South American Freshwater tank?

Question

I have recently started a 20 freschwater tank, I have an undergravel and a powerfilter running. Ph 6.5, Temp 72F
2 brown skirt tetras
2 yellow skirt tetras
2 blue tetras.
no live plants as the store clerk advised against because of parasites. So far so good. Does this setting look ok? Any tips?

The skirt tetras appear to school of course not the blue tetras. I like the idea of adding ground level fish but I don't want to overcrowed the setting either.
Temperature is usually between 72-75 I've not been specific enough.
They are not happy with the lighting in the hood.

Answer 1

*The pH is fine (although even for South American fish i generally keep the pH at 6.8 or above to allow for more electrolytes).

*Your temperature is too cold, I would recommend a temperature of 78 F.

*Your fish choice is good.

*Please watch your parameters, in particular your ammonia which may rise depending on how you cycle your tank. I recommend with UGFs to add some gravel from an established aquarium. You can also add filter media from an established aquarium to your Power filter. Also note that even South American fish need calcium and electrolytes (this is a common problem I have seen when clients have called me out to there home or offices to see what is wrong with their fish).

* Watch your feeding in particular while your tank is new, consider quality foods that are easy to digest and pollute less such as Spirulina 20 or HBH Flake Frenzy, avoid low quality foods such as TetraMin.

*UGFs (undergravel filters) are not the best of choice for live plants, if and when you get live plants, consider plants that do not need to root in soil such as Java Ferns or Java Moss. As for parasites, plants can have them present, but your fish are far more likely to bring them home with them.

For much more information about freshwater aquariums, please read my article:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Basic_Aquarium_Principles.html

Answer 2

Contrary to popular belief, 7 is not necessarily the best Ph for fish. South American fish come from areas where the Ph is low- some places lower than 6. 6.5 is great for keeping south american fish. Some South American fish, like rams and discuss will struggle to adapt to anything 7 or higher.

I also don't know where the pet store person got their information about live plnts and parasites. Maybe they had a bad experience at some time? I have never had problems with live plants introducing diseases.

So anyway, now on to your question. I would take back some tetras, and stick to only 1 species. The reason is because tetras need to be in groups of at least 6 of EACH species. Otherwise they will become stressed, which will make them vulnerable to disease. Then get a few bottom feeders. 6 smaller cories will work great, or my favorite are the South American Bumblebee catfish. You can get 2 of those. Then a centerpiece fish like a Ram or 2.

Look under sources for a link to my tank pics to give you an idea. My plants are not south american but all of my fish are.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Don't mix and match tetras, get large groups of the same species. Don't worry about pH, just raise your temperature slightly. Parasites come from ill informed pet stores, not plants. Get lots of plants, val. species and java fern are easy with the ug filter. Find a locally owned aquarium shop, they are the place to get fish and advice.

Answer 4

You should look into plant bulbs and the self contained plants( they come in a plastic tube www.petco.com) Ghost shrimp are bottom feeders that barely take up any space. Be careful with bumblebee catfish. Th S.A. bumblebee catfish listed in pet stores may attack fish smaller than it (pearl gourami).

Answer 5

depending what else your going to put in the tank, most domestic raised fish are raised in 7.0 ph, and about 76-78 degrees. Most petstores have the majority of there tanks at 7.0 for community fish, so they are all able to mix well without risk of ick from drastic change in ph. Good luck

Answer 6

wow that sounds cool