# Sorority Q's and a few others :)



## ashleyspatula (Sep 5, 2007)

HI! I have a 29g tall with 7 female girls and one little ramshorn.

I am possibly looking to add some tank mates in a month or two and am wondering what some good options would be? I was looking at some checkerboard barbs, ottos, nerite snails or some kind of tetra, not neons though.

I also want to go planted, I have a 65w light so I was wondering if the plants that need bright light would be ok?

ALSO any tips for taking good pics of these girls? They are always moving and always end up blurry!

I am more interested in snails and plants than other fish though. Someone suggested a butterfly loach (I think that's what its called) it's a suckermouth loach with round pads. 

Well any advice would be greatly appreciated!


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Don't get to close and DO NOT use a flash. You'll get a glare. Use lighting from above. My avatar picture was taken with no flash, just lighting from above.


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## AvocadoPuffDude (Jan 20, 2011)

Another photography tip is to be at an angle to the front pane of the aquarium to avoid the reflection. A darkened room, so you don't see the reflection of the lamp across the room is good too.
As for plants, Java fern and Java moss are known as plants that thrive on low light. Both attach to wood, not root in the gravel, so you'll need some clean driftwood for the fern at least. attach it to the wood with some jute or twine until it roots to the wood. The moss is pretty wild stuff, great for saving baby fish, is GREAT for harboring little bits of food and bugs and stuff that most fish will pick through for hours every day. It can grow out of control if conditions are right. I leave my Java moss floating for the most part, although I've anchored it around other aquarium features for aesthetic reasons. It grows anywhere, and does not need to be attached to wood like the fern does.
Once you have some of these plants, if they are doing OK, try adding some elodea - "goldfish grass." It's pretty hardy stuff, can grow planted or floating. Then, try adding a few plants as you go along, see what lives, what doesn't, and have fun learning about plants! Experience is the best teacher I say! Try googling low light aquarium plants and see what you get.
Ottos eat algae and can help keep that under control, but without enough algae, would benefit from sinking algae wafers or something similar.
Have you thought of ghost fairy shrimp or their more colorful cousins cherry shrimp? Really cool critters. 
Many snails can over-run a tank if you tend to over feed. if you have too many snails, you're over-feeding your fish. Trumpet snails and some other kinds can take over quickly in those conditions. Any botia-type fish (clown loach, yoyo loach, etc.) will rid your tank of snails immediately. 
I'm not familiar with a butterfly loach, but anything with "loach" in the name, I would suspect of being a snail hunter (although a sucker mouth isn't very descriptive, so it may be a vegetarian algae eater like a plecostomus.) Ottos are safe with snails.
Good luck to you!


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## ashleyspatula (Sep 5, 2007)

Thank you!

I got 1 mystery snail 

I have one ramshorn but was told the bettas with eat the babies. I REALLY hope I never end up with trumpet snails. I think I am going to wait on the ottos 


I added a few more plants. I have one banana plant, a bunch of cabomba and a large leaf sword. two other medium light plants, can't remember the name and then a small grass attatched to a piece of drift wood.

This is the butterfly loach, or hillstream loach I guess!
http://theaquariumwiki.com/Beaufortia_kweichowensis

I got some algea wafers just in case there isn't enough in my tank for the snail. I would really like some olive nerites though!


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

well a picture tip would be to wait till feeding time i know my fish come to the front of the tank and stare at me when it feeding time and somtimes ill take tongs and hover food over the water to get the to stand still right before they bit at it, they seem to always stop and size it up for a second before they go out of the water to get it.


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## ashleyspatula (Sep 5, 2007)

Got a couple of good pics, here's the links, there are more but These were the best I think 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleyspatula/5513346997/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleyspatula/5513342733/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleyspatula/5513937444/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleyspatula/5513340757/in/photostream/


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Very nice pictures.


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## AvocadoPuffDude (Jan 20, 2011)

I have no experience with those butterfly, or hillstream loaches, but they do NOT appear to be the type that eats snails. Look at the body type of a clown loach - anything similar to that will clean out snails immediately.
I've never heard of a betta eating or attacking a snail. That being said, some bettas are more beligerant than others, and if a snail was scooting along inside his habitat, I wouldn't put it past a beligerant male betta (especially if he is in breeding condition) to hit the shell a few times, but I doubt they would crack the shell or kill the snail.
Those look like really cool fish, hillstream loaches. Good luck with them!!!


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## ashleyspatula (Sep 5, 2007)

Hi Avocado, no I don't think those loaches will eat snails. Someone just suggested them as a peaceful tankmate for the female bettas.

As for the bettas eating the snails. I have heard a lot that bettas will eat baby ramshorns which is what I meant. that I could probably get a few of those and the bettas would keep them from taking over.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Bettas are carnivors and will eat anything that moves. They will pick at the small and adult snails.


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## AvocadoPuffDude (Jan 20, 2011)

Hmm. I've never seen a betta attack a snail.....maybe I've had peaceful males.
I've seen a lot of empty shells at the bottom of his enclosure, but I assumed they were sucked through the mesh by the clown loaches.......I'll have to keep an eye on him now!!!


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## ashleyspatula (Sep 5, 2007)

Lol Avocado, he's just sneaky!

I have another question though, when I first picked out my girls I had two dark blue ones with black faces and two greenish blue ones colored all over.

Except the two greenish ones had dark and light stripes on them, now they are gone.

and now I find it hard to tell them apart from the darker blue ones sometimes. Why did they change colors?


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## ashleyspatula (Sep 5, 2007)

So far, all the girls seem to be doing fine but the tank it's self is bleh, 

one of my plants came out of the gravel and is floating, and Ive got a lot a algea

I got 3 ottos but the first night my girls killed one, and ripped half the tail fin off another one.

I also added a few ghost shrimp but I only see about half of them left.

And something that looks like spiderwebs is growing and flowing all over my tank

:/

I am going to do a 50% water change this week and re-plant and move around the plants and add another 'log' (resin or plastic from the fish store)
remove that spiderweb crap and add my ramshorn snails i should be getting in a few days.


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