How did I miss this thread?? I've been involved with FW fish for centuries it seems...lol
No, you do not need to use CO2 to have a beautifully planted tank. Will you get better growth and lush plants using it, yes, but you can also have a beautiful tank without the aggravation too
I also have mountains of gravel left from when I took down 10 of my FW tanks (still have 3), will happily give it away, weights too much to carry out to the curb to toss it.
Have you decided on Neon Tetras? Please, please don't cycle the tank using fish It is totally unnecessary and WILL cause ammonia burn to the gills of the fish if it doesn't outright kill them. Buy a small bottle of cycle, start up your tank, dose it according to directions, put a couple of tiny pieces of flake food in every few days (to feed the growing population of bacteria) and the tank will be ready in a week for fish.
You do not want to add all of the fish at the same time as the biological filter needs to build to handle the waste. How many gallons is the tank?
Even with FW, you need to watch your stocking levels or you will quickly have green water. What type of fish & how many did you plan & plan to start with?
I never suggest people add salt to a FW tank for a couple of reasons - one, plants do NOT like salt Secondly and most importantly..if and when the time comes that you need to use Salt (kosher is best) in the tank to cure an outbreak of something - the salt will be ineffective as you'd previously been adding it to the tank. It is also good to remember that like SW tanks, the salt does not evaporate out, so it will continue building and while your fish will acclimate to the amount in the tank, when you go to add additional fish, they will die rapidly for it...
So best not to go there for unnecessary reasons
You also want to take into consideration what area of the tank fish inhabit..Tetras tend to gather in the lower half of the tank, so you might want to mix in a few fish that live in the upper levels or all over the tank.
You'll also need to be aware of the PH the fish like (tho many FW fish can live in a variety of PH ranges, acclimate slowly).
As mentioned earlier, you will want to have some fish that eat off the bottom of the tank to keep things clean for you. Coryadoras are great little catfish and do a stellar job of cleaning up and are amusing to watch, they do best in groups.
I personally love Rams due to their coloration and interesting behavior as parents but they can be sensitive to water conditions. I saw someone mentioned discus but they are too large for a nano. Do you have any kids? Guppies come in the most wonderful colors, live throughout the tank, are always active and are stupidly easy to raise and keep a self-sustaining population going in the tank. The fry are also very simply to feed (mash the snot out of any good flake food).
No idea where you are in Queens but the Nassau County Aquarium Society meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month (not July & Aug.,.too hot) at Molly College in Rockville Centre and we always have fish for sale from our members at fantastic prices (many of which you will never find in a LFS), often plants too, some meetings way more than others, but always fun
No, you do not need to use CO2 to have a beautifully planted tank. Will you get better growth and lush plants using it, yes, but you can also have a beautiful tank without the aggravation too
I also have mountains of gravel left from when I took down 10 of my FW tanks (still have 3), will happily give it away, weights too much to carry out to the curb to toss it.
Have you decided on Neon Tetras? Please, please don't cycle the tank using fish
It is totally unnecessary and WILL cause ammonia burn to the gills of the fish if it doesn't outright kill them. Buy a small bottle of cycle, start up your tank, dose it according to directions, put a couple of tiny pieces of flake food in every few days (to feed the growing population of bacteria) and the tank will be ready in a week for fish.You do not want to add all of the fish at the same time as the biological filter needs to build to handle the waste. How many gallons is the tank?
Even with FW, you need to watch your stocking levels or you will quickly have green water. What type of fish & how many did you plan & plan to start with?
I never suggest people add salt to a FW tank for a couple of reasons - one, plants do NOT like salt
Secondly and most importantly..if and when the time comes that you need to use Salt (kosher is best) in the tank to cure an outbreak of something - the salt will be ineffective as you'd previously been adding it to the tank. It is also good to remember that like SW tanks, the salt does not evaporate out, so it will continue building and while your fish will acclimate to the amount in the tank, when you go to add additional fish, they will die rapidly for it...So best not to go there for unnecessary reasons
You also want to take into consideration what area of the tank fish inhabit..Tetras tend to gather in the lower half of the tank, so you might want to mix in a few fish that live in the upper levels or all over the tank.
You'll also need to be aware of the PH the fish like (tho many FW fish can live in a variety of PH ranges, acclimate slowly).
As mentioned earlier, you will want to have some fish that eat off the bottom of the tank to keep things clean for you. Coryadoras are great little catfish and do a stellar job of cleaning up and are amusing to watch, they do best in groups.
I personally love Rams due to their coloration and interesting behavior as parents but they can be sensitive to water conditions. I saw someone mentioned discus but they are too large for a nano. Do you have any kids? Guppies come in the most wonderful colors, live throughout the tank, are always active and are stupidly easy to raise and keep a self-sustaining population going in the tank. The fry are also very simply to feed (mash the snot out of any good flake food).
No idea where you are in Queens but the Nassau County Aquarium Society meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month (not July & Aug.,.too hot) at Molly College in Rockville Centre and we always have fish for sale from our members at fantastic prices (many of which you will never find in a LFS), often plants too, some meetings way more than others, but always fun
