# New plants+new black neon tetras!!!!



## NoaDon12 (Jan 6, 2010)

hi, i know i haven't been on for a while, but that's because everything has been running smoothly. YAY! so i decided to move up a level and get real plants!!! and i also got new black neon tetras which contrast beutifully against the new plants!!! it all costed me $40,  , but it was sooooo worth it!!!!  question, what can i feed a fish that was sold to me but won't eat flakes? :'( i am worried!!! and any tips about keeping plants? i have 1x amazon sward, 1x african anubias, and three other mytery plants! 
-NoaDon12 ;-)


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Congrats on the acquisitions.

Don't worry about the fish not feeding; newly acquired fish frequently won't show much interest in any food for sometimes a few days. Black neon tetra will accept most prepared foods. Having said that, it is good to provide variety, say 3 or so different prepared foods (flakes in this case) made by different manufacturers. This way there is variety for the fish, plus probably some variance in nutritional properties of the different foods. Most contain the essentials, but some fish seem to prefer some foods over others.

On the plants: the sword you plant in the substrate (gravel, whatever), deep enough to cover all the roots, they have extensive root systems. The Anubias you attach to rock or wood, don't bury the rhizome (root) in the substrate or it will rot. The other 3 I can't say, as I don't know what mystery plants they are. A photo would help us there.

What light is over the tank? And do you have any liquid plant fertilizer? I can recommend some if not, you will need one.

Byron.


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## JohnnyD44 (Dec 5, 2008)

I have black neons in my planted tank, they do offer a great contrast against the plants. What size tank do you have? Have you decided on lighting??

You'll most likely want to use two ferts, one for the rooted sword and one for the stem plants


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## NoaDon12 (Jan 6, 2010)

ok! thanks alot!!! umm, i have a 15 gallon tank, the lighting is good, it's wicked bright! i didn't know i was supposed to attach the anubias onto something!!! oops, but it's still alive... so i'll get to that as soon as possible!!!
-NoaDon12


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

NoaDon12 said:


> ok! thanks alot!!! umm, i have a 15 gallon tank, the lighting is good, it's wicked bright! i didn't know i was supposed to attach the anubias onto something!!! oops, but it's still alive... so i'll get to that as soon as possible!!!
> -NoaDon12


Anubias are shade plants, they tend to get yellowing leaves in bright or direct lighting; floating plants are useful. What exactly is the light? Give me whatever is printed on the tube or bulb.


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## JohnnyD44 (Dec 5, 2008)

NoaDon12 said:


> it's wicked bright!


 
thats the best description of a light I've ever heard!  

I hope everything is working out well for you Noa Dan, do you have any pictures of your "mystery plants" we can help recommend some ferts based the types of plants


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## NoaDon12 (Jan 6, 2010)

it's too bad that my local pet shop runs out of floating plants so quickly.... i'll start looking for those soon. and the wattage i'm using is 15. and for some reason, my computer won't let me upload pictures onto this sight!  but you guys have been such a big help! and one more thing, how do you do a CO2 injection?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

On the CO2, I would not recommend you go down that road with the plants you have; they do not need it. Even with all the plants I have I do not have CO2 and have no intention of ever trying it. That sets up a whole new "balance" with light and nutrients.

A 15w tube (is this fluorescent?) would be a lot of light if it is T5 HO. A regular T8 tube is manageable.

Byron.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

If you want to post your pictures you have to upload them first to a site like Photobucket, you can set up an account for free and it is easy to use. We would all love to see your pictures.


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## JohnnyD44 (Dec 5, 2008)

you don't need to use photobucket to uploads photos to our forum....

you can use the 'go advanced' and attach photos that way...

although photobucket allows for re-sizing and you can type between pictures...


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Oh ok I could never figure out how to do the pictures any other way then through photobucket. LOL


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## NoaDon12 (Jan 6, 2010)

ok, another question, my chinese algae eater is starting to rip scales off my gourami, and i was wondering if there is a way to keep the open spots from getting infected? i'm going to sell my algae eaterto someone else asap. but yeah, if there is some sort of medecation i could put in the water that would be great!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

NoaDon12 said:


> ok, another question, my chinese algae eater is starting to rip scales off my gourami, and i was wondering if there is a way to keep the open spots from getting infected? i'm going to sell my algae eaterto someone else asap. but yeah, if there is some sort of medecation i could put in the water that would be great!


That behaviour is reportedly common with the CAE particularly as they mature. First thing is to separate them as soon as possible, and I would remove the CAE not the gourami because a stressed fish does not need more stress (being moved) and is more likely to recover if left where it is.

Second, once the aggressor is gone, monitor the gourami. If the environment is clean and the fish is not under stress from other issues, it may well heal on its own. This is always preferred to dumping stuff in the tank which while it may "help" it may also not, and either way cause more stress to this and other fish. More frequent partial water changes will not hurt and may help; use a good conditioner, and just change 1/3 or so of the water, alternate days or even every day for a week.

If fungus develops over the site(s), my preferred remedy is to carefully net the gourami and dab the fungus with either methylene blue or malachite green. I only do this if the fungus is obvious and severe enough to my mind to warrant intervention. I net the fish and keep it near the surface and using a cotton swab (Q-Tip) dip it in the methylene blue/malachite green then gently dab the fungus when I raise the fish just enough out of the water to do this, then back it goes. The dye will kill the fungus on contact and in a day or two the "fluff" (now coloured) disappears.

There are fungus preparations to add to the tank water; I have never used these because they are known to kill some fish, pencilfish comes to mind, and as I have these I am not about to kill them. The couple of times I noticed a patch of fungus I used the treatment I describe and it did the job. But again, leave the gourami and monitor it and only if absolutely necessary resort to medications.

Byron.


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