Coming Back To Fish Keeping

MoonStarRaven

Mostly New Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Location
US
I apologies upfront for the long post. :)
 
I haven't had fish in close to ten years now. I used to love keeping them and at one point had several 5 gallons, a 10, 20 and 40 gallon set up. This was way back before I had access to the internet and just going by what the so called 'experts' in the fish department at the pet store told me and half the time felt like I was waging a war with the aquariums to keep them clean and the fish alive. So I stopped replacing the fish and one by one shut the tanks down, and well I missed having fish I resisted the temptation to get back in the hobby... Until my so called friend casually says in conversation, "my mothers giving away her 56 gallon aquarium with stand and everything, you know anyone who'd want it?"
 
So here I am after days of scouring the internet for new information... No wonder I gave up on having fish, between the under gravel filters that I was told needed to be strip down and the tank cleaned every few months and the pet stores advice to replace the filters and clean the filter box monthly... I'm amazed I managed to kept the fish alive for the years that I did.
 
So anyway here I am to pester you all for accurate up to date information on fish keeping. :)
 
I'm not sure what all is coming with the tank, (I'm picking it up tomorrow,)  But up until a few months ago it was an established saltwater tank with seahorses. So any advice on converting it to fresh water would be helpful. Can any filters and what not be reused or should I just get new ones?
 
I'm guessing and substrate will need to be replaced, after a bit of research I am leaning towards going with sand versus gravel. Especially as I want cory's again. (Poor little Oscar, why, why did the pet store tell me that all I needed was one Cory to clean the tank, he must have been so lonely. :( )  
 
I've gone to the pet stores a few times with my daughter (want her to learn getting a pet's not an instant thing) to look at fish and have already have somewhat planned out what we'd like. She of course feel in love with the Glofish, I was hesitant as colored fish like that used to be dyed, but after researching them with her and discovering their now born that way I feel better about it. Anyway what I was thinking about stocking the tank with is:
 
8 or 9 Danio (one of each color GloFish, regular and long finned Zebra, and a pearl danio.)
9 Tetra (One of each color Glofish, a white skirt and regular and long fin black skirt
 
Them all being Danio and Skirt Tetra they should be happy and school together right? My daughter wants different colored ones so she can tell them apart and each have a name. (Are there any other color variations that will school with them?) and of course Cory's this time a nice little school of them.
 
1 Albino Cory
1 bronze Cory
1 panda Cory
 
Are there any other Cory colors that will be happy together? Would ideally like a total of 6 different colored Cory's
 
Was thinking about getting a male beta for in there as well, as way back when I had one in my large community tank but not sure if that was a fluke and advice on the internet seems to be all over the place.
 
And not sure what else to put in there, was thinking maybe guppies as they have lots of different colors, but really don't want a bunch of baby fish, and not sure about them if I put a beta in there. Any suggestions?
 
Okay well this post is long enough, guess I'll go wander around the site, trying to update my decades old fish knowledge. ;)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Welcome :)
 
And before we go recommending any fish for you we'd need to know your water parameters.
 
You're absolutely right about Cories and sand, I would recommend a sand substrate and having three of my tanks with sand I prefer it over the gravel by a long way.  The fish seem to like it too :)  As for the numbers of cories it is best to have half a dozen of the one species if the tank size allows.
 
I've posted in your other thread about my feelings on the Glolites.  That however is just my personal opinion as I prefer to have a natural environment for natural fish.
 
I haven't bought any of the test supplies yet so I'll have to post the water info then.
 
For the Cories, are the different colors considered the same species or different?
 
their are different variations but they are the same species.
Albino corys are a variation of the peppered cory catfish. So keeping 3 albinos and 3 peppered corys would be ok. or any other variation that isnt hostile if put in the tank at the same time. meaning adding the peppered corys and albino corys at the same time so they can create their little group. Maybe even breed some peppered and albinos.
 
But i would suggest getting peppered corys, i dont exactly like the color of my albinos but i dont want to return them as they are happy in my tank as they are. 
 
MoonStarRaven said:
I haven't bought any of the test supplies yet so I'll have to post the water info then.
 
For the Cories, are the different colors considered the same species or different?
 
 
This may help put it into perspective http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/genus.php?genus_id=1
 
The Corydorinae are a genus of catfish with multiple different species and subspecies within that genus.
 
Albino corys are typically a subspecies of the Bronze Corydoras.  So Bronze and Albino would be fine if kept as a half dozen but Peppered and Panda or Skunk not so much.  They typically prefer to hang around with the same species as themselves and you will see better behaviour from them.
 
I have Orange Lasers in a tank with Pandas.  They very much hang around with their own species.  As an aside to that I have Sterbai and Julii together and they will spend time with each other, but it's not the same behaviour as exhibited by the Lasers and the Pandas which are in greater numbers.
 
Personally, I would advise you have a look in your LFS and see which species really catch your eye and would suit your tank.  Different Cories prefer different water parameters (although not drastically different), so I would recommend searching for them on http://www.seriouslyfish.com/ and finding out their specific needs.  I would recommend doing this for any fish you intend to buy.
 
I have had several glofish tetras and also have one white skirt tetra and two black skirt tetras.   Glofish tetras are basically began as genetically altered white skirt tetras and then were bred normally after the being established for years.   My tank parameters were always excellent.  My experience is, while they look very colorful and interesting and brighten up the tank,  the glofish tetras don't grow as large as the white skirt or black skirt tetras and don't live as long.  The six glofish I had, all died off within a year or so  Your experience may differ.   In the future I personally will stay away from glofish and if I want skirt tetras, will add to my present stocking with more white or black skirt tetras.  Another point is that glofish are like twice the price of regular skirt tetras.  
 
But if your daughter is in love with the glofish,  go for it.   It will make her very happy as they really do look striking and brighten up the tank.   Just be aware of the above points I have made.  
 
In my 35 gallon tall tank,  I also have one angel, 3 serpae tetra,  and 10 harlequin rasboras.  I also have one bushynose pleco.   The rasboras are a very active mid level fish and great looking schooling fish,  with their two tone coloration.
 
The thing about the glofish is that they have to be under a black light to glow. They're still colorful without the black light, but they don't glow.
 
I'm starting to get irritated with my big chain LFS advice, this is why I start researching way before actually buying. They insisted that all the different cories were just different colors of the same fish and would be happy and school together just fine. 
rolleyes.gif
 
 
I was in there again today pricing a few things and decided to ask if they had any recommendations as to where I can locally buy additive free ammonia to cycle my tank and the answer I received was... "Just buy a few hardy fish and throw them in there, it'll be fine." ...
blink.png
 .... She then went on to recommend which fish by saying, "Most people just buy a few sacrificial danios as their pretty cheap."
angry.png
  Grr, I wanted to scream and/or cry, the price of a pet shouldn't dictated the level of care that they receive. :(
 
Anyway rant over, I know the glofish won't glow under the normal aquarium lights, my daughter thinks they look better under the regular light, She is really in the whole princess and unicorn fantasy stage so she loves how 'fantasy world' the glofish look.
 
MoonStarRaven said:
I'm starting to get irritated with my big chain LFS advice, this is why I start researching way before actually buying. They insisted that all the different cories were just different colors of the same fish and would be happy and school together just fine. 
rolleyes.gif

 
I was in there again today pricing a few things and decided to ask if they had any recommendations as to where I can locally buy additive free ammonia to cycle my tank and the answer I received was... "Just buy a few hardy fish and throw them in there, it'll be fine." ...
blink.png
 .... She then went on to recommend which fish by saying, "Most people just buy a few sacrificial danios as their pretty cheap."
angry.png
  Grr, I wanted to scream and/or cry, the price of a pet shouldn't dictated the level of care that they receive.
sad.png

 
Anyway rant over, I know the glofish won't glow under the normal aquarium lights, my daughter thinks they look better under the regular light, She is really in the whole princess and unicorn fantasy stage so she loves how 'fantasy world' the glofish look.
The "buy a few hardy fish and throw them in there, it'll be fine." is a traditional approach to fish keeping, I guess before they realized how much the fish were suffering. What annoys me is that when a goldfish dies people are like "goldfish die, they don't live very long and they are very delicate." neither statement is true, of course. Goldfish are very indelicate, and have a very long lifespan. They are just put through some horrible treatment that they can't survive.
angry.png

Anyway, sorry for the ranting . . . I get worked up about things like that. If you like glofish, go for it, and good luck!
 
MoonStarRaven said:
I'm starting to get irritated with my big chain LFS advice, this is why I start researching way before actually buying. They insisted that all the different cories were just different colors of the same fish and would be happy and school together just fine. 
rolleyes.gif

 
I was in there again today pricing a few things and decided to ask if they had any recommendations as to where I can locally buy additive free ammonia to cycle my tank and the answer I received was... "Just buy a few hardy fish and throw them in there, it'll be fine." ...
blink.png
 .... She then went on to recommend which fish by saying, "Most people just buy a few sacrificial danios as their pretty cheap."
angry.png
  Grr, I wanted to scream and/or cry, the price of a pet shouldn't dictated the level of care that they receive.
sad.png

 
Anyway rant over, I know the glofish won't glow under the normal aquarium lights, my daughter thinks they look better under the regular light, She is really in the whole princess and unicorn fantasy stage so she loves how 'fantasy world' the glofish look.
 
And in doing research you are doing exactly the right thing.  It's good to see when people do research first rather than try and "fix" some bad stocking and poor cycling later on, which is of course much harder to do.
I don't think they receive the highest level of training when it comes to fish at these large stores.  It should be mandatory to learn about the animals in your care and provide the correct advise to those who come seeking it.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top