A Few Issues (major Newbie!)

[Leaky]

Heya, ive been given a 130L fish tank for free by a friend, and im going to set it up and get some nice tropical fish in there.

Ive read the whole of the setting up the tank and the fish cycling pages, i just need to know a couple of things really that i didnt totally understand in the guides, or dont understand in general..

the first question:

When the ammonia is dropping in 10 - 12 hours it says to keep adding the same amount of ammonia until the nitrite level decreases, do i have to add any ammonia one ive got fish in ? or is just adding the ammonia to build up the bacteria before the fish are introduced ?

the second question:

ive not got any yet, but how much dechlorinator do you need to add for a 130l tank ?

the third question:

when doing the 75% to 90% water change in the tank, do you have to dechlorinate this water before it is added, or does the dechlorinator already present in the water do this instead




Sorry to be a pain but im sure you get all these questions all the time, i just needed to know really, ive read lots of different articles etc about it and i understand most of the parts, just the odd little bit that i didnt quite get.

Oh, and my girlfriend wants a siamese fighter fish, what other species of fish do they really not get along with ( i know about them not liking the same species etc) is 130L too big for one ?


Thanks so much for any answers, Chris.

 

[orange shark]

Heya, ive been given a 130L fish tank for free by a friend, and im going to set it up and get some nice tropical fish in there.

Ive read the whole of the setting up the tank and the fish cycling pages, i just need to know a couple of things really that i didnt totally understand in the guides, or dont understand in general..

the first question:

When the ammonia is dropping in 10 - 12 hours it says to keep adding the same amount of ammonia until the nitrite level decreases, do i have to add any ammonia one ive got fish in ? or is just adding the ammonia to build up the bacteria before the fish are introduced ? Dont add it when the fish in, it's just adding the ammonia to build up bacteria before the fish are in, the fish will produce ammonia in their waste when they are in.

the second question:

ive not got any yet, but how much dechlorinator do you need to add for a 130l tank ? Have a look on the bottle, it tells you how much you need

the third question:

when doing the 75% to 90% water change in the tank, do you have to dechlorinate this water before it is added, or does the dechlorinator already present in the water do this instead Some people dont dechlorinate water during water changes but i definately would add dechlorinator to any new water during all water changes




Sorry to be a pain but im sure you get all these questions all the time, i just needed to know really, ive read lots of different articles etc about it and i understand most of the parts, just the odd little bit that i didnt quite get.

Oh, and my girlfriend wants a siamese fighter fish, what other species of fish do they really not get along with ( i know about them not liking the same species etc) is 130L too big for one ? They dont like male guppies as they mistake them for themselves. Dont put them in with any fin nippers, because despite you probably reading they are quite "hard" they struggle to stick up for themselves against fin nippers


Thanks so much for any answers, Chris.

 

[Leaky]

That is pretty much perfect thanks !

im looking at filters atm, im going to save up and get the Tetratec EX 700 i think, seems to be a well praised quiet external filter !!


p.s. when dechlorinating water in the water change, would you add it to the water before it enters the tank so not too much is in the tank, or just add the relevant amount to the tank once its filled up ?

 

[CeeJayy]

That is pretty much perfect thanks !

im looking at filters atm, im going to save up and get the Tetratec EX 700 i think, seems to be a well praised quiet external filter !!


p.s. when dechlorinating water in the water change, would you add it to the water before it enters the tank so not too much is in the tank, or just add the relevant amount to the tank once its filled up ?

When i do my water changes i dechlorinate before i put the water in the tank.

 

[Athena]

Hi there

Re 3rd question - yes, if you are doing a large water change like that (75-90%) you should add dechlorinator to the water. If it's just a small amount like 10% or so, some don't bother (I always do just to be on the safe side). The bottle will tell you how much to use per litre (don't forget that if your tank has lots of rocks/ornaments etc there will be less volume of water than in a bare tank - although I don't think it's that dangerous if you overdose slightly on the dechlor).

Re 4th query - Siamese Fighters (Bettas) are best kept in tanks on their own as they do not make good community fish. If you have a look over on the Betta forums of this site you will see lots of info and good advice about keeping bettas successfully. Female bettas can be kept in a community tank - either a single female or a group of 3+.

A male betta in a community tank is likely to either have its fins shredded to bits or attack other fish. Even if there is no actual attacking going on, if the betta is in with other fish he is likely to be flaring a lot, which causes stress to the betta over a period of time. This stress can then weaken its immune system and lead to infections/disease/death.

A nice 3 - 5gallon tank is perfect for a single male betta (and if you really want him to have some company you could put a couple of African dwarf frogs in!).

Some people with larger tanks use a tank divider (available at your LFS) to section off a portion of the tank for a male betta.


Regards - Athena

 

[hollanda88]

If you want a siamese fighter i would get a smaller tank (35L) for him on his own of with a few corys. Then you have many more options for the 130L tank and your not tied down to the less pretty fish (siamese will munch on anything pretty)

andrew

 

[Leaky]

i will just tell my girlfriend that she cant have one, shes got a lot smaller, i think its about a 35L tank going spare so she could put one in that if she wants one !

what are the brightest types of tropical fish ? im not fussed if they arent compatible with each other, just want to know what the options are as i couldnt see too many bright ones or colourful ones in the guides at the side, thanks again, CHris.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I'd back up the above, get your girlfriend a surprise present of a 5 gallon tank and let her have the fighter in there. as you'll already be buying filter media, dechlor, fish food etc etc it'll be a marginal extra cost to cope with a small betta tank as well and you'll be well in the good books for buying her a present for no reason and it free's you up considerably with the big tank.

 

[LauraFrog]

Agreed - a betta in a community tank isn't really a good idea. Fighting fish do not get on with the vast majority of small, midwater schooling fish. That means that almost all of the little pretty fish that make a tank look good, are out. No tetras, no barbs, no danios, very limited choice of rasboras. A tank with a betta and some bottom dwellers can look very effective, but the ideal size for that would be around 30-40L. In a 130L tank, the betta would appear to get lost if the only other fish were bottom dwellers. I definitely recommend that you get one though, you can even keep him alone in a tank of 10-15L. They are really amazing fish with great character and totally worth having if you can fit a second tank in.

If you really, REALLY want to keep a betta in the 130L, they are okay with corydoras catfish and bristlenoses, most loaches (you could have a pakistani/yoyo loach, or a small school of sidthimunki which I THINK are called dwarf chain loach, in that size tank.) They are also fine with platys and usually with harlequin rasboras. Unfortunately, that's about it. If you wanted to have a group of female bettas, say five or six, your choices are less limited because fin nipping isn't a problem, so you can keep them with any fish that will stand up for themselves (but female bettas will still shred anything long-finned or gutless.) Of course you could also have one female betta, but the recommendation is keep them alone, or keep them in groups of 5+ to spread the aggression around. Males are one to a tank of course, and males with females is out also, males will kill other males or females.

 

[Leaky]

I'd back up the above, get your girlfriend a surprise present of a 5 gallon tank and let her have the fighter in there. as you'll already be buying filter media, dechlor, fish food etc etc it'll be a marginal extra cost to cope with a small betta tank as well and you'll be well in the good books for buying her a present for no reason and it free's you up considerably with the big tank.

Yeh im after as much variety as possible to make the tank look good

ive found a external filter and heater i want for the tank, both external so frees up space and makes them easier to maintain !!

 

[hollanda88]

I'd back up the above, get your girlfriend a surprise present of a 5 gallon tank and let her have the fighter in there. as you'll already be buying filter media, dechlor, fish food etc etc it'll be a marginal extra cost to cope with a small betta tank as well and you'll be well in the good books for buying her a present for no reason and it free's you up considerably with the big tank.

Yeh im after as much variety as possible to make the tank look good

ive found a external filter and heater i want for the tank, both external so frees up space and makes them easier to maintain !!

Chiclids are very assorted in colour, size and shape.

take a look around google images

andrew