Calling all experienced FW people

[Marinefish]

The zucchini was a big hit. They mostly ignored it for the first 24 hours, but there was no trace left of it by the third day.The corys seem really happy in their little group of three now. They are all very active, whereas before, the first one seemed mostly lethargic.Thats still the case with the Oto. He needs a friend too, but I want to wait at least a week between adds.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ottos are actually not very active, they act very lazy sometimes. The two I used to have often played with my smaller fish though. Forgot to mention that Julii cories and any that resemble them spend a lot of time playing in midwater. Also, cories just eat any dropped food, not fish poo.

[Original Fin]

Thanks again Marine. The Oto has been pretty inactive until today when I added 6 tiny neon tetras. Now they're all flying around the tank, and look pretty happy to me...but what do I know?

I did my weekly 20% WC right before I added them, and for the first time ever, I purchased and used a gravel vac siphon. That thing is brilliant. I couldn't believe how much muck it pulled out. Not only was the water tea colored, but it was full of sediment. And all of that was from just three weeks of four small fish, the zucchini I've been supplementing with, and probably a little decay from the three plants I have.

I'm hoping that with more fish in the tank, the plants will be a little happier. I'm going to look for some of that Seachem Flourish Excel that Chris recommended, and if that doesn't spark them up a little, I guess I'll have to revisit my lighting.

I have no idea which particular cories I ended up with...my LFS had them listed as "assorted", but they use every bit of that tank. Bottom, middle and top, and they are very active. This community is a lot of fun to watch so far. Another half dozen neons, 1 more cory cat, and one more oto cat should round it out nicely.

Any recommendations on a well balanced diet for the neons? I'm doing the tropical flake till I figure it out. I saw frozen bloodworms were recommended for tetras, but I'm sure that's not the only thing you'd want to feed, right?

[chrisfont23]

Fin... I feed my cardinal tetras flakes and bloodworms. They really don't touch anything else I put in the tank. On the plants... I have always thought a little overstocking was better for them given the nitrogen source the (extra) fish add and the waste breakdown to good ferts they produce. I had the same problem at first. Takes about 6 months. On the lights...I have never had a problem w/ standard "come with the tank" lights on swords or java ferns. When I added reds (ludwigia/purple waffle etc.) I had to upgrade. Check out the MarineLand Double Bright LEDs. I picked these up for $48 for my son's cardinal tetra 10 g tank when I added the waffle. They have been such a good investment that I took the plunge and put them on my hex. I have since seen better growth. Goes to show... all these years sticking to the same thing and wham - technology creates a better, more viable and CHEAPER way of doing things. Damn, I feel old!

[fish are friends!!]

Sry im late
I suggest you try some mollies...i have some ballon belly mollies and they are great, they r active and are very very peaceful and they only get to be 3 inches long at max
they are live bearers (give birth to live young) and they can live in a brakish water tank too?
some ppl say they can adapt to a marine enviornment but idk
the thing with them is that they always act like they r hungry no matter how much you would feed them (or at least with mine)
if you do get mollies get one male for every 2 or 3 females or all females..all females will sometimes swim together like a school.
a lot of the time if you buy mollies at a store like petsmart expect babies!! females are almost always pregnant when you buy them and after the one birth she may have more cuz she can give birth multiple times

[Marinefish]

Sry im late I suggest you try some mollies...i have some ballon belly mollies and they are great, they r active and are very very peaceful and they only get to be 3 inches long at maxthey are live bearers (give birth to live young) and they can live in a brakish water tank too?some ppl say they can adapt to a marine enviornment but idk the thing with them is that they always act like they r hungry no matter how much you would feed them (or at least with mine) if you do get mollies get one male for every 2 or 3 females or all females..all females will sometimes swim together like a school.a lot of the time if you buy mollies at a store like petsmart expect babies!! females are almost always pregnant when you buy them and after the one birth she may have more cuz she can give birth multiple times

I would forget the mollies for two reasons: 1, mollies are rather delicate. 2, any fish larger than 2" (exept cories) will generally try to eat neons. Something about the bright colors sets them off. I have seen 3" fish trying to eat neons through the tank glass. This wasn't playing or reflection-chasing, this was GOTTA EAT THAT!!! kinda behavior. Mollies would be good in a second tank, and you probably would have no trouble with them assuming you have kept more delicate saltwater fish. I have never seen a molly's reaction to a neon, but they would most likely eat the neon. As for cories, I would trust cories with everything but tiny fry (I would trust them with big fry though!)

[Original Fin]

I would forget the mollies for two reasons: 1, mollies are rather delicate. 2, any fish larger than 2" (exept cories) will generally try to eat neons. Something about the bright colors sets them off. I have seen 3" fish trying to eat neons through the tank glass. This wasn't playing or reflection-chasing, this was GOTTA EAT THAT!!! kinda behavior. Mollies would be good in a second tank, and you probably would have no trouble with them assuming you have kept more delicate saltwater fish. I have never seen a molly's reaction to a neon, but they would most likely eat the neon. As for cories, I would trust cories with everything but tiny fry (I would trust them with big fry though!)

That's ok, I'm decided on a three species tank already. Corries, Oto's aand neons. I've got four corries already, stopping there. One Oto, and I will add one more, and 6 neons so far, with 4-6 more to add before calling it a fully stocked tank.

I fed bloodworms this morning for the first time...that's kind of cool to watch. Each neon grabs one for it's-self, and takes it to the bottom of the tank to slowly savor and enjoy.

[Marinefish]

If you post some photos of the cories I may be able to ID them. Do any of the fish have names? I would also like to see photos of the whole tank. Sounds like you're doing great!

[Original Fin]

If you post some photos of the cories I may be able to ID them. Do any of the fish have names? I would also like to see photos of the whole tank. Sounds like you're doing great!

I'll see about posting some pics tomorrow. I did a little research and the cories look to be the very common "Bronze" variety...which is a good thing. Supposedly, they known for being very hardy and active, and that's what I want as a beginner.

I don't have names for the freshies, but I do for the reef fish...thanks to my wife and daughter. Nemo & Coral the clownfish, PJ the spotted cardinal, Gabe the bi-color angel, and Kai-Lan the Madarin Dragonette. There is also Pepe the prawn, but now we're getting into inverts...

[Original Fin]

A quick vid for this tank...

‪25 Gallon Planted Hex‬‏ - YouTube

[chrisfont23]

Looks great!

[Marinefish]

The cories are probably emeralds. Tank looks GREAT!!!!