# Amazon biotopes - 75 gallon clearwater + 33 gallon long blackwater



## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

I moved on 4/21 and finally the never ending process of moving and setting up tanks is DONE; the 75 gallon has been set up for almost a month, the 33 gallon long, just under 3 weeks. I rehomed my Colombian tetras and kept the marbled hatchets, sterbais and checkerboard cichlids. Unfortunately, two sterbais died and FOUR of my seven hatchets jumped out of the temporary tank. I'm mad at myself for that one, sorry little dudes.

75 gallon clearwater ([STRIKE]that's a lie at the moment[/STRIKE] finally clear!)
Temp - 78.5 F
Filtration - Eheim 2217 + Fluval 304
Lighting - Finnex stingray 48" + Finnex stingray 36"
Substrate - pool filter sand
Plants - Brazilian pennywort (temporarily anubias and java fern until I decide if I want to do a planted tank or not)
pH - 6.0, maybe lower
TDS - [STRIKE]35ppm[/STRIKE] 45-50ppm
GH/KH - 1/1

Fish (updated stocking list 8/16/17)
7x Biotodoma cupido
6x Corydoras sterbai 
0x Carnegiella strigata (moved to my 33 gallon long)
16x Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis
2x Farlowella vittata

This 75 gallon is supposed be more brightly lit with crystal CLEAR water, but as you can see, it's not. The wood I used was not previously soaked or used before, so they're leaching tannins like crazy. I was changing water every other day for a while and I think that kept upsetting the bacterial balance; the tank is still a little cloudy. I put a packet of Purigen in each filter and they were saturated brown in 4 days. I wanted a good expanse of sand for the cupid cichlids, they're benthophagic and will be pecking constantly for food. I might add some leaf litter under the branches, but I'm not sure...I'm trying to keep the sand nice and clean in this tank. 





































The hatchets don't show up in the gloom and the sterbais are too nuts to photograph. More pictures will be forthcoming, everything will be easier to photograph when the tannins finally dissipate.


The 33 gallon long was set up to be tannin stained and murky and dirty. The water is nicely stained, but somehow the 75 gallon has a lower pH and TDS, not sure how or why. I have 40-50 magnolia leaves in the tank, I plan to add 20-30 more. There is some hair algae growing in the pennywort, which isn't a bad thing, but I don't want it to get out of hand. And the wood and leaves have weird fuzzy fungus growing on them already, the tank looks really "lived in" already, I'm surprised. I'm going for a grungy natural look for this tank, no siphoning out any detritus, no Purigen, keep it funky.

Temp [STRIKE]-83 F[/STRIKE] lowered to 81.5F
Filtration - Eheim 2215
Lighting - Sunblaster 48" T5 (toned down since these pictures with pet proof screening covering 60% of the light)
Substrate - thin layer of play sand, 1/2" -1" deep
Plants - Brazilian pennywort, duckweed (hitchhiker, but I may leave it in)
TDS - 45-50ppm
GH/KH - 2/2
pH - 6.4

Fish
7x Dicrossus filamentosus (4F/3M) [lost a female]
[STRIKE]18x cardinal tetras[/STRIKE] all dead, had some very severe and heat resistant ich
[STRIKE]4x German blue rams - maybe in two months when the tank matures[/STRIKE] yeah, maybe not
7x neon tetras (10-12 planned)
2x marbled hatchetfish (8-10 planned)


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Woah glad you're back, both tanks and the photos are awesome! Hopefully the 70 clears soon, had a chuckle to myself about it looking pretty blackwater.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Thanks, I'm trying to do smaller water changes, 10-15 gallons at a time, so I don't upset the bacterial balance again. I should probably wait a while until the water is no longer cloudy and then do a larger water change. Actual true clear water is probably a while away unfortunately.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

It still looks cool as a blackwater setup TBH, although I understand for these inhabitants that's not what your going for.


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## longgonedaddy (Dec 9, 2012)

Both are looking good, although the 75 isn't what you want it to be. Glad to see you got them set up after the move.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Lemon tetras and cardinal tetras are forthcoming, I'll try to take some pictures tonight.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

doinkmobb said:


> Lemon tetras and cardinal tetras are forthcoming, I'll try to take some pictures tonight.


Sweet, I'm excited!


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

I got 18 cardinal tetras and 16 very large lemon tetras. I'm happy with the number of cardinals, but I feel like I got a few too many lemons, 12 would've been a better number. Usually, when you get a good number of fish, a couple die off, but these guys look really healthy. They're all eating and behaving normally, I even saw some lemons sparring. 

I did a water change on the 75 gallon to clear it up a little, it was hard to photograph the fish in the darkness. 

















































































The water is still SO dark. I can barely make out the other end of the tank when I look through longways now...it's an improvement. 

It's hard to get a shot where most of the cardinals are in focus.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I have got to try the Dicrossus when I setup a blackwater tank, so damn pretty!


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Dicrossus maculatus are supposed to be even prettier. I might try them next time around.


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## limeslide (Jan 27, 2010)

Your tanks are so beautiful! The Dicrossus are amazing.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

limeslide said:


> Your tanks are so beautiful! The Dicrossus are amazing.


Thanks. I need to get a shot of the males when they're displaying, then you can really see all their colors.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Gorgeous! Do you have some new pics yet?


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

The Dude1 said:


> Gorgeous! Do you have some new pics yet?


So I sold my good camera and I'm left with my my 10 year old Rebel XT. I have been meaning to take updated shots, I hope the camera still works. Let me drag it out tonight and charge the battery.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Here's a few kinda horrible pictures. I need to get a new camera soon; the rest of the shots are mostly unusable. 

I moved the two marbled hatchets into the 33 gallon long. I like the way they look amongst the branches, they really blend in.










The cupid cichlids are starting to color up nicely.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Oh yeah, I got two twig catfish (_Farlowella vittata) _for the 75 gallon. I was surprised to find them at Petsmart. I believe I have a male and a female, their rostrums look different (male has more odontodes). The first two days they were in the tank, they didn't move around much. Over the next 3-4 days, they scoured and devoured just about all the algae in the tank. 

Here's one munching on some cucumber. I'm not sure if it touched the algae wafers I threw in, but the rest of the fish sure did. 


















Updated full tank shot, courtesy of my phone. The Brazilian pennywort is growing nicely, I still want it to fill in more. I added some more branches too - I did want to leave some open space, but it looked *too* open to me. And the water is finally looking clear, after 84 billion water changes and four rounds of Purigen. 










And a full tank shot of the 33 gallon. Added some branches in here as well.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Lookin real good! Especially like how the Pennywort cascade down in the 75 as well as the branches, that's a really good scape.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

I love the looks of these tanks! The 33 gallon long seems like it has such wonderful dimensions too. Do you enjoy working with it?


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Opare said:


> Lookin real good! Especially like how the Pennywort cascade down in the 75 as well as the branches, that's a really good scape.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks, I'm liking it more now that it's growing in. There's some anubias and java fern hidden among the roots on the left also. 



geisterwald said:


> I love the looks of these tanks! The 33 gallon long seems like it has such wonderful dimensions too. Do you enjoy working with it?


Thanks. The 33 gallon is perfect for fish that need sq footage, rather than height or tons of swimming room. Scaping it was really easy too.


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## FuelingFire (Nov 8, 2012)

Love the tanks..


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

I'm going to see if I can get some more marbled hatchets next week. There is an independently owned saltwater store near me that I can order fish through. Otherwise, I'm stuck with Petco/Petsmart or ordering from the web. I was spoiled by Marine Warehouse Aquarium in Tampa.


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## beckyhiker (Mar 30, 2017)

Hi, I love your tanks! I'd like to ask how you have your Brazilian pennywort anchored? Is it just floating, tangled around the wood? Or do you have some stems in the substrate? Thanks!


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

doinkmobb said:


> I'm going to see if I can get some more marbled hatchets next week. There is an independently owned saltwater store near me that I can order fish through. Otherwise, I'm stuck with Petco/Petsmart or ordering from the web. I was spoiled by Marine Warehouse Aquarium in Tampa.


They look incredible especially the 75. How often are you getting in there and wrapping the pennywort around the branches to get such structured growth? And yes... Marine Warehouse is addicting... I live in Pinellas County and now that school has started I'm only able to make it in there once a week... but during my break I was in there 3 times a week at $100 a trip... the cost of convenience.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

beckyhiker said:


> Hi, I love your tanks! I'd like to ask how you have your Brazilian pennywort anchored? Is it just floating, tangled around the wood? Or do you have some stems in the substrate? Thanks!


Most of it is tangled in the wood somehow, but some of it is free floating. In my last 75 gallons setup, the pennywort just grew into a gigantic mass, I had to hack off huge portions once a week. 



The Dude1 said:


> They look incredible especially the 75. How often are you getting in there and wrapping the pennywort around the branches to get such structured growth? And yes... Marine Warehouse is addicting... I live in Pinellas County and now that school has started I'm only able to make it in there once a week... but during my break I was in there 3 times a week at $100 a trip... the cost of convenience.


Maybe every two weeks or so, I take the growth that is reaching out into the water and wrap it under or around a branch. I think if I started doing less water changes, the pennywort would grow quicker. I'm probably taking out too many nutrients. Marine Warehouse had EVERYTHING, fish that I've never seen anywhere else.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Man, I need to update this thread with some new pictures. 

The cupids are growing nicely, starting to show even more coloration. Two of them have staked out territories and are shooing other fish away. I've also noticed them pecking around in the sand a lot more, something they didn't do when I first got them. 

The 33 gallon long is deteriorating, unfortunately. Fish are not thriving, there is a lot of BBA on everything. I might tear it down and start over. The only remaining inhabitants are 3 neons, 1M/3F checkerboards and 5 marble hatchets.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Ya you do!! I've decided to go full planted with my 150 and rehome the Africans. I pretty much settled on Lemon Tetras as the schooler, but after seeing yours I may try to copy your complete stocking! Do you still have the Lemon tetras? I was thinking of doing 50, but you seemed to think 17 was too many in your 75. The Cupids are amazing, the dicrossus filamentosus has always been high up on my list (if I could get them locally)... just incredible, but are they super fragile? Please updated pics!


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

The Dude1 said:


> Ya you do!! I've decided to go full planted with my 150 and rehome the Africans. I pretty much settled on Lemon Tetras as the schooler, but after seeing yours I may try to copy your complete stocking! Do you still have the Lemon tetras? I was thinking of doing 50, but you seemed to think 17 was too many in your 75. The Cupids are amazing, the dicrossus filamentosus has always been high up on my list (if I could get them locally)... just incredible, but are they super fragile? Please updated pics!


Know what, at first I was like "that's a lot o' tetras" but now I'm used to the number. I wouldn't do more than 20 in my tank, 35-40 might be a good number in a 150 gallon. I'm still debating whether to add some coral red pencilfish, the tank needs some color and there's no surface dwelling fish. I don't think I've lost a single lemon, they all look great and I'm constantly seeing males displaying and sparring. 

The cupids are very cool, the only thing is that they are very slow growers and look bland and boring for a while. I've had them since early May and I bet it'll be another 8 months at least until they are fully mature. The D.filamentosus survived being shipped from Portland, OR to Greenville, SC, then two more tank moves, temps dropping down to 70 _twice_ and continued to live on...until the dominant male killed the other two males, and possibly a female. I had another female who laid eggs all the time, and I've heard this can shorten their lifespan and I believe it. She started looking old and frail waaaay before the other females - I had to euthanize her last week. So right now, I have the dominant male and 3 females, one who is currently guarding eggs. Three males with 4 sq ft of floor space and a TON of visual breaks in the form of sticks and wood was not enough room apparently; the dominant male chased and attacked them relentlessly. I heard they were a less aggressive dwarf cichlid, but, I'm sure that's on a case by case basis.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Very interesting on the Dicrossus... I would really want a big group due to their size and I haven't had a ton of luck with dwarf cichlids. Do you find the Lemons schooling / Schoaling?


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

The lemons are all over the place - hovering over the sand, chilling deep within the plants, chasing each other from one end to the other. I don't see much schooling activity.


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## Olskule (Jan 28, 2010)

I love lemon tetras, but I don't see them available around here because I really don't have any LFS's other than WallyWorld and chain pet stores 45 minutes to an hour or more away. 

As for schooling and shoaling behavior, I've found that under bright light, my black skirt tetras don't school, but once the lights are turned down a bit, they fall into line and pretty much stay in a group. Turn the light back up, and each one starts doing his own thing again.(Truant behavior?) I have ten black skirt tetras and four serpae tetras in my 55, and as I'm writing this, I turned the light down just to make sure I am telling you correctly, and I notice that the serpae tetras do the same thing. I like the light bright in my tanks, but I also prefer that my schooling fish actually school. I guess I'll have to meet them halfway and find the brightest light level that they'll school under and save that setting on one of the memory buttons.

Olskule


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Here are fish:
































































The sterbais are not pictured because have become skittish and nocturnal. I have no idea what happened to change their behavior.

The 5th picture was taken from the side of the tank without adjusting any settings, to show just how stained the water still is after 40+ water changes and several rounds of Purigen. It's nuts. 
On the left hand side, I removed a large hunk of wood that was submerged in the sand bed a few inches and I moved some rooty pieces back to make a little more open space. I felt like the Cupids needed more swimming/foraging room along the bottom. 

I have no idea what the water parameters are, other than temp, because the tank is doing so well. I'm sure the TDS is 60ppm or below, pH is probably low 6s, GH/KH maybe 1/1. In other words, soft and acidic. Fish are happy, plants are growing, algae is minimal.


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

What wood are using that’s keeping the tannins that way? I always struggle with keeping tannins going.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Honestly, I have no clue what type of wood this is. I'm thinking oak, maybe sweet gum. A huge tree toppled over in the woods near the place I was renting last year, and those pieces were the roots. The piece that I took out is a massive hunk of mopani that I've had for 20 years! 
The problem is, I want this tank to be clear and my 33 gallon to be murky.


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

very nice tanks, love your scapes, they look natural and excellent photography, will continue to follow


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Thanks. Sometimes I get the itch for a high tech, very bright and heavily planted tank but I always seem to lean towards making things look more natural. 
I'm using a 12 year old 8MP Canon Rebel XT, it's really outdated - I really need to upgrade.


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## aquafloraboraNL (Jan 14, 2018)

Great pictures of two beautiful tanks! Thanks for sharing.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

doinkmobb said:


> Thanks. Sometimes I get the itch for a high tech, very bright and heavily planted tank but I always seem to lean towards making things look more natural.
> I'm using a 12 year old 8MP Canon Rebel XT, it's really outdated - I really need to upgrade.


Man if I had your skills with hardscape and plants I wouldn't bother with high tech. That being said I'm nowhere close... so high tech is a necessity for a decent scape for me.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

The Dude1 said:


> Man if I had your skills with hardscape and plants I wouldn't bother with high tech. That being said I'm nowhere close... so high tech is a necessity for a decent scape for me.


Thanks, I've come a long way from doing things like balancing a big flat rock on two smaller rocks to make a cave. I think that non-anchored and/or floating plants make it easy to create a jungley effect without having to worry about coming up with a decent plant scape. And maybe the shadows and subdued lighting make it look better than it actually is too.


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## mdeck (Feb 29, 2016)

Those tanks are so sweet looking even with the tannins. The fish are awesome too! Are the cupids a dwarf? Do they also sift/dig sand? I was unable to find info on them.
Great tanks!


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

mdeck said:


> Those tanks are so sweet looking even with the tannins. The fish are awesome too! Are the cupids a dwarf? Do they also sift/dig sand? I was unable to find info on them.
> Great tanks!


Not really a dwarf, they get a little bigger than a Bolivian ram. They are starting to sift sand and create little pits. I've noticed this behavior more as they've gotten older. 
I do like the way the tannins make the tank look as a whole, but it really mutes the cupids' colors. Not to mention, the lemon tetras blend into the yellow water too well. Time for more water changes and round four of Purigen.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

I'm not sure if this is even legal on this site, as there are no plants in this tank but...here's the new version of the 33L. It's been up and running for a week, this is more or less how I want it. I'll throw in some more leaves most likely.










Parameters:
TDS - 42ppm
pH - 7.8 (tapwater comes out at 7.8)
GH - 2
KH - 2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0

I might go ahead and throw the fish back in tonight, still debating. They _should_ be OK, it's just uh, I've lost so many for unknown reasons that I'm just apprehensive. 

My surviving fish which will be transferred back to the 33 long v.2.0:
- 3F/1M checkerboard cichlid (D.filamentosus)
- 2 marbled hatchets (I'm done with these guys, can't keep 'em alive)

In addition:
- one pair or one harem of some flavor of Apistogramma (leaning towards A.panduro)
- 3-4 more checkerboards
- 10-12 pencilfish of some variety
- 10-12 Pristella tetras

I really really don't want a BBA explosion again, so I removed the reflector in my T5 housing and it was still bright. I added about 40" of automotive vinyl on the fixture itself, blocking light but not touching the bulb. I'll see how this looks when I add fish and add more vinyl if necessary. I'm thinking I might just do red root floaters and that's it for plants. I don't want to do Brazilian pennywort again and I know frogbit won't grow in subdued lighting.


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## vvDO (Oct 18, 2010)

May the tannins be with you!


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

vvDO said:


> May the tannins be with you!


Yes, exactly. I'm staring at my tank going "Why isn't the water darker? Do I need more leaves? THERE'S TOO MUCH LIGHT PENETRATION!!!"
I want any plants in my tank to struggle, they have to _want_ to grow.


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## SocalAquatics (Jan 15, 2018)

Cool biotopes. Sweet fish.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

New set up looks amazing!! I can’t wait to see it with fish! It seems like a lot of fish species for a 33g tank size. That’s just me though, I like to load my tanks with whatever dwarf cichlid and than a huge school of a single dither. I’d probably just stick with the checkerboards or Apistos but not both. 

Any idea which Pencilfish you’re thinking about using? We are kind of at the end of the season for collecting pencils, so availability of the wild caught fish is on the decline. I’ve been trying to get a few more species but waited too long. There are only a couple species regularly available as tank raised fish. My smaller schools of pencils(6-10) are not nearly active and boisterous as the larger groups(25-35). I’d definitely recommend thinking about getting more than 10! 

I’ve struggled with Marbled Hatchets as well. They just seem to slowly die off over the course of a week or two. The water parameters all look great too. I know I’ve lost a couple to jumping since I’ve got them in a rimless 90p but not really a lot. The Otos in the tank are just fine, which I would expect them to have issues too if it were a water type problem. Still considering adding 24 more Colombian Marbled Hatchetfish though. Since I couldn’t get the pencils I wanted I still need a school of dithers & I’m loving the looks of the hatchets.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Very cool looking. Plants are a necessity for me. I think just a little moss here and there would look killer. I had no luck with Red Root Floaters. Johnson18 sent me some gorgeous super healthy plants, but they just wasted away. I did everything right. Stable parameters, almost zero surface movement, ferts, no C02 or excel... they just wasted away. Ive got a few bits of salvinia that I'm hoping work out. Right now I just have the tiny amounts of duckweed surviving. Lots of light... 
I also prefer the idea of fewer fish species... but I thoroughly enjoy lots of species as long as there are big groups. Green Neons would look killer... or green fire tetras (these guys stay very close to the surface). I bought 25 Pristilla tetras as the first group I added to my 150 and seriously regretted it... for about a month or more until they started to suddenly really color up. They are unbelievably hardy. Did not lose a single one. In my experience 10 is not enough for any schooling / shoaling fish in a 4 foot tank. Minimum Ive seen display normal outgoing behavior is like 18... not even 15. There in lies my problem. I find a few of something I want and buy them anticipating getting more the following week with a new order.... and then they are never available again. I havent had the best of luck with shipped fish especially considering the shipping cost. My LFS has better pricing on literally every fish I have purchased than any internet seller. Which makes it much harder to justify shipping on top of the already substantial price increase.
Have you every had Pencils? They are like nothing else in the way they swim and interact with their environment. They are very cool. Nothing like aimless tetra swimming. If I was able to get more locally at a decent price Id get 30 and make room for them in my 150. The single male Beckford I have is very bright red. Much nicer than what you see in most pictures.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

johnson18 said:


> New set up looks amazing!! I can’t wait to see it with fish! It seems like a lot of fish species for a 33g tank size. That’s just me though, I like to load my tanks with whatever dwarf cichlid and than a huge school of a single dither. I’d probably just stick with the checkerboards or Apistos but not both.
> 
> Any idea which Pencilfish you’re thinking about using? We are kind of at the end of the season for collecting pencils, so availability of the wild caught fish is on the decline. I’ve been trying to get a few more species but waited too long. There are only a couple species regularly available as tank raised fish. My smaller schools of pencils(6-10) are not nearly active and boisterous as the larger groups(25-35). I’d definitely recommend thinking about getting more than 10!
> 
> ...


Four species too many? Possibly, I usually make a list of what I want and then never actually get all those fish in the tank. 
After watching many underwater videos of Amazon basin tributaries, I've noticed that checkerboards and Apistos are found in close proximity. Now, is my 33L, *too* close proximity? I think there's enough room and leaves and sight breaks...I think.
As far as pencilfish, it comes down to whatever local stores are able to order for me. I'm leaning towards N.marginatus.
Marbled hatchets are an interesting fish but man, they just don't do well for me. They look and act fine for a week or a month or six months and then just die. 



The Dude1 said:


> Very cool looking. Plants are a necessity for me. I think just a little moss here and there would look killer. I had no luck with Red Root Floaters. Johnson18 sent me some gorgeous super healthy plants, but they just wasted away. I did everything right. Stable parameters, almost zero surface movement, ferts, no C02 or excel... they just wasted away. Ive got a few bits of salvinia that I'm hoping work out. Right now I just have the tiny amounts of duckweed surviving. Lots of light...
> I also prefer the idea of fewer fish species... but I thoroughly enjoy lots of species as long as there are big groups. Green Neons would look killer... or green fire tetras (these guys stay very close to the surface). I bought 25 Pristilla tetras as the first group I added to my 150 and seriously regretted it... for about a month or more until they started to suddenly really color up. They are unbelievably hardy. Did not lose a single one. In my experience 10 is not enough for any schooling / shoaling fish in a 4 foot tank. Minimum Ive seen display normal outgoing behavior is like 18... not even 15. There in lies my problem. I find a few of something I want and buy them anticipating getting more the following week with a new order.... and then they are never available again. I havent had the best of luck with shipped fish especially considering the shipping cost. My LFS has better pricing on literally every fish I have purchased than any internet seller. Which makes it much harder to justify shipping on top of the already substantial price increase.
> Have you every had Pencils? They are like nothing else in the way they swim and interact with their environment. They are very cool. Nothing like aimless tetra swimming. If I was able to get more locally at a decent price Id get 30 and make room for them in my 150. The single male Beckford I have is very bright red. Much nicer than what you see in most pictures.


I've got some RRF coming in next week. I plan to position them in the brightest part of the tank, which is also furthest away from the outflow. Hopefully they work out, because I would like some greenery - because it looks nice and sucks up nitrates. 
I don't know if any tetras I've owned really shoaled that well. I had a big group of Colombians that would occasionally get in the mood to all swim together, but that was rare. The 16-17 lemons in my 75 gallon are always all over the place. 
Never owned pencils, that's why they are on my list. If I could get a large shoal of dwarf pencils (20+), I wouldn't do any tetras at all.


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

Hmmm, I'm trying to post some new pics of my dominant male cupid cichlid, but getting a PHP error.

Edit: let's see if this works.


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## vvDO (Oct 18, 2010)

doinkmobb said:


> Hmmm, I'm trying to post some new pics of my dominant male cupid cichlid, but getting a PHP error.
> 
> Edit: let's see if this works.




Nice colors and good pics... How big are they?


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

The smallest ones are about 3" nose to tail, largest is 3.75-4" I would say. They seem to be very slow growers. 
My twig catfish died about 2 weeks apart from each other, no signs of illness or stress. They had been healthy, eating and active for about a year. I have not introduced any new fish in that time, no changes in the tank or decor, nothing. I have no idea what happened. 

In my 33 long, I've been having some bad luck. Four months ago, I got a batch of 18 Beckford's pencilfish, put them in the quarantine tank and lost every single one over the course of a week. I waited a month, got another batch of pencils in the quarantine tank, they all died with 3 days this time. OK time to stop killing fish. About 10 days ago, I grabbed 8 Pristella tetras from Petco, put them in the quarantine tank aaaaannnndd...they're fine. All 8 are healthy, active and eating, no deaths, no ich, ZERO problems. I think I will move them to the main tank in the next few days. If all looks good, I'll go back and get 8-10 more.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Did the Beckfords have any symptoms? I want to add 10 Rummynose and 15 Beckfords to my 75 gallon with my Rams, but after my 150 gallon die off I'm nervous about adding ANYTHING to any of my tanks. Did you do anything to sanitize your QT? I lost more than 200 Neons and 20 Lemon tetras in my 150 over maybe 4-5 weeks. Had pristilla tetras and black phantoms in there with them the entire time and didn't lose a single one...


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## doinkmobb (May 12, 2010)

The first batch of beckfords, they started getting bloated - I believe this was because the TDS in the QT tank was somewhere below 100ppm and their tank water from the store was close to 1300ppm. When fish go from high TDS to low TDS, they lose salts and take on water. The second batch showed no symptoms and died much quicker. I would assume they were wild caught and that going straight from the distributor to me was too much stress. 

I transferred my Pristellas yesterday, all look fine. I'll pick up 10-12 more since I've finally found a fish that doesn't die within hours of me owning it.


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