35 gallon tank questions

[Jenga1234]

Hey, ok, I went yesterday to get some rabbit cages from a lady who just HAPPENED to have a 35 gallon tank for sale. My mom has told me that she has to talk my dad into it but I will probaly be getting it because it is a HUGE deal ( complete set-up 35 gallon hexagon aquarium with oak stand for $50) It is a BEAUTIFUL tank and looks to be in good condition. Ok, the tank currently has a 4 inch clown loach, an 1 1/2 long albino red-fin shark, and some kind of other fish that looks kinda like an angelfish but it is like a clear/gray color and i THINK it has a few black stripes on it and it looks 2 be about 3.5 inches long. What kind of fish is this? Also, could i put any other fish in the tank and what fish would be good to go with these? Thanks so much for reading!!!

 

[ncjharris]

Hi Jenga!

Welcome to the fish forums!
First stop, I recommend you read the posted articles on the various pages about setting up and the like.

If the tank is 35 gallons, then you have a bit of room for expansion, but you should probably look to add around whats in the tank.

For example, the clown loach is a schooling fish, so will need to be kept with others, but you should bear in mind the fully mature size of the fish.

The albino red shark can be aggressive, so make sure you look into what he's being kept with.

The angel could concievabley be an angel (you can get them in all shapes/colours and hues nowadays).

Oh, and that is some deal you've got yourself there!

Happy Fishkeeping!

 

[yvez9]

Jenga!

Good deal you're getting there! Hope you enjoy your tank
You can introduce yourself in the Newbie forum to start off.

As for your tank, if you can get it, i would recommend you read on the fish that are already in there and see where you want to go from there.

 

[Jenga1234]

Hey! Thanks ya'll. OK, so about the fish. I should probally get some more clown loachs...ok. Should I get another shark? Or will he be good by himself? As for the angel-fish looking thing( lol) I have no clue what it is. If I get the tank I will post pics. Also, if I get the tank, when I first get it home would I have to cycle it? How would I do that with the fish already in there? And when would be a good time to add more fish? Oh,I have another question! lol. The clown loach, I'm not really to crazy about him, and since I would have to be getting more, should I just give him to a petstore that I know of that knows alot about fish( they sell them ,too...) and then get a different type of fish that I am more interested in? Thanks so much!!

 

[ncjharris]

If the fish are living in there a-ok, then the tank is probably cycled. However, one of your first purchases should be a water testing kit, so you can keep on top of the ammonia, nitrate and nitrites. Reading about cycling will give you more info on these and what they do in a fish tank.

If you're not keen on keeping a type of fish then most LFS will take them back, sometimes for store credit. Make sure the fish is healthy first. If you are going to keep the Clown Loach, read up on him, there is a good post on them in the fish index section (pinned, in the FAQ's).

Ditto with the RTS. I know they are agressive, but have no first hand experience of them - though they do look good. From memory there may be a post on them too.

If the tank is cycled, then you can add fish, SLOWLY, as soon as you give them a little time to get over the stress of being moved! Add one a week or so, testing the water regually, until you are happy with the inhabitants, or its fully stocked (check out the postings on stocking levels - as a rule of thumb, 1" of fish per gallon, but this changes for hex tanks and tall tanks).

Angels - remember they grow tall - up to 6-8" in some respects, and they'll need a tallish tank (and no tetras, or its dinner time!)

EDIT: Looks like an angel, but is grey - could be a Silver Dollar or Mono? Anyone else any ideas?

Good Luck

 

[Jenga1234]

Ok, thanks SOOOO mcuh for the help. I have been reading on other posts while waiting for people to reply to this. lol. I was just wondering if I would have to cycle the tank all over again since I will have to totally empty it then put it all back in order to get it from there to here...but I guess you already said I wouldn't. The fish looked very healthy and beautful. But they clown loach stayed off by itself and the unknown fish( lol) was by itself and the shark was too busy swimming around plants to notice. lol. Ok, after reading some posts, I was thinking about getting some dwarf gourmais. And I was kinda wanting some tetras so if that one fish turns out to be an angelfish I guess I will have to find it a good home. As for the shark, since he is agressive and I am really looking for a peaceful community tank, should I just find him a home ,too? He's really beautiful but I guess I will just have to do what works. I might end up keeping the clown fish but I am not sure. What other types of fish would be good with the gourmais and possible clown loach?I won't do any huge changes until I have the water levels all good. Oh.. what exactly should my water levels read as anyways? Thanks so much for your time!!!

 

[yvez9]

to keep the tank cycled, you should keep the filter media wet in tank water. I suggest you bag the filter media (sponge and whatever is in the filter) in the same fashion you would a fish.

 

[Jenga1234]

??

 

[yvez9]

Filter media is the actual stuff that filters the water. Inside the filter, you will usually find a sponge and other things like bio-balls(plastic balls), ceramic rings, floss, carbon...

whatever is inside the filter, put in a bag filled with tank water. This will keep the necessary bacteria alive for a few hours, which should be enough for you to setup the tank at home.

You'll also have to put the fish in bags with tank water. the bags should be filled with 1/3 water, 2/3 air.

When you bring the tank honme, you fill it up, bring the temperature to around 75 or whatever it currently is at right now by adding warm or cooler water, as necessary, then dechlorinate the water with a water conditionner.

Then you put the filter back on and put back the filter media inside and plug the filter.

then you adapt your fish to your water...

 

[cyprinut]

Another good way to move the fish is to use a 5 gallon bucket. Make sure it's clean first (clean enough that you'd drink out of it), with no chemical or soap residues. Put about 3 gallons of tank water in it, all the filter pads and the fish. Cover bucket with a towel and strap a belt around it to keep it in place. Once moved, fill the tank with water (leave it a couple gallons short of full), add dechlorinator, filter and heater. Over the next 2 hours- every 10 minutes scoop a large cupful of tank water into the bucket, let it mix up a few seconds, then scoop a large cupful out of the bucket and put it into the tank. This will slowly turn the bucket (old tank)water into mostly (new fresh) tank water without causing any shock to the fish from large rapid ph, temp or hardness swings. After a couple hours, just gently pour the bucket into the tank and they should be just fine. I moved a 125g using 2 large buckets this way with zero losses in over 20 fish. Good luck and welcome. Does that fish have those long thin pelvic fins hanging down? If none, are the stripes vertical? It could be a large black tetra from the description.

 

[Jenga1234]

Hey, thanks ya'll you've helped soo much. THats sounds like a great way o do the fish! lol. We called a LFS and asked them what to do and they said that we had to cycle the tank for 24 hours before puting the fish back in. We had a 5 gallon bucket with an aireater(m/s) that they said we could keep the fish in for 24 hours....what do ya'll think? OMG, we called the lady with the aquarium and she's leaving to go to Florida and so I have to wait for 3 WEEKS!!!! I'm going to die...lol. Oh, forgot to tell you, we asked her what kinda fish it was and she said it was a long-finned tetra?? Thanks!!!

 

[yvez9]

ok jenga, i'll teach you one very important listen. Never listen to what the LFS, and never buy anything they tell you that you need! Employees are often misinformed, or will try to get you to buy something just to make a sale.

The tank is already cycled, so you don't need to wait 24 hours. The faster the better in your case. 24 hours will probably un-cycle your tank...

 

[ncjharris]

Never listen to what the LFS, and never buy anything they tell you that you need! Employees are often misinformed, or will try to get you to buy something just to make a sale.

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While this does happen, I think its worth pointing out that not every LFS operates like this. Most of the big chainstore (your walmarts, pets at home etc) will more often than not be like this, but your very local, one man band or hobby specific shop will more often than not be run by people who do know a thing or two about fish keeping and have good advice.

Its worth listening to what people say, researching it yourself and then making your own call. The boards are here as another point of contact, and by sounding out any queries, you'd get a very broad range of answers.

One important aspect of successful fishkeeping is research. Do it often and and do it well.

 

[spanishguy111]

Ooh a tank with an inappropriate mix of fish going to a newbie with NO knowledge. this HAS to end well!@!

 

[Jenga1234]

Wow, spanishguy, thanks for the encouragment...

OK as for everyone else, thanks so much. I have 3 weeks to figure out what I'm going to do. The LFS is not a chain store and we have known the person that works there for a while but I am still a lil consered about what to do. Thanks so much for the opinions!!!!