Your current Fish tank Setups!
- Thread starter Malt_Vinegar
- Start date
Before any fish keeping is started you must know about the the nitrogen cycle, this is very important.
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://injaf.org/beginners-guides/t...s-cycle-getting-your-aquarium-ready-for-fish/
http://fishkeepingadvice.com/the-nitrogen-cycle/
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://injaf.org/beginners-guides/t...s-cycle-getting-your-aquarium-ready-for-fish/
http://fishkeepingadvice.com/the-nitrogen-cycle/
OK - So you really are at the VERY start then.
Rather than initially focusing on species you would like to keep, I would suggest starting of learning the setup and keeping some more hardy species just to set you off so that you can learn and then decide if you want to stay in the hobby.
There are some good guides on this forum:
http://www.fishforums.net/
This has some good starter guides:
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/
My second, third and fourth pieces of advice are:
1. Once you have done your research via above site and know what you are generally looking for, do not go to Pets at Home. Get yourself to your LFS (Local Fish Shop)
2. Do a fish-out cycle (you will find info on this on the fish forums)
3. As per rule 1, never go to pets at home.
One for luck - Don't go to pets at home.
Rather than initially focusing on species you would like to keep, I would suggest starting of learning the setup and keeping some more hardy species just to set you off so that you can learn and then decide if you want to stay in the hobby.
There are some good guides on this forum:
http://www.fishforums.net/
This has some good starter guides:
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/
My second, third and fourth pieces of advice are:
1. Once you have done your research via above site and know what you are generally looking for, do not go to Pets at Home. Get yourself to your LFS (Local Fish Shop)
2. Do a fish-out cycle (you will find info on this on the fish forums)
3. As per rule 1, never go to pets at home.
One for luck - Don't go to pets at home.
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While I agree you should head to your local aquatics store, Pets at Home isn't THAT bad in general. They tend to stock a decent range of almost every consumable you'll need and there open to 8pm which can be quite handy if you come home from work and you have a problem. My local one also stocks Tropica plants if they haven't killed them first.
They are as with all things aquatics, very hit and miss which is especially true when it comes to advice, never go there to speak to anyone!
They are as with all things aquatics, very hit and miss which is especially true when it comes to advice, never go there to speak to anyone!
I'd say pets at home are fine for kit and consumables, but I wouldn't go to them for livestock or advice!
As has been posted above, learn about the nitrogen cycle, and don't underestimate the usefulness of a decent test kit while cycling!
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I'm looking for suggestions with regards what to add to our tropical tank. It's 60L, not planted and established - we are at the stage now where water changes are very rarely required and all inhabitants are happy.
Plenty of filtration and air stones to keep everything fine.
Current inhabitants are:
5x Harlequins
5x Kuhli Loaches
Due to loss over time we also have 2 Neon & 2 Ghost Tetra's.
We wanted to add a new group of 5-6 to the tank but couldn't decide what to add. My wife manages to pick fish which will probably not get on with what is already in there. In the past we have had BAD experiences with:
5x Marble Molly's - Extremely boisterous and were a nuisance to the other fish. Also all 5 turned totally black, which was annoying.
5x Gourami (cannot tell you which) - Lasted about two weeks. Still cannot tell you why they died. All other fish were happy, these guys weren't.
1x Siamese Fighting Fish - All started well. He seemed to express his dominance in the tank and was very happy. Then, after a month he started becoming more and more lethargic until he died.
We've had tetra's and for want of a better word they are bullet proof we know. Male Guppy's too, lasted a long time etc.
However we quite fancy trying something new, something we haven't had before which would be happy in a community tank.
Any suggestions?
Wife also took a shine to an Angel fish. Appreciate that they can be aggressive and we were told if you wanted to add to a community you should only add a single one and don't have any very small fish in there too. Would a single Angel be happy enough in a community tank?
Cheers all.
Plenty of filtration and air stones to keep everything fine.
Current inhabitants are:
5x Harlequins
5x Kuhli Loaches
Due to loss over time we also have 2 Neon & 2 Ghost Tetra's.
We wanted to add a new group of 5-6 to the tank but couldn't decide what to add. My wife manages to pick fish which will probably not get on with what is already in there. In the past we have had BAD experiences with:
5x Marble Molly's - Extremely boisterous and were a nuisance to the other fish. Also all 5 turned totally black, which was annoying.
5x Gourami (cannot tell you which) - Lasted about two weeks. Still cannot tell you why they died. All other fish were happy, these guys weren't.
1x Siamese Fighting Fish - All started well. He seemed to express his dominance in the tank and was very happy. Then, after a month he started becoming more and more lethargic until he died.
We've had tetra's and for want of a better word they are bullet proof we know. Male Guppy's too, lasted a long time etc.
However we quite fancy trying something new, something we haven't had before which would be happy in a community tank.
Any suggestions?
Wife also took a shine to an Angel fish. Appreciate that they can be aggressive and we were told if you wanted to add to a community you should only add a single one and don't have any very small fish in there too. Would a single Angel be happy enough in a community tank?
Cheers all.
Angels get way too big for a 60L, not recommended. That said, Angels are only aggressive if they pair off and spawn.
14 fish in a 60L, your probably not far off being "full" especially with no plants.
You can put more in but you have to be willing to do the work which is changing water weekly or more often, if your only changing it rarely now I would suggest that would not be the case.
14 fish in a 60L, your probably not far off being "full" especially with no plants.
You can put more in but you have to be willing to do the work which is changing water weekly or more often, if your only changing it rarely now I would suggest that would not be the case.
You're probably best just "topping up" one of those groups of smaller fish tbh. At least that way you know you're unlikely to end up with things that want to kill each other, and IMO the schooling fish look much better in bigger schools - in your position I'd probably get another 5-6 Neons.
Also, as b0rn2sk8 has said, you're probably getting to your max stocking level without upping your maintenance, so it depends on whether you're prepared to keep a closer eye on your water parameters for the subsequent few weeks and make the water changes more frequent.
You could stick a couple of plants in there. We have about 12 java ferns (started from 5 about 3 months ago, they've grown like weeds!
) and a small* piece of floating watersprite which just sits in the corner. Hardly any maintenance for them; a couple of the ferns are tied to a piece of bogwood (I think they've rooted on it now) and the others just buried slightly in the gravel - they take their nutrients from the water so don't need special substrate, they grow little plants on the ends of the leaves which can be separated off and buried themselves.The plants will help keep your nitrates right down, our 130L has readings of <5ppm nitrates after a couple of weeks with no water changes (although it is quite lightly stocked), and will give your fish more places to hide
Apparently can also help prevent algae as they outcompete them for the same nutrients.* I say small, but it needs trimming right down every couple of weeks as it grows like mad as well...
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Thanks for the replies.
I was convinced that my aquarium was more than 60L, so I've just asked the wife to send over the dimensions that we've filled to.
It is actually a 90L tank - not 60.
So with that in mind we felt that we could safely pop in another group. Would that size make any difference with regards getting a single Angel fish in there too?
Thanks again.
I was convinced that my aquarium was more than 60L, so I've just asked the wife to send over the dimensions that we've filled to.
It is actually a 90L tank - not 60.
So with that in mind we felt that we could safely pop in another group. Would that size make any difference with regards getting a single Angel fish in there too?
Thanks again.
If I remember rightly, angels can grow fairly large and ideally want soft, acidic water (this is where a water testing kit comes in handy). You might find this a useful website:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwangelfishes.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwangelfishes.htm
According to some online stocking calculators, you are at 70% stocking capacity with your existing fish.
Adding a single Angel would take you to 102% stocking capacity, so you would definitely have to increase your water changes to 30% weekly as a minimum. The Angel seems like a bad idea to me, it will likely bully and try to eat the Tetras.
If it were me, I would increase the size of your Tetra schools. The Neons can look very pretty when they are schooling.
Adding a single Angel would take you to 102% stocking capacity, so you would definitely have to increase your water changes to 30% weekly as a minimum. The Angel seems like a bad idea to me, it will likely bully and try to eat the Tetras.
If it were me, I would increase the size of your Tetra schools. The Neons can look very pretty when they are schooling.
While that is strictly true for wild caught Angels, anything you can readily buy in a normal store will be fine in the majority of tap water the exception is if you are hitting the extremes of either end. I would still day that you are pushing it size wise with angels in a 90L.
You'll be unlucky to have any issues mixing an angel with your fish, but like I said you'll be pushing it size wise.
What about a nice group of rummy nose tetra or something else like hatchet fish?
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I would rather house a fish in what it's ideally suited for, rather than what it can tolerate (thrive rather than survive), but that's just me. I agree about the size of the tank, though; very likely way too small.
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 Jun 2011
- Posts
- 6,053
Any fellow reefers know the best place to order frags/sell frags themselves?
Im after a perticular coral and cant find one locally or on
Purple headed branching hammer (small 2/3 heads)
And an even rarer australian golden hammer corAl again same size.
Im after a perticular coral and cant find one locally or on
Purple headed branching hammer (small 2/3 heads)
And an even rarer australian golden hammer corAl again same size.
I agree with you but I was more making the point that a line bread angel fish is perfectly suited to normal tap water PH/hardness ranges and will thrive. They are so far removed from there wild ancestors its like comparing to a different fish.
Just look at discus for the perfect example of this.