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Advice on Orangethroat Tank

Started by Guest_fishfray_* , Jul 13 2013 05:10 PM

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15 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_fishfray_*

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Posted 13 July 2013 - 05:10 PM

I have been planning on a tank setup for orangethroat darters. It will be a 10 gal. that I was going to set up as somewhat of a riffle tank with a hob filter and a powerhead. After doing a little research, im not sure if this is too much current or not. In the stream I will collect from, the o-throats are in deeper pools and the riffles, so they seem adaptable. I just don't want to overdo it. I was also going to plant some live plants away from the fastest current. What are the experts' opinions on this?

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#2 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 13 July 2013 - 05:28 PM

If the water stays in the tank, the fish will be OK. But there is no need for huge current. As you said, they are adaptable. They need the water oxygenated and in the wild that means riffles. But in a tank they can do with much less current. They do navigate well in the current, and they do eat better when the current makes the frozen foods dance around and look live.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#3 Guest_fishfray_*

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Posted 13 July 2013 - 06:11 PM

Thanks for the reply, that helps. If you guys are interested, I will post pictures of the aquascaping/collecting/stocking

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#4 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 13 July 2013 - 06:19 PM

yes, we love pictures here!

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#5 Guest_fishfray_*

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Posted 14 July 2013 - 08:53 AM

The tank is filled up, and the filter and powerhead are installed. It wont look like this when im done, the plants are mainly to quickly cycle it and will probably be removed. Im going to add many large rocks and a few pieces of driftwood. I know the powerhead is ugly but I want it up front so I can easily see the fish in the current. Powerhead is 145 gph, it makes a steady current across the whole front of the tank.

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#6 Guest_EricaLyons_*

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Posted 14 July 2013 - 12:14 PM

I could never get plants to grow well with a pure gravel substrate. Only growing plants act as nitrogen sinks. In case these ones aren't actively growing, you might want to get test kits for ammonia and nitrate to make sure the tank is actually fit for fishes. I wouldn't assume they're doing their job unless you see new growth on them.

Here's what you should see if you have a bacterially processed tank and are adding fish flakes every day (hopefully before the addition of the fish): http://peabody.resea.../MO/n-cycle.gif
Posted Image

If the plants are the main nitrogen processors you will add fish flakes every day and see 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrate, and new growth on the plants. They are usually coated in the nitrogen processing bacteria so it's not unreasonable to see 0 ppm ammonia, 10 or 20 ppm nitrate. Do a water change with dechlorinated water if it gets above 30.

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#7 Guest_fishfray_*

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Posted 14 July 2013 - 12:42 PM

I have added aquatic plant fertilizer, and had these plants grow quickly in gravel before. Im doing the fish flake thing and I also have a filter from an old aquarium so the bacteria are there. Thanks for the advice, that graph is helpful

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#8 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 14 July 2013 - 01:53 PM

Keep in mind, that since powerheads are submerged, they do add heat to a tank. In a small tank this may be significant.

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#9 Guest_fishfray_*

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Posted 14 July 2013 - 07:48 PM

The heat was a concern, but the water is still cool to the touch. I got a bunch of rocks from the site where I will collect the darters. I assume this is legal because I hear about people collecting their own substrate all the time. I replicated the habitat that I saw the most darters in as close as possible. That is why I removed most of the plants. While I picked up boring rocks, my dad caught many awesome striped shiners with my fly rod.

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#10 Guest_fishfray_*

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Posted 14 July 2013 - 07:50 PM

The tank. Usually I am allowed to add more file size, why did the file size that I could add go down? Any help would be appreciated. I would show the shiner pictures but I don't think its worth it if they are going to be so small

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DSCF8828.jpg 38.07KB 18 downloads

Edited by fishfray, 14 July 2013 - 07:52 PM.

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#11 Guest_EricaLyons_*

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Posted 14 July 2013 - 08:32 PM

Usually I am allowed to add more file size, why did the file size that I could add go down? Any help would be appreciated.

Try hosting the picture on another website, for example photobucket.com. Then use brackets and, here let me see if I can type this out or if it will automatically convert it.
[ img ]pictureurl.jpg[ /img ]
without the spaces. So it'd be [img] and the same thing with a / symbol.
This will allow you to display an image without using the forum's image hosting space. It also lets you post quite a large picture. And people who aren't logged into the forum can see it. If you put the direct link below the picture, it should withstand changes in forum coding so people can always link back to the picture in the future, for as long as it's hosted there.

Edited by EricaLyons, 14 July 2013 - 08:33 PM.