New to DP.. setup help please?

[moh]

Awesome! Im hoping to get the book shelf Im putting the tank on level and secured to the wall tomorrow or tuesday night, and tuesday night Im hoping the LFS will swap my penguin for an AC 30. What do I replace in the AC filter and how often?

[Pufferpunk]

Rinse the sponge monthly & replace the floss.

[moh]

Sounds like a lot less replacing things than this penguin. What ither maintanence should I do with the AC? Ill be doing weekly water changes once I get my DPs and any other cleaning (such as gravel siphoning). I read DPs can nip at hands.. have you ever heard of that? Im considering 3 to 5 DPs (who will hopefully be the right sex group in the end), some cherry shrimp and a couple bumbleebee gobies. Would that be overstocking my standard 20 gallon?

[Pufferpunk]

I don't think it would be any worse than a skeeter bite. That's about all the maintenance I do on my AC filter. Sounds a bit overstocked to me though.

[moh]

Would you recommend I skip the bumblebees or can I do 2 bumblebees with 3 DPs and a few cherry shrimp? Mainly want the chery shrimp as bottom feeders/cleanup crew. I know its just a matter of mature personalities if anything else can be with the DPs or not.

[Pufferpunk]

Most available BBGs are BW fish.

[moh]

Yeah, I called my 2 LFS that are open today and all of their BBGs are BW. So thats out. Plus, Im keen on the idea of breeding snails in a 1 gallon indergravel filtered tank I have. If I were to get a couple BBGs, Id probably need to switch that to daphnia, but not too keen on the idea of breeding daphnia. And I like the idea of snails being my DPs main diet, as thats their natural diet. Will I need to crush the small snails shells, or drop them in so the DPs can hunt them during feeding time?

Was hoping to find another fish I could stock with the DPs who wats snails.. not having much luck

[Welch4]

You could try some amanos. Mine get left alone bc they are much bigger than the dps. I have a rose goby in with them as well. +1 to the filter recommendations. I used to run an ac on the dp tank but swapped out for my ehiem canister when my gsp made its way to full salt.

[Hillehaus]

I wouldn't put in any fish that competes for snails as a dietary staple. You'll be surprised how many snails your DP will actually eat...which is basically all of them. I had a huge snail infestation prior to placing my 2 DPs in their home and I'd say within a week I was scrambling around my LFS to restock a breeding tank in order to have enough to feed them.

I never had to crush any when I fed mine. Small or large, my fish would sort of hover around them until an opening presented itself and they would "slurp" the snail out of the shell. They had never crushed them...even the tiny ones.

[moh]

Amano shrimp are hard to find in this area. And Ive decided to switch my penguin 150 to an AC 50 or 70, depending on how big they are compared to my tank. I appreciate all the advice! And will gladly take any other advice offered.

I also am considering a small loach or 2, or oto cats. One of my LFS (blessed to have 3 of them in this area) said otos are over rated, and another LFS said plecos are over rated. I just want a scavenger to help keep the tank clean between water changes if possible

[moh]

Do with my aqua clear 50 for my 20 gallon tank.. will the current be too much for DPs? I was thinking if it is, I can put a songe in the outflow to break the water as it comes out? Suggestions please!!

[Welch4]

Shouldn't be too much if you feel it is you can adjust the flow by turning the intake pipe to the right.

[moh]

Thanks welch! What are your thoughts on kuhli loaches with dwarf puffers? Thinking 3 to 4 dwarf puffers and 3 to 4 kuhli loaches. Will have a planted tank (hopefully I can manage to keep plants alive) and small/fine gravel. What kind of hiding spots would I need for the loaches?

Also, I read vack in the forums a ways and I saw that lava rocks can be unsafe for aquariums?? I bought a lava rock with 3 carved holes in it from the LFS. Should I return it and go with a different stone?

[moh]

Its a red lava rock, but part of it almost seems like the red is missing and its white?

[Welch4]

Not sure about the lava rock and havent kept loaches before but if trying for plants I would highly recommend using an inch layer of top soil under the gravel.