# First community tank - 29 gallon



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

I just set up a used 29 gallon tank last night and let the sand settle, and acclimated my betta, Ahti, to the tank this morning. He's currently swimming around the entire tank and investigating.

This is my first community tank, and as soon as I get some live plants in, it'll be my first planted tank, too. (other than the marimo I had in Ahti's old tank, which I later removed when they weren't getting enough light)

I'm planning to put 4 otos, 4 peppered corys, and about 6 harlequin rasboras in along with Ahti. I've just shifted his decorations and his old filter cartridge in to help kickstart the cycle, and I had some start zyme that helped tremendously in getting his old tank cycled. Well, cycled as much as a 1.5 gallon can be 

Ahti's in there right now, and I'm thinking of getting about half of the harlequins while we're out shopping today to get a bit more life in the tank without stressing out the BB too much.

There's plastic plants in there right now, but I'm hoping to eventually replace most or all of them with live plants. I tested them, and they're all rubbery, not hard plastic, so I figured they're safe for the time being.

I also want to get rid of the small plastic pile of rocks decoration that was in his old tank, which I only put in there right now because it's got a lot of algae and diatom growth on it and I want that to spread for the otos before I add them in. To replace it, I'd love to get some mopani to really add some pop, because I saw it in person at the local Pet Supplies Plus in their tanks and just wow, it looks stunning. Way better than in pictures.

I don't have a test kit, and my parents are totally unwilling to buy me one, so I'm going to have to just be fairly conservative and cautious with adding fish. I'm hoping that having old filter media will make it easier to get going and not lose too many (if any) fish.

I'll update later today with pictures!


----------



## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

Congrats on your new tank 

just a word or caution; I would double check on the rasboras with the betta. I am not sure they can be in the same tank, but I could be wrong too.


----------



## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

I would increase the harlequins and the cories. Harlequins and bettas usually get along fine.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> I would increase the harlequins and the cories. Harlequins and bettas usually get along fine.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I'd love to add more corys and harlequins, but I have a Tetra Whisper 30 filter, and until I can get enough plants in, I don't want to stress the filter by adding more of either. Ideally, I'd like 6 peppered corys and maybe 8 harlequin rasboras.


----------



## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

In a 29, you could easily do 12-15 harlequins and 8-10 cories.

You have it with live plants, right?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> In a 29, you could easily do 12-15 harlequins and 8-10 cories.
> 
> You have it with live plants, right?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I don't have any live plants at all just yet. I want to get plenty, but it's going to take some time. My parents are extremely reluctant to keep purchasing things to put in the tank that aren't fish, since the used tank came with a tiny handful of decorations and they think that large open areas are more ideal for all fish because it gives them swimming room.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Sadly, Meijer isn't carrying the harlequin rasboras anymore. I went to get the peppered corys, and my parents saw the $6 price tag and said not today :/ but they still wanted me to take fish home, so I racked my brain for something that generally gets along, and I walked away with two zebra danios. I'm definitely getting more, because they're fun little fish, and I know they're a shoaling species. Hopefully we'll get some more soon.

Ahti chased them around a little, but when they were too fast for him, he kind of gave up. They went to check him out, and he flared at them to scare them away. It worked.

I'm hoping they'll turn out to get along really well, and this won't be a purchase we regret.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

I have a picture of the new tank! If you've seen any pictures from Ahti's old tank, you should recognize some of the decorations. It's still a bit cloudy from the Start Zyme, but I expected that to happen. It cleared up in a couple of days last time I used it on Ahti's tank, and I'm positive it'll keep happening as I add more fish and increase the bioload.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

My parent's cat Jake has just discovered the danios. He had the widest eyes and tried to reach up and catch one. He loved to watch Ahti in his smaller tank, but I was always so afraid he'd knock the little 1.5 gallon over. He certainly budged it several times. But a 29 gallon? Nah. I'm mostly afraid of him getting the courage to jump on the lid.

But it was so funny to see him fish-watch the larger tank. Especially the fast-moving danios.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Set up Ahti's old tank as a marimo tank! If things go sour with Ahti in the community tank, all I have to do is add back the heater and a new filter cartridge in this tank to make it ready for Ahti again.

I'm super pleased with the look. It's very zen-like.


----------



## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

Rimbaum said:


> Set up Ahti's old tank as a marimo tank! If things go sour with Ahti in the community tank, all I have to do is add back the heater and a new filter cartridge in this tank to make it ready for Ahti again.
> 
> I'm super pleased with the look. It's very zen-like.


Nice job, very unique


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Islandgaliam said:


> Nice job, very unique


Thanks! If worse comes to worst, it's a cute set up ready for Ahti.

Speaking of, an update on Ahti and the (as yet unnamed) danios! Ahti has come out of hiding and is back to swimming all over the tank, and seems to tolerate the danios as long as they don't try and surround him. If they do, he flares and chases them away. Fortunately, they don't try to bother Ahti too much, and each species is getting along just fine minding their own business.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Just sold my old ball-jointed dolls! This is a lot of money coming in, and all of it is going to go towards the tank. It'll let me get plants, ferts, some lovely mopani driftwood, and more fish! Maybe not all of them, but it should be a pretty decent portion. Plants, driftwood, and ferts come first.

I'm definitely gonna get a betta hammock next time we're at petsmart, though. Ahti loves resting inside one of the plastic plants so he's not fighting the filter current. It's not so strong that he can't get around, but if he stops moving, he definitely drifts unless he's resting on or in something, or far away from the filter.

Maybe once the live plants my friend sent me come in, I can get rid of the large green plastic plant. That's the one Ahti spends the most time in, and I worry about it shredding his fins.


----------



## Full black guppy (Sep 12, 2014)

just watch the plastic plants in the tank it cuts the fins of the betta


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

My ultimate goal is to replace all the plastic plants with real plants. I like the look of the real plants better, anyways.

speaking of plants! My friend's clippings arrived in today's mail. I'm hoping to ID it (thread over here), but I definitely saw some duckweed riding along. I put in just a few little bits. I'm sure it'll explode before too long.

The fish have been in and out of the new plants several times already. Probably when I have to trim them back, I'll get rid of the big green plastic plant.

Hoping to hear back about a plant package soon. I'd love a bigger variety of lush plants, after all.


----------



## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I'd skip the hammock if you are going to have live plants. Your fish will prefer the live plants. Mine never used the hammock, I took it out after a couple months when the color seemed to be coming off. You can probably get a nice live plant for the $5 you'd spend on the hammock.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Thanks DaytonBetta, I'll definitely keep that in mind. I just wanted a place for him to rest near the top, where I can train him to eat away from the danios.

Plants were ID'd as water sprite, and I'm really looking forward to them greening up. One thing I like about the live plants over the plastic (aside from them being safer for my betta's fins, of course) is the way it sways in the filter current. It adds more life to the tank for things to be gently swaying instead of being stiff and static.

Showed my mom the duckweed, she thinks it's kinda cute. I'm hoping it'll take off, I love the look of floaters. Duckweed may not have been my first choice, but I still like it.

So far, the fish love the water sprite. I saw Ahti nestled in earlier and barely poking his head out. The danios also go in and out of it a lot.

So far, it's looking really good for relations between Ahti and the danios. They mind their own business and occasionally swim together before breaking apart. None of them are eating too well, but I figured it might take them a few days to really settle in.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Well... I'm not terribly surprised that _something_ is broken, but I am disappointed. Turns out the heater is pretty much always on, and was creeping the temp up really high, even though I adjusted it to below room temperature.

Unfortunately, we don't have the money to get a new heater until the weekend, so I'm going to plug the heater in at night when it's coldest, and unplug it during the day.

We also need to pick up a regular thermometer. The tank came with a stick-on one and the whole family agrees we need something more accurate.

I'm really hoping the online sale for the Eheim Jager TruTemp heater keeps going through the weekend. The 125w is on sale for only $15, according to the online store. Even with shipping, that's cheaper than picking up one of the Aqueon heaters in-store. Especially since Petsmart is 20 miles away.


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

That's not a bad price at all.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

It's really not, and I'll be glad to have something I know is a good quality.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Trimmed off the dead and browning stems of the water sprite. Took down a lot of the cover that Ahti liked hiding in, but I have faith that it won't be too long before it grows in and tries to take over my tank. I'm already seeing a young stem and some leafs uncurling.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Got paid for doing some editing work, so I went ahead and ordered the Eheim Jager heater from petsmart. with shipping and tax, it only came out to $22.22, so I'm really pleased with that. I just barely couldn't afford to add in a master test kit, but when I get the money from selling my dolls, I'm definitely buying one.

I'm a little worried about Ahti, I saw that one of his eyes is looking pretty cloudy. I'm due to do a water change tomorrow, so I might bump it up to today so I can clear the water out a little and give him a chance to recover. If necessary, I'll put him back in the small tank so I can be sure he's getting frequent water changes with clean water.

EDIT: I went ahead and did the water change. With luck, 4 gallons of fresh water will make a huge difference for Ahti.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Good news! Ahti's cloudy eye seems to be starting to clear up. I'm glad the water change made a difference. I can't wait to get the test kit so I can actually monitor the params and better tell when to do a water change instead of just trying to wing it.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Came home from Meijer with two peppered corys and a freebie plant! No idea what it is, though. It looked nice and feathery and they pulled a whole stem out with roots and tossed it in the bag.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

On further investigation I think the plant they gave me is myrio. It's currently being weighted down by a rock, because it keeps floating up out of the sand.

The corys spent a lot of time last night swimming around and foraging for food. I dropped a sinking pellet in there next to them and boy they chowed down on it. Until Ahti came along to try and join them. He'd hang back and follow them, stop when they stopped, and apparently tried to just chill with them.

I'm pretty certain it wasn't aggressive behavior on his part, because I definitely saw aggressive behavior from Ahti when I added the danios, but they were too fast for him to keep up with, so he gave up after about five minutes. And for a couple of hours, every time they came near him he flared and they'd swim away. Ahti didn't do any of that and seemed content to rest near the bottom with the corys. They, of course, were spooked about this big finned fellow that thought he was one of them.

I did see some cute behavior from the corys, though. One of them tried to shoal with the danios! They even slowed down for it to keep up with them for a little while before zooming off around the tank.

Currently, the corys are resting in the cave. I imagine they'll be more active when the light goes off around 1, and only the natural light is in the tank.

Ahti is... well, flaring at the filter current. It seems there's only one small area he has trouble swimming through, and that's right where the filter output hits the water. He doesn't seem to be having trouble anywhere else in the tank but right there, and he backed up right into it after flaring at his reflection.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

The new heater arrived safely and is in the tank!

I've decided that tomorrow, I'm going to go get a couple of Glofish danios. With luck, Ahti will react to them the same way he did to the regular danios, and everyone will get along just fine.

The corys are getting used to their new environment, and I'm seeing more and more of them. They like hanging around my plants... do they eat live plants, or just the stuff growing on them?

Paypal futzed up the payment for my dolls, so it might be until next Tuesday before I get the payment, since they said they'd take 11 days to refund the money to the buyer for a mistake on Paypal's end.

So I'm going to have to wait a little longer on getting some plants and driftwood, as well as a background for the tank. I'm thinking of getting some mopani, because it's just so gorgeous. Hopefully I can find a good piece. If not, I'll wait and just keep looking.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

I'm acclimating a couple of glofish danios. I was worried about Ahti and their bright colors, but he doesn't seem to be overly aggressive when he swims by where they're floating. He does a sort of half-flare for a second, and then swims away and ignores them until he wanders over to their area again. It doesn't seem terribly different from how he treated the regular danios initially.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

My mom bullied me into getting an oto, because diatoms are officially all over the tank now. She just wanted "an algae eater", and I admit while we were at petsmart I looked really hard at a rubbernose pleco that was sitting there all cute, with the size chart saying he wouldn't get bigger than 4". Alas, petsmart did not have either a good chunk of driftwood or an oto in sight. I still picked up a background for the tank, because I'm tired of looking at the wires on the other side.

So we went across town to Pet Supplies Plus, where they had a beautiful chunk of mopani and one lone oto, because the rest had been sold. While we were there, I picked up a package of frozen bloodworms.

I definitely put too many bloodworms in, but the corys have been slowly cleaning them up. The danios went nuts, and Ahti ate a few, too. I'll be doing a water change tomorrow, and any leftovers then will be put in with the old tank water.

Been getting kind of worried about Ahti :/ He hasn't been eating his pellets much, and I'm fairly sure he's got pop eye. If he's not doing any better after the water change tomorrow, I'm going to quarantine him in the marimo tank, which needs a water change of its own anyways.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Got some plants in the mail! I'm letting them float for a few days because they need to grow some roots. Once they do, I'm doing a total rescape of my tank, including taking out almost all of the plastic plants and adding in some mopani. One of the plastic plants I actually really like, and it doesn't have anything to snag on delicate betta fins.

I seem to have an oto in hiding. I can't find him anywhere in the tank this morning. Hoping he's okay, because I've always been able to spot him so far if I looked hard enough, but no. Nowhere to be found.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Well I got too excited for my plants and did a rescape, and found my oto dead  I had been hopeful, but I pretty much knew it was too early to add them. My mom asked why I'd buy a fish so sensitive to water parameters and then in the same breath turned around and said I needed a new "algae eater" immediately.

And of course, she thinks of common plecos when she thinks of algae eaters :/ I sprung for a mystery snail, because trying to argue with her sets off my anxiety and risks triggering a bipolar episode. I won't be adding otos to this tank for quite a long while now. I might just stick to the snails until I've got more experience under my belt. And a water test kit.


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Aww poor oto.. It's tricky when fish are so sensitive to changes. But it's also hard to get everything perfect. She sounds just like my mom. Everytime I talk to her about cycling/water changes she's like "that's what the filter does, you don't need water changes" and I explain the nitrate cycle and it goes in one ear and out the other. I'm trying to get a water test kit too.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Did a water change yesterday and did some shopping. Unfortunately, I have new glasses to pay for so I couldn't afford a master test kit :/ I could afford a couple more corys and another mystery snail - Petsmart was out of nerites, and this zippy little guy with the golden shell was too funny to pass up.

Cory and danio count is up to four each. I'm hoping to get at least two more danios and definitely one more cory.

Ahti is building quite the bubble nest next to the dwarf water lettuce. He always seems to add to it when I'm not looking, though.

Snails officially have names - the black one is Ninja, because I never see it moving, but if I look away for five minutes it's on the other side of the tank. The golden one is Zippy, because you can see him just booking it across the sand. Ninja seems to like sticking on the glass, and Zippy climbs up the glass a little ways and then just falls back down to race across the sand somewhere else.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

My filter died :/ I had to make a quick run to Meijer and use my parents' store credit card to get a replacement. I had an older model Whisper 30 HOB filter, and since the Whisper 30 and Whisper 40 were exactly the same price, I opted for the 40.

The downside is that the newer model is quite a bit louder than the older model I was using. Pretty sure it's the power source that's making all the noise... does anyone have tips on how to dampen the noise?


----------



## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Usually filter noise is air bubbles that are caught. They usually work themselves out over a few days. Try gently jiggling it around a little.


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

Been a while since I updated this. Parents wanted more "variety" of fish that are in the tank, so I did some research and found out that leopard danios are the same species as the zebra danios, and most people have success in getting them to shoal together. While we were down in town last week, I picked up a couple. Petsmart only had the long-finned variety, which made me worry about how Ahti would interact with them.

Turns out, the danios are nipping at fins. Just that they're only nipping at each other's :/ I'm keeping an eye on them, because one of the leopard danios had a pretty good chunk of his tail taken out, and I just noticed today that the yellow glofish had a chunk of _his_ tail taken out, too. They leave Ahti alone completely, though. They might be scared around him - I've seen him swim through the whole group of danios and they scattered.

I've noticed that the most aggressive of the danios is a female, and I'm wondering if her aggressiveness has anything to do with her laying eggs. I have no plans to breed any of the danios, and there's little enough vegetation yet that I'm positive any eggs she's laying are being gobbled up by the corys and the snails.

My mother insisted on putting a chair up next to the tank so the cats can sit and watch the fish. Jake will sit there and refuse to budge for an hour straight. His attention goes mostly towards Ahti, because he's the biggest and easiest to see.

I'll try to get a picture of my tank sometime over the next couple days. This thread needs some recent pictures in it.


----------



## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Sadly most danios are fin nippers, only breed of them I know to be 100% peaceful (and not huge jumpers if no lid) is danio tinwini aka gold ring danio which stay under and inch. Wish I could get my hands on some locally... Anyways hope they settle in and stop nipping soon!


----------



## Rimbaum (May 22, 2014)

To be honest, I'm glad they're sticking to nipping each other's fins, and it seems to have died down over the past week. It's so hard to tell with them because they move so fast, though.

I've been worried to death that they'll start nipping Ahti's fins, and that I'd have to remove him. But like I said, they seem to steer clear of him and only bother each other. I might add one or two more zebra danios to round things out, although I definitely should get at least one more cory. Either way, hopefully now that they're in larger numbers, they'll settle down some.


----------

