The Fish Tank Arrives

The day after Lucas was delivered our fish tank was delivered. It’s my (early) birthday present that I picked out and had delivered before Marika even had a chance to see what she was buying me, by the time Marika and Lucas came home from the hospital the tank was partly set-up, well it was in cycling stage getting the water and filter ready for the starter fish. I decided to go with a more natural style set-up, Marika was keen for a shipwreck, and sadly we didn’t find suitable wrecks though I did concede and we have a natural style tank with a holey barrel and I’m looking for some fake rock caves. As for the fish that has been a bit of an issue, we started with six Serpae tetras as I was told they were hardy fish for a new tank, I though okay, tetras as fun happy little fish, oops my booboo. Serpae’s are feisty little buggers which can be fun to watch when they are chasing each other around the tank, however they also chase and attack the other fish we have. We also added two Otto Catfish to try and keep the snails under control; the snails were compliments of the plants we added. And the story continues, we now only have one Otto, the other was found partly eaten in the Serpae’s favourite hiding place. And the Serpae’s have also been having a go at our three Bumblebee Gobies which are now missing their tail fins, thankfully the Gobies have big mouths and now will face off against the Serpaes. I’ve come to the decision that the Serpae’s have to go for the good of this community tank. Nearly two days have passed since I typed the previous sentence and the Serpaes are gone back to the shop. I replaced them with ten Cardinal tetras, there funky fish similar to the Neon tetras I had as a kid, I also picked up another two Ottos to keep my single remaining one company. So now there are sixteen little fish in a big tank. I’ve spent some time working out what fish I should get based on their water and community compatibility, the Bumblebees don’t match my plan as they like slightly salty water, however they were with freshwater fish in the shop and they seem to be doing quite well in my freshwater tank, I’ll have to keep an eye on them and find them a new home if they start to look sickly. I want to get more fish as the tank looks quite devoid of fishes, but know that I should wait so I don’t mess-up the water quality. I’ll check the water quality again on Monday and if all is well I go fishing.

Empty Tank

Some Set-up

More Set-up

Finished (for now) with limited Fish