Beginners Questions

[Bright&BeautifulFish]

Hello! I am brand new to this site, so please let me know if I do something wrong
I currently have two three gallon tank, but am getting a new one on Black Friday
Measurements:
24.1 in L x 12.6 in W x 17 in H (61.2 x 32 x 43.1 cm) (20Gallon)
I don’t know what the GH…I asked someone in my house and they literally responded:
”What? Umm… I think the town…Dunno?”
It will have a filter and plants… Suggestions for plants?
For fish I orginally wanted to go with a betta sorority, but decided against it.
I now am hoping to put in ANY of these but definitely NOT ALL
Cory Cats?
Honey Gourami?
Long Finned Tetras?
Other Suggestions For pretty fish?
(I would like fish that are easier to take care of, as I will be the first to admit I am not advanced

Final question:
let’s say I buy water from the pet shop. How often should I change the water/ how do I do certain percentages of water?
Thanks! Any answers Help!

 

[Byron]

I will keep this brief, as you have referred to a lot of issues and it will get too involved.

First, cycling a new tank, there are articles in this forum section:

Cycle your Tank

Cycling a tank is vital to keeping your fish alive. This section is where you can read about cycling (the nitrogen cycle) and ask questions about how to do it properly.

www.fishforums.net

On the GH, this is very important. Check the website of your water authority if you are on municipal water, it may have this, or you can call them. GH is general hardness, KH is carbonate hardness (worth knowing but of less direct impact, and there is also pH. A pH test kit is a good investment (GH and KH we can use the tap water levels) as pH can fluctuate and be a sign of trouble.

Cory catfish...a sand substrate is needed for cories. Least expensive option is quality play sand, like Quikrete Play Sand available from Home Depot and Lowe's. Sand is your absolute best over-all substrate material anyway. Aquarium river sand is OK if higher cost is not an issue.

Water changes, once the tank is cycled, should be every week, and 50-60% of the tank volume. Buying water can get expensive and messy, so you are best to have fish suited to the water you have readily at hand--out of the tap. The GH and pH will sort this out. A quality water conditioner is necessary. API's Tap Water Conditioner is about the best.

Plants. The tank light is the critical thing with plants. The intensity and spectrum are important, and these will depend on the light unit you get with the tank or separately. Just so you know, not every light will work with plants.

Fish mentioned are soft water species, but beyond that...tetras (all species) are shoaling fish that must have a group, and the more the better so size in relation to the tank dimensions, and the activity level of the species, are important. There are several "long fin" varieties of tetra species, so this will depend upon which species.

This is just to get you started, there will be questions and explanations aplenty.

 

[FishHobby99]

Hello! I am brand new to this site, so please let me know if I do something wrong
I currently have two three gallon tank, but am getting a new one on Black Friday
Measurements:
24.1 in L x 12.6 in W x 17 in H (61.2 x 32 x 43.1 cm) (20Gallon)
I don’t know what the GH…I asked someone in my house and they literally responded:
”What? Umm… I think the town…Dunno?”
It will have a filter and plants… Suggestions for plants?
For fish I orginally wanted to go with a betta sorority, but decided against it.
I now am hoping to put in ANY of these but definitely NOT ALL
Cory Cats?
Honey Gourami?
Long Finned Tetras?
Other Suggestions For pretty fish?
(I would like fish that are easier to take care of, as I will be the first to admit I am not advanced

Final question:
let’s say I buy water from the pet shop. How often should I change the water/ how do I do certain percentages of water?
Thanks! Any answers Help!

Do you know about the API Freshwater test kits? they test for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate & pH.
For plants, I‘m finding Java ferns & Anubias the easiest, but many more. Also like hornwort. But so did my goldfish & they ate most.

I use tap water. Be sure to add a conditioner that will remove chlorine & some other bad things.

 

[Bright&BeautifulFish]

I will keep this brief, as you have referred to a lot of issues and it will get too involved.

First, cycling a new tank, there are articles in this forum section:

Cycle your Tank

Cycling a tank is vital to keeping your fish alive. This section is where you can read about cycling (the nitrogen cycle) and ask questions about how to do it properly.

www.fishforums.net

On the GH, this is very important. Check the website of your water authority if you are on municipal water, it may have this, or you can call them. GH is general hardness, KH is carbonate hardness (worth knowing but of less direct impact, and there is also pH. A pH test kit is a good investment (GH and KH we can use the tap water levels) as pH can fluctuate and be a sign of trouble.

Cory catfish...a sand substrate is needed for cories. Least expensive option is quality play sand, like Quikrete Play Sand available from Home Depot and Lowe's. Sand is your absolute best over-all substrate material anyway. Aquarium river sand is OK if higher cost is not an issue.

Water changes, once the tank is cycled, should be every week, and 50-60% of the tank volume. Buying water can get expensive and messy, so you are best to have fish suited to the water you have readily at hand--out of the tap. The GH and pH will sort this out. A quality water conditioner is necessary. API's Tap Water Conditioner is about the best.

Plants. The tank light is the critical thing with plants. The intensity and spectrum are important, and these will depend on the light unit you get with the tank or separately. Just so you know, not every light will work with plants.

Fish mentioned are soft water species, but beyond that...tetras (all species) are shoaling fish that must have a group, and the more the better so size in relation to the tank dimensions, and the activity level of the species, are important. There are several "long fin" varieties of tetra species, so this will depend upon which species.

This is just to get you started, there will be questions and explanations aplenty.

Ok! Thank You! I appreciate it. I will try to get my hands on the GH, but how many Black skirt tetras would you say could be happy in this tank? And would you recommend I buy water, or is this a waste? I see online shops selling aquarium water, but I wasn't sure If this was needed. But thank you!!!! I appreciate it a lot!!!!!!!


How many female bettas do people think I could have? And is this something that could make the female bettas unhappy if I owned a sorority? I've heard it does...

Also, is a 20gal recommended to beginners? I have owned three male bettas in 4-gallon tanks, so I could always go back to simply that...

Thanks for the sand! I may end up just getting a large tank with cory cats + betta..... Should this betta be male/ female?


Thanks!!!! Sorry for all the questions!

 

[Bright&BeautifulFish]

Do you know about the API Freshwater test kits? they test for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate & pH.
For plants, I‘m finding Java ferns & Anubias the easiest, but many more. Also like hornwort. But so did my goldfish & they ate most.

I use tap water. Be sure to add a conditioner that will remove chlorine & some other bad things.

I did not! I will try to buy one soon!!! Thanks!!
Ok! Thanks! I will check those plants out!
Thanks!!!

 

[FishHobby99]

I did not! I will try to buy one soon!!! Thanks!!
Ok! Thanks! I will check those plants out!
Thanks!!!

I had the kit and failed to use it. Had an ammonia spike and it killed 2 white clouds, little minnows. The tank was not properly cycled. This happened on my first 5 gallon tank.

Youtube has some good videos on how to use the kit and other good beginner info. Like on vacuuming the sand/gravel etc.

 

[Bright&BeautifulFish]

I had the kit and failed to use it. Had an ammonia spike and it killed 2 white clouds, little minnows. The tank was not properly cycled. This happened on my first 5 gallon tank.

Youtube has some good videos on how to use the kit and other good beginner info. Like on vacuuming the sand/gravel etc.

Ok, thank you
I will make sure to get one. Is this the type of thing you can buy on the fly in a chain pet shop or needs to be ordered?
Once again thank you!

 

[FishHobby99]

You can buy it at any pet shop. common & widely used for aquariums & very important. Petco has ok prices. My little local pet shop charges high prices on everything but fish. Amazon has good prices.

 

[FishHobby99]

Ok! Thank You! I appreciate it. I will try to get my hands on the GH, but how many Black skirt tetras would you say could be happy in this tank? And would you recommend I buy water, or is this a waste? I see online shops selling aquarium water, but I wasn't sure If this was needed. But thank you!!!! I appreciate it a lot!!!!!!!


How many female bettas do people think I could have? And is this something that could make the female bettas unhappy if I owned a sorority? I've heard it does...

Also, is a 20gal recommended to beginners? I have owned three male bettas in 4-gallon tanks, so I could always go back to simply that...

Thanks for the sand! I may end up just getting a large tank with cory cats + betta..... Should this betta be male/ female?


Thanks!!!! Sorry for all the questions!

I only keep one male betta, all alone in his 10 gallon tank with plants & snails. I read 2 ebooks on bettas from the library . Both said keeping a sorority can be difficult. Those girls can fight. I wouldn’t try it myself, but a few expert/experienced people here do.

 

[Byron]

how many Black skirt tetras would you say could be happy in this tank?

This is not a particularly good community fish, it can get fin nippy. Which means it needs a larger group, say 10 (or more space permitting), and I would not do this in a 20g. Also, it will tend to nip fins of sedate fish (like gourami mentioned earlier).

I may end up just getting a large tank with cory cats + betta..... Should this betta be male/ female?

Male bettas re not community fish, so one male should be on its own in a tank like a 5g or 10g. Females are risky too, I will leave that for the betta members.

 

[Bright&BeautifulFish]

Ok, thanks. I’m looking for a good, hardy fish. So what are some good fish for my tank? Are cherry barbs ok? Are they colorful? Also, is that a y/n to the honeys? Looking for fish that will be happy in my tank. Small is ok but I just want them to be colorful
Thanks for all advice
Ps.- Snails----Do they have "colorful" snails?
Thanks to everyone

 

[Rocky998]

Do they have "colorful" snails?

Check out nerite snails... Those things are really cool! They also dont hatch in freshwater so you won't have a snail invasion like I do ☺

 

[Bright&BeautifulFish]

Check out nerite snails... Those things are really cool! They also dont hatch in freshwater so you won't have a snail invasion like I do ☺

Ok! Thanks! I will!

 

[Bright&BeautifulFish]

Does anyone know any small pretty fish that would be fun and have a lot of personality?
(sorry if this is sorta a repeat of a prior Question---)
right now I'm thinking of some nerites and other fish
Thanks to everyone!

 

[Rocky998]

Whats your tank size again?

Does anyone know any small pretty fish that would be fun and have a lot of personality?
(sorry if this is sorta a repeat of a prior Question---)
right now I'm thinking of some nerites and other fish
Thanks to everyone!