[Whitney]

Hi Lashalove,

In reading the above posts, I think you're getting some great advice about water conditions and tank health from the people here, so I'm not going to go into too much detail on tank cycling or plants.

I would, however, like to say a few things about the way you're feeding the fish as well as the fish you have in there (I have a couple of suggestions for tank additions once you are sure that your tank is cycled......)

First the food....Sounds like you are feeding them too much. Fish can thrive on a surprisingly small amount of food. I read something about fish feeding a couple of weeks ago that made a lot of sense to me. It said that we tend to overfeed our fish because we think of their hunger in terms of when we think WE would be hungry if WE were swimming around all day in a fishtank. But our metabolisms are totally different than that of fish. Most significantly, we're warm-blooded, which means that we expend a great deal of energy and calories regulating our body temperatures. Fish are cold-blooded, so their core temp naturally matches that of the water around them- no work involved. Also, when we swim, we need to work pretty hard to move around, especially when going up and down. Fish, having been designed for water, move around with very little effort, particularly up and down, as they can adjust their boyancy at will and with great ease by using their swim bladder. Keeping all that in mind, it is also good to know that fish in the wild often go several days without eating, and engage in much more strenuous activities to obtain their food than fish in our tanks do. This isn't to say that you should wait several days between feedings, but a small pinch once a day should do it.

Also, I'd like to suggest that you consider adding small pellet food to their diet (you can replace the flakes with it or do half-and-half or alternate days). An advantage of sinking pellets is that they, well, sink...which gives the bottom dwellers a chance to get some food as well, without forcing you to overfeed to get it. I use Spectrum Small Fish formula....I really like it because it hangs at the top for a few seconds (allowing my surface feeders to get some) and then sinks down for my bottom guys. I also supplement my algae eaters with peices of fruit (zuccini, apple) and algae wafers every few days. It's great that you use bloodworms, that's good for everyone.

Now.....For the diatoms..... You already have a common pleco in there...so if he's not getting the job done....

Another idea is cleaner shrimp. Get an army of ghost or cherry shrimp (or both) and they'll clean your tank without adding significantly to the bioload. I also find them quite interesting to watch (I have cherry shrimp, which look like tiny little lobsters). An advantage of the cherries is that they will eat some algae that other species will not, such as hair algae.

I think that you need to flesh out some of your schools......some fish like being in large groups. Here's the list of fish you have...let's go through it item by item.....

"2 bloodfin tetras
* 2 black tetras
* 2 white skirt tetras"

-Do all of these guys school together as a group? If so, they may be ok just as they are (or perhaps you want to add one more of each kind to create a school of 9)- if they do not currently school together, I'd suggest either adding three more of each (thus creating 3 schools of 5) or returning 1 or 2 of the pairs and adding to the remaining species.

* 2 harlequin raspboras

-Definitely, DEFINITELY get several more of these or bring the two you have back to the store. They really do better in groups- and they look better as well. Large schools of them are very attractive to watch...when they're by themselves, they get lost in the backround. If you'd like something with a little more color than the harlequins, you can look for Espei Rasboras or Hengel Rasboras. They look almost identical, but are slightly smaller, and have more brilliant coloring. Espei, Hengel, and Harlequins will school together as if they were the same species.

* 2 coris (1 albino, 1 spotted)

-add at least another 3 cories. I have never owned a cory, but I considered getting one, until I did research and realized that they need to be in large groups. I already had a number of bottom-dwellers and simply didn't have room at add 5 or 6 cories to my tank. Your 55 gallon should be able to accomodate them nicely. There's a great site called "Planet Catfish," you might want to look up Cories and Plecos to learn more about their needs.

* 1 common pleco

-I like plecos a lot. Are you sure that a 55 gallon is large enough to hold a fully grown common plec though? I have seen conflicting opinions on this subject, you might want to look into it. They can get to be about 18 inches in length. Do you have any driftwood in your tank....it's healthy for plecos to have wood in their diets.

* 1 male betta

-I'm surprised that your betta hasn't attacked the flow-y finned tetras.....I understand that some people luck out and get peaceful bettas...That's great cause they are gorgeous. Just keep a watchful eye out and remove him if you find some of your fish getting ragged fins.

Well, that's all for now.....good luck with the tank and post pictures so we can see how it looks!!!