Hello all. I just moved to the charlotte area and i have 2 important questions.
1. what are some good set up(fish, plants, inverts.) ideas for a 10gal tank(as this is the largest my college allows). and
2. What are some good places to observe and collect fish in the Charlotte and Banner Elk areas.
Need Ideas For College Tank.
Started by
Guest_damias_*
, Jul 02 2012 07:26 PM
12 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Yeahson421_*
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Posted 02 July 2012 - 10:45 PM
It looks like Ellasoma zonatum, Ellasoma evergladei, and Ellasoma boehlki are all within a few hours of you and I believe (check your state's regulations) legal to collect. Ellasoma, or Pygmy sunfish are a great fish for smaller tanks. You can look at Erica Weiser's Ellasoma gilberti thread for more information on these awesome little critters. As far as plants go, if you go the Ellasoma route, you'll definitely want a lot of them. I would say do an inch or so of topsoil, then an inch or two of sand and, along with a good light, you should be able to grow most anything you want. Good luck!
#3
Guest_EricaWieser_*
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Posted 03 July 2012 - 07:19 AM
Here's a video of the 10 gallon Elassoma gilberti tank I had in my dorm room: youtube.com/watch?v=5QNXjZNS5SY
Elassoma are cool because they do that cute little dance.
I started out with 5 in the fall and had 84 when I moved out of that dorm in the spring (I put them in my 55 gallon tank and the population expanded). I recommend culturing grindal worms or buying cubes of frozen bloodworms to feed them as it trains them to come forward for food and to not be afraid of a human face.
Elassoma (I chose okefenokee/gilberti), heterandria formosa, Leptolucania ommata, etc. There are a lot of neat fish you can keep in a 10 gallon tank. A one inch fish like Elassoma would have plenty of room. Be careful with the North Carolina pygmy sunfish; there are rare ones that you should leave in the wild to reproduce there.
I use the $4 for 25 pounds Special Kitty pure clay kitty litter as a substrate myself. You can also use sand, which is inexpensive at your local hardware store, and then buy root tabs to stick under it for the plants. It's so easy to pitch inexpensive substrates when you go to move (I lived in a different dorm and summer housing each time, moving 8 times total during college) and buy a new $4 bag when you get to your new dorm. The tiny cost made throwing it out not a big deal. With substrates like Fluorite or EcoComplete or Fluoromax I'd hesitate to pitch $15 of substrate every time I moved. I also had a 55 gallon tank when I was in college, so that would have been more like $75 each of the 8 times I moved. *shudders* But yeah, it's easier to move a completely empty tank than it is a tank with a few inches of water and substrate in it. That was a bigger deal when moving my 55 gallon tank from dorm to dorm than it was the 10 gallon.
Elassoma are cool because they do that cute little dance.
I started out with 5 in the fall and had 84 when I moved out of that dorm in the spring (I put them in my 55 gallon tank and the population expanded). I recommend culturing grindal worms or buying cubes of frozen bloodworms to feed them as it trains them to come forward for food and to not be afraid of a human face.
Elassoma (I chose okefenokee/gilberti), heterandria formosa, Leptolucania ommata, etc. There are a lot of neat fish you can keep in a 10 gallon tank. A one inch fish like Elassoma would have plenty of room. Be careful with the North Carolina pygmy sunfish; there are rare ones that you should leave in the wild to reproduce there.
I use the $4 for 25 pounds Special Kitty pure clay kitty litter as a substrate myself. You can also use sand, which is inexpensive at your local hardware store, and then buy root tabs to stick under it for the plants. It's so easy to pitch inexpensive substrates when you go to move (I lived in a different dorm and summer housing each time, moving 8 times total during college) and buy a new $4 bag when you get to your new dorm. The tiny cost made throwing it out not a big deal. With substrates like Fluorite or EcoComplete or Fluoromax I'd hesitate to pitch $15 of substrate every time I moved. I also had a 55 gallon tank when I was in college, so that would have been more like $75 each of the 8 times I moved. *shudders* But yeah, it's easier to move a completely empty tank than it is a tank with a few inches of water and substrate in it. That was a bigger deal when moving my 55 gallon tank from dorm to dorm than it was the 10 gallon.
Edited by EricaWieser, 03 July 2012 - 07:47 AM.
#4
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 03 July 2012 - 08:02 AM
Not my normal response for a tank design, but I had success in the past with a simple 10 gallon tank with normal "aquarium gravel" and an oversized hand on the back filter put on the end of the tank (not the back wall). In this tank I had just a few rocks and such to break up the flow of the water and provide hiding places and a handful of local darters (I was east of Cleveland, so they were rainbows) and a couple of shiners or top minnows (but watch out for jumpers in such a small tank any jumpers end up on the floor).
This tank is pretty easy to maintain if you just clean the filter and vacuum the gravel and feed frozen foods (a little expensive for a college student but not too bad).
This tank is pretty easy to maintain if you just clean the filter and vacuum the gravel and feed frozen foods (a little expensive for a college student but not too bad).
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#7
Guest_damias_*
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Posted 03 July 2012 - 09:35 PM
Cool ideas guys, thanks for the suggestions. I'm thinking of going with the Pygmy Sunfish. Maybe a Mosquitofish also.
And I'm not sure if i'm supposed to ask questions like this but do you know know of any locations specifically, in Charlotte where i can find them. Or is anyone around this area going on a hunt and can i tag along?
And I'm not sure if i'm supposed to ask questions like this but do you know know of any locations specifically, in Charlotte where i can find them. Or is anyone around this area going on a hunt and can i tag along?
Edited by damias, 03 July 2012 - 09:42 PM.
#8
Guest_Drew_*
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Posted 03 July 2012 - 09:41 PM
Cool ideas guys, thanks for the suggestions. I'm thinking of going with the Pygmy Sunfish.
And I'm not sure if i'm supposed to ask questions like this but do you know know of any locations specifically, in Charlotte where i can find them. Or is anyone around this area going on a hunt and can i tag along?
http://collections.n...archFishes.aspx
#9
Guest_damias_*
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#12
Guest_gerald_*
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Posted 04 July 2012 - 02:32 PM
No pygmys near Charlotte. The closest sites to you would be near Aberdeen or Laurinburg about 80 miles east.
Be careful if you try keeping mosquitofish with pygmys. Mosquitofish can get vicious and the pygmys will have a hard time getting enough food.
Be careful if you try keeping mosquitofish with pygmys. Mosquitofish can get vicious and the pygmys will have a hard time getting enough food.
#13
Guest_UncleWillie_*
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Posted 17 July 2012 - 03:15 PM
I've been on hiatus for about 4 months, but I wanted to add another suggestion. If I remember correctly, I think there may be pirate perch near Charlotte (not positive). I have 3 pirate perch in a 15 gallon tank (two @ 2'', one @ 3.5''). They make pretty good inhabitants for smaller tanks, because they are relatively inactive when not being fed or chasing prey. Mine is choke-full of java moss and the fish tend to stay wedged into the plants when resting, but as soon as they hear my footsteps in the room they rush to the front of the tank for food. They are quite interesting, and not nearly as hard-to-keep, or boring as I was led into believing. All three know when it's feeding time, and they larger will eat right out of your fingertips. They get a staple of Hikari carnivore sticks (floating), and then blood worms or chopped earthworms for treats once or twice a week. Occasionally, I drop about 6 or so mosquitofish in there and watch the hunt begin. So, they are not demanding for space, and they also have that "mini-predator" personality if you are into that kind of thing.
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