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Questions

I'm pretty new to aquariums, and now that I've suceeded with the nitrogen cycle I have a few questions.
1. Can I put crabs/shrimp in an aquarium that is full of water or does it have to be shallow?
2. Can I put Bettas in an aquarium along with other fish?
3. Do freshwater puffers puff up like saltwater puffers?
4. How can I get rid of nitrates without water changes?
5. My water is cloudy and it looks like my aqarium has fog in it. Is this a bad thing? If so how do I get rid of it?

That's it for now. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!
 
1) more specific information needs to be provided. Are these fresh or salt water shrimp and crabs? Are they fiddler crabs or ghost shrimp? Are they Banded Coral Shrimp or Decorator Crabs?

2)Bettas can go with other fish, depending. Are you referring to male or female? Do you have notorius fin-nippers?

3)Normally the freshwater ones are brackish and can also go into salt water. They DO puff up.

4)Once you've gotten through the nitrogen cycle - the tank is safe from ammonia and nitrites. You will normallyhave some nitrates, but unless there is an unusually high concentration, nitrates are generally considered safe. I wouldn't worry about.

5)Are you sure that you completed the nitrogen cycle? That normally occurs at the beginning of the cycle, when nitrosamonas bacteria are breaking down ammonia into nitrites. You can do water changes or add commercial chemicals - but I wouldn't. I would take more tests, first. Certainly don't add more critters. Cloudy water has a reason. We have to determine that reason.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (horticulturist @ Nov. 09 2004,5:09)]I'm pretty new to aquariums, and now that I've suceeded with the nitrogen cycle I have a few questions.
1. Can I put crabs/shrimp in an aquarium that is full of water or does it have to be shallow?
2. Can I put Bettas in an aquarium along with other fish?
3. Do freshwater puffers puff up like saltwater puffers?
4. How can I get rid of nitrates without water changes?
5. My water is cloudy and it looks like my aqarium has fog in it. Is this a bad thing? If so how do I get rid of it?

That's it for now. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!
I'll add to Jims reply.

1. Depends on what kind of crab/shrimp. Would reccomend ghost shrimp for general tanks as they are farmed(as opposed to WC) and are good with fish as long as the fish cannot eat them.

3. Freshwater puffers may puff up if stressed-but it is a bad sign. They are fun and amusing fish in there own right, but will make quick work of any shrimp or snails in the tank.

4. Waterchanges are the key to keeping fish healthy-don't try to run away from them!

5. possibly bacterial bloom or greenwater. Wait for at least a weeks before doing anything as it may pass.
 
1. Freshwater fiddler crabs, and freshwater ghost shrimp.

2. The only other fish I have are an orange & white molly and a dalmation molly. If I can put a betta with them I want one that will not fight with my other fish. I am planning to get neon tetras, a plecostomus, and male guppies

3. What's brackish water? Is that a water with a high salt content?

4. Will a live plant get rid of nitrates or are water changes the only way?

5. My last test results said:
Nitrate=40mg/l
Nitrite=0
Water Hardness=150
Alkalinity=80
pH Level=7.2
Is any of this the reason my water is cloudy? The pH is the level of Ammonia isn't it?
Nflytrap
The water has been cloudy since the 2nd week, I started the aquarium on Oct. 17.
 
Someone else can comment on exactly what PH is (not percent hydrofen)...but it is not ammonia.

You said you went through the cycle, which may be true because no nitrites(or you could be at the very beginning).

Fiddler crabs need land, and are WC.

Brackish water is water that is basically half marine. Adding freshwater aquarium salt will not make your water brackish. I have no experience with mollies so cannot help you on that-but I doubt your mollies will require true brackish conditions. Dunno if its just me, but I consider swordtails easier animals to deal with.

In a planted aquarium, plants will use nitrates, but you will never eliminate water changes. Planted aquariums can run on fewer waterchanges however. Unless you are truly interested I won't go into planted tanks yet as they are a whole nother can o worms...

Is the cloudyness whitish or is it greenish in color? I still say bacterial bloom if it is the former, showing your setup has not quite stabilized yet.

Betta and mollies may work, but many livebearers are pretty active and bettas tend to fit better with more calm fish-they aren't exactly appreciative of schoolers...especially danios and the like.
 
I'll try to describe the cloudiness without a picture because I have no digital camera.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Is the cloudyness whitish or is it greenish in color?

It is white. It looks like 10/90 mixture of milk and water. Kind of like a misty morning. Not thick, but still noticable.
 
Probably bacterial bloom. I would do water changes more often and see if it leaves. Remember...patience!
 
Since I doubled up on water changes the cloudiness has been slowly going away. I also decreased the pH to 6.8, so that might be what caused it. The fish that I already have don't seem to be affected by it, so I'm asuming that it is safe.
 
Sounds good. Note that your mollies prefer hard akaline water as opposed to soft and acidic. It may be because of lack of water changes or the buffering capacity of the water. If your water comes naturally out of the tap(even after being set out for 24 hours) at that low of a ph(and probably soft also) then you might as well take advantage of it and raise fish which will enjoy those conditions.
 
  • #10
And that would characteristically be South American fish: piranha, angels, discus, cardinals, neons, otocyclus cats, Corydoras cats, arowanas, rummy nose rasbora, blue tetra, gold tetra, potholle cats..... Ya may not want piranha, though.
smile_m_32.gif
 
  • #11
Or SE Asian fish like the anabantoids...and of course killifish!
 
  • #12
More questions
laugh.gif
. This time about fry because my mollies had some. The last time I counted I got 14.

6. How do I raise the fry?
7. What do I feed them?
8. Will they be allright in the same aquarium as my other fish? I have 2 mollies and a cory.
9. How long do they take to grow up?
10. Will they be a hybrid or will they have the same traits as one of the parents?
 
  • #13
Believe it or not, Tetra min sells molly flake fishfood. Mollies like vegetation in their diet and even though algae is unsightly, they derive much nutrition form it. They will do well in a planted tank. you can but water sprite or inexpensive plat bulbs, etc... As long as they are big enough not to be eaten, they will be alright. Other mollies and a cory cat are fine. Mollies, unlike the other livebearers, are born big enough that the mother doesn't bother them. Keep the tank at a stable, warm temp (80 is good). It will take several months to reach a good size. It all depends upon the genotype of the parents as to what their phenotype will be.
 
  • #14
So planted tanks are good for them. What are some good plants to start off with and how do I care for them? How about the Marimo Moss Balls? I hear that they are incredibly easy to care for.
 
  • #15
Not familiar with them, but water sprite and those cheap plant bulbs are easy and hardy.
 
  • #16
Hornwort, Java Moss, Java Fern, Cryptocoryne, And Anubias are good plants with 1.5 watts of light per gallon.
 
  • #17
I think I'll get hornwort and java moss for starters and then maybe some dwarf hairgrass and crystalwort. Will these grow in regular aquarium gravel, or will I need a different substrate?
 
  • #18
I just started with aquariums too. With plants, I found it easier in the beginning to actually pot them. I use little plastic trays about 2inches high (like the kind you might use to keep your CPs in water). You need a different substrate than aquarium gravel: I use Seachem fluorite as the substrate and then top off the pot with some regular aquarium gravel. I liked the potting method, becuase I could easily remove the plants if my technique/experimenting was bad. I would definetely recommend the hornwort, it grows like crazy for me under any water conditions! I also like the cobomba and amazon sword plants. Personally, I don't think making a planted aquarium is all that bad.
 
  • #19
I say pass hornwort for now.It may drop its leaves and become messy. If you can get java fern then that works well too.

You could try crushing up flake for the babies. Certainly not the best growth rates will be achieved but you can always try live foods later.
 
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