Looking for a little advice

[ForeverGarzone]

Hi there! I just recently purchased three tiny little guys after years of wanting them, but not having anywhere local to purchase them. Luckily a trip to our reptile store for a cricket run for the frogs resulting in pretty much having a melt down when I walked in and saw them.

I went ahead and got a leucistic while I was there (named Falkor after the Neverending Story!) he was about maaaybe two and a half inches that day. We have him in a 10 gal tank and after about an hour of being home decided I definitely needed a friend for him, and boyfriend decided he wanted an albino. So another trip two days later resulted in a melanoid named Toothless (I get the feeling from looking over, a lot of you can figure out the name :tongue and an albino named Figment (props to who knows that one!)

They're currently all in the 10 gal because they're still really little, but no worries I have other 10 gals and larger tanks for when they start getting bigger.

My question is, I started with a 3gal HOB filter for low water flow and quickly realized even without the tank filled up all the way it wasn't doing much. A trip to a dedicated fish store yesterday and we walked out with a new filter and spray bar that goes up to 10gal.

After setting it up though and putting the lever to the lowest setting, I still think it's too strong! Any ideas on what I could do in order to break the water flow from the spray bar? Should I consider filling the tank up entirely?

Also Toothless really likes to hang out at the top of the tank. His gills seem fine, no curled tail, he eats, he swims. He just really likes the top of the tank. Should I be concerned?

Here's some photos of the tank and one of Toothless at the top (Figment was hanging out for a second too but left pretty quickly). Any ideas or advice would be amazing!

 

[snuggly time]

I nearly called my axie Falkor too! My boyfriend doesn't see the resemblance though.

Nice tank, they have plenty of places to hide and get away from each other. :happy:
You could try stemming the flow with a sponge or putting plenty of plants in front of the filter outlet.

 

[Petersgirl]

How about Nikki's great pompom idea? http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...89073-filter-flow-breaking-up-flow-ideas.html

Also, when Toothless hangs out at the surface does he keep popping his head out of the water and gulping a lot? It's normal for them to do this about once every half hour or so but if more it might indicate a lack of oxygen in the tank (I doubt it, but it's good to check!)
I probably wouldn't fill it up all the way if you can only because it stresses them out having to swim all that way every time they want a bit of air, but if you can you could always lower the spray bar. Could you face the spray bar toward the back too? Our old aerator had a twistable head so you could turn it to change the flow.

 

[ForeverGarzone]

I nearly called my axie Falkor too! My boyfriend doesn't see the resemblance though.

Nice tank, they have plenty of places to hide and get away from each other. :happy:
You could try stemming the flow with a sponge or putting plenty of plants in front of the filter outlet.

Oh gosh, Falkor was an immediate name! Love the Neverending Story so much! And thank you! I didn't want to overcrowd the tanks with plants and I wasn't sure I wanted substrate but we're still working it all out as of now. But they seem to be doing fine on bare bottom so I'm not too concerned.

I was thinking of the sponge idea, should I look for any particular type of sponge? Or just generic old sponges.

How about Nikki's great pompom idea? http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...89073-filter-flow-breaking-up-flow-ideas.html

Also, when Toothless hangs out at the surface does he keep popping his head out of the water and gulping a lot? It's normal for them to do this about once every half hour or so but if more it might indicate a lack of oxygen in the tank (I doubt it, but it's good to check!)
I probably wouldn't fill it up all the way if you can only because it stresses them out having to swim all that way every time they want a bit of air, but if you can you could always lower the spray bar. Could you face the spray bar toward the back too? Our old aerator had a twistable head so you could turn it to change the flow.

Definitely love the pom pom idea, I'm wondering if I could work it out with the spray bar even. I didn't think it would be necessary to fill it entirely up so thanks for the insight! I can rotate the actual spray bar so that it's facing either into the tank, down, or towards the glass. It just sits a few inches from the glass so aiming it that way doesn't make a real difference. I'm thinking now if I aim it towards the back and place a pom there if that would work!

And Toothless doesn't really gulp a lot, I see little bubbles around him on occasion but not everytime. Could he just really enjoy the top of the tank? He's usually hiding out in the floating plants when he's up there.

 

[Petersgirl]

Pom Pooomms
Toothless probably loves the darkness up there provided by the plants is all, if he's not gulping there's no problem. It's just his 'scene' lol! Also great naming with Falkor ^.^ (Oh, and Toothless, obviously. I mean, people who name their axxies Toothless have great taste! )

 

[pascale]

I have a falkor too!!!!!

 

[ForeverGarzone]

Hrmmm okay, so I went ahead with the pom idea, and placed it so the spray bar was facing the glass into the pom so there is really no water flow that could irritate them.

But just now on my lunch break I saw that Toothless and Figment seemed to be just fine, but Falkor's gills are curled forward

What do I do to help my poor little guy!?