Dennis' Tropical Fish Tank

About the Fish Keeper:

Name: Dennis

Area: Surrey

Fish Kept: Tropical and Pond Fish

Years in the Hobby: 12

Favourite Fish: South American Cichlids

Equipment:

2 x Fluval FX5 External Filters (replaced by the Fluval FX6), 1 x Eheim Wet & Dry External Filter (these were great external filters but are not discontinued) and 2 x 300w Heaters

Setup:

Rocks and bogwood placed in piles with bogwood heaped in the centre. River sand for substrate sprinkled with larger gravel.

Species Kept:

Jaguar cichlids, Green Terrors, Oscars, Redhead Cichlids, Wolf Cichlid, Jewel Cichlid, Jack Dempsey, Severum, Convicts, Various Pike Cichlids,Peacock Bass, Red Devils, Tiger Fish, Red Bellied Piranha, Black Piranha, Gold Piranha, Silver Dollars Wolf fish, African Pike x 2 species, Arowana, Red Bellied Pacu, Various Snakeheads, Sailfin Plecs, Royal Plecs, Bristlenose Plecs, Clown loach, All Livebearers, Various Small Tetras, and loads more that I have forgotten.

Maintenance and Upkeep:

(Q) What do you feed your fish

(A) Pellets, Flakes, Lancefish, Bloodworms and Earthworms

(Q) How often do you feed your fish

(A) Every day

(Q) When you do a water change

(A) Weekly

(Q) What % of water do you change

(A) 20%

(Q) How often do you clean your filter

(A) Monthly

Experience:

(Q) What's the best tip you would offer to someone new to our hobby

(A) Look after the water and the fish will look after themselves. Test the water weekly. Part change the water weekly, the solution to pollution is dilution.

(Q) What's the biggest mistake you've made in fishkeeping

(A) Buying cheap aquarium heaters

(Q) What's your favourite piece of equipment and why

(A) My favorite piece of equipment has to be the filters because they are the heart of the fishes world.

(Q) What's next for you and your fishtank

(A) My stock at the moment, in this tank, comprises a pair of V. synspilum, 2 silver dollars, 3 large clown loach, 2 very large sailfin plecs and numerous bristlenose plecs. I intend to change this tank to accommodate some of the larger Malawi Cichlids.