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The Rainbow Shark Strategy

wildlife, gardening, environment, Rural living, Pets and Vets
AsleepInYorkshire
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The Rainbow Shark Strategy

#395334

Postby AsleepInYorkshire » March 13th, 2021, 10:50 pm

My 13 year old daughter keeps tropical fish. We've worked together on her little hobby. She has two aquariums and a quarantine tank. We've been pottering in the Barbs tank today. It's been very successful. Her first tank was a Christmas gift and she watched and listened as I offered options. Her second tank had far more design input from her and she took more of a leading role in making the decisions.

There are 31 fish in there currently. Only one fish has died whilst it was being populated. We call it our her Barb tank as the main stock are Barbs. Only one isn't. It's a Rainbow Shark.

Image
Source https://www.aquariumfactory.com.au/wp-c ... 00x201.jpg

The Rainbow or Ruby Shark has striking red fins with a dark grey torso. It grows to a length of about 15cm and doesn't tolerate others of its own species. It doesn't tolerate many other fish neither. It's not grumpy but certainly care needs to be taken when picking its tank mates. The Rainbow Shark lives at the bottom of the tank and is territorial. And it's that characteristic that we have used to contain its behaviour.

Its tank mates are very peaceful fish but aren't timid. They are capable of looking after themselves. There are 10 Golden Barbs. These fish grow to about 6cm and are the clowns of the Barb family. If you walk up to the tank they will swim up to you and infer they've not been fed for a gazillion years. If you put your arm in the tank they will peck at anything on your skin that may look like food such as dry skin or a mole.

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Source https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E3P-Z4qQHY0/ ... es+003.jpg

The Golden Barb has boundless amounts of energy. It never stops moving. Constantly on the go. Swimming into the currents caused by the filter returns and swimming the marathon.

What they lack in colour in the world of fish they make up with in their behaviour. They are a fun fish to have in the tank.

There are also 12 Denison Barb in the tank. They grow to about 10cm. They have a striking red line running along the length of their torso. The are also known as Torpedo Barbs. These guys love to shoal and can swim like a harpoon. They are fast.

Image
Source https://www.thinkfish.co.uk/tropical-fi ... arb-01.jpg

The Denison Barb doesn't have the same charming character as the Golden Barb but it does look stunning when swimming in a shoal.

The final species of fish in the tank is the Tiger Barb. This fish has a bad reputation for fin nipping. But with the right tank mates and the correct numbers that behaviour is suppressed. There are 9 Tiger Barb in the tank. One having passed away not long after introduction. Tiger Barbs grow to a mature size of about 5cm and have some stunning colours.

Image
Source https://inlandaquatics.com/wp-content/u ... r-Barb.png

The Golden Barbs, Denison's and Tiger Barbs often shoal together. It's a beautiful display. I'm not sure but I think the Denison's and Tiger's have learned to beg for food after watching the Golden Barbs.

From the outset we had a plan for the numbers and species of fish that would be introduced into the tank. My daughter made most of the decisions. She's beginning to understand the different water conditions that fish can tolerate or otherwise.

The strategy was to define the Rainbow Sharks territory and then outnumber it. There's a cave in the tank made from "Zebra Rocks". This is a small area that the Rainbow Shark can defend easily. Therefore, it reduces the defendable area from the entire tank to an area far smaller. And when the Shark comes out of that small area to chase of "hostiles" it's surrounded by thirty fast swimming fish and cannot focus on one individual to harass and bully it.

Tonight as the Rainbow Shark poked its nose out of its lair and looked upwards for targets I noticed all the barbs gathering around and taunting it. The message I heard was "chase me". And of course the Rainbow Shark obliged. Neither side won. Neither side lost.

A very successful fish tank. All the occupants doing what they were chosen to do and all the spectators watching on in awe.

We're working on some "upgrades" to this tank. Watch this space.

An early picture of the tank at 2 weeks old
Image
Image is my Copyright

AiY

AsleepInYorkshire
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Re: The Rainbow Shark Strategy

#399050

Postby AsleepInYorkshire » March 25th, 2021, 10:23 pm

There's a 7cm long cut on my right arm. No idea exactly how it got there, except to say that it was during the efforts to install a second filter below the fish tank. Now I have to say that the air was fragrantly blue during this little job. A very cramped space and not so nimble legs and a creaking back all made this a quite unpleasant task.

The filter in question is a Fluval FX4. It's second hand. It was installed on my daughters first fish tank. Her Tetra tank. I upgraded to a Fluval FX6 about three weeks ago. Thus "we" had a spare FX4. No point in parking that up in the garage ;)

I won't bore you with all the details but there's a plan behind all this madness. Trust me it did feel like madness trying to fit that second FX4 to the Barb tank. There are now two Fluval FX4's installed on tank two. There's also an internal filter, a Fluval U4, which just filters dirt and dead leaves etc. It "polishes" the water. There's also another filter. It's a phosphate reactor which removes phosphate from the tank.

All the above will allow the tank to accept additional denizens. There's a limit at which the tank will not be able to hold anymore fish. We've raised that limit and the only barrier now is the amount of oxygen in the water which the fish rely on to breathe.

The quarantine tank is currently full with a batch of Tetra's waiting to be transferred to the Tetra Tank. However, the current plan is to add the following to the Barb Tank.

16 x Cherry Barbs
Growing to about 4cm they aren't a large fish. The male is cherry coloured and the female much lighter and more drab. It's usual to have three females to each male in a tank. The males can be single minded on procreation and often tire the females out chasing them around the tank.

Image
Source : https://external-content.duckduckgo.com ... f=1&nofb=1


8 x Rosy Barb
Grows to about 8cm. Probably the goldfish of the barb family. It's very peaceful and will shoal well.

Image
Source : https://dqzrr9k4bjpzk.cloudfront.net/im ... 655065.jpg


10 x 5 Banded Barb
This is a slightly more timid barb. The tank will be more heavily planted before they are added. In addition we are adding Co2 to the water to vastly improve the rate of growth of the plants. These fish will feel more secure in a tank where shelter is provided by plants.

Image
Source : https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e5/81/f3 ... 2f9908.jpg


10 x Black Ruby Barb
Another striped barb that likes well planted tanks.

Image
Source: https://www.thinkfish.co.uk/tropical-fi ... arb-01.jpg

This is an ambitious plan. It's backed up by huge levels of filtration to control nitrate, phosphate and bacteria levels. And it doesn't stop there. Within the next two weeks we will complete the works to make water changes completely automatic. They are currently semi-automatic in that we need to turn a switch to empty the tank and another to fill it. We plan water changes that will account for 20% of the water volume per week but they will be daily at about 3%.

The water removed from the tank is replaced with RODI water. Various parameters of the waters PH, hardness and acid buffering qualities are monitored and maintained by adding minerals.

My daughter's confidence has grown as we have progressed. She enjoys watching her fish. She takes responsibility for them.

AiY

Gengulphus
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Re: The Rainbow Shark Strategy

#399342

Postby Gengulphus » March 26th, 2021, 7:40 pm

AiY,

Just to say that although I know next to nothing about keeping fish and so am highly unlikely to be able to make any useful comments, I've enjoyed reading both of your posts in this thread so far. I imagine lots of others are in the same position, so don't take lack of response as lack of appreciation!

Gengulphus

AsleepInYorkshire
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Re: The Rainbow Shark Strategy

#399374

Postby AsleepInYorkshire » March 26th, 2021, 9:50 pm

Gengulphus wrote:AiY,

Just to say that although I know next to nothing about keeping fish and so am highly unlikely to be able to make any useful comments, I've enjoyed reading both of your posts in this thread so far. I imagine lots of others are in the same position, so don't take lack of response as lack of appreciation!

Gengulphus

Thank you for your kind words.

We're "pottering" on the tanks tomorrow. I've spent the first half of the week in a little more pain than I bargained for :(. :lol:

AiY

AsleepInYorkshire
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Re: The Rainbow Shark Strategy

#406670

Postby AsleepInYorkshire » April 24th, 2021, 4:10 pm

For the last year I've been looking at eBay and Gumtree on a daily basis for a decent pre-owned fish tank to replace our current quarantine tank which has a capacity of 100 litres. Two weeks ago I spotted my target. A 200 litre fish tank in an oak cupboard with filter, heater and light. It was about an hours drive away. We took both cars to collect it all.

I'm pleased to say it's now full of fish waiting to be transferred to their forever homes. Over the last year we've learned so much about keeping fish.

Quarantine Tank 200 Litres

Image
This is my own photograph

There are, if my maths is good enough 71 fish in the tank. Thirteen will remain in the tank. They are Electric Blue Rams.

Electric Blue Rams

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Source: https://azgardens.com/wp-content/upload ... ue2019.jpg

These guys are part of a longer plan. My daughter would like a Betta. They are also known as Siamese fighting fish.

Betta's come in many different colours and fin shapes. They are aggressive and often will be targeted by other fish who will nip their fins. So the tank mates chosen for them need to be suitable. And barbs and tetras aren't really compatible. Having a Betta in her other tanks isn't possible. And part of this is about her having something which brings her joy and pleasure to look at and keep. They aren't long lived fish, usually living for about 2 years if I recall correctly.

Betta Fish

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Source: https://www.livetropicalfish.net/wp-con ... a-fish.jpg

Later this year our lounge and dining rooms are being decorated. Before which some pipework will be concealed in the floors to allow me to add two good sized fish tanks to the lounge. The pipes will allow automatic water changes. The first tank will be 400 litres and will sit at the left hand side of the arch between the lounge and dining area. The other tank will be 500 litres and will sit to the right of the arch. I've agreed to put a Betta in the first tank for my daughter. And that's where the electric blue rams fit into the plan. There will be other fish in this tank too. All will compliment the Betta. Betta's like to skulk around and our strategy will be to use their territorial behaviour by creating a small cave area within the tank which will be his to defend.

Gold Rams

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Source: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1163/ ... 1521738102

Agassizs Fire Red

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Source: https://diapteron.co.uk/wp-content/uplo ... ichlid.jpg

Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid

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Source: https://aquarium-fish-plants.com/wp-con ... atoo-1.png

German Blue Ram

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Source: https://fishsubsidy.org/wp-content/uplo ... ichlid.jpg

Red Dwarf Gourami

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Source: https://fishkeepingadvice.com/wp-conten ... ourami.jpg

Blue Dwarf Gourami

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Source: https://live.staticflickr.com/4638/2537 ... feca_b.jpg

Rainbow Dwarf Gourami

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Source: https://aquadiction.world/img/profile/d ... urami3.jpg

The Engine Room Underneath the Quarantine Tank

Image
This is my own image

The black cannister is full of sintered glass media called Biohome Ultimate. It removes ammonia, nitrites and nitrates from the water. The white cannister is a "booster filter". It is connected upstream from the black cannister and contains foam filter which remove particles such as fish poo and dead plant leaves. The long tall see through tube is a media fluidising reactor. It removes phosphates and silicates from the water. If you look closely behind this filter you can see a blue "thing". This is the air pump which supplies air to the airstones in the tank.

Image
When the fish are moved from the quarantine tank the rocks, plants and bogwood have to be removed. Which is time consuming. But the fish are usually in quarantine for up to 6 weeks so it's right to give them an environment which allows them to acclimatise.

At the back of the picture you can see a "wall of air". Apart form looking pleasing to our eyes it also acts as a way of increasing the oxygen in the water. The fish play in the airwall too. There are two airstones about 400mm long each which create the wall. Originally I had each connected to its own air pump. That was just a tad too powerful for the little occupants of the tank. So now one pump runs both stones.

To the left of the tank is an internal filter. This contains very fine foam. It polishes the water removing fine particles. The filter foam is changed monthly. You'll notice there's no backing to the tank. The tank will be moved when we decorate. After which it will have a backing added.

We had a delivery of 33 fish on Friday. All were alive when they arrived and so far we've lost none. However, we have added parasite treatments as two of the fish have red gills.

You'll also notice that we use sand at the bottom of the tank. It looks more natural than gravel. But it can be difficult to clean the glass on the tank as the sand can scratch it.

The Costs
  1. The aquarium, filter, heater & light £350
  2. Phosphate reactor £45
  3. Internal Filter £52
  4. Sand £32
  5. 6 gang electric switched socket £21
  6. The air pump, rocks, bogwood, plants, phosphate pump, booster cannister we already had spare.
AiY

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Re: The Rainbow Shark Strategy

#406678

Postby ReformedCharacter » April 24th, 2021, 5:25 pm

That all looks marvellous, your daughter has a very kind father :)

RC

AsleepInYorkshire
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Re: The Rainbow Shark Strategy

#406690

Postby AsleepInYorkshire » April 24th, 2021, 7:32 pm

ReformedCharacter wrote:That all looks marvellous, your daughter has a very kind father :)

RC

Thank you. We enjoy doing it together. She's learnt to be vigilant with the fish. She looks after them. Perhaps she will have fish in her own home when she has a family and show her children how to keep them. She has two dogs and a hamster too. She bathed and brushed the dogs today and I think she's cleaning her hamster out as I write.

We have one child so she does tend to get more attention. She will come through to the lounge later on and take over the TV. She's watching something with Mum. The pair of them binge watch a series if they like it :lol:

I can always put my headphones on and read the internet :roll:

AiY


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