My Aquarium Fish

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Choosing an Aquarium Substrate

June 25, 2016 / / 0 Comments

A substrate for an aquarium is the material that is placed at the bottom of the fish tank.  Although it is possible to keep fish in an aquarium with no substrate, it is useful in anchoring plants, allowing some fish to indulge in natural behaviours, being a home for some useful bacteria and in my view, the substrate also looks good too.

Not just anything can be used as a substrate for a fish tank, however, and there are plenty of things to take account of before choosing what to go for.  Some fish prefer certain substrate types, some substrates can alter pH values and plants will also prefer certain types of substrate.

Aquarium gravel comes in all sorts of colours

Aquarium gravel comes in all sorts of colours

How Much Substrate to Use

As far as quantity is concerned, the substrate depth is the most important consideration and this will depend to some extent on what type of substrate is being used, what fish are present and whether there are plants growing in the aquarium.

When sand is being used, an important consideration is that overly deep sand beds may develop anaerobic patches which can cause the build-up of harmful bacteria and the depth should be kept below 3” ideally.  On the other hand, anything under one inch is unlikely to be enough to keep any plants firmly planted so I would suggest something between 1” and 3” to be about right.  If gravel is being used, anaerobic patches will not develop so depth is not so important.  Nonetheless, shallower gravel substrates are easier to keep clean and volume that is being taken up by a substrate cannot be used by any fish and reduces to the total volume of water.

 

How to Clean Aquarium Substrate Before Use

Most aquarium substrates will need to be washed before use.  Sand and gravel are both surprisingly dirty and if put into an aquarium without being washed will quickly lead to very cloudy water.  There are a number of ways to wash aquarium sand and gravel.  I either put a small amount in a bucket and then run water through it from the tap until the water run-off becomes clear, or alternatively I have put some sand in a pillow case and run water over it, which seems to work quite well.

I tend to use play sand in my fish tanks and I cannot overstate quite how dirty that stuff is – I need to wash each bucket several times and it is quite a laborious task!

Bucket I use to clean sand

Bucket I use to clean sand

How to Clean Substrate in the Aquarium

Aquarium substrates will become dirty.  In the case of a sand substrate, it will be immediately obvious as any dirt will be larger than the grain sizes and sit on top of the sand.  In a gravel substrate, the dirt is often hidden as it falls between the grains.

This gives a clue as to the different methods used to clean substrates.  In the case of sand, a gravel cleaner can be hovered over the top so as to suck up any of the dirt present which should be lighter than the sand it is sitting on.  Alternatively, for more targeted cleans, I have found a small bit of air hose will do the trick as any dirt can be targeted directly.

The method for cleaning gravel is rather different.  As the dirt falls amongst the gravel, the best bet is to push the gravel cleaner right into the substrate so that everything can be picked up.  Any dirt will be much lighter than the surrounding gravel pieces so no gravel should be sucked up at the same time.

Substrate Cleaner

Substrate Cleaner

Plants and Substrates

Although some plants can be tied to décor, most will need to be planted into some sort of substrate.  It is actually possible to succeed with plants in any type of substrate as long as they are also given some other type of food but there are also specific planting substrates for plants available which will greatly improve plant growth so I would highly recommend using one of those if there are many plants.

Plant roots in substrate

Plant roots in substrate

Mixing Substrates

You don’t have to stick to just one type of substrate – any combination of different ones can be used.  For example, in all of my fish tanks I have a layer of planted aquarium substrate underneath a layer of sand.  I feel this has the advantage of having a suitable substrate for the plants and also looking good and plugging the nutrients below the sand layer.

It would also be possible to perhaps erect a sand “river” on the bottom of the aquarium and then surround it with gravel.  The two substrates could be kept apart using larger stones or such like, although eventually the sand and gravel my start to mix together.

Ho to Change Aquarium Substrates.

So, what happens once you decide that you don’t like the pea gravel you installed in the tank and prefer the look of sand?  Well, that happened to me and although it is a bit of a pain, it is definitely possible to change.

The fish need to me moved, and then it is a case of draining the tank, removing the old stuff, giving the base a bit of a clean, add the new substrate back in, fill with water (preferably not too cold) and add the fish back assuming the water parameters are all OK.  Time is of the essence and this is definitely easier if there is spare room in another aquarium for the displaced fish.

Unsuitable Substrates for Aquariums.

Not everything can be used as an aquarium substrate.  Anything that will leach chemicals into the water is a definite no-no.  The other thing to take into consideration is whether the substrate will change the water chemistry and hardness of the water.  For example, peat based composts and some potting composts can lower pH while coral sand will considerably harden the water and increase the pH which is clearly not desirable for a soft, acidic set-up for example.

sandcory

Types of Aquarium Substrate

Although almost anything can be used as an aquarium substrate, there are three main types that are used: gravel, sand and plant soils.  Each has their advantages and disadvantages.

Gravel Substrates

Probably the most traditional aquarium substrate is gravel.  It is easy to clean and should not create any anaerobic areas but it is not that good for plants and some bottom feeding fish such as Corydoras can damage their barbels on sharp pieces of gravel.  There is a huge amount of variety in the gravel types available, ranging from natural-looking pea gravel to various different colours that should suit any taste.

gravel substrate

Sand Substrates

My favoured type of substrate is sand.  It can take a bit more skill to keep clean but plants seem to do a bit better in sand and I think it looks attractive too.  Many bottom feeding fish such as Corys, loaches and some Cichlids also do better on sand.  They sift the substrate looking for food which they cannot do with gravel and they do this almost constantly which suggests to me that these fish really should be kept on sand so that they can display their natural behaviours.  Sand comes in many different types from coral sand to river sand and even play sand can be used.  Builder’s sand is not suitable, however, due to any impurities it may contain.

argosplaysand

Planting substrates

Plant substrates do seem to be gaining in popularity.  The obvious advantage is that plants do very well in these substrates, both in that their roots are well anchored and they can take up nutrients from the substrate.  It can also look aesthetically pleasing in the right set-up.  The disadvantage is that it is not so good for bottom feeding fish, particularly those that filter the substrate to feed.  It can also release ammonia when first added to the aquarium.

plantsubstrate2

Conclusion

Overall then, choosing the right substrate is quite important and will depend on the fish you will be keeping and the look you are going for in an aquarium.  If in doubt, I would suggest that using sand will give the greatest flexibility going forward and will look natural too.

Sterbai Cory Care

June 21, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Sterbai Cory Factsheet

Common Name: Sterbai Cory

Scientific name:  Corydoras Sterbai.  Sterbai is a reference to Professor Dr. Günther Sterba, professor emeritus of zoology of Leipzig University who published a number of important books for fishkeepers in the 1970s and 1980s.

Sterbai Cory Size: 5cm to 6.5cm.

Sterbai Cory Minimum Tank size: 45cm/18”

Water parameters: pH 6-7.5: temperature 24-28°C/75-82°F; hardness 18-215ppm (very soft to moderately hard)

Sterbai Cory Origin:

Bolivia and Brazil. Specimens have been collected from the Rio Guaporé, a river located in Western Brazil and NE Bolivia that forms the border between the two countries. It also may be present in the Rio Araguaia, located further East in Brazil.

Rio Guapore By Kmusser

Rio Guapore By Kmusser

Diet:

The Starbai Cory is omnivorous and easy to feed as long as the food reaches the substrate where they forage.  They will accept any good quality sinking pellets and relish frozen or live food, particularly bloodworm.

Behaviour:

As with most Corydoras, Sterbai Corys are very peaceful and suitable for many community tanks. They should not be kept with any fish that are very large or aggressive, however, especially other fish which may establish territories in the lower part of the aquarium.  I have had problems keeping them with Rams as the cichlids attacked the Corys when they entered their territories to feed.  I would imagine any Cichlid that established territories in the base of the tank where the Corys will blunder into may be problematic. Always try to maintain Corydoras in groups as they’re far more confident and active in the presence of conspecifics. A group of at least six is good, although more is probably better. I have also noticed that they seem to prefer an area of substrate where they can forage free of décor.

Appearance:

The Sterbai Cory can be differentiated from most other members of the family by its bright orange pectoral fins.  They are superficially similar to C. haraldschultzi, but can be distinguished by examining the patterning on the head of the fish. In the case of the Sterbai this is composed of light spotted markings over a dark background, whereas in C. haraldschultzi the markings are dark and the background colour is light. C. haraldschultzi also has a more elongated snout.

Sterbai Cory - Note orange pectoral fins

Sterbai Cory – Note orange pectoral fins

Sexual Dimorphism.

At first glance, male and female Sterbai Corys look very similar, particularly when young.  When adult, however, the females are substantially larger than the males and look more rounded when viewed from above.

Breeding Sterbai Corys

Sterbai’s are considered to be one of the easier types of Cory to bread in the aquarium.  It is better to have a higher ratio of males to females and the fish should be conditioned on plenty of live or frozen food.  There are a number of triggers to spawning which may include time of year.  I have had success with fairly large water changes with cool water and plenty of frozen food, in order to replicate the wet season in the fish’s natural habitat.

During courtship, a number of males will chase a female around the aquarium until one male will pair up with the female and engage in the “T Position”.  Once the egg is fertilized, the female will carry it in her fins until she finds a suitable place to deposit it – this will likely be the aquarium glass but may also be the filter, broad leaved plants or wood.

Depending on what else is in the aquarium, some eggs are likely to survive and hatch a few days later at which point the fry will use up their yolk sacs before moving on to accept microworm and brine shrimp nauplii. I have had success in just feeding them using an old, decaying leaf from the aquarium (or more accurately, the organisms that feed on the leaves) followed by crushed flake.  Due to the likelyhood of predation of the fry in a community aquarium, I would recommend raising them in a breeding trap by collecting the eggs once they are lain.

Sterbai Cory Fry

Sterbai Cory Fry

Overview

The sterbai Cory is an easy to keep fish and a great one for beginners.  The most important requirements in my opinion are a soft or sandy substrate – they tend to struggle with sharp-edged gravel as it can erode their barbels – and a temperature that is a little higher than usual for most Corydoras.

They are not particularly fussy with regards to water hardness or pH, but they will prefer soft, acid water and are unlikely to breed in hard water.  As far as décor is concerned, I have found that they prefer a patch of clear substrate where they can forage and in their natural environment there is unlikely to be much in the way of plant life.  Having said that, they do seem to like broad leaved plants as they sometimes lay their eggs on the leaves.

A good biotope set up would be river sand covered in leaf litter with pieces of driftwood scattered around the substrate.  They would appreciate dim lighting or otherwise something to shelter them from bright light.

It is worth noting that as with all Corydoras, in Sterbai Corys the stiffened pectoral-fin spines are capable of piercing human skin and a ‘sting’ can be very painful, so care should be exercised when handling them. It is thought that secretions from the axillary glands at the base of each spine may even be mildly toxic or venomous.

These fish also have a modified intestine that has evolved to take-up oxygen in their natural environments so it is not uncommon to see them dash to the surface, take a gulp of air and then rush to the substrate again.  Unless this is taking place very frequently, it is not something to be concerned about.

It has also been noted that Corys can secrete a toxin as part of a defence mechanism that in high concentrations can be fatal to other fish.  This is particularly important to note when transporting the fish from the local fish shop and care should be taken to keep distress to an absolute minimum during transport.

In conclusion then, Sterbai Corys make great beginner fish.  They are very easy to keep and surprisingly hardy as long as they are kept on sand substrates and in fairly large numbers.  They also show a lot of interesting behaviours and are fairly easy to breed.

Aquarium Cycling

June 20, 2016 / / 0 Comments

How to Cycle an Aquarium.

Cycling a fish tank is the most important part of setting up a new aquarium and one that is not always explained to new fish keepers.  If large numbers of fish are added to an uncycled aquarium they will likely quickly die due to ammonia poisoning.

Why is Cycling Necessary?

As part of their natural lives, all fish excrete ammonia but unfortunately ammonia is very toxic to fish and ammonia poisoning is one of the most common causes of fish death.  In the wild the fish live in large expanses of water so the concentrations of ammonia doesn’t build up to great levels but in the aquarium, the volume of water is relatively low, so ammonia can quickly build up to dangerous levels.

The Nitrogen Cycle

In the aquarium, as in nature, the ammonia is taken care of by bacteria.  In the Nitrogen Cycle, ammonia is converted to Nitrite by nitrifying bacteria.  This Nitrite is then converted into Nitrate by a different type of nitrifying bacteria at which point it stays in the aquarium unless removed by a water change or taken up by plants as fertilizer.

nitrogen cycle

Nitrite and Ammonia

Nitrite is also very toxic to aquarium fish as it interferes with the ability of haemoglobin to take up oxygen.  Thankfully Nitrate is less toxic but at high levels it can still be problematic for fish, which is one of the main reasons why it is necessary to undertake regular water changes.

Fish-In Cycle

In order for the cycle to start, the aquarium needs a source of Ammonia.  This is why it is not possible to fill a fish tank with water and just wait for it to cycle.  Traditionally, aquariums have been cycled using a hardy fish such as a Zebra Danio or a Platy.  The theory is that the fish will generate the ammonia needed to start the cycle and the relatively small amount of ammonia that is produced should not kill the fish whilst the bacteria numbers build up.  Once the bacteria have built up to a level that they can nitrify the quantities of ammonia produced by one fish, more fish can be added very gradually.  The advantage of this method is that the fish tank can be started immediately but the obvious disadvantage is that the fish are exposed to ammonia and potentially nitrite poisoning.

To minimise the amount of ammonia the fish are exposed to at one time, the fish should be fed sparingly and water changes should be performed on a regular basis.

Fishless Cycle

These days the fishless cycle method is becoming more and more popular.  In this method, a small amount of chemical ammonia is added (about 2ppm), which is available from various stores (I got mine from Boots) and then the bacterial are left to tackle the ammonia without the presence of any fish.  The aquarist should test for ammonia every day using a readily available test kit until the ammonia level reaches 0.25/0.5ppm, at which point more is added to bring the total up to 2ppm.

Test Kit

Test Kit

At this point, the aquarist should also be testing for Nitrite, which is produced from the nitrification of ammonia.  It is likely that nitrite will be quite high at first as it takes time for the correct bacteria to be established but when both ammonia and nitrite is reduced to zero in one day, the filter is ready for fish.  If fish are not purchased straight away, the filter bacteria need to be kept fed by regular additions of ammonia.  Obviously when the fish are added, no more ammonia is added as the fish will generate the food source for the bacteria.

It is also a good idea to check pH levels as well as ammonia and nitrite throughout the cycle as the water will likely to become more acidic during the process and filter bacteria do not work very well in acidic environments (although ammonia is much less toxic to fish at low pH levels).  If pH levels appear to be crashing then adding bicarbonate of soda will help raise it – add this slowly and test after each addition to make sure the correct amount is present.

The advantage of a fishless cycle is clearly that no fish are subjected to toxic ammonia and nitrite but an added advantage is that the aquarium can be stocked with much more fish as a group of small fish will not produce more than 2ppm of ammonia which the filter can already deal with.  The disadvantage of the fishless cycle is that it can take a long time to complete so a lot of patience is required

Speeding up an Aquarium Cycle

There are ways in which to speed up a cycle.  Probably the most fool-proof way is to seed the filter with bacteria from a mature filter from another aquarium.  This can be done from other fish tanks the aquarist may have, from a friend’s aquarium, by outreaching on social media or even from a local fish shop.  Alternatively there are products that can be purchased that can seed an aquarium filter, although there is quite some variation over the effectiveness of each product.

filterstart

Hopefully the above will give a good outline of how to perform both fishless and fish-in cycles, which are an essential part of setting up an aquarium.

Lemon Tetra Care

June 15, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Lemon Tetra Factsheet

Common Name: Lemon tetra

Scientific name:  Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis.  Pulchiprinnis means “beautiful fin” in Greek and is a reference to the striking yellow and black fin colouration.

Lemon Tetra Size: 4cm/1.6”

Lemon Tetra Minimum Tank size: 60cm/24”

Water parameters: pH 5-7.5; temperature 23-28°C/73-82°F; hardness 18-215ppm (very soft to moderately hard)

Lemon Tetra Origin

Tapajós river basin in Central Brazil which is one of the primary tributaries of the of the Lower Amazon river basin.  There have also been reports of findings in the Xingu River which borders the Tapajos.

The Tapajos River

The Tapajos River

Lemon Tetra Diet

The Lemon Tetra’s diet is very varied.  It is an omnivore in nature, feeding on small invertebrates, crustaceans, filamentous algae and fallen fruit.  In the aquarium it is very easy to feed and will accept most dried foods including flake and pellets.  Like most omnivorous fish they relish frozen and live foods such as bloodworm and daphnia which make good additions to a dried food diet.

Behaviour

Lemon Tetras are generally peaceful fish and certainly won’t bother any other species in the tank.  Amongst their own kind, I have found them to be surprisingly feisty, however.  The males carve themselves out a small territory and will often engage with other males with displays and occasional aggression.

For this reason, and in order to enable the fish to feel more at home and confident, I would recommend keeping a large group of around 8-10 fish.  In this kind of group with a mixture of males and females, their displays really are fascinating.  The males will swim in formation next to each other and sometimes make a darting motion.  I believe they are trying to size each other up and should this not sort out a pecking order they seem to try and dazzle each other with their reflective sides before making a rush for one another.  I think they are aiming to injure the swim bladder of the other fish as my dominant male has such an injury.

Appearance

The Lemon Tetra is a small but deep bodied Characin.  They have an understated greenish-yellow body colour with an orange-red upper portion of the eye.  The dorsal fin has a black upper part with a bright yellow tip and they have a very long anal fin with black edges and bright yellow colouration at the front of the fin.  They really are a beautiful fish in my opinion with the bright yellow parts of the fins and the red/orange “eyebrows” really offsetting the more understated natural base colour.  There is also an orange/red colouration.

Lemon Tetras

Lemon Tetras

Sexual Dimorphism

Male and female lemon tetras do look similar at first glance but the males tend to have more striking colouration on their fins, with a deeper, stronger black line on the anal fin in particular.  Their fins also tend to me more erect and their bodies are a little thinner than the females.  The main difference is in their behaviour, however, with the males regularly squaring off against each other and chasing the females, with the females not doing any chasing at all.

Breeding Lemon Tetras

These fish, like most tetras, breed in great numbers in the wild and therefore they scatter their eggs and exhibit no parental care – indeed they will eat their own eggs if they encounter them.  The water should be of slightly acidic to neutral pH with a temperature towards the upper end of the range, although spawning is more likely in a pH towards the lower end of their range.

When in spawning condition (which seems to happen naturally in a well-fed, acidic aquarium with soft water), the males will chase the females and these fish will spawn amongst plants – any small leaved plant seems to suffice, I have found Star Grass to be very suitable.  If in the community aquarium, at this point the eggs are likely to be hunted down and eaten by the other inhabitants so in order to try and successfully hatch any fry I would move a small group of the Tetras to another aquarium when they start displaying the signs of spawning and then remove the adults once the eggs have been laid.

The fry should be able to accept specially made fry-food but in a mature tank they seem to be able to find enough food to sustain them from the general detritus, especially if leaf litter is present.

Lemon Tetras

Lemon Tetras

Overview

The Lemon Tetra is a common and easy to keep aquarium fish and in my opinion make an ideal fish for beginners.  Although they originally come from the tributaries of the Amazon in Brazil, almost all Lemon Tetras encountered in the hobby will be farm bred.  Although they would prefer a soft and acidic aquarium, in reality they are not very fussy and the fish I have encountered are very hardy with none of the specific issues associated with overbreeding seen in Guppies or Neon Tetras for example.

Being a deep-bodied Tetra they are not as susceptible to predation as some similar sized but shallower fish but care should still be taken to avoid housing them with anything that is big enough to eat them.  These fish are not fussy about décor and habitat but they do prefer a planted aquarium with places for the harassed females to hide if need be.  In addition, added leaf litter can be beneficial (and in my opinion looks good too).

So, to conclude, the Lemon Tetra is a great fish, particularly for beginners.  It is unfussy with regards water hardness, pH and temperature and will not harm other fish species whilst itself offering a fascinating territorial display, especially if housed in sufficient numbers.

My Aquarium Blog – The History So Far

June 12, 2016 / / 0 Comments

I thought it might be a good idea to have an area where I detail the latest goings on in my own fish tanks so I will update this when something new happens. To start with, however, this first post will be a condensed summary of my tropical fish journey to date.

The First Aquarium

As with everything I do, I spent a lot of time researching my new fish tank. I purchased a book and even had a Powerpoint presentation with the fish that I wanted to get (which I showed to my other half!) Pretty geeky, huh?! Unfortunately most of this advice was out of date, especially the information surrounding fishless cycling, and also some of the advice for the different fish species turned out to be wrong too. Most of this work, therefore, mattered for nothing when it was time to get my first fish – the information available online is so much better than books in my opinion.

Fluval Roma 125

My Fluval Roma 125 aquarium set up

Having purchased by new Fluval Roma 125 tank online from Seapets, the first thing I noticed that the stand was missing some essential bits so my set-up was delayed for a few days until the missing parts arrived. When the parts arrived a few days later, after setting the tank up, I added the substrate (play sand from Argos) and a few plants and filled it with dechlorinated tap water and then embarked on a long, laborious, fishless cycle which took many months.
Once the tank was cycled, my initial purchase was a group of guppies and Sterbai Cory (some of which I still have five years later). The guppies soon started breading and they began to overrun the 125 litre tank so I succumbed to a common ailment for new fish keepers; “Multiple Tank Syndrome”! I purchased a new 90 litre tank from Ebay in order to house the new fish.

Juwel Fish Tank

My 90L Juwel aquarium

Despite the breeding success, I suffered no-end of problems with the Guppies, which seemed to be very sickly and most didn’t last more than a year, despite the hard London tap water supposedly suiting them. In the end I became demoralised with the constant deaths and decided to give my guppies away to concentrate on the other fish.

 

Soft Water Aquarium

By this time, I had also purchased some Amano Shrimp, Cardinal Tetras and Threadfin Rainbowfish. Unfortunately I was not very successful with most of these fish (I still have all the shrimp I started with though) and it became increasingly apparent that the very hard, alkaline tap water that contained copious amounts of Nitrate was simply not suited to keeping most of the tropical fish available in the hobby and all of my rainbow fish died (some jumped out onto the floor) and most of my Cardinal Tetras also perished. At this point I made the decision to buy a Reverse Osmosis Unit (R/O Unit) in order to produce the soft water with no nitrate contamination that most of these fist required and I gradually substituted this for the tap water.

mDSC01438

Amano Shrimp with a Bloodworm

The new soft water that was made available to me through the R/O unit completely changed my fishkeeping and my fish now started to thrive in their new environment. I still had most of my Corydoras, one of my cardinal tetras and all of my Amano shrimps so in the following months I purchased some Lemon Tetras and Brazilian Rams for my tank, which (Amano shrimps conveniently ignored) I made into a loose Brazilian river biotope. At the same time I changed my old internal filters that came with the fish tanks for the more powerful and easier to maintain external JBL CristalProfi external filters.

Juwel fish tank

The new look for the 90L aquarium

Fluval Roma 125

The new look for the 125L aquarium

Unfortunately the Rams did not take well to the Corys eating the food in their territories that they set up so they had to be separated and ended up in the second tank that used to house the extra Guppies. At this point, I also decided to undertake a complete overhaul of both tanks where I added some substrate for plants (JBL Aquabasis) and put sand over the top. This gave quite a boost to the extra plants that I also added at the same time, enabling them to take nutrients from the substrate.

DSC02112

My Bolivian Ram

Breeding More of My Tropical Fish

The gradual softening of the water in the aquarium was having an effect on its inhabitants and the Sterbai Corys started spawning and laying eggs. Unfortunately the Lemon Tetras noticed what was going on and gobbled up the eggs as they were being laid. It was clear that no fry were going to survive this so I purchased a breeding trap.

Sterbai Cory fry

My Sterbai Cory Fry

After fitting the trap, I collected some eggs before the Tetras could get to them and placed them in the trap along with some old mouldering Catappa leaves from the main tank. The eggs hatched and I raised the fry on egg yolk, crushed flake and whatever micro-organisms were on the leaves. Incredibly this worked and five of the tiny Corydoras grew into adult fish and are now a part of my aquarium. I have never used the breeding trap since (one of the Lemon Tetras got trapped in it and died) and despite the Sterbai continuing to spawn and lay eggs at regular intervals, none have subsequently survived into adulthood without the aid of the breeding trap.

A Third Aquarium

At this point, the fishkeeping bug really took hold and I decided to branch out with a third fish tank. This time I chose a larger 200 litre Fluval Roma 200. Once again, I added the plant substrate below the sand with several plants and pieces of bogwood. The cycling was much easier this time as I just used a sponge from my other filter to seed the new one with the required bacteria.

Fluval Roma 200

My new 200L Fluval Roma 200

As I already had a loose South American biotope, I decided to go Asian with this new tank and created a loose Malaysian biotope. I always wanted either a Betta or Kuhli loaches so this was the perfect excuse to buy some Kuhlis! In addition to the loaches I also got a group of Harlequins and some Eye Spot rasboras. To complete the aquarium I purchased three Pearl Gourami.

Kuhli Loach

A Kuhli Loach peaks out from under some bogwood

Most of these fish settled in well but the Kuhli loaches were very small when I first got them and I had a problem with them swimming up the piping to the external filter. They are very good at hiding so it is hard to determine whether any of them are missing and I only discovered the break-out during some routine filter maintenance when I found three of them actually inside the external filter! I covered the inlet and outlet with some ladies tights which prevented any further escapes.

filter inlet

Tights covering the filter inlet

This broadly brings me up to date with the aquaria as they currently stand and if there are any further updates I will update this area of the website.
So, how many fish tanks do you have? What species of fish do you keep and do you have any interesting stories regarding your fish tank? If so, I would love to hear about them!

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