# Setting up South American tetra tank



## kmwcane (Jul 27, 2004)

Can anyone recommend a good forum to discuss tetras, cory's, etc...?


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

There are some very experienced fish folks on the loach forum. They have a freshwater section where most of your questions can be answered. Besides loaches, their main love, they seem to be wild about fish in general.

http://forums.loaches.com/index.php


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I just saw this link in my local fish club's forum... it's for a livebearer convension. You may I haven't even clicked the link but I would guess you could find a forum through it somewhere.

http://www.ala2009.com/


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

kmwcane said:


> Can anyone recommend a good forum to discuss tetras, cory's, etc...?


You could always ask your questions here as well.


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## kmwcane (Jul 27, 2004)

Hey everyone!

I am a long time cichlid keeper (Tropheus and Cyphotilapia gibberosa) and I am interested in setting up a display tank that has something besides *gulp* (never thought I would say that...) Tropheus. I would really like a nice tank of neon or cardinal tetras, some emperor tetras, and a nice school of corys.

Before I do anything, I need to make sure I get my water appropriate for these guys.

My tap water is @8.2 ph and moderately hard. What do I need to do to lower the ph and hardness? Invest in a RO unit? Any other tips about water chemistry would be great.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

R.O unit is the easiest and most reliable method of lowering both the pH and hardness.

HOWEVER, if you do that, you'll need to acclimatise your fish to the lower parameters, as the LFS will have had their fish acclimatised to the tapwater parameters, and so the jump back to more natural conditions are likely to shock the fish quite dramatically.

also, dont waste money on buffering solutions and re-mineralising products. just mix a percentage of your tap water and the RO water to get the correct balance of dKH and dGH. (say 4:1 (4parts R.O. 1part tapwater)) thats purely an example, you'd have to experiment to see what levels you want/get to yourself.

one advise with the tetras, get yourself a decent sized group. 6 tetra's may school occasionally, but 20 will be more likely to.

also, if adjusting the water, you may wish to consider some dwarf cichlids to go along with them. and theres a huge range, with dwarves from both south America and West Africa being good candidates,


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *kmwcane*,

What size tank are you thinking of setting up?

I agree with *PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn*, in that you could set up a nice community tank based around a pair of SA dwarf cichlids. Also are you thinking of doing this as a planted tank, using CO2?

Neon teteras aren't the hardiest of tetras. I'd definately look at Rummynose tetras, Cardinal tetras, Black and/or Red Phantom tetras and Lemon tetas to start with. You might also want to consider something like Cherry Red shrimp.

Here's a link to a recent post on the SA forum, *stocking help*. My post here also mentions some other species of fish you might want to consider, especially the two species of pencilfish mentioned.


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## kmwcane (Jul 27, 2004)

The tank will be 60"x24"x18".

I forgot to mention that my water out of the tap has a total hardness of about 100 ppm and KH of around 7-9 degrees.

Any recommendations on an RO unit?

My initial thought was to have a school of about 30-50 neons or cardinals, a school of about 15-20 lemons, 12 or so hatchet fish and 12 corys.

Re: neons and cardinals. It had always been my understanding that cardinals were more difficult to maintain? Is this incorrect?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

kmwcane said:


> Re: neons and cardinals. It had always been my understanding that cardinals were more difficult to maintain? Is this incorrect?


I've always heard that too, yet my experience has been the exact opposite. My daughter has a 15 gallon aquarium in her bedroom, that has had either L. brevis or Alto. Sumbu Comps in it. There has always been Neons and/or Cardinals. The Cardinals have always lasted for 3-5 years, the Neons about half of that. I've even watched the Cardinals breed in the aquarium, which surprised me given the ph of about 8.0.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Really consider making this a planted tank, too. Not only is it more beautiful and natural, but if you add pressurized C02, you're going to drop your pH, perhaps enough not to need RO (or need less). The only issue is that with a planted tank, I only cover the front part and leave the back open for the light, so that makes hatchetfish not workable (they jump, apparently)

I prefer rummynose tetras the most. Very beautiful!
Consider adding one angel as a centerpiece fish . . .


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## kmwcane (Jul 27, 2004)

I am seriously considering adding live plants now.

What plants are specific to South America that would be easy for a novice such as myself? I know I would like swords, are they relatviley easy to keep?


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Yes, swords are a good choice. I also like java fern, anubais, vals, crinium (onion) plants, crypts and giant hygro. (I do not know the locale of these plants, though).

I have found the Eco Complete planted substrate to be very beneficial (a bit pricey, but worth it). It makes it quite easy to plant in and provides a lot of nutrients. I prefer a slightly higher light tank. I have 3 watts per gallon (WPG) on a timer for 8-9 hours a day. I also have injected C02. My plants grow like crazy and I do have to do quite a bit of trimming (and with the vals, actually thinning them out as they spread quite a bit). I love the look of my tetras and angels swimming among the plants . . . I also fertlize somewhat with Seachem Excel, Flourish and Potassium. The Excel is a carbon source and particularly useful if you don't go with C02.

Planting heavily from the beginning helps you get the jump on algae. A lovely bristlenose pleco (I love the albino long-finned version) will help deal with some inevitable algae.


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