Tropical Fish

revolutionrock

revolutionrock

revolutionrock

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14 Apr 2008
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998
I have some questions

I want a tropical fish tank, i know what you need, but i don't really know the price

how much am i looking at for the whole kit, and 10 or so fish?

roughly of course
 
Dam , i have a fish tank for sale atm ... but only on pickup :P

How big tank do you want? mine is 300ltr (approx)

the price of fish are diffrent so hard to say really
 
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Depends what size tank, what filtration, fish, plants (real/fake?), food, substrate, decoration you want.

Also, do you want tropical or marine.

For a Tropical 125L/29G tank, fully set up you gotta be looking at £500 if you do it properly.

Here's mine:

tank2.jpg


Boesmani Rainbows, Yoyo Loach, Bristle Nose Pleco, Cory Julli's and Amano Shrimp.
 
You need to do quite a bit of planning. I just decomissioned my 2 tanks and gave them away (after years of enjoying them though.)

Don't even think about a tank less than 60 or 70 litres and even that you will get hooked (for a while) and want more tank space. Larger tanks, to a point, are easier to care for as well if you have the right kit.

Start with hardy fish which are easy to maintain like guppies, swordtails etc. a good aquarium shop will look after you.

I think I got my first tank up and running with fish, plants, good filtration etc. for around £150 to £200. it was a juwel 70 litre.

You may surprise yourself by what ends up intereting you. i took to breading kribensis for a while and liked catfish mostly (whiptails for the win!)
 
skeeny said:
erm, well i don't know the L part, id say about 80cm long, 30-40cm deep?

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fish, are they expensive?
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Depends what fish you want my Sailfin Tiger pleco cost me £16 quid , and you can get Neons like 10 for 6quid etc
 
Mp4 said:
Depends what fish you want my Sailfin Tiger pleco cost me £16 quid , and you can get Neons like 10 for 6quid etc
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I had a Zebra Pleco about 5 years ago. Paid £19.99 for it then, they are currently £120!!!

Simple rules really, want lots of colour in the tank, look at spending a fair wack of money! (unless you want neons etc, lol)
 
skeeny said:
I have some questions

I want a tropical fish tank, i know what you need, but i don't really know the price

how much am i looking at for the whole kit, and 10 or so fish?

roughly of course
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This depends how much you want to spend. Spending money on fish can be harsh on the bank just as much as computers can be if not more. They living so they do need to be cared for. I have some and the full setup cost me 150 pound and then I spent months gettin it prepared.
 
Just be careful when picking your fish! I went to a big name pet store and they sold me aload of tropical fish which took to eating each other.

I'm not an expert, but theres seems to be a few fish which really limit down what your allowed to have in the tank (seem to recall angel fish liking to nibble other fish with floaty tails)
 
TheKnat said:
Just be careful when picking your fish! I went to a big name pet store and they sold me aload of tropical fish which took to eating each other.

I'm not an expert, but theres seems to be a few fish which really limit down what your allowed to have in the tank (seem to recall angel fish liking to nibble other fish with floaty tails)
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Yep, my advise would be to have a look at what you like and then post here or on the fish forums and ask for advise. You can't just bung a load of nice looking fish in a tank and expect it to all work out.

Ideally, you want nice looking fish, however, be practical! I usually stick with: Some mid to upper fish (rainbows are awsome!), bottom feeders to help keep the bottom clean (Cory's, there's many, many types), a catfish of some type, go with a smaller variety (helps clean the algae off the glass) a small loach or two to keep snails at bay (if you have live plants).
There's a lot to think about, but with the right fish, you can almost use them as tools.
 
you also need to think carefully about stocking levels as you plan your tank. There are some good calculators through some of the aquarium sites which make it easier when you start out. They work in fish length and help ensure you don't overload your tank.
 
Malawi Cichlids!

Awsome fish, but you can't have anything else with them. They are mega agressive against other fish and generally only get along with their own type.

They are nice, but expect to pay around £10 each. Also, if you start with a few the same size that's fine, but when you add more, you may find the smaller new fish get bullied.

Can't have plants with these, they like to digg too much. Mainly rocks and sand.

They get BIG and need a large aquarium as well as very good filtration due to the amount of waste they produce.
 
Skidder said:
you also need to think carefully about stocking levels as you plan your tank. There are some good calculators through some of the aquarium sites which make it easier when you start out. They work in fish length and help ensure you don't overload your tank.
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General rule is 1" of adult fish per gallon. I over filter mine and do 30% water changes weekly. So although I am "overstocked", I do care for the fish well.

This rule does vary a bit, some fish are fat some thing etc. There's lot's of research to do.
 
skeeny said:
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like them both
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nice, but not an easy first tank. IIRC don't think these cichlids would tollerate too many mistakes with their water. You probably will make some mistakes and the typical beginner fish will probably survive them. That said if you really do your homework you might be ok.:)
 
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