+ 79F, 0 ammonia + nitrites, <20 nitrates, weekly 25% water changes
+ 26g bow front tank , estes ultra pearl substrate (purple), eheim ecco canister and aquaclear power filter, 65w power compact flourescent light
+tankmates are cherry barbs, male guppies, a pair of rams, and one tetra
+tank is 5 months old, last new fish added was over six weeks ago
+pic of tank setup:
+My Bristlenose hides whenever the tank light is on in a black slate cave I built for it. He only comes out during the night when the tank light is off and the room lights are dim. I see the fish in the mornings for about 5 seconds, then it realizes the lights are on and goes back to the cave. I have had the fish for a few months and it never been any less shy. He does a pretty bad job of cleaning up algae too, but I am not too worried about that
I feed the fish Hikari Algae wafers at least once a week, or when there is not much algae in the tank. Anyway, is it bad to keep a fish like a Bristlenose in a tank with a very light substrate like mine? I was thinking of getting a darker more natural substrate.
If I take the cave out of the tank, would the fish get used to being in the open? Or would is stress itself sick?
Any other tips for my fish? The Rams and the Pleco are the fish I care the most about in this tank.
