp, Frozen Blood worms, Frozen Brine Shrimp
Bug Bites; Medium Size
Omega; Tetra Flakes, Shrimp Pellets
Algae Tabs
Smart Start
Flourish Excel
Melafix (for problems)

Fully planted:
Anubius
Amazon Sword
Atlantisburg Amazon Sword
Bacopa
Hornwort
Madagascar Lace
Water Sprite
Water Wisteria

Organics:
Malaysian Driftwood
Dragon Rock
Lace Rock
Slate
Crystal River Sand

Transferring:
1st) 3 Golden Barbs
2nd) Raphael Catfish
Last; 4 Clown Loaches

Future Stocking:
2 Additional Clown loaches (Pref 3”+)
1 Blue Phantom Pleco
2 Golden Barbs
Cambomba

So proud of my work as I did thorough research for this tank! Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, etc & thanks for looking! I will continue to update!
- Emily

 

[CrackerboxPalace]

looks wonderful!

i’ve never kept clown loaches but have you ever considered putting in live plants? or is that impossible with clown loaches?

 

[emmykenzie]

looks wonderful!

i’ve never kept clown loaches but have you ever considered putting in live plants? or is that impossible with clown loaches?

Hi!
This 120G tank is fully stocked with plants and I have every intention of introducing the loaches. However, I want to wait to introduce the clown loaches for 2 reasons.
1) Clown loaches are very sensitive fish and you have to be careful when transferring them.
2) I’d like to allow the root systems in the bigger tank to establish. This will make it less likely the loaches will rip the plants out as they love to dig.
In my experience, I’ve only been able to keep Java fern with loaches but I havent experimented with too many other types of plants. I’ve only been keeping loaches for about 3 years so I’m relatively new to loaches, but I have almost 10 years of experience otherwise.
I did however design the tank with the idea that the plants would be incorperated into their diet. If I have to buy new plants because they ate all of the ones I stocked it’s not the end of the world.
If you ever have any loach questions I’d be happy to help! I’ll be updating here as I go and as the loaches grow!
Best,
Emily

 

[Zach72202]

That looks really good in my opinion! It looks like in that castle the clown loaches can go to hide, which is excellent, you have sand, live plants and everything going! Excellent build. The only thing is, which I am sure you know, is that clown loaches love schools, so the more the better, it doesn't really matter size difference with them, so a 4" clown will mingle with a 2" clown, and it will bring out cooler behavior too!

I really only have one question. How do you like your Oase canister filter? I have seen the ads for them and the fact you can put your heater is there is sweet. I have never had a canister, but I've been using HOB's for a bit and might want to try a canister filter for one of my puffer tanks.

 

[emmykenzie]

That looks really good in my opinion! It looks like in that castle the clown loaches can go to hide, which is excellent, you have sand, live plants and everything going! Excellent build. The only thing is, which I am sure you know, is that clown loaches love schools, so the more the better, it doesn't really matter size difference with them, so a 4" clown will mingle with a 2" clown, and it will bring out cooler behavior too!

I really only have one question. How do you like your Oase canister filter? I have seen the ads for them and the fact you can put your heater is there is sweet. I have never had a canister, but I've been using HOB's for a bit and might want to try a canister filter for one of my puffer tanks.

HI!
Thanks much!
One of the loaches I have in my 65 gallon tank currently is much smaller than the other 3 and is the bravest of them all, it's hilarious to watch! I have read that loaches that come in a little larger tend to be more hardy. In an article which I don't have the link for unfortunately, it stated that because CL are difficult to breed in captivity, and all the CL stock is imported the larger ones tend to do better in transport. I haven't really tested that theory for myself, only because they tend to be a more expensive freshwater fish.

As for the Oase filter;
I must say I am very pleased with the outcome. The differences in a HOB & Canister are very significant and honestly I want to write off HOB filters entirely. Granted this filter is relatively new so the real test will be time. Here's a pros & cons list:
Pros:

1. Virtually Silent - Compared to the other HOB filters I have the canister makes absolutely no noise.
2. Sleek Appearance - The fact you can hide the filter under the tank is a beautiful feature. Additionally the simple piping systems along with the intake/outtake basically blend right in
3. Oase is known for filtration systems. Before getting into the aquarium filter business Oase exclusively made filtration systems and power pumps for large fountains, for that reason you can see the quality in the actual unit
4. I LOVE the bioactive filter. The model I have (Thermal 350) comes with 5 layers of sponge & on the very bottom there is a Biomedia Bag. It also comes with a prefilter that makes for much easier weekly cleaning.
5. Also, I love that the oase comes with a heater inside the unit. for the thermal 350 it comes with a 200W heater. I have the 200w set to 76 and bot my 150w set to 74 and the tank stays at a 77. I do need to buy more temperature gauges as the size of the tank is massive and I know there will be temperature changes depending on where in the tank you are.

Middle Ground:

1. I couldn't really decided where to go with the Price, so I stuck it in the middle. The unit is absolutely expensive it costs around $300 (US) depending on where you go. It's an upfront investment but you save money down the line because of how complex the filtration system actually is. Having all that media gives you plenty of opportunity to simple rinse in your discard water during a water change and reinsert. Having only had the filter for a short time, I feel as though you'd only need to change the actually sponges out MAYBE once a year.

Cons:

1. The only real drawback for me currently (again I'll need more time to really work out the kinks) is that the unit itself was not simple to assemble. I believe this goes back to Oase being an industrial supplier. The instructions are pretty confusing as its mostly pictures with very little writing. I would suggest watching a video and THOROUGHLY reading the instructions before even attempting to assemble.

Summary:
I would throw my HOB filters off a cliff if it meant I could have free canister filters for life. I will say however it was not my first choice, but I am ultimately glad I went with a canister. For my 120, most of the HOB filters I was attempting to use did not fit on the side of the aquarium because of the lip.

You mentioned that you keep puffers? My husband and I are looking to (in abt 6 months after we move the loaches and re-scape the 65 gallon) getting puffers to keep in this tank. I'd love to chat about your experience with puffers.

Best & Thanks for looking,
Emily



I’ve added my Raphael Catfish (J’zargo) & Golden Barbs to the tank. First time I’ve seen J’zargo out in about a month. The Barbs are out sampling every plant in the tank! Seems to be a happy first day!

 

[Zach72202]

Looks great! I appreciate the points you have made about the filter. I run a lot of breeding tanks, so many sponge filters, but on most of my display tanks I use HOB's, which the largest I have is a 75. I am planning on getting a large tank for my Mbu puffer in the coming year, so I will definitely be looking into getting probably two of the Oase 600's as my LFS stocks them for about 340$ each. Big price, but big fish needs a lot of filtration.

I am sure you are fish are going to be quite happy with your tank setup! I am glad to see you have a raphael cat instead of a red tailed catfish too!

 

[Dennis57]

Looks very nice, congrats

 

[emmykenzie]

Looks great! I appreciate the points you have made about the filter. I run a lot of breeding tanks, so many sponge filters, but on most of my display tanks I use HOB's, which the largest I have is a 75. I am planning on getting a large tank for my Mbu puffer in the coming year, so I will definitely be looking into getting probably two of the Oase 600's as my LFS stocks them for about 340$ each. Big price, but big fish needs a lot of filtration.

I am sure you are fish are going to be quite happy with your tank setup! I am glad to see you have a raphael cat instead of a red tailed catfish too!

It’s more than worth the upfront investment! When you upgrade lmk if you need help with the filters, as I said they aren’t easy to set up.

I absolutely love my Raphael catfish. He’s so mild mannered and cleans up the tank so nicely. I don’t have any experience with red tailed catfish. Is it ill advised to keep CL w/ red tailed catfish?

Dennis57 thank you very much!

 

[FishSupreme]

Looks great. Do you ever feed any live foods to your clown fish? Just curious.

 

[Zach72202]

I absolutely love my Raphael catfish. He’s so mild mannered and cleans up the tank so nicely. I don’t have any experience with red tailed catfish. Is it ill advised to keep CL w/ red tailed catfish?

Its not that they are ill advised with clown loaches, which in time anything is really ill advised with Red tailed cats. The thing with them is that they get 4+ feet and eat like a horse, meanwhile everybody and their brother loves to keep them because they look really cool when they are 3 inches long. I am glad to see that you have a Raphael cat as they stay much more manageable in size and price lol.

 

[emmykenzie]

FishSupreme I feed my clown loaches frozen food but have never attempted to feed live food.

Zach72202 wow I didn’t know that! I picked Raphael Catfish because they are peaceful and gorgeous to watch at night.

UPDATE 1/22/21
Today while doing my water change & examining my tank I noticed a few things; two of my barbs were guarding one side pretty heavily and the females stomach seemed to look strange/redder. I did notice some behavior the other night that I would qualify as “mating behavior” but I haven’t had much experience with breeding of barbs.

After a thorough examination of my plants I do believe I have discovered eggs. These are Golden Barbs or Chinese Barbs. Any input? (Sorry for the picture quality, examine the hornwort & upper branches of the water sprite)

 

[emmykenzie]

Brief update!
After my filter crashed for a week we are back up and running! Brown algae is running rampant but copepods are starting to appear! Some of the algae is turning green so that’s pretty exciting! We’re still in fish in cycle; the crashing of the filter threw us off. I’m going to transfer filter media soon. I suspect the intial introduction brought the copepods, but considering how much water is in this tank; I’m not surprised it may take a bit longer. Thinking about it my canister filter has 5 levels of media and I only inserted bacteria from the filter (I took water from my 55g and shook my filter media into the water and then poured it directly into my canister, I call this manually removing BB)

I’m going to add additional media to my 55 so I can transfer it to my 120. Also, start lightly manually removing BB and Transferring it every week.
The growth I’ve had on my plants has been unreal! I currently have a spider plant and red root floaters on the top!
I will attach some photos for everyone to enjoy!!

PS. LOL at the photo of the bag of chips and the office I uploaded
Best!! Emily

 

[emmykenzie]

Update!
I found an impressive deal on Amazon for the exact model HOB marineland filter I currently have running on my 55. It was only $30. Where was this deal a week ago while my filter was down! *shrug* I digress...
I received it yesterday in the mail so this morning I set it up on the 120. It’s ugly and bulky looking on the tank but it’s adding much needed circulation and GPH. I moved half the filter media from the 55 to the new filter on the 120. I’m hoping this will help expedite my cycle. I stole a handful of gravel and placed it directly into the tank as well. I need to jump start this cycle!! Loaches are getting restless for sure and I hate keeping them in the 55.
Unfortunately the filter does take up a good amount of room on the side and I can’t center my light anymore. I am planning on mounting it to avoid this issue. Gotta do some thinking on how exactly I want to do that in the most easy, cost efficient and sturdy manner.
Brown Algae is unfortunately still running rampant but given time it will work itself out. I have been manually removing it from the decor to control growth for the time being. Adding something like Otos or Amano Shrimp would be a death sentence for either species because of my resident catfish.
Thanks for looking!

 

[emmykenzie]

Hi again! Brown Algae growth is dying down a touch finally! I’m also observing explosive growth in all of my plants! My favorite part of observation today was finding roots from my Amazon sword have found their way to the bottom! Madagascar Lace, Water Sprite, and Water Wisteria are growing like weeds! I’m finding baby Java fern all over the tank! Anubius has several new shoots dispite being over run by brown algae. The bacopa is slowly growing but has impressive root structure. Yesterday, during a thorough substrate cleaning I decided I was sick of cleaning up hornwort needles and tossed the plant in my empty pond. Far too much brown algae on it to offer it to the pet shop. The barbs refuse to be forgotten in every photo lol! They are fierce fish let me tell you.... they love their plants and always come to greet me when I am by the tank. Considering a nerite snail soon to help deal with the algae... though I fear my catfish is truly ruthless! Anyway here’s some photos and thanks for looking!
PS; you’ll notice under the Amazon swords the excess of poop, it’s the barbs favorite place and also the hardest to clean... go figure

 

[Zach72202]

I can see your tank has very good lighting due to the signs of your wysteria plant!

Wysteria/Water Sprite is excellent for gauging this because the higher the light the less the plant has to absorb, so when the leaves go all thin like they are it means your lighting is optimal! When they are short and chubby it means really low light. The growth below the typical looking leaves looks like its emersed grown, but your tank is looking excellent!

I might have to say I am a tad jealous...

 

[FishSupreme]

Can I see a picture of your clown loaches. Decades later the fish in that tank will have passed to old age and your clowns will be the size of footballs. The tank looks amazing! Have a great day!

 

[emmykenzie]

I can see your tank has very good lighting due to the signs of your wysteria plant!

Wysteria/Water Sprite is excellent for gauging this because the higher the light the less the plant has to absorb, so when the leaves go all thin like they are it means your lighting is optimal! When they are short and chubby it means really low light. The growth below the typical looking leaves looks like its emersed grown, but your tank is looking excellent!

I might have to say I am a tad jealous...

Thank you so much! This is awesome information, you learn something new everyday! The Water Sprite is growing the most aggressive out of everything, I’ve got it in almost all my tanks now!! I’m so excited for this tank to finish cycling! I actually just installed a standing plant light I had hanging out in my basement and that has really juiced up the plants.

Can I see a picture of your clown loaches. Decades later the fish in that tank will have passed to old age and your clowns will be the size of footballs. The tank looks amazing! Have a great day!

Haha! You’re telling me!!! I can’t wait for this tank to finish cycling!! Currently I only have 4 clowns, waiting to get 2 more until my current clowns make the transition! Here’s some pictures!! They love to dance for me and chase each other around, they’re a little camera shy when they’re laying around together, so I never get pictures cause they like to lay in the PVC together.

ALSO: I am planning on picking up mystery snails to throw in the tank to help eat algae if J’zargo eats them ... well oh well...

 

[emmykenzie]

Hi everyone! Another quick update! Visited my LFS today...
Picked up a multitude of pest snails to help deal with algae. I figure this is the best way to deal with the problem without losing expensive fish or invertebrate to my catfish. I’m not worried about the pests taking over because I know once my clowns get into the tank they won’t stand a chance. My clowns wiped out an entire population of snails with no problem in less than a day.
Included snails are: Malaysian trumpet snails, Bladder Snails, and Pond Snails. It even appears some Scuds made their way into the bag!
Also purchased some Purple Cabomba.... I’ve got a big open spot that needs to be filled what can I say. I think I’m going to remove the bacopa and place that in my shark tanks as I’m not really seeing much result. More room for Cabomba ....




Sigh... still no nitrates

 

[BettaCyrus]

Very nice!! I have cabomba growing in both of my tanks (temp & main) and def recommend it - it's been one of the best, fastest-growing plants I have so far. It's a bit hard to keep in place though, so you might benefit from weights. Also can shed a lot, but not bad once it's settled/isn't being moved around.
Where did you get your Madagascar Lace? I'm interested in getting some and the local resources are scarce. Thanks! PS - the clown loaches are adorable!

 

[emmykenzie]

Very nice!! I have cabomba growing in both of my tanks (temp & main) and def recommend it - it's been one of the best, fastest-growing plants I have so far. It's a bit hard to keep in place though, so you might benefit from weights. Also can shed a lot, but not bad once it's settled/isn't being moved around.
Where did you get your Madagascar Lace? I'm interested in getting some and the local resources are scarce. Thanks! PS - the clown loaches are adorable!

Hey thanks so much!!
I have green Cabomba in my shark tank and I agree it can shed and could definitely benefit from weights. He’s a monster anyway and loves to rearrange which contributes to the shedding. Frankly nothing will ever shed more than Hornwort or Elodea in my experience! XD
Definitely see if you can get your hands on water sprite, I’ve NEVER had such success with a plant before.
My main LFS owner loves Madgascar Lace plant and always has it in stock. I’ve seen quite a few ML on Etsy but I can’t personally vouch for any one shop on that site currently. I did just order plants from Marcus’s Fish Tanks via Etsy after a friend suggested it so I can let you know how those arrive and if that’s a good option.
Thanks again, I love my clowns so much... I’ll probably be taking a few of those snails out for a little loachy snack... xD

Once I get this tank cycled I’m planning on starting a YouTube channel, I already have a website that I’ve been slowly working on. My boyfriend and I have 6 tanks and a bearded dragon so there’s always something to do around here! After we complete our Kuhli Loach project (Kuhlis & Caves 55 Gallon Tank - | Freshwater Aquarium Journals Forum | 490042) we are setting up our 40G reptile breeder for baby dart frogs!! :3

hilarious update: Bronson in all his food motivated and infinite wisdom took as many snails in his mouth and ran off while the other 2 barbs picked away at what remained... these snails better hurry up and bury themselves cause the barbs are out to get them... to think I was worried about my catfish....
scuds are already hard at work on that brown algae....

also gave my loaches a few snails too... they’re so happy

 

[BettaCyrus]

That's cool about the Lace being stocked locally for you *thumbs up* I had some bad plant buying experiences from etsy unfortunately, but I did see that Marcus's had it too - lmk how your order from them turns out!
I purchased some water sprite that didn't make it, unfortunately (maybe bc of being shipped in cold weather?), but will try again


Youtube channel sounds awesome! Keep us posted when the time comes!

 

[emmykenzie]

That's cool about the Lace being stocked locally for you *thumbs up* I had some bad plant buying experiences from etsy unfortunately, but I did see that Marcus's had it too - lmk how your order from them turns out!
I purchased some water sprite that didn't make it, unfortunately (maybe bc of being shipped in cold weather?), but will try again


Youtube channel sounds awesome! Keep us posted when the time comes!

Thanks so much!
I’ll keep everyone posted as I love to share my daily experiences! I’ll also have some water sprite available very soon!

 

[emmykenzie]

Good morning everyone!
We had a J’zargo spotting! After I put the snails in the tank he decided to come check out the situation. I threw an algae tab in there for him and he scooped that up and returned to his dark domain. Found this awesome Anubius Root today



Planted the Purple Cabomba yesterday and moved the Bacopa. I found a snail detailing the leaves of the bacopa this morning!







Here’s Ping Pong and Bronson food begging!




Also,this is not in my 120 but I wanted to include it; brown algae is blooming in my Quarantine Tank. I’m pretty sure I’ve got Silica in my tap water. When I went to the LFS I picked up a nerite snail for my 5g betta tank which is currently under going treatment so the Betta is residing in the hospital tank. I put the nerite (Alduin) in with the Betta (Drogon). Luckily Drogon has to be the most mild manner betta in the world and paid no attention to Alduin... for those of you who know.... Alduin is the world eater so I felt Alduin the Nerite algae eater would be appropriate. I digress, look at the process this little dude has made overnight. You go Alduin. I’ll send you guys a really nice picture of him once he comes out of hiding, being a beautiful black snail in a dark place does not make for good photography!
Thanks for looking!!
Stay tuned as I’m planning a YouTube channel very very soon.

 

[emmykenzie]

Update time!
J’zargo has been very active as of late!


He’s posing for a picture as thanks for the delicious algae wafers. Just ran out so I picked up a fresh bag of Hikari Algae wafers yesterday. I try to feed pretty exclusively hikari. The only exception is TetraMin Flakes, BugBites pellets, and Aqueon Shrimp Pellets.

J’zargo is actually my only fish who does not eat a great variety of food. Before he was in the 120 he was in an overstocked tank so he made a point to show himself during feeding time. Now that he is in a bigger tank with more room, he only comes out for algae wafers. I can only assume this is because he has ample food from plant matter and now the additional snails. He use to be crazy about brine shrimp but he’s not so motivated for it anymore since he can graze at his leisure. I try to drop a shrimp pellet in the tank for him at night but it’s a gamble whether or not the barbs will take care of it first. Here’s some new photos from today.
Atlantisburg Sword
Sanderguy777



look what we have here! Another brand new leaf, it’s like we spoke more into existence!

 

[emmykenzie]

THE LONG AWAITED DAY HAS ARRIVED!
Today after a 2 houes drip acclimation my four precious loaches entered their 120 gallon home! How exciting!!! They are swimming around and following the barbs everywhere.

Also picked up two new loaches from my LFS to quarantine for about two weeks. I immediately treated them with stress coat and very light aquarium salt.

Thanks for looking! So excited to update you guys further and upload my videos to YouTube!

 

[Zach72202]

THE LONG AWAITED DAY HAS ARRIVED!
Today after a 2 houes drip acclimation my four precious loaches entered their 120 gallon home! How exciting!!! They are swimming around and following the barbs everywhere.

I honestly love clown loaches! I really want to get a large school of them, but I don't have a massive tank! They have fantastic personalities.

 

[emmykenzie]

I honestly love clown loaches! I really want to get a large school of them, but I don't have a massive tank! They have fantastic personalities.

Me too! They are such wonderful fish! I’m happy to finally be able to accommodate 6! You’re absolutely right they act like dogs! Digging, chasing, laying around, and also their unmatched curiosity. They’ve already made a few pest snails into snacks!

 

[emmykenzie]

Red & Brown Hybrid Bristlenose Pleco female
What an absolute BEAUTY! I cannot wait to introduce him into the display aquarium with the loaches! He’s in quarantine with them currently!



Unfortunately, Ping is getting old and is starting to show signs of old age. Slow salt introduction and good food for his last days.

 

[emmykenzie]

Charmeleon entered her new home today in the 120 gallon. I observed for 5 days before placing her in the tank. The conditions she came from were immaculate and I want my algae problem dealt with haha! You can see Shuri, my smallest yet boldest, admiring her new friend.

 

[emmykenzie]

Decided to go for it today!! Put the rest of my loaches in the tank to make the loach total 6! Instant behavior changes too! They are very happy!

ALSO in about a month I will have Water Sprite, Duckweed, Water Letticue, & Frogbit for sale!! Going to be a bit longer on Water Wisteria, Assorted Amazon Swords, & Java Fern.

 

[emmykenzie]

Some muscling for rank going on today! My largest loach and the newest loach are play fighting today. It’s a very cool behavior to observe when you understand it’s not malicious in nature. Also our Pleco has done some SERIOUS clean up on this algae!!
thanks as always for looking!

 

[emmykenzie]

Wow! Over 3 months w this tank! Such a fantastic purchase! Here’s a comparison shot for the day!
All my loaches are grouped up together and the barbs are always close by.
Fight Club took place after everyone had digested a nice delicious live black worm / frozen brine shrimp breakfast. Every time I took my camera out they ran back into the castle, it’s like they were saying “don’t post about fight club!!” Bad joke I’m sorry lol!

Water Sprite is sky rocketing and I will absolutely have cuts available very soon!
Every single plant in this tank is showing incredible signs of growth. Brown algae is still present but in far lesser amounts, thanks Charmeleon (BN Pleco) Shes done a great job at clearing up this issue for me! Did a MAJOR maintenance day last Sunday and things were pretty dirty! Also noticed one SINGLE ick cyst on one of my loaches today, 0 behavioral changes and no other loaches are showing signs. Considering it’s one of my old loaches, I’m going to monitor closely before electing to medicate. I have a UV sterilizer submerged in the tank so when the ick parasite gets released from the cyst, it will be neutralized by the UV sterilizer. Again, I am planning to monitor things very closely.
Thanks for looking as always

PS I also elected to include a photo of my rainbow shark, rek’sai. I have been considering introducing him into the 120 but he’s a bit aggressive (full sized) and I don’t wish to interrupt the ecosystem as it is right now.