complete newb:) advice/tips/preachings??

[XxRachxX]

howdy
today me and my dad bought a tank! yaaaayy!
its 3ft x 12". with all filteration/lights/heating/stand and stuff.....cost about £140 which is quite a bargain considering some of the second hand crap weve seen for around this price mark bummer.......so we've been to the library got a few "good" books about fish etc. they dont really help me choose fish though!
we're gonna set up a tropical/freshwater tank weve got ideas.......but dont really know what kind of fish to get! to start it off??
were gonna introduce some "hardy" fish next week apparently!
weve been told to put some platys in? but i was thinking about something more .......different?? to be honest theyre just not my thing
also anybody have any tips/hints or anything to add to help us newbs??
cheers!

[marisa]

If I was you I would take my time and do this the right way!

All my tanks in my life have been thrown together, and they never ended up working. I always ran out bought fish, filled it up, flopped the fish and fake plants in. eeekkkk!

This time I got myself a ten gallon.

I set it up about two weeks or so in advance with the gravel and the filter and water conditoner and let it run. Then I added live plants, and a week later about a couple fish. Another week later, the rest of the fish.

Now I can't say my order is perfect, or my timeline....but you get what I am saying? You let it cycle, and set up slowly and you will have better results. Books are good. I am sure they will all have guidlines as for setting it up. And great sites online if you look!

And not to mention this forum has a couple *great* people for fish questions and I am sure my response will pale in comparision! *L*

Good luck!!!!

Marisa

if you want something a little different and are willing to learn before you jump in I have 2 suggestions A: (the most complicated) try a brackish tank, puffers and discus do very well. B: one of my personal favorites is a chiclid tank. Good luck

[Shane Tesser]

Rev...discus in brackish??? Monos maybe? Brackish is not for a beginner...and discus, puffers and most chiclids would fall on that list to!

I would pick what you like...and simply post here...tell us what combos of fish and how many you would like to keep..and we will help you with the compatability.

[Tim and Julie B]

How about Convicts? They are hardy, non aggressive chiclids. They are a great beginner fish. If your want color and variety then get tetras. There are so many different kinds and colors to choose from you can't go wrong and I totally agree on the platty thing.....BORING! I like Shanes suggestion let everyone know what you would like and we will give you our opinions. That way you are happy!

[sunset]

Marisa is right, you need to let your tank cycle completely before adding fish, otherwise the ammonia will literally burn your fish to death. If you really want some good advice on fish keeping, go to www.oscars.com , there are alot of helpful people there, that are as knowledgeable about fish, as the people here are about reptiles. They will walk you through step-by-step on everything you need to know, and what to watch out for. Hope to see you over there, good luck with your tank!

[XxRachxX]

thanks guys.
i wasnt really going to venture any further than a freshwater tank....yet!
well i guess i'll just tell you some of the fish we like that are "apparently" easy-ish to keep:
gouramis (of any type really)
tetras: bleeding hearts, emperor tetras, cardinals....more.
kribensis? never heard of em but theyre cute!
rainbow fish- boesemans, red rainbow fish...
i think my dad likes angels......im not too keen myself...
some kind of bottom feeder? or some kind of shrimpy....kind of thing......??
are any of these "compatible" i HAVE absolutely no idea..i only have two books....and the nets not helping much....so thats all i can really find that particularly stands out to me... im sure theres much more..... any suggestions? any fish youve found to be a joy to keep??
cheers

[sunset]

try the forums at www.aquariacentral.com , you will get so many answers so fast it will make your head spin.

[Shane Tesser]

Sunset..im sorry that you feel that we are only a bunch of reptile ppl here! Its too bad you didn't take the time to actually ask who we are and what we know....instead of just trying to send members onto other sites! Some of us, including myself..have no herps at all. I am a fish keeper, and always will be. I have over 25 years experience in both keeping, and breeding and selling of fish. I have been fortunate enough to keep some extremely rare, and expensive fish, and i use this to draw on what i know to help members here.

Being one of the first members, one of the first mods, the owner of the chat and fortunate enough to meet and greet ppl as this site grew i can stand up for the ppl who we have here and say infact we have some amazing ppl on this forum who really do know theyre stuff when it comes to aquatics. People such as Corr, Lizzy, Youkai, ETET to name a few will dazzle you with their knowledge and willingness to help. So impressive that i have given up my position as a mod on other fish boards to pursue this one....and in fact being a member of some of the larger boards i know darn well that there is far too many ppl who think they are in the know. I may not know everything, i may not have kept everything. But what i do know is that combined with the members we have here..youll get your answer..and yes..it will be very fast. I personally look at this board several times a day and will always put my two cents in where possible. When i dont know..i research it..i have a library of fish and aquatic books that is over two hundred now, from species specific to general basic guides and resort to these when there is a question to be able to give the most correct info available. So the next time you want to tell members to go else where..think about what you are doing..try doing some actual research, then make a decision from there...you left a member who wants to start a tank for the first time to a link for Oscars!!!! And we are the un-informed reptile ppl???

Im sorry if im coming off like a complete jerk..but some of us have worked far to hard here to be put off as not a place for info. For all of you long term fellow fish members...im sure you feel the exact same way, and believe me..i know what a great job you ppl do. Thanks for your membership and posts...keep them coming, Shane@ssnakess.com

[marisa]

For myself I keep coming here for fish info, and reptile info. But fish info is what we are talking about.....

the internet there are soooooooo many resources. Some busy, some less busy. Some totally OUTDATED and some really awesome. But on those other forums you have no idea who you are talking too. You have no idea if they are a total moron and keeping goldfish in bowls or if they know there stuff. If you spend a little time on ssnakess.com you will quickly read the
"main fish helpers" (lol) posts to others, see their animals/fish/herps and you will know they have solid advice to give.

Marisa

[Shane Tesser]

XxRachxX, i think that the fact that you are starting a tank for the first time is terrific. And so far you are doing the right thing by wanting to do research on what you want to keep.

I would encourage you to narrow down what type of tank you like the best, and from there we can help walk you through the do's and dont's of setting up a tank for the first time.

If you like the look of a planted tank..go for it. If the hard contrast of rocks and fish in a cichlid tank is more your style, or the business of a community tank is what you seek...all are possible for the beginner.

Right off the bat, it can be overwhelming the vast amounts ppl will pull you one way and then the next telling you what you need to do. So its no wonder so many ppl just give up from the start after everything dies. So far you have listed several fish that i keep at the present time, and for the most part those are some fairly good choices.

You will find you'll be bombarded with all sorts of chemical measurements and terms your head will spin. Again..no wonder so many ppl fail at they first attempt. But ill tell you what i do, as the cycle question has already been brought up.

To cycle a tank is really to do two things. 1) To create and start a bacteria bed that will keep the water balanced and will help to remove waste and excess of the living creatures in the tank. 2) To get the water to a state where it is comfortable to the fish to live in, thus keeping stress levels down so that they will fluorish. This basically means that by monitoring the water you can determine if it will stay at its current setting as oppose to changing its chemical make up and causing essentially the tank and its inhabitants to crash and burn.

There is several schools of thought on how to properly cycle a tank. These are 1) The introduction of a cheap fish to colonize a bacterial bed by means of their own waste...i like to call these guys the sacrificial lambs of the aquarium world. 2) The introduction of various chemicals that will do this for you. 3) The introduction of a natural or semi-natural product...one other than chemical that is quick to break down.

I use the last of the three...and here is why, and how i do, and have always done it, and i will challange anyone who can come up with a better, and safer way.

I use fish food to cycle the tank. Plain Jane cheap Flake food, and often depending on what type of tank i will use pure peat, or vegetables such as zuchinni. Here is my reasons for this. When you buy a so called sacrificial lamb for your tank...you often get stuck with them. Unless you can find a store that will buy them back from you..and non the less most of the time..you will never get the full amount back. Stores are in business to make money..not to let you set up a tank for a week or two. This is of course if in the mean time you dont fall in love with the little fish you bought to start this process, and end up keeping them and getting another tank to put them in!!!. Chemicals, i simply hate. I dont believe in adding suppliments other than meds and my reason for this is simple. There is a term we use in the fish world that evolves around the Kh measurements. This is the term buffer. When ever you add a chemical, you have to insure that the water will stay in or around the desirable setting that you are trying to acheive in the first place. Chemicals for the most part only create a temporary buffer. With water changes, the introduction of various living animals, the chemical states will often change drastically to the point where you will one day a week, two, a month down the road notice that the chemical has now broken down, with it, so has the water. This in turn will lead to lots of stress on the animals and often death of the tank.

What i do is place a fairly large amount of flake in the new water. Then i turn the heater and filters on. As the water heats, it aids in bringing out several types of bacteria that will die, and cycle several times over as the temperatures change. Now this is by no means a quick set up. But, you will find that after a couple of weeks the water will be stable as the filter will cycle bacteria through and continue to let it grow. Once i have found that the water is completely stable for a weeks time. I purchase and introduce the fish to the tank....or in other cases they will see a hospital or quarinteen tank first....but thats a whole other story.

Now with this in mind..and this thread way too long..lol, i would continue your search on what you like, and ask us, we all want to watch you succeed

[XxRachxX]

wow........
im glad ive actually found such a great bunch of people to help and encourage me to work at it! before i came here i wanted to start a tank.....i did a fair amount of research and was ready to buy the stuff....but no-one was there to "push" me to actually DO IT! i had no help what so ever and gave up on the idea......forgetting about it completely! i also thought that nobody ever went on the aquaria forums.....it was so quiet down here! WRONG! aah.....i love this site too much..
talking about cycling....
i posted on another forum (shame on me!) and asked wether it would be possible to cycle my tank with "bits" from our koi pond. We have an exellent filter thang going on and the guy who responded said he'd heard of it bieng done before and it was pretty much in his words "an almost instant cycle" anybody know anything about this?
thank ya kindly!

[Simon R. Sansom]

Shane; Interesting that you start your cycling with fish-food - I used to do the same thing. I've also used gravel or water from an established tank in order to "seed" a new set-up. I must say, you definitely know your stuff!

Rach; I would assume that you could use "bits" from your koi pond to help cycle your new tank. It will still take a couple of weeks at least.
The key to starting a new tank (and I've learned this through trial and error years ago) is PATIENCE! I know how exciting it is to see that newly-put-together, shiny tank just begging to be filled with fish. But just take your time and you AND your fishes will be happier!
Slow and steady wins the race.

Best of luck!

Simon

[ranmasatome]

okay..you guys have taken away everything i wanted to say!!! hahahaha...that's great!!!

[corr]

Heh, looks like I got here too late too!

... but I'm gonna put my two cents in anyway

First of all, this forum may have started off slow, but it's growing VERY quickly I can see. There is definitely no shortage of information here and for those who have questions, ask away! Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Not to pick on you sunset, but I would rather read one or two intelligent posts rather than a string of semi or not so intelligent posts. I'm very familiar with that page and it once was a very good place to go... not anymore. There is a lot of bad information there.

Rach, I'm anxious to hear what types of fish you are interested in so we can steer you in the right direction. This'll be fun!