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Glowlights vs. neon tetras
2/1/12 Keeping Rams and Neon/cardinal tetras. Sel., sys.
mostly 1/24/09 I have a basement tank, 36/ 18 by 14, 52
gallons. I plan on using a river sand bottom, <Soft sand will be
appreciated; the name Mikrogeophagus means "little
eartheater", and like the true Geophagines cichlids, these fish
(in the wild) sift the sand for algae, invertebrates and decaying
organic material.> my tap pH is around 6.8 to 7. but I plan on using
RO water (With a ph of 6.0), they make for you at World of fish, (its
voted best LFS in twin cities). At the store they sell blue angel rams,
$30 a pair, from a local breeder. These fish look much better, more
vigorous and brightly colored then the regular rams they also sell
(blue/German) they keep the angel rams in RO water but the others they
do not. <Locally bred fish infinitely better and worth the expense.
Farmed Mikrogeophagus ramirezi are of variable quality and often
"juiced" with hormones and antibiotics; consequently their
survival rate after shipping is dismal, even though they look nice in
the shops.> The tank they are in is labeled NFS, as they are
treating for Ich, but all fish on the mend, no signs of Ich on the rams
at all (Corys had it), rams are showing territorial/natural behavior
and they use the same RO, water I'll be using if I get them, at the
shop. <If you have locally bred fish available, buying farmed
specimens would be dumb.> I'm planning on buying a high intense
light, and planting with live plants and driftwood. What kinds of plant
do Rams like or that grow well in their water? <In the wild they
live in sun-baked shallow pools with mostly amphibious vegetation that
mostly grows above the waterline. So there's not really much
"authentic" you can go for. Instead, concentrate on species
that will tolerate the conditions in the aquarium. The very high
temperature (minimum 28 C/82 F) will stress some plant species, while
the necessary soft water will stress others. To be honest, I'd
probably go with floating plants initially, such as the Limnobium, and
leave rocks and hollow ornaments across the bottom for the fish. If you
wanted rooted plants, buy species in pots that you can easily fertilise
with tablets since the sand itself will contain no nutrients (unless
you put a layer of pond soil or whatever underneath the sand).
Cryptocoryne species would be ideal.> What are good foods for these
guys? <These are quite fussy fish that tend to have favourite foods.
I've never seen Mikrogeophagus show much interest in flake or
pellets, though I dare say some will eat the stuff. Mostly they seem to
require a varied diet of live or (wet) frozen foods: bloodworms,
glassworms, mosquito larvae, daphnia, etc. Remember to vary the diet;
if they get just bloodworms, you're setting them up for a vitamin
deficiency in the long term.> I talked to the staff at the LFS and
they said add tetras first after cycling then wait a month or more
before aiding rams/ change like 5 to 10% of the water a week.
<Likely far too little in terms of water changes. Mikrogeophagus
ramirezi are acutely sensitive to nitrate, and tend to develop things
like Hexamita at the first sniff of high levels of nitrate. In part
this is surely why they die so quickly in most community tanks. So
rather than estimating a water change, grab a nitrate kit and keep
track of the nitrate level each week for the first few months.
You'll get a picture of how quickly nitrate levels rise, and can
act accordingly. You're aiming for under 20 mg/l nitrate, and
ideally 0-10 mg/l. Part of this is avoiding overfeeding: these fish
need only small amounts of food to do well.> I was think 1 or 2
pairs of rams and 12 to 15 tetras in a school. <Ok.> I was
wondering if a school of neon, rummy nose or cardinal tetras would be
good dithers ? Are there any other good tetra-like fish to keep with
them or is it best to keep the Angel rams separate? <Neons need cool
water, so they're not an option for use alongside the warmth-loving
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. Cardinals can work well, and probably make the
best bet. Rummynose tetras would be good in some ways, but they're
hyperactive fish, and need to be kept in a decent sized group to school
properly; if they just mill about looking nervous, that'll have the
reverse effect on your Mikrogeophagus. If you don't mind switching
continents, Harlequin Rasboras work well too.> I do understand the
fancy type of rams are less hardy but I will be moving in five years +
anyway.( though I am planning on taking the tank with) <You'd be
lucky if most of the farmed specimens last 5 months, to be honest. They
really are abysmally poor fish. I wouldn't touch them with a barge
pole. Like pouring money down a drain.> thanks <Cheers,
Neale.> How many Neons would live healthy and happy in a ten (10) gallon tank, - 04/19/2006 with proper filtration and a heater. Tank is fully cycled too. Don't want to overload. <You can probably do 1 per gallon...they are tiny fish and like to school :), IanB> Neons vs. cardinals 7/21/05 Hello, wondering if I could get
an opinion on these tetras. I'm planning on a 108 gal. community
and want to have either neon tetras or cardinals as the main schooling
species. What would be your recommendation with these fish for overall
color, adaptability with other community fish and most of all
hardiness? I know both require the same water conditions. That's
it. Neons or cardinals? Appreciate any input on this
subject?..........Regards, Craig P. <Mmm, am a big fan of both
species, but will side with the Cardinals... for bigger size, greater
longevity, relative hardiness. Bob Fenner> Neons, Frogs, & Snails Hello to all at WWM, I have a few questions. First I have a 10g established tank with three neon's. I wanted more so I went to the pet shop and bought 3 more neon's, a blue mystery snail and 1 African dwarf frog. They assured me this would not overcrowd my tank (but they have given me bad advice in the past so I thought I would ask you guys) <This should be fine as long as you don't add anything else to the tank. Also make sure the tank is fully covered so your frog can't escape.> I am getting very conflicting info on the frog. They told me at the pet shop that it would eat fish flakes but what I've been able to find on the web suggests otherwise. I guess what I need to know is what's some really good food to feed this little guy. <This site http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/mypets/dwarfs.html has a lot of information and suggests frozen bloodworms as an excellent food for them.> They also suggested frozen brine shrimp when I asked about frozen treats for my neon's. Your site said these are junk food and when I asked if there was anything else that would be suitable for my neon's they said no. <As a treat once in a while brine shrimp will be fine, just don't count on it providing much nutrition. Frozen Daphnia is also small enough that your Neons should be able to eat it too.> Another question do I need to buy special food for the snail? <Nope, he'll eat stuff that's in the tank.> One last question, the new neon's I got are a lot bigger than my original ones. One of my original neon's is hiding out in the weeds. It has done this on and off since I have had it (about 3 months) and seems fine but just seems to be hiding more since I added the others. Do you think they could be bulling it since they are bigger? <The bigger one might be bullying it but probably not. The original one is probably just nervous and will come out more as he adapts to the new critters in his tank.> Thank You So Much for all your help. Amy <You're welcome! Ronni> |
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