Setting-up a Community Tank
by Ananda Menon
of India
Aquarticles
I have been keeping fish ever since I was six, and one of my favourite set-ups is a
"typical beginner's" community. I live in Kolkata (Calcutta) in India, where the
water stays at about 25°C for most of the winter (in summer it can go above 32°C), so
heating isn't a problem for me.
A good tank to start off with is a 50 - 80 litre tank (1 gallon = 3.7 litres). Bigger
tanks are fine, but big tanks tend to be expensive, and maintenance is harder. A weekly
water change for a fifty litre tank is about 10 - 15 litres, while that for a 250 litre
system is about 50 litres a week!
The tank should be placed near a plug point; you don't want wires trailing across the
room. It should be near a water source, and away from a window, since the sunlight can
contribute greatly to the growth of algae and heat the water to fatally high levels. Don't
put one near a door either, since the constant banging of the door will unnecessarily
stress the occupants. Water is very heavy, weighing 1 kilo per litre, so a strong stand is
very important.
Gravel is my choice of substrate for most aquaria. It shouldn't be too fine or too
coarse. I don't use white gravel; it makes the fish look less colourful. I find coloured
gravel garish and neurotic, but if you like it, you can use it. Be careful because it is
generally dyed, and though most batches don't leak the dye into water, some do. It is best
to leave it in a bucket of water for a week and then check if it leaks colour. I like
using natural looking brown gravel. Before you put the gravel into the tank you have to
wash it. Newly bought gravel can be remarkably dirty. I wash gravel by dumping it into a
bucket, filling it to about 2/3 with tepid water, then stirring it, throwing away the
dirty water, then repeating till clear water runs from the bucket.
Rocks make fantastic decorations for the tank. Before you put any in though, make sure
it doesn't contain metal ores, crystals or limestone. (Limestone is good for rift lake
set-ups, but not for an average community). Bogwood is also very beautiful, but make sure
it is properly cured, otherwise it might liberate tannins into the water, dangerously
lowering the pH.
Now for the water. If your tap water has chlorine, then run it hard into a bucket and
let it cure overnight. The chlorine will dissipate. Most people worry quite a bit about
pH, but I would say that whatever your pH is, leave it alone if it's stable. There are
several other things like GH and KH too, but leave all that alone for now. You should
change 20-25% of the water every week, using a gravel strainer to remove accumulated dirt.
There are basically two types of plants available, real and artificial. Artificial
plants generally look quite fake, but are useful when you have voracious plant eaters.
Real plants look far more natural (duh!), produce oxygen and take in carbon dioxide.
Before adding any plants remove dead/damaged leaves. In nature, water is softened by large
amounts of rotting vegetation in it. This may be harmful for some species in your tank,
however. Then you should dip them into a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 10
minutes to kill any snails/snail eggs on them. Wash them vigorously and then you can add
them. Treat tropical plants with as much respect as you would fish. Just like a houseplant
can die when chilled, so can tropical water plants. All plants need 10-12 hours of light a
day. I make sure that there are two watts for every five litres. Some good species are:
Java moss, Java fern, Anubias sp. Cryptocoryne sp., Echinodorus
sp., Riccia, Indian fern, Aponogeton sp., and Hygrophila sp.
The Japanese rush needs colder water, Cabomba needs clear, slow moving
water to keep its fronds in place, and lilies throw up pads and flowers which cover the
surface, blocking light to other species.
Filtration is essential, and is of 3 types, biological, physical and chemical.
Undergravel (UG) filtration is not worth the hassle. I use internal box filters, using
filter floss as the filtration media, along with a thin layer of activated carbon. If
using this type of filtration, make sure you change 50% of the filter floss every month,
or whenever it looks REALLY dirty. The activated carbon is optional. It removes dissolved
impurities, and should be changed every month along with the floss. Other good filter
media are gravel, filter foam, peat (for acidic set-ups), limestone chips (for hard water
set-ups.) In any case, the filter flow rate should be all the water in the tank per hour.
Power filters are useful for larger tanks, while sponge filters are good for tanks with
low filtration needs.
Finally, the fish !!! You want about five species of fish. While it is tempting to buy
one of everything, remember that a tank with 20 fish of two species looks better than a
tank with 20 fish of fifteen species. Keeping the fish in shoals also lets you see normal
behaviours that you would otherwise miss. Be sure to add the fish gradually, so the filter
can take the load.
A shoal of six danios is very good for movement in the tank. They are very hardy, and
peaceful fish. Some good species are zebra danio (Brachydanio rerio), leopard
danio (B. frankei), pearl danio (B. albolineatus), spotted danio (B.
nigrofasciatus), and also white cloud mountain minnow (Tanichthys albonubes).
They are all very tolerant of most water conditions, easy to breed, and are extremely
active. They are shoaling fish and form tight shoals, and they should be kept in shoals of
at least six, or they can become very aggressive. Several varieties of the above are
available, and my favourites are the long finned ones. They are easily sexed, with the
females having rounded bellies, and the males having almost concave ones. They breed in
the morning, and the females are loyal to their partners. However, with the exception of Tanichthys
albonubes, they are avid egg eaters and given half a chance will eat their own eggs
and fry. I would suggest a mixed shoal of zebra and pearl danios.
If you have soft, matured water, then for your second shoal you can keep six glowlight
tetras, (Hemigrammus erythrozonus). In my opinion they are the most beautiful of
the tetras. To keep them, the rest of the tank mates should be small, >4 inches, and
peaceful. They are sexed much the same way as danios, but breeding them is much harder.
Otherwise you can keep six rainbowfishes. For tanks >80 litres, Melanotaenia
praecox, the dwarf neon rainbowfish, is fantastic. It is a very interesting fish,
being an iridescent blue, and the males have the most beautiful crimson red fins. The
females have clear or orange-ish fins . They are easy to breed, but the fry are very tiny.
For tanks 80< litres, other rainbows (Melanotaenia sp.), red rainbows (Glossolepis
sp.) and Pseudomugil sp. work very well. Madagascar rainbow (Bedotia
geayi) and Celebes rainbow (Telmatherina ladigesi) are shoaling fish that
shouldn't be kept in acidic conditions.
If you're going to keep livebearers, then guppies (Poecilia reticulata),
swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri) and platies (Xiphophorus variatus/ maculatus)
are my livebearers of choice. Mollies need at least an 80-litre system to grow properly,
and are more prone to diseases like dropsy. They are tolerant of all water conditions,
provided that the water isn't too acidic. Many people put salt in the water, but I find it
unnecessary, except that mollies seem to do better with salt. They should be kept in the
ratio of 1:2, in favour of females. Otherwise, the females might just be harassed to
death! They are easily sexable, with males having a gonopodium, or a modified anal fin.
The females have normal anal fins. Female guppies have fawn coloured bodies, and in some
species a gravid spot can be seen on the females. This is a black spot near the
urinogenital opening. It means that the female is pregnant. If you have a well-planted
tank, then some of the babies will survive. Ensure that the tank doesn't get
overpopulated. While guppies make nice fillers, I like swords a lot too. I would keep some
guppies (>15) and a trio of swords.
Anabantids include the gouramis, bettas, paradise fish and combtails. They have a
labyrinth organ, which enables them to breathe air. I like using Colisa lalia,
the dwarf gourami. Keep two females per male, to avoid too much bullying. They come in
several colour morphs. I've seen a blue, red and green version. Personally, I like the
normal fish the best. The males are very brightly coloured, while the females are a drab
silvery fish. The male has extensions to his dorsal fin. Another good fish is the
three-spot gourami, (Trichogaster trichopterus). This also comes in several
colour morphs. One is the blue gourami, (Trichogaster trichopterus sumatranus).
It is light blue, with dark blue patches on the flanks. The spots aren't clearly visible.
There is another blue colouration, with the 2 spots (spot 3 is the eye) clearly visible. A
brown morph is also present, but to me the most beautiful version is the gold morph. It is
a beautiful fish that is a yellow ochre in colour, and has a black nettled pattern on the
dorsal body. The males have pointed dorsal fins; the females have rounded ones. Again, 2
females to1 male is the rule. They are bubble nest builders, and if fed well and kept in
clean water with minimal disturbance to the surface, they can be spawned. Some floating
plants will help too. Their spawning is truly wonderful, with the males
"embracing" the females. The male takes very good care of the spawn, so remove
the female after spawning, or she may be killed. The male should be removed when the fry
are free-swimming. They can grow quite big, but are very peaceful. I would suggest a trio
of gold gouramis.
For your catfish, four Corydoras sp. would be nice. They are peaceful
substrate-dwelling fish, which also come up to the surface and take a "breath"
of air. There are several species like C. aenus, julii, davidsandsi,
loxozonus, sterbai, barbatus, paleatus, baderi ……… You could also keep
six Otocinclus instead. Two kulhi loaches would make a great addition as well,
and maybe a flying fox, (Epalzeorynchus kallopterus).
Ram cichlids (Microgeophagus ramirezi) (only for large tanks without small
fish in them), festivums (Menosauta festivus) and angelfish (Pterophyllum
scalare) are cichlids that are suited to this community.
Fishes you don't want to touch with a 10 foot stick are: most cichlids (they are great
fish in the right set-up, but would totally wreck this kind of tank. Even fish like kribs
(Pelvicachromis pulcher), who are suited to this type of tank, would probably
spawn and while guarding the brood might hurt or kill other fish.). Epalzeorynchus
sp. (with the exception of the flying fox E. kallopterus) and the Chinese
algae eater (Gyrinocheilus sp) will grow too big, and bully all their tankmates.
Some barbs are not suitable (Barbus tetrazona, the tiger barb, being a leading
example) because they will nip the other fish's fins. Otherwise, most barbs will do very
well.
If given proper care, this kind of tank can become a beautiful ornament to any room. Do
not forget to do more research!
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