Stephen's 550L tank log (summary & continuation)

A place to keep us informed of the goings on in your tanks. - Tank Logs.
Post Reply
User avatar
Stephen
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Posts: 6016
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 15:42 pm
Location: Hereford, Herefordshire
Has liked: 1415 times
Been liked: 3407 times
Contact:

Stephen's 550L tank log (summary & continuation from original tank log)
Stephen's 550L tank log
This is my tank log of my 6 foot 550L aquarium dating back to Sunday 4th September 2016 to present day.
It is quite long so give yourself at least 10 minutes to read it all.
This tank log details the setting up, the mistakes, mishaps, frustrations, disasters and changes to the layout and changes to the stocking.

About myself & my history
I was born & live in Hereford, Herefordshire in 1959.
I went to an excellent Grammar school (1970-1975)
I was employed as an area sales manager for many years with different national companies.
In 1998 I was diagnosed with a spinal condition (narrowing of spinal canal and degeneration of spine) which ended my working career.
I struggle to walk, struggle to lift and other things and I am in pain daily, some days are worse than others.
I can not sit for too long (this post will likely take me well over an hour), I can not stand still for too long; I have to stand and move after sitting for a short while, I also have to sit if standing or walking for a while. I can not get out of a bath without assistance and with assistance it is still difficult, thank goodness for showers.
I am married to Gillian (Gill), we only got married on 1st March 2017 after a long (over 14 years) engagement.
She often tells me off for doing things that cause me additional pain or that I will pay the price for afterwards but I always say "no pain, no gain". I won't allow my disability to control my life although I do know my limitations but to achieve anything I do push those limitations.

My hobbies & interests
Tropical fish keeping
Photography
Genealogy

Tropical fish
I only started keeping tropical fish back in July 2013. My first tropical fish tank was a Fluval Roma 240.
As with all my interests and hobbies I spend a lot of time reading and researching. I have probably spent over 10,000 hours reading and researching about tropical fish.
I have a “go to” datasheet which list over 1,700 fish species with information about pH, water hardness, water temperature, size etc.. I also have my “master” datasheet which lists over 17,000 fish species.
I have also datasheets of fish species found in countries (especially south American countries). I have also broken those datasheets down to create new datasheets of fish species found in certain rivers within the countries.

My fish keeping history
I bought my first fish tank around 1990/91, it was a coldwater tank with a few fancy goldfish type species (shubunkin etc..)
My first tropical tank, a Fluval Roma 240 was only purchased in July 2013.
My second tropical tank, a smaller 125L was purchased in October 2014.
Both tanks took up 6'6" of floor/wall space with a total volume of about 365L, so I said to myself that it would be good to combine both tanks and to have a single tank which takes up the same space but a little deeper. So in November 2015 I started planning (on paper) an upgrade; a single tank which could of been 5, 6, 7 or even 8 foot (at a push).
Eventually after several months of consideration I settled on a 6 foot (550L) tank. The hardest bit was to persuade the OH, she eventually came round to my idea and soon became as excited as I was, well almost.
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

Powered by EHEIM
User avatar
Stephen
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Posts: 6016
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 15:42 pm
Location: Hereford, Herefordshire
Has liked: 1415 times
Been liked: 3407 times
Contact:

Stephen's 550L tank log
The tank is an Aqua One Aquience 1800R like in the image below.
Aquarium = 180w x 60d x 66h cm 600L 550L (advertised as being 600L but actually only 550L)

Image

Job schedule: starting Sunday 4th September 2016
Sunday - remove plants, decor and sand from 240L tank (temporary re-home fish) and clean tank.
Monday evening - temporary re-home fish to 100L plastic container with lid, air pump, heater etc..
Tuesday morning - say good-bye to Roma 240L tank.
Tuesday morning - move furniture (settee, table and chairs etc..) to allow easy access for new tank
Tuesday afternoon/Wednesday morning - say hello to new 6 foot (550L) tank
Wednesday - set up new tank; re-arrange media in new filters (2) and add established media, add décor, rocks, plants etc.. to new tank
Wednesday evening - re-home fish in their new home (hopefully)

Well that's the plan, sounds easy until you add the fact that I have a spinal disability and in constant pain, any lifting is difficult & painful, as is walking and other activities.
As the saying goes, "no pain, no gain".

The first part is clearing out the old tanks and making room for the new one.
Everything was at hand ready and hopefully fish will be in their new home within 24/36 hours.
All done before Monday morning on 12/09/2016, off to Cornwall for a short break.

Aquarium Themes & theme changes:
September 2016

Rio Mamoré in Bolivia.
A well thought out river theme.
The fish species included Biotodoma Cupido, Laetacara dorsigera, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi, Prionobrama filigera, Corydoras sterbai.

March 2017
Got married to Gill, we had been engaged for over 14 years.

We had a disaster in September 2017 (just one year after starting the Rio Mamoré theme) when all the Cupid cichlids were found dead.
This was so upsetting that we decided to change themes as opposed to replacing the dead fish

October 2017
Rio Meta in Columbia.
One of the fish species in this new theme was Aequidens metae which predated on all the Rummy-nose tetra. The theme only lasted a month.

November 2017
Rio Corantijn in Suriname

December 2017
My best friend of over 50 years passed away on 24th November 2017.
I had a mini stroke (aka TIA which is an abbreviation for ‘transient ischaemic attack’.) in December.
All tests and scans were good.

April 2018
Rio Negro in Brazil
I had another predatory fish (Crenicichla regani) which predated on all the Cardinal tetra and all the Rummy-nose tetra. I’m not completely happy with this theme.
I’m still trying to get my mojo back but struggling.

March 2019
I have three themes in mind:-
1. Rio Nanay (Peru)
2. Rio Ucayali (Peru)
3. Rio Guaporé (Brazil/Bolivia)

Río Guaporé in Brazil/Bolivia
Reverting back to Bolivia this time the Río Guaporé in another attempt to get my mojo back.
The mini stroke 15 months earlier also set me back but I’m getting there slowly.
This theme was a total re-vamp; new substrate & sand, new plants & new fish.
The new fish included restocking Cupid Cichlid (Biotodoma Cupido), Red Breast Acara (Laetacara dorsigera) & my favourite tetra, Black Widow tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) plus my favourite cory, Tail-spot cory (Corydoras caudimaculatus).
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

Powered by EHEIM
User avatar
Stephen
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Posts: 6016
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 15:42 pm
Location: Hereford, Herefordshire
Has liked: 1415 times
Been liked: 3407 times
Contact:

July 2020
Changed theme to add a bit of colour.
Rio Ucayali in Peru (as in the 3 themes listed above)
Theme included Neon tetra, Gold laser cory, existing Cupid cichlids and plecos.

July 2021
Had a bit of Neon tetra disease (NTD), plecos are too messy as they are wood-eating plecos (too much hard work cleaning).
The Gold laser cory are lovely but I just don’t see them until feeding time.
Rio Nanay in Peru (as in the 3 themes listed above)
Keeping the Cupid cichlids (Biotodoma Cupido) but new Tetra and new Corydoras.
Wed 7th July, 2021
Just arrived home after a trip to MA at Swindon.
I came home with 15x Corydoras agassizii which are a very good size, maybe 2 inches. The females do grow to around 2.8 inches.
I also came home with 50x Ember tetra.

I also telephoned Aqualife Leyland and they are out of stock of Corydoras sychri, just as well at £24.00 each, as they would of cost £360.00 for 15x.

Current stock:-
9 x Cupid cichlids (Biotodoma Cupido)
50 x Ember Tetra (Hyphessobrycon amandae)
15 x Agassiz's Cory (Corydoras agassizii)
More fish to be added at a later date.

Here's a quick snapshot of the Ember Tetra (Hyphessobrycon amandae) & the Agassiz's Cory (Corydoras agassizii).
The Corydoras agassizii are already a good size.
(click images to enlarge)

Ember tetra x50
Image

Agassiz's cory x 15
Image

A full aquarium pic (not finished yet but give's an idea), I have some bogwood to add and the plants need to establish.
Image
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

Powered by EHEIM
User avatar
SomersetMatt
Member
Posts: 177
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 14:25 pm
Has liked: 75 times
Been liked: 46 times

Hello Stephen, I love your diligence in researching and keeping the various species geographically precise.
I tend to stick to South American fish myself but I'm not quite as strict on their location, as long as they come from somewhere in the Amazon😅
How are you finding the Cupid Cichlids? They could hold some potential for me in my quest to find compatible species.
I'm guessing they're not too big or aggressive as you have them in with Embers.
User avatar
Stephen
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Posts: 6016
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 15:42 pm
Location: Hereford, Herefordshire
Has liked: 1415 times
Been liked: 3407 times
Contact:

@SomersetMatt
SomersetMatt wrote: Fri Jul 09, 2021 11:30 am Hello Stephen, I love your diligence in researching and keeping the various species geographically precise.
I tend to stick to South American fish myself but I'm not quite as strict on their location, as long as they come from somewhere in the Amazon😅
How are you finding the Cupid Cichlids? They could hold some potential for me in my quest to find compatible species.
I'm guessing they're not too big or aggressive as you have them in with Embers.
Hi Matt

I've kept Cupid cichlids for several years. They will grow to a little over 4 inches when fully grown.
They are not aggressive towards corydoras or tetra, but will bicker amongst themselves when setting up territories or pairing up.
I have 9 x juvenile Cupids and when they pair up then I will reduce the numbers. I have an agreement with the LFS who supplied them that they'll take the non-paired back.
I have two pre-prepared potential spawning sites ready for when they do pair up.
One site is at the far left, back corner and the other is on the far right, back corner.
I have buried a large flat stone in each corner, the cichlids will clean the spawning site before laying eggs, but that is quite a long way off, maybe another year or so.
I have purposely kept the potential spawning site clear of plants (this time) so that I can observe any spawning activity in the future.
I may add some shorter mid-ground plants just to camouflage the potential spawning area in the near future.

This 550L aquarium is looking quite bare at present but it's only been days since I totally re-vamped it earlier this week.
The plants need to establish, grow and fill out. I also want to add another corydoras species and maybe another tetra species, although I may increase the Ember tetra numbers.
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

Powered by EHEIM
User avatar
fr499y
Admin - TOTM Winner
Admin - TOTM Winner
Posts: 8290
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 16:04 pm
Location: West Midlands
Has liked: 1773 times
Been liked: 4164 times

I think you need another 150 embers in there to really set it off :P
User avatar
Stephen
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Posts: 6016
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 15:42 pm
Location: Hereford, Herefordshire
Has liked: 1415 times
Been liked: 3407 times
Contact:

@fr499y
fr499y wrote: Fri Jul 09, 2021 15:36 pm I think you need another 150 embers in there to really set it off :P
To be totally honest Matt a few more wouldn't hurt. I'll let these settle first. ;]
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

Powered by EHEIM
User avatar
Martinspuddle
Forum Jester & TOTM Winner
Forum Jester & TOTM Winner
Posts: 7036
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2019 18:07 pm
Location: Sceapig
Has liked: 4220 times
Been liked: 3888 times

Before you get anymore, can you get your current Embers to sit still, I'm still trying to count them. :dodgy2:
WARNING - DO NOT BREED, FEED OR PET THE PUDDLE! :dodgy2:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:swim2: :swim2: :swim2: :swim2: :swim2: :woo: :swim2: :swim2: :swim2:
User avatar
Stephen
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Posts: 6016
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 15:42 pm
Location: Hereford, Herefordshire
Has liked: 1415 times
Been liked: 3407 times
Contact:

@Martinspuddle
Martinspuddle wrote: Fri Jul 09, 2021 16:42 pm Before you get anymore, can you get your current Embers to sit still, I'm still trying to count them. :dodgy2:
Martin; a photograph is still, a camera freezes the action :banghead:
To be honest I think there are more than 50, I'll have a re-count.
(one minute later)
Having just taken 2 photos and counting them (viewed in Ms paint and crossed off), I have counted ...... 72 ::thumbu::
I'll do it again to confirm.
(a few minute later)
This time I count 76

There is definitely more than 50, so I'll settle at 70.
I may do the same exercise tomorrow but with a faster shutter speed.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
I don't care what the others say about you, you're not a fool. ;) :P
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

Powered by EHEIM
User avatar
Stephen
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Posts: 6016
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 15:42 pm
Location: Hereford, Herefordshire
Has liked: 1415 times
Been liked: 3407 times
Contact:

I need another species of Corydoras, here are my choices.
(click image to enlarge)
Image

I already have 15x Corydoras agassizii.
I need another 15x cory but different to the Corydoras agassizii, I'm thinking either Corydoras sychri, Corydoras atropersonatus, Corydoras fowleri, Corydoras loretoensis or Corydoras sp. C097.
I feel the Corydoras ambiacus is too similar and I'm not keen on the Corydoras elegans.
The Corydoras fowleri is very similar to Corydoras coriatae, but it's the actual Corydoras fowleri that I'm interested in.
It's the rainy season in south America at present so some species may not be available until the dry season (November, December).
If you see any of the above whilst on your travels please let me know, as long as the price is acceptable and not too expensive.

Thanks
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

Powered by EHEIM
Post Reply