anyone here with tropical fish

A few things to add,

DONT cycle with neons, they are not the hardyiest of fish and may die off quite quickly, try gupys, platys, zebra dannos.

You have two options when cycling a tank, fish or fishless. With the fish cycle after the water has stood a couple of days put about 5 fish in and no more for about a month till the filter matures. then you can add about 3-5 fish every two weeks or so untill you are fully stocked.

If you go for a fishless cycle you keep adding drops of ammonia every day to simulate fish waste that way the filter matures with no harm to any fish, it can take upto a month or two to get the tank redy for fish to be added.

As sugested get a tester kit it will only help in the long run.

As for keeping algae at bay, SAE's are good but can grow big. The best way is to keep the tank out of direct sun light and not over feed the fish. Less food mean lest fish waste which means less nitrate for the algae to use. My fish get 1 flake per fish once a day for two days then a fast day. and every so often they get live food for a treat.
 
Amp34 said:
I always found i got green algae growing in mats on the gravel which the SAE and other fish wouldnt eat. I spent all my time getting rid of it by hand. Also for removing algae from the glass you can buy magnetic things where you move the outside part and the inside part moves with it removing the algae. Only took 2 minutes to clean a 3 foot tank.
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Hmm, I never had the mat like green algae - maybe it was the shrimps that took care of that.

Forgot to mention, but you need a fair few plants to utilise the nutrients in the water, otherwise algae will take over. Also, don't leave the light on for more than is necessary. Can't remember, but I think I had mine on for 8hrs/day.

The mbuna tank had a high pH (8+), so the algae didn't really like it. The S.American on had a low pH (4.5) and algae prefered this, but was planted, so algae struggled to compete for the nutrients.
 
Amp34 said:
My favorite fish was the siamese fighting fish, one male and a female in a tank full of tetras and other small fish. The siamese male is really colourful and completly dosile if you dont stick it with other male fighters.
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Thats just asking for trouble, A male fighter will kill anything that gets in its way and dares to flash a bit of colour in its direction and the female would get a rollocking too lol

I keep Red Flame Tetras and Corydora catfish :)
My Fighter died but I will get another when / if the tetras die on me
 
get Malawi cichlids they are the most colourful freshwater fish you can buy heres a few pics of mine

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Ps%20Tropheus.jpg


fyeri.jpg


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This isn't a cichlid it a malawi spiny eel very rare in the aquarium trade and can be difficult to keep alive

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lots more pics here

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stephen.clarke90/fishies/
 
needmorespeed said:
get Malawi cichlids they are the most colourful freshwater fish you can buy
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I'd agree with this - prefered my Mbuna tank over the S.American one. I worked on one species for the 1st 2 feet of tank length, and then 1 foot extra for additional species. And the beauty of these fish is that they need mild over-crowding to prevent territorial disputes, and prefer hard water which is easier to maintain.

I kept 3 different species of different colours, so they didn't get confused and interbreed - worked a treat.

A good one to start with would be Labidochromis caeruleus.
mbuna_63.jpg
 
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Boomstick said:
Thats just asking for trouble, A male fighter will kill anything that gets in its way and dares to flash a bit of colour in its direction and the female would get a rollocking too lol
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Thats a common misconception. The only things the siamese fighters attach are each other. They are actually really timid and its recomended not to put it in a tank with bold fish as the bold fish will pursue and attack it. Also don't put it in a tank with fin nibblers like either. I had a pair of siamese fighters in my tank for about 2 years with tetras, guppies, mollies and various other small to medium community fish and there were no problems whatsoever.

The honey goramis on the other hand were constantly getting stick down the filter tubes,for some reason they spent most of their time trying to get as far down as possible. I ended up putting a filter over the top so they couldnt get in. They really are stupid fish.
 
weeble said:
I'd agree with this - prefered my Mbuna tank over the S.American one. I worked on one species for the 1st 2 feet of tank length, and then 1 foot extra for additional species. And the beauty of these fish is that they need mild over-crowding to prevent territorial disputes, and prefer hard water which is easier to maintain.

A good one to start with would be Labidochromis caeruleus.
mbuna_63.jpg
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Thats a nice yellow lab they are the most docile of the mbuna species. but stay away from melanochromis auratus they are possibly the most agressive mbuna you can buy they are natural born killers :)
 
Amp34 said:
Thats a common misconception. The only things the siamese fighters attach are each other. .
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Tell that to the four guppies that died overnight in one of my tanks
Thats so wrong a statement its not funny

SFF or Bettas will attack anything which remotely looks like another betta so if its colouful and has a big tail/fin its gonna get attacked. Males dont like competition

You can keep females together but not males and females (unless you have a huge tank with plenty of hiding spaces)

Read number 1:
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Bettas/6_Ways_To_Have_A_Happy_Betta.php

and this quote from same website:

Now, a very strong word of advise here. You CAN NOT put two males together. They are a very territorial fish and two males will spar until one will eventually kill the other. Some do keep bettas in a community tank, but I don't advise this practice. Because of their long, flowing fins, they catch the eye of many fish who like to nip and chase. You will find that you have one of two things. Either the betta will become stressed and worn out from trying to run away from these fish which will rip and tear at his fins, or you will find your betta becomes aggressive and fights with the other fish in your tank. Don't keep a male with females either. They tend to fight trying to spawn and "someone" is bound to get hurt.
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Guppys and Neon Tetras are great for beginners. Take it slowly, read a lot of books first.

My current marine tank, the colours are not right as I suck with a camera.






 
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