Rookie looking for advice

[ajh1989]

What probably happened to your plants is more than likely the absence of an actual "Plant" light. I tried many a plants over the years and all the time the just slowly died off. With my new tank I got a specific "Plant" light a Finnex 24/7 planted plus led light.
This is what I started with.View attachment 1509197
And now some months later
View attachment 1509198
I did get alot of growth during the summer when I had some real sunlight helping out but now it's winter in the PNW, where there is no such thing as sunlight till spring comes back around. The Finnex is keeping it all alive and still growing.

I definitely think you are right from what some of my friends have told me. I have this cheap light I got off Amazon that probably doesn't even have much wattage.

 

[ajh1989]

For the plants i always find anubis and java fern to be pretty much foolproof and indestructable.
Do you want a solo fish or a group?
For a solo you could get a salvini cichlid which are aggresive and colourful. You could also get the classic pair of convicts if you want some breeding action too.

I tend

For the plants i always find anubis and java fern to be pretty much foolproof and indestructable.
Do you want a solo fish or a group?
For a solo you could get a salvini cichlid which are aggresive and colourful. You could also get the classic pair of convicts if you want some breeding action too.

I tend to like schools. 1 school floating throughout the tank 1 school that skims the bottom and some individual fish as almost background accents if that makes sense.

 

[phreeflow]

Go with low tech plants that require less light like others mentioned: cryptocoryne, bucephalandra, anubius, Java fern, mosses, etc. The only issue with slow growers like that is they’ll get covered in algae since they can’t uptake excess nutrients fast enough. So, you’ll have to pair those with some fast growing floaters or stems like rotala, wisteria, etc to uptake those nutrients and keep it balanced.

As for fish, like others mentioned, african cichlids or exodons sound great

 

[tlindsey]

I definitely think you are right from what some of my friends have told me. I have this cheap light I got off Amazon that probably doesn't even have much wattage.

I've personally grown Java Moss, Java Fern, with regular aquarium fluorescent bulbs.

 

[Ogertron3000]

I tend to like schools. 1 school floating throughout the tank 1 school that skims the bottom and some individual fish as almost background accents if that makes sense.

It does make sense, unfortunately if you want aggressive fish then it’s very hard to stock a tank this way unless you have a huge tank.

 

[ajh1989]

It does make sense, unfortunately if you want aggressive fish then it’s very hard to stock a tank this way unless you have a huge tank.

So what do you consider a huge tank then so I could make that happen? I'd be willing to go up to a 150 gallon tank, but I don't think I could do 200-300 with my living space.

 

[ajh1989]

Also looking into sabertooth barracuda. Does anyone have experience with them? I know my eyes are big right now, haha. I've really enjoyed this new hobby of mine. I craft wine as a hobby so this is super similar. Getting the perfect levels to make the wine just right and getting the perfect taste in wine is like seeing your vision come true with fish aquariums and keeping your plants and fish alive. Safe to say I've been hooked for 6 months diving in this realm of newness.

 

[Joshuakahan]

Also looking into sabertooth barracuda. Does anyone have experience with them? I know my eyes are big right now, haha. I've really enjoyed this new hobby of mine. I craft wine as a hobby so this is super similar. Getting the perfect levels to make the wine just right and getting the perfect taste in wine is like seeing your vision come true with fish aquariums and keeping your plants and fish alive. Safe to say I've been hooked for 6 months diving in this realm of newness.

I’m assuming you’re talking about paraya. I’ve never kept any, but from what i do know they’re very sensitive to water parameters and definitely not a beginner fish. Scombe are the smallest, around 8” I believe, but if you don’t know what to look for, you could end up with a 3’ fish
I’m sure others can help you more

 

[ajh1989]

I’m assuming you’re talking about paraya. I’ve never kept any, but from what i do know they’re very sensitive to water parameters and definitely not a beginner fish. Scombe are the smallest, around 8” I believe, but if you don’t know what to look for, you could end up with a 3’ fish
I’m sure others can help you more

Yes, you are correct. The paraya. And from my research they are sensitive to water parameters like you said. Need swift waters and probably more than that.. Like I said earlier my eyes may be larger than than my appetite can handle and 'm not gonna make a huge decision past my knowledge. I have patience. I'll build till I get there.

 

[Joshuakahan]

Yes, you are correct. The paraya. And from my research they are sensitive to water parameters like you said. Need swift waters and probably more than that.. Like I said earlier my eyes may be larger than than my appetite can handle and 'm not gonna make a huge decision past my knowledge. I have patience. I'll build till I get there.

If you’re looking for toothy characins, check out Aqua-Imports. Right now they have Hujeta, dwarf red tailed barracuda, yellow tail cuda ( definitely check these out), giant pike characins. Even chalceus and some others. All would be better options than the paraya for a rookie IMO and just as cool. I’ve had some of these and I’ll attach a video shortly