The Two Tanks; A Community for All

[lludu]

So my have my 2 tanks up, cycled, and running very well. Here are the break-downs of the tanks;

20 Gallon Long:
~36 lbs. Dark Brown / Mixed Gravel
Heater set to 78F Degrees
25-30 gallon Aqueon Filter + 6" bubble wand
3 Small/Medium African Rootwood
~13+ Small/Medium Fake plants
5 Bleeding Heart Tetras
6 Head and Tail Light Tetras
4 Otos

10 Gallon:
~16 lbs. White Gravel
Currently no Heater, Water temp at ~76F
10-15 gallon Aqueon Filter + 3" Bubble Oval
1 Medium African Rootwood
~8 Small/Medium Fake Plants
4 piece small PVC Pipe Tubing Tunnel (Corny but Fish seem to like it)
6 Glowlight Tetras
1 Male Veil Tail Marbled Betta
1 Oto
1 Pitbull Pleco

Tell me what you think, any advice is welcome

Havnt decided yet but i may merge the two groups together in the 20 gallon, that wont be for awhile yet though~

[lludu]

I have also wondered about adding cherry / amano shrimp to my 20 gallon as i think they (especially the cherry) would add color and a unique factor to the system.

Do you think that would work?

[Stillness]

Yeah, the shrimp sound like a good idea. I love shrimp. Also consider 1 or 2 Bamboo Shrimp, in addition to or instead of the other types of shrimp you suggested. Bamboo shrimp are very cool, plus they're a little bigger, easier to see, and in my opinion just plain cooler. =)

I love the way our 20 L looks, so natural looking!

I'm unfamiliar w/ the 'pitbull pleco', but if it's size in anywhere close to that of a common pleco, it will need a bigger tank as it grows.

[lludu]

Originally Posted by Stillness

Yeah, the shrimp sound like a good idea. I love shrimp. Also consider 1 or 2 Bamboo Shrimp, in addition to or instead of the other types of shrimp you suggested. Bamboo shrimp are very cool, plus they're a little bigger, easier to see, and in my opinion just plain cooler. =)

I love the way our 20 L looks, so natural looking!

I'm unfamiliar w/ the 'pitbull pleco', but if it's size in anywhere close to that of a common pleco, it will need a bigger tank as it grows.

Thanks for looking! , the pitbull pleco (parotocinclus jumbo) are very similar in size to Otos, so not more than 2-3″ from head to tail, and should maintain similar size throughout their lifespan. You can read more about them here.

As for the bamboo shrimp i'll take a look into them, though with the color in my rocks i think it might be hard to spot them with real ease

[Newman]

Nice job here
is there a reason you didnt go with real plants instead? Looks ood anyway.

You may need to feed your baboo shrimp some special food (cuz theyre filter feeders as you know) maybe not tho, just research what they eat.

bamboo shrimp come in many colors. get one that will be easier to spot.

[lludu]

Originally Posted by Newman

Nice job here
is there a reason you didnt go with real plants instead? Looks ood anyway.

You may need to feed your baboo shrimp some special food (cuz theyre filter feeders as you know) maybe not tho, just research what they eat.

bamboo shrimp come in many colors. get one that will be easier to spot.

I've never used live plants and for a couple of reasons;
1) No idea even how to begin with them (ie. what substrate, understanding the whole CO2 thing which sounds confusing to me, what would look good in the tank, how much lighting, etc)

2) Wasnt sure at what point to add a live plant to an existing aquarium, or if thats possible (which im assuming it is, and probably easy)

3) I dont really have much of a selection around me at the LFS that fits (height wise) into my tanks. Although for the 35g im going to start soon, i'm going to try to find the flame moss that we talked about in the aquascaping thread a while back.

As for shrimp im still researching what would be the best fits / types for my tanks (20g and maybe 10g, as well as the 35g when its up)

I just know that the cherry shrimp stay small and have a rich color. The hardest part about shrimps are that my LFS does not carry FW variety so i also have to find a place to get them.

Would shrimp in my 20g be a problem for the otos that are in the tank already, or with supplemental feeding would that not be a factor?

[Newman]

Otos wont bother the shrimp, but they might compete for algae. Becareful with cherry shrimp in an open top. if you have a biger fish that might scare them, they will jump out of the tank. I've had one become too scared of my goldfish and it leaped out

lesson here is just dont keep anything too large in a shrimp tank.