It's better down where it's wetter

[Rezi413]

Hi I have no idea how to navigate this site but my name is Ashley, which you can call me Rezi since all my online friends do. I am in Arcannedsauce (Arkansas otherwise) and I have no clue why I even like fish but they're cool so whatever.

I've had 5 glofish, 2 bettas, 1 platy which was actually about two months ago, 2 turtles (box turtle and snapping turtle and both managed to get out of their enclosures and run off, and lets just say I may have kidnapped a minnow at one point when I was younger. I just wanted a minnow.

But right now, I'm actually interested in getting a freshwater ecosystem because I've had an image of a really nice aquarium with different kinds of fish (which of course have to be able to live together) and live plants and stuff in it. The picture I have is literally of a tank with really clear water and it's really kinda a goal now. I've been looking at freshwater and saltwater fish and a friend told me that freshwater fish were easier to care for and after googling it she was right. Since of course guppies are good starter fish, or so I've heard.

I gotta get money and information first though so that's what I'm doing. If some of you guys can give me some tips then that'd be nice too.

 

[fluttermoth]

Welcome to the forum

The first thing you need to do is find out if your water is hard or soft. Soft water fish won't thrive in hard water, and vice versa. You can find out the hardness of your water by looking at your supplier's website

I would agree with your friend; freshwater fish are a little easier. Marine fish are very demanding with regards to water conditions and it'll be easier for you to start off with something a little less delicate!

Get the biggest tank you have space for, within reason; getting a 5'/100 gallon tnk might be a bit overwhelming. Something around 60l or 100l is a good size for a beginner; lots of potential fish to choose from, but not so big that water changes become a hassle.

You'll also need to read up on the nitrogen cycle and cycling a tank; there's plenty of good information in our 'Cycle Your New Tank' sub forum to get you started

 

[Rezi413]

Yeah I figured that as well because I think saltwater has to be made by mixing stuff to make the water habitable by the fishes. My platy that I got from walmart (along with everything but the minnow which I sorta kidnapped from the park up the road lol) just randomly died like I fed it right and stuff. But it's probably because of the tank (which was in fact old).

So what's the difference between hard and soft water? I've never actually heard that term before.

 

[Essjay]

Hard water is water that has a lot of calcium and magnesium dissolved in it while soft water has very little. The terms hard and soft come from soap. The more minerals there are, the harder it is to get soap to lather. Though the opposite of hard should really be easy, but easy water doesn't sound quite right


Fish's bodies have evolved to cope with the water they live in. If we put fish from hard water regions in soft water they won't cope well; they'll become sick and die more easily. And the same for soft water fish put into hard water. We need to buy fish that come from the same type of water as our tap water.
So the first thing we need to know is how hard or soft our tap water is. There are testers for hardness, but it is easier and cheaper to see if your water supplier's website has the information. If you check there, make a note of the number and the unit. Water hardness can come in several units (a bit like gallons and litres for tank size) so we need both. If they also give something called alkalinity, make a note of that as well.
When researching fish on-line the profiles will tell you the hardness of the water the fish comes from. You need fish that come from the same hardness as your tap water.

 

[Rezi413]

Oh okay! That makes sense.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Welcome!

 

[Rezi413]

Thanks!