Staffylovers 500l Big Tank

[Staffylover]

This is a new thread for my 2m long 500l tank, it previously held a load of different barbs but following a suspected poisoning I lost nearly every fish most in the first 3 days, here I must thank @black ghost for your help but there was nothing that could be done, it was upsetting and frustrating plus time consuming with all the extra water changes and testing,

I still do not know the cause though now I suspect the last piece of spider wood added might be the culprit, I didn't think of it until about 6 days in by then there were not a lot of fish left but within 12 hours of taking it out the remaining fish stabilized, my survivors are 1 danio which I can't catch so will be staying, and a few scissortails I have moved these over to the 4ft as they have fin damage, plus my 2 whiptails which for some strange reason were the only ones to appear unaffected.

I did consider shutting this tank down but in the end decided to go with a different theme, something not too similar, so after a bit of thought settled on African river theme, it will take time to change the plants out but I have made a start with some Crinums,
As it happens my local shop had a group of 6 lovely Thomasi Cichlids, hopefully both males and females but the shop didn't know,
These were closely followed by 6 red eye tetra which I had delivered having only ever seen them in pictures, I am super pleased with them and they really suit the tank I would like another 6 but am away now for a week so it will have to wait, I am still struggling a bit for motivation after this, but having the tank running is helping, I made a short video, the camera is struggling with the light coloured sand and has overexposed everything but you can get some idea

[Staffylover]

Plus I took this video of the Red Eye Tetra 'surfing' in the flow they do this quite a lot, I know the video has come out a bit dark but it's quite fun to watch, I really must read up on my camera settings!

[black ghost]

That is a beautiful tank. I could watch it for hours.
I have a soft spot for both those species. In a smaller tank Red Eyes just hang about not doing much. It’s great to see them being so active. Both species seem to be loving it.

So what’s the next addition?

[Staffylover]

Thanks @black ghost to be honest I haven't thought very far ahead, the main reason for choosing this theme over any other, was I will admit, a legitimate reason to keep Reedfish, I just love the look of them, I could be tempted by a bichir but that would mean no smaller fishes and the tank is not that massive, I have found a group of Banded Barbs which are nice and colourful and only get to 2" but they are tiny at the moment and will need to go in the grow out tank for a bit first, I would certainly like a group of Syno's, but other than that not really sure, I won't be getting the Reedfish until the tank is more settled and I need some more hiding spaces, bogwood and stuff, not sure how many to get, 3 seems to be a popular number I could try with just one but if they need company that seems cruel, although the tank is shallow it has a large footprint of 2ft by 2m so I might get away with 3?

[black ghost]

Reedfish only grow a foot long, and because they’re very thin they’re a very small bioload. Half a dozen would only be the equivalent of a foot long bichir. And the footprint’s easily big enough for them.

[BigBen]

I love reedfish. My parents had 1 with a host of very bad combinations when I was a kid, I called him Austin Eeley, after the rugby player Austin Healey (I know they're not eels now). They're a real nostalgic fish for me so I would love to see how this goes if you do go for them! I'll keep an eye out.

[black ghost]

You’ll need a tight-fitting lid, because they’ll get through the tiniest gap, even one that’s above the water.

[Staffylover]

That's great news, I will certainly get some then in another month or so, I have glass sliders but there is still small gaps at each corner which I have blocked with some filter sponge, will this be ok or are they liable to push the sponge out from underneath?

[black ghost]

That’s what I would do. They won’t force it, they’ll just look for gaps. It should be fine if it’s fairly tight.

[Lee_k]

Good theme - i've just gone congo myself on one of them! - Although I have gone for a bicher (albiet a Delhezi so one of the smaller ones)