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Ingrid

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We are about to get our first fish and so do any of you have a list of jobs to do I would need to do every day ,week and month in order to maintain a healthy tropical fish tank . Any advice or tips are welcome thank for your help
 
Sorry if you've already answered these questions, or mentioned it before.... I've just started back here. So, firstly, is the tank already set up? If so, how long for? What type of fish are you getting and what are the water parameters?
 
How long has the tank been set up for?
Has the tank been cycled (developed the beneficial filter bacteria that keeps ammonia and nitrite at 0)?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) and pH of your water supply. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

What fish did you want to get?

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If the tank has been cycled, and the fish are suitable for the tank size and water chemistry, you get the fish home and float their bag in the aquarium for 30 minutes. After 5 minutes, add 1/2 to 1 cup of tank water to the bag. Do this every 5 minutes for the 30 minute period then pour the fish into the tank.

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Turn the tank light off before you float the bag of fish. And leave the light off for the rest of the day. You can turn it back on the day after you get the fish.

Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

--------------
Don't feed the fish for the first day. When do you feed the fish, wait until an hour or more after the lights have come on, then feed the fish.

Monitor ammonia and nitrite levels for the first few weeks and if you get any readings above 0, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate.

If all goes well, you should do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate once a week. And feed the fish once or twice a day.
 
The routines for maintenance are not the same for new tanks and established tanks.
New tanks need a lot more testing, more frequent water changes, less feeding and no filter cleaning.
This is because in an uncycled tank you need to support the cycling by establishing beneficial bacteria and you need to eliminate the toxic ammonia and nitrite until the beneficial bacteria take over this job.
Although you have used bottled bacteria your tank will still need to do some cycling. A tank isn’t ‘mature’ for about six months.
Read up on the nitrogen cycle for more detail.
 
Last edited:
How long has the tank been set up for?
Has the tank been cycled (developed the beneficial filter bacteria that keeps ammonia and nitrite at 0)?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) and pH of your water supply. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

What fish did you want to get?

---------------------------
If the tank has been cycled, and the fish are suitable for the tank size and water chemistry, you get the fish home and float their bag in the aquarium for 30 minutes. After 5 minutes, add 1/2 to 1 cup of tank water to the bag. Do this every 5 minutes for the 30 minute period then pour the fish into the tank.

--------------
Turn the tank light off before you float the bag of fish. And leave the light off for the rest of the day. You can turn it back on the day after you get the fish.

Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

--------------
Don't feed the fish for the first day. When do you feed the fish, wait until an hour or more after the lights have come on, then feed the fish.

Monitor ammonia and nitrite levels for the first few weeks and if you get any readings above 0, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate.

If all goes well, you should do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate once a week. And feed the fish once or twice a day.
Our ph is 7.4 our general hardness is 16 d our tank is 60 litres and are tank is 61cm heigh it is 51 cm wide and has a diameter of 36 cm
We would like to get guppies , patties and neon tetra thanks for your help and advice
 
I'm afraid your water is too hard for neon tetras, which are soft water fish. They would die prematurely in water this hard. But the water is fine for livebearers.

In another thread, Byron asked if you meant 61 cm side to side, 51 cm front to back and 36 cm top to bottom and you said yes. Could you give us a link to the tank, please, or tell us the make and model so we can be sure of the dimensions.
 

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