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Bristle nose for low tech?

G

Graham1984

Seedling
Joined
4 Apr 2010
Messages
22
Location
durham
Is a bristle nose too destructive for a low tech tank with crypts and swords? And is the same true for black red tailed sharks?
Would a group of corys be a better option?

I have a bristle nose and a red tail, and im about to re do the tank, I already have a home sorted for them while that happens, with the option of leaving them there.

the tank is 300l and once they go, totaly empty..
 
I have a male/female longfinned albino Bristlenose pair in my 325 L heavily planted with crypt's,anubia, Water sprite,stargrass,Pennywort,Anacharis.
So long as the plant leaves are healthy,and the pair get their New life spectrum,algae wafer's,and weekly zuchinni,they bother nothing in the way of plant's.
They do frequently dig under wood, and displace sand in these area's.
 
I was thinking of hiding a section of drain pipe in the tank somwhere, and filling the bottom of it with a tiny bit of sand. and using that area to place the food,

what would you recomend as an algae crew, in terms of numbers?
 
Graham1984 said:
I was thinking of hiding a section of drain pipe in the tank somwhere, and filling the bottom of it with a tiny bit of sand. and using that area to place the food,

what would you recomend as an algae crew, in terms of numbers?
Click to expand...

Hard to beat Nerite snail's,amano shrimp,Otocinclus, LDA25 pleco in addition or in place of the bristlenose.
I keep all of them, but mostly keep the bristlenose just cause I love pleco's.
I do make enough $$ on the long finned bristlenose to help pay for fish food's,other fishes.
As far as number's for the snail's,shrimp's, I just started with six or eight Nerites,six or eight amano shrimp,A dozen oto's(lost four).
Trick is providing enough algae so that the critter's don't struggle, or grow thin searching for it.
I have very little alage in my tank's so i supplement with vegetable matter,algae wafer's.
 
yeah, as its a a total new set up, im going to have to let the algae grow in slightly before I go down a clean up route.

Was just trying to look into what space i will need to leave over, for the crew to move in eventually.

I havent had great sucsess with ottos in the past, Any advice on those?

Im not looking to be constantly re-scaping the tank, and keeping things as low maintenence as possible. other than the food issue, do they perfer older water or weekly big changes?
 
Otocinclus are by and large still wild caught fish, and shipping ,handling,from over sea's is rough on them .
Many are starving when the get here ,and they often die within a few day's,week's,in my expierience.
I usually wait until tank is a few month's old to place oto's in, and assure there is some algae which is their primary food.
Some of them take right to vegetable matter ,spirulina pellet's,New life spectrum,algae wafer's,and other's I have kept did not.
Have changed 50% of water in my tank's each week for decades, with exception of Bristlenose spawn's ,or other small fry hatches where feeding's are two to four times a day for the small fish.I then perform twice weekly 50% water changes to compensate for extra feeding's.
I could prolly change water once a month in planted tank's but I am a creature of habit and the weekly water changes have been kind to me so I continue them.
 
slightly off topic, but is that your tank in the picture?

how much maintenance goes into somthing like that?
what kind of lighting are you running? substrate ect..?

im currently working on a plan for a low tech 300l and yours looks like what im aiming for.
 
Yes,the avatar photo is my 80 US gallon tank.
Lighting is two,22 inch, 65 watt CFL bulbs (straight pin) 50/50 10,000K/6700K on 7 hours a day.
Substrate is Miracle grow organic potting mix, mixed with Miracle grow Sphagum peat moss ,about 80/20.Special kitty cat litter,and capped with Black Diamond blasting media.
Once a week ,I add 1/2 tsp KNO3,1/2 tsp KH2PO4, and 1/2 tsp CSM+B (twice a week)
I also add about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp of epsom salt for magnesium, which my water appear's to be low on judging from yellowing of plant's previously to epsom salt addition.
Plant's are Anubia on wood (lot's) ,Crypt Balansae,Bronze crypt,crypt ponterdefolia (sp),Crypt parva,Zosterfolia (star grass),Floating penny wort,Radican marlbed sword,Watersprite.
water change each week of 50% and a little trimming of the Watersprite each month.
I have run it for a month between water changes, but fishes (over a hundred at one time),, acted sluggish (to me), so I keep with the weekly water change.
This tank has just been re-done from bottom up about eight week's ago as described above.
current resident's are a Baker's dozen of Sterbai corydora's,and gob's of cherry shrimp.
 
AH! another soil user...

do you find it has any effects on the fish in the first few months when it goes in?
 
I waited two week's before placing fish in the tank to let everything settle,and then placed the fish/shrimp in the tank and have not lost any.
Have used the soil before, in pot's for plant's placed in large cichlid tank's, where rooted plant's get dug up regularly.
Have little access to Aquasoil so no expierience with it.
Have heard some of it may leach ammonia for a while ,and some perform frequent water changes to prevent algae bloom possibly.
I tend to stick with what I have used before like the Miracle Grow organic choice,plain topsoil.
 
I simply cant afford the amount of premium substrate I would need to fill the bottom deep enough for the lower care plants to take root, it would be £100+ just in what is basically gravel and soil. then you need it posted to you.

but fush must live in worse than topsoil in the wild, all be it with more water exchange.. also these products are fairly new, ive seen photos of tanks from the 70's looking very good. ( bet they were not using gold dust to grow things)

getting back to the fish side of things I have always been kind of worried about soil in tanks in relation to the fish health. plecos and bottom dwellers especially.

have you ever kept khuli loaches with soil.? Ive heard they are fairly good diggers?
 
I spend may day's and evening's fishing small lakes,pond's, with mud, sand bottom's.
Was enough evidence for me that soil ,if not constantly disturbed,,poses no risk to the fishes.
Have only kept the Khuli loaches over sand.
I might were it me,,use the back yard soil you mentioned that also has clay properties, and cap it with sand.
Be about as cheap as it get's.
Add a little fertilzer each week, or two week's ,as plant's dictate.
 
My aplogies,,It may have been another thread where mention was made of clay loam,soil in back yard, but any top soil would work in my view so long as one is aware of other properties the soil might contain.
 
No its fine, actually I have another post in el nautural, where I asked about digging some clay from deep in my garden and making clay balls to push under plants,

New 300l set up, help needed | UK Aquatic Plant Society

so that has actually been a bit of a help.

Im looking to get going with my rebuild early next week, I have the lower levels sorted. im happy with water testing, and general upkeep. just need my lighting levels sorting/confirming,
then im good to get going.

thanks for your help.
 
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