Aquarium Care and EcoBio-Block

by Ruby Bayan

Community Fish Tank

Here’s a candid question from my friend Bob: “I just got a 20-gallon tank and was thinking about putting in about a dozen Neon Tetras, six to eight Mollies, a Plecostomus and perhaps introducing two to three Angelfish afterwards. Is this an acceptable plan?”

My answer was, “Bob, you’re inviting disaster into your aquarium! You will be defying at least four major guidelines in the book of ‘good fishkeeping’!”

Defiance 1: “The one-inch-per-gallon rule is baloney!”

Although not a strict rule, the one-inch-of-fish-per-gallon-of-water guideline is often a takeoff point for fishkeeping hobbyists aspiring for a stable bioload. However, factors like efficient filtration, fast-growing fishes, and aggressive or territorial breeds totally overhaul this “rule” giving rise to setups with more than one inch of fish per gallon, or with just a pair of two-inch fish for a 25-gallon tank.

In Bob’s planned 20-gallon setup, 12 Neons, 8 Mollies, 1 Pleco, and 3 Angels, even if they’re all less than an inch each, will surely overload his tank habitat, no matter how efficient his filtration is. But let’s say that on top of a truly efficient filter, he can be diligent enough to make regular water changes, his next problem will be what water parameters to maintain.

Defiance 2: “What natural habitat? I’ll give them their natural habitat!”

One of the primary objectives of fishkeepers is to provide a habitat that is closest to what the fishes have in the wild. The community that Bob is looking at putting together cannot occur naturally because the fishes he has chosen do not thrive in the same water conditions.

Although all the chosen fishes can be made accustomed to a common water temperature (around 77 degrees F), Neons prefer water that is slightly soft, with pH between 5.0 and 7.0. Mollies, on the other hand, live in slightly hard water with pH of 7.5 to 8.5.

In other words, either the Neons or the Mollies will suffer stress and eventually fall ill if brought together in one community tank because the water composition is outside the range ideal for them.

So, if Bob removes the Mollies from the equation and maintains a water composition ideal for the rest of the fishes, will the Neons, Pleco, and Angelfish be fine together? The answer is, again, “no.”

Defiance 3: “They don’t look aggressive to me!”

Angelfishes belong to the notoriously cranky group of cichlids. Highly territorial and potentially aggressive, Angels (an oxymoron?) are known to be “stealth” attackers. Swimming casually and almost in a delicately gentle manner, they can snap at a prey in a flash and swallow whatever fits their mouths. Full-grown Angels are known to feast on Neons.

So, maybe Bob can chuck the idea of adding Angels later on. Will his tank be safe now with the dozen Neons and one Plecostomus? Unfortunately, the Pleco may pose a whole new problem.

Defiance 4: “They’re just sooo cute!”

The Plecostomus is one of the fastest growing catfishes in captivity. A “cute” three-inch Pleco can double in length in six months and grow to a “horrendous” adult size of close to two feet in a couple of years. Their phenomenal growth is accompanied by their equally phenomenal rate of excretion that can easily overwork standard filtration systems. A Pleco will, therefore, be okay in a 20-gallon tank only in its first few months as a juvenile.

In other words, Bob’s 20-gallon tank is down to just a dozen Neons. That’s no fun, right? Well, a 20-gallon tank can’t really support a lot of fishes, and frankly, losing some to not having an acceptable plan is my definition of “no fun.”
Bob can still have a fun tank by choosing a combination of community fishes that are attractive together and thrive in a habitat that will remain stable indefinitely.

Here’s one suggestion: to join his Neons, he can add a pair of Rams (Ramirezis may be cichlids but they’re one of the more sedate ones), and instead of the Pleco he can choose a pair of Corys (corydoras) or Otos (otocinclus) that remain small even as adults.

Add to that some diligent monitoring, regular water changes (or better yet, an EcoBio-Block that conditions water so that changes are hardly necessary), and efficient equipment, and Bob can be well on his way to implementing a truly acceptable plan.

With the many “gadgets” available to the average beginner in the way of well-designed aquariums, thermometers, heaters, thermostats, aerators and filters, there is little left to do but take care of the four important things for fishes to keep them in perfect condition. These are quite important and most helpful for your fish, and no matter how well set—up a tank may be, unless their needs are correctly met, disaster is a foregone conclusion.

First comes the matter of feeding. It has been stated many times that fishes (or any other animal for that matter, including humans) can be quickly killed by the mistaken kindness of over-feeding.

Fishes in nature sometimes go a long time between meals. It may be a matter of hours, days, yes, in some cases even weeks. They are made to be hungry by nature, and anything that we may do to upset this routine will surely cause trouble. Therefore, it is the kindest thing you can do to keep them hungry! This does not mean practical starvation by any means. They should be just hungry enough to be always eager for a meal.

Hungry fishes are usually healthy fishes, and the best way to keep them that way is to feed sparingly. You should feed about as much as they can easily clean up, and we mean really clean up, in five minutes. The five minute rule should be the guide for all around good health and general routine feeding..

As to what to feed, that again is another story, but here the Beginner should try to plan a balanced diet of both living and prepared foods. Almost any of the well known brands of prepared foods sold by leading dealers are good wholesome foods. Most dealers too carry live foods in season such as White Worms cultures, Tubifex Worms and Daphnia. For those fishes large enough to eat them, nothing is better than an occasional meal of finely chopped earthworms that may be had for the digging. These can be found in the winter time under sheltered spots where the earth is a bit moist and protected from freezing by old logs or fairly deep layers of rotting leaves.

Next in importance to good feeding is the need for plenty of air-surface space per fish.

There is hardly an aquarist today, who, at one time or another has not been guilty of over-crowding. When fishes gather at the top of their tank “bubbling” for air, they are in reality on the verge of suffocating. That is if they do it constantly, whether anyone is near their tank or not. Sometimes fishes that are reasonably hungry will come to the top looking for food when someone comes near their tank. This is different from the frantic gulping that they do when they need air due to over- crowding, foul water, or any other situation which might cause them distress through lack of oxygen.

Such a condition needs immediate attention and relief.
There are three ways to handle this problem. First, reduce the number of fishes in the tank. Second, increase the air-surface of their water by giving them a larger tank. Third, apply mechanical aeration. “Rather too few fishes for a tank than even one too many”. is a safe rule to guide the Beginner. One way to estimate the required surface space for Goldfish is to have just one inch of fish, not counting the tail, to every 25 square inches of water-surface.

As for the Exotics—small fishes, Guppies for example, should have at least 3 square inches of surface per fish. Larger Exotics such as Swords, Platies, etc., need about 6 to 8 square inches. Medium sized Barbs and similar sized fishes need about 20 square inches, and the large fishes such as the big Barbs and Cichlids of 5-inches or more require not less than 54 square inches of water surface to get along happily. These figures are the least per fish that can be used to keep the fishes alive. For good healthy, growth and breeding these figures should be doubled and tripled if possible.

The third important thing for healthy fishes is to keep them in even temperatures. To submit them to sudden temperature changes simply means to invite disease, the most common being “shimmies”—“ichthy” and “fungus,” either singly or altogether.
Most temperature changes are inadvertently made by guessing at the temperature of the water that is being used to completely change or partially change the water in a tank. It is best to be sure. Use a good thermometer and not just guess with a “finger dip” A 2-degree difference is all that can normally be considered as safe.

Water changing should be handled with a good bit of care and discretion. Do as little of it as possible. Avoid situations which might make water changes necessary such as the direct action or reaction of over-feeding or over-crowding. Then again, either too much or too little light might make it necessary for a full or partial change of water. Watch the danger signs carefully and if the water has to be changed, make sure it is the same temperature as the water to which the fishes were accustomed.

Finally, adding an EcoBio-Block product to your fishtank will help to keep your fishtank clear and clean reducing the possibilities of stress from overfeeding or overcrowding and making your fishkeeping hobby both simpler and more enjoyable, while reducing the frequency of water changes.

Proper feeding, plenty of air-surface space, suitable even temperatures, and the addition of EcoBio-Block will assure you of a fair measure of success.

Guppy fry

Just a word of warning to beginning aquarists, its better not to expect either to breed fishes too soon after purchase, or to rear too big a proportion of fry from eggs that have hatched.
Reality probably hits most often in regard to the bubble-nest-builders.  Expectations are high because, in the first place, they are among the fishes most readily spawned. Secondly, their small eggs are usually numerous, anywhere between 300 and 600 or more being common. With luck most of them hatch. Unless eaten by a parent they live about a week, even without food. At that point the let-down begins, even with food, especially in a small tank, their numbers start to decrease. Indeed if the number reared to half-adult size is 50, it should be considered to be above average. All too often it comes down to half a dozen, or even less. One consolation is that the survivors must be the naturally strong ones, fit for carrying on the reproduction of the family.
Is this infant mortality rate unavoidable? In an aquarium or tank under 15-gallon size the practical answer is yes. The newly-hatched fishes are very small and our guess is that in a small tank there are insufficient amounts of very small infusoria to give the babies a start until they can eat the sizes present in most cultures.
At any rate, the larger the tank, the better the chances. This follows through until one reaches something like an outdoor pool say 5×5 feet, in which approximately 100% of hatched fry may reach maturity, barring other misfortunes. This may explain why the beginner with limited water space should not be too disappointed if only a small proportion of a hatching reaches maturity.  Another way to increase your chances of success is to place an EcoBio-Block in your tank. EcoBio-Block takes care of the toxins that are dangerous to fish while slowly replacing necessary trace minerals, creating a healthy environment for breeding fish and reducing loss.
In referring to “pairs” of any kind, I must touch on the subject of “guaranteed” pairs, usually bought at a good fat premium price. They are usually a disappointment, and not worth the outlay, for they seldom make good. This is not meant to cast any reflection on the honesty of the seller, but pairs that are known to have bred may be “bred out”. No one can tell when time has caught up with fertility. Besides a change of environment may throw a pair out of reproduction rhythm. It is best to develop one’s own breeders if possible.
As to time required for breeding after acquiring a pair, there of course can be no set period of reasonable expectation. I refer mostly to the egg-laying type of fish. They may possibly be ripe for spawning almost at once, but ordinarily they need not only to be well-fed (on live food if possible), but must have time to adjust themselves to new surroundings and changed water. Several weeks are usually needed.
Besides (although we do not know why) some species are difficult, even for experienced aquarists, to get to spawn at all. That is true of most of the Characins (Tetras).
It sometimes happens that a beginner has acquired one or more kinds of fishes that are always difficult (or nearly impossible) to breed, even if they are close relatives of species that are easy to reproduce. Here are a few examples: Corydomr pazleaim, and C. azenezu are often bred, but that is not true of other members of that large family. Razrbommeinkeni is the only one of its numerous family, possibly excepting the “Scissors Tail” (trilineatur), from which success may be more likely.
The live-bearers are more obliging and less sensitive to change. In fact new water and changed surroundings often stimulate them to early delivery. It is from the egg-layers that we should not expect too much too soon.
In any case, optimism is good, but it should be tempered by what may be called “reasonable and realistic expectations.”

The EcoBio-Stone group is the newest addition from EcoBio-Block Family Products for easy aquarium care and maintenance. This attractive new shape comes in 3 different sizes and two different colors making the aquarium hobby even more enjoyable.
The easy-to-use volcanic rock houses beneficial bacteria that multiply in the block and disperse, keeping aquarium water clear and healthy for years. You can hear this lively interview with Tom and Nevin, the Bailey brothers. To listen click on onedersave2

It seems that I begin many of these letters by quoting from some correspondence. After all, what better or more practical source of inspiration can there be? In this instance, the point is one that is brought up rather frequently by beginners in aquarium care, who have not been very successful after having seemingly followed the primary instructions gleaned from books or our dealer friends. They give recommended foods in conservative amounts, have good light and temperature control. But here is where trouble starts, through the acceptance of a fallacious signal as to what constitutes “overcrowding.” The signal watched for is when the fishes gasp at the surface of the water, “blowing bubbles.”
That is a carry-over from the days when goldfish was King. Goldfish and other cool-water fishes are very sensitive to any shortage of oxygen in the water, or the presence of too much carbon dioxide. They quickly express their distress by breathing at the surface. Incidentally, I have often wondered how fishes, never before in such a situation, know enough to get a fresh supply of oxygen at the surface of the water.
Warm-water fishes are better equipped to get along in oxygen-deficient conditions. In a tank containing both goldfish and exotics (a combination not recommended) the goldfish will invariably be the first to register discomfort from overcrowding. The point that I am stressing is that “Tropicals” are apt to “suffer in silence.” When they come to the surface and stay there, conditions are not merely bad, but very bad. Undetected crowding has been present for some time past, indicated by the poor condition of the fishes. Of course such symptoms can come from other causes, but crowding is one of the first to look for. That suspicion can be confirmed if frequent partial changes of water relieves the condition.
Water changes help keep the parameters within acceptable limits, help remove excess organic material such as waste and uneaten food, and also replenish required minerals in the water that the fish use up over time. If you prefer not to do as many water changes or are physically unable to, there are alternatives that can reduce your labor. My favorite is the EcoBio-Block, which is an aquarium care product that introduces beneficial bacteria into the aquarium (which keep the biological filter healthy) and slowly leach necessary minerals into the water to keep fish healthy and help beginners become successful aquarists.
Advising a new aquarist at the height of his frenzy to go slowly in building up his tank of fishes is like talking against the tempest. Recently I fitted out a grandson with an aquarium and a suitable collection of fishes. All was lovely for a few weeks until he was bitten with the desire for more and more.
The dealer could not be blamed for selling to him, but the result was not hard to foresee – a general attack of “Ich.” Overcrowding does not necessarily cause that disease, but reduces the vitality of the fishes so that they are more subject to it.
The elder Rothschild is credited with the wise crack “Nobody ever got poor taking a profit.” I would paraphrase that in reverse: “No aquarist ever got into trouble by having too few fishes:”