I have noticed frequent questions being asked by newbies about choosing stock for the tank.
Here are some points about choosing stock.
i Visit a reputable and knowledgeable dealer, avoid dealers that want to make a quick buck or two and just sell you anything. The advice here is to do a little homework about a subject and then "test" out your dealer. If they give you a satisfactory answer then you can probably have confidence that they will know something about their trade.
ii Never buy fish from a tank that has dead fish floating around in it. This should tell you two things. The first is the dealer does not check his tanks often and second, there may be some sort of infection in the tank that has spread to the other fish in the tank, and you would be throwing your money down the drain.
iii Check that the tank and the water is crystal clear and the occupants are swimming around happily without stress. Check too that the tanks are maintained-by asking if necessary.
iv Check that the fish in the tank are healthy- Most fish will swim with their dorsal fins erect and their "tail" fins outspread. Check too that there are no injuries to the fish, such as missing scales or spots or abrasions. Avoid any fish with clamped fins.
v Choose a fish that "looks" healthy and robust as opposed to emaciated and hollow bellied or protruding scales.
vi In livebearers, such as guppy, swordtail,platy and others look for a strong and healthy caudal peduncle(where the tail joins the body) There should be no marks of injury to that area and no erosion of the tail fin.
vii Ask the dealer the PH and DH of the water in his tanks, a good dealer should tell you instantly.
viii Once your chosen fish is bagged and even in a shoal you can still ask the dealer for the fish you want. Try to avoid the temptation because of embarrassment to say to the dealer, "Oh I dunno, you choose". The dealer is there to serve you and as a customer you are the most important person. Remember without you he will be out of business!
Examine the bagged fish, you can still change your mind if you think the fish is suspect. If you are happy then tell the dealer so and make your purchase.
ix When you get your new pet home the temptation is to put them straight into you tank. WRONG!
If possible you should quarantine you fish for at least a week before introducing them into your main tank. This act serves several purposes, it will show up any diseases, any injuries and other maladies the fish may have.
x When you are happy with everything and introduced your fish into the main tank- Sit back, relax and enjoy.
GOOD LUCK.

i am newbie and i want to breed fish. its a part of my science project. don't worry . i am not planning to kill my fish . i want to make a record of there life cycle. i have got only one month to completes this project. i stay in india and here only a limited variety of fish is availabl. i think mollies will be okay but i am not sure.look i don't know but i am trusting u because i ahve nobody else to ask for help. i would really appreciate it if u help me. and answer my email. it would be really nice of u if u could mail me at this address .
rajeshree_sanyal@gmail.com


ps-anybody else reading this reply plz don't send any emails to my account

Good advice, Dragonslair!

I have a few comments to add on some of your suggestions:

Sometimes whomever happens to be working in the fish store simply hasn't had time to remove dead fish yet. Fish die, it happens, especially after all the stress of shipping and such. If you do see a dead fish or two in a tank, a couple additional things to consider are whether or not it looks like it's been in there awhile and see if there are lots of dead fish in lots of tanks, or only one or two throughout the store. Sometimes the dead fish don't get seen. I've gone through and checked for dead fish, only to walk by again and see one I previously missed. Another suggestion is to point out the dead fish to a staff member and see how s/he responds. IMO, s/he should resond quickly (if not busy helping another person or something like that) and seem concerned about it.

A bit of algae growth is sometimes a good thing (helps give those algae eaters something to graze on!). I don't expect tanks to be perfectly free of algae. Newer fish stores would be more likely to have trouble with algae overgrowth and the like, I'd venture to guess, simply because the tanks haven't had time to "settle" and mature as much.

If you do see a fish that looks ill, ask a staff member about it. Some species of fish, like Corys and Loaches, often rest on their backs or sides. It may look like those fish are sick, when they are actually acting quite normal. The staff should be able to tell you that, or they should respond with concern about the disease and either go about treating it appropriately or reassuring you that treatment is underway.

Just a couple thoughts and opinions I wanted to add to "the mix". While appearances are important, things aren't always what they seem. The attitude and helpfulness of the staff, as well as their willingness to answer questions and respond to concerns, is very important, too. If a staff member promptly removes dead fish pointed out by customers or sees to treating a disease (if it hasn't already been treated), I take that into account, too. If there are lots of dead fish in lots of tanks, I would be more conerned than if I only saw one or two dead fish in the entire store.

Again, good post Dragonslair.

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

Being someone who has to deal with customers, and being one myself, I have some good ideas as well. In some stores the staff are knowledgable and concerned about the customer and the well being of the fish, so they may ask you some basic questions, to make sure you're no amateur, so give them a break talk to them about your tank (species, size...). And if you are an amateur don't be afraid to ask questions, it will probably end up as a dead fish if you don't. The more 'relevent' questions you ask the more you learn, most staff should know the answers to your questions, however they are not a walking encyclopedia and may have to say "hold on while I find someone to answer your question" rather than making false information up. I know I try but evn after working in a fish store for 2 years I don't know everything there is to know.

Don't be afraid to be a bit of a bother by hanging around the store to watch your desired fish, one glance can't always tell you the whole story of there health, take a few minutes to watch them. Oh and the comment about telling the staff of potential health problems is good, but don't expect them to medicate immediatly. They are not toxicoligists and may have to wait for someone who knows what medication to give, and also keep in mind that not all health problems are diagnosable or treatable, and sometimes it's just a new shipment and they are in rough shape so come back in a day or two and see if they are improving.

And most importantly I suggest do not rush setting up a tank or adding fish, it will only turn out poorly and will create many problems (only add a few fish at a time, never stock a tank right away).

I have a male betta in a 5 gallon well established tank with biowheel, live plants and one little gold agae eater. My question is, I think I saw the answer but...plecostamus, suitable tank mates? And how big? I need to rescue a 4,5 inch pleco, but have serious doubts my 5 gallon tank would be adequate and that my other fish would do well with such a monster. If this is not workable, what is the minimum size of tank for the pleco. and does he need companions?

This post has been edited by indy: Jan 26 2006, 04:29 PM

I am a beginner myself, but from my research, I think I can answer this one. I made the mistake of buying 2 plecos for my 29 gallon tank. Apparently, they grow to be very large, getting 8-12 inches easily, and many web sites I've seen say that common pleco's can get to 20 or 24".

So, I would not even consider putting one in a 5 gallon. If a pleco grows to the smallest adult size I have seen listed (8"), then it would probably be a bit too big for my 29 gallon. Now that I know the mistake I made in purchasing 2 plecos for my 29 gallon, I am deciding wether to return them to a LFS or plan on getting a bigger tank this year.

i have 2 of them as well and they do grow fast.

i had one he was about 12'' but thats as big as got because my lil brother dumped a whole 6oz can in it .

This probably sounds mean, but if you want to make sure your water is suitable for other fish, try getting some neon or cardinal tetras. They're cheap and it isn't a big loss financially. I hope this doesn't sound horrible! What I'm trying to say is it's best to invest a little money on a little fish or two then to go out and buy a $40 knifefish. Start out small and cheap after you've just cycled to be assured it is, in fact, ready for bigger fish.

This post has been edited by chibi: Nov 4 2006, 03:58 AM

I've noticed that wal-mart's staff not gonna name names *cough*cris*cough* don't care.I've heard the way they talk about the fish,in fact the store has a policy,if you see a dead one,and if the others are eating it,LEAVE IT!Or at least my local store says that!God I hate hearing them say that,but I alone can't do that.

Hi there!
I have had a 50 litre tank now for a few months. I did the fishless cycle thing and then got 5 white cloud mountain minnows. A few weeks later got 3 guppies. they seem to be doing well and seem happy. I had some brown algaue for a while which I read was normal and nw seems to have disappeared. I change 25% of the water every 10 days or so and have the following readings:

PH 6.5
GH 180
KH 40
NO2 0
NO3 40

I would like to ge a few more fish, maybe some different guppies or something that lives toward the bottom of the tank. Are my readings normal for a newish tank? I also have a tiny amount of spotty green algae on the glass which doesn't really come off easily when I scrape it. Shoudl I get an algae eater?
Thanks for all your advice!

HOW OFTEN DO YOU leave youre light on, because if you have it on for 10 hours a day it, it encourages algea growth, restrict it to 5 hours if u can
and i can highly recomend peppered corys so agile and have big personality. dont get a algea eater unless its an otto because they grow to big

Im sorry but i think that advice was mediocer and on top of that it was clompletly of topic.

Thanks for the advice about the light, I wanted to know that.

I would like to keep a cory but Im anxious that they will eat other smaller fish which I want to keep (havent stocked yet still cycling). I really fancy some cardinal tetras ... would the peppered cory eat them?

Basically I want some colourful schooling fish of various types and something with character like you mention.

Peppered cories (or any cory for that matter) will not eat small fish with the possible exception of small fry.