Couple of questions from a "newbie"

[trisha1972]

Question #1- Is Bio-spira worth the money? If I understand correctly, you can set up your tank, add this stuff, and it is cycled within 48 hours and ready for fish??
I have two 55 gallon set-ups that I would like to get up and running as quickly as possible.



Question #2- Went to Wal-mart today and wandered into the fish department. They had two tanks full of little green and yellow puffers as the "fish of the month". Also labeled on the tank as "really mean". Are they mean? Are they supposed to be in brackish water, because they were in the regular Wal-mart tanks. Can they be kept with any other fish? They are awfully cute! Pros and cons in keeping them? They were priced at $4.48 each. I guess I am liking them because they are a bit odd. If they can't be kept with other fish, I'm wondering about keeping one in a one gallon tank by itself??

 

[tttnjfttt]

Bio Spira will instantly cycle a tank, BUT it has to have been constantly refrigerated to work.

As for the puffers being brackish, it really depends on the type of puffer it is. However, they are very agressive, and really do need to be kept alone or only with other puffers. They are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, so they need to be put into a fully cycled tank.

HTH

 

[trisha1972]

So could I add bio-spira to the 1 gallon and put a puffer in it? The lfs carries bio-spira. Don't know what type because it wasn't labeled. It was a little green puffer with yellow markings.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Green Spotted Puffers are bright green with white tummies and perfectly round little black spots all over. They need a high salinity brackish environment when fully adult and reach 6" in length. While GSP can be kept together, they need at least 30g per puffer. I am aware of no other fish that can be kept with them permanently; they are supposed to grow increasingly bitey and viscious as they age.

(I swear I could just throttle the person who thought GSP would be GREAT "fish of the month".)

 

[trisha1972]

They look so cute in the tank. They probably had 20 in each little tank.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Walmart isn't the best place to figure out what fish can go together...

 

[trisha1972]

I know THAT. I was just letting my kiddos look at stuff to put into "their" aquarium.

I went to the puffer site listed on here. The puffers at WSal-mart are green spotted puffers. I'm sure that the poor little things are just in regular water, not even brackish.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Walmart has a very bad track record as to keeping fish, puffers are great little fish although son't do well in community tanks on the whole- 55gallons is a decent amount of fish and there are many other fish that you could have lots of in it- does the tank have any fish in it?

 

[trisha1972]

Right now neither of the 55 set ups are even set up on stands. One is sitting in my garage while I figure out the best way to clean it up (previous owner kept a sugarglider in it with a screen cover). The other with a GORGEOUS oak stand and hood cover is on lay-away at the pet store (have to pick it up by the end of the month).

Right now we have a ten gallon set up with a few mollies in it. I don't know if I'll move those into either of the 55gal set ups. I want something colorful in the tanks, and entertaining to watch-not nippy or huge. Interesting is always good.


I want to stick to freshwater. I know having two 55 gallon set ups would be alot of work. I need to sit down and figure out maintainence schedules for them as far as water changes, etc. Help on that front would be greatly appreciated too. When I was MUCH younger (12-15 years ago) I dated the manager of the local lfs and had five tanks going at one time (two 10's, a 30, and a 55). Unfortunately, I've forgotten alot of what I knew back then.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Mollys prefer to be in tanks preferable of at least 15-20gallons because of their active behavior and that many can grow quite large over time(up tp 5inchs), so it will be in their best interests that you move them to the 55gal when it is set up and cycled.
Firstly though you need to read up on how to do a fishless cycle in the tank before you add any fish to it, there are some realy good easy to read articles in the begginers section pinned in the artciles at the top about how to do a fishless cycle .

 

[sylvia]

Do you already have a tank set-up and running with fish? You can run the new filter on the old tank (as wella s the old filter). This will allow good bacteria from the old filter to migrate to the new. You then just need to move the new filter, after a week of running in the small tank, to the 55 and put in some fish at the same time.

Otherwise, read through the links in my signature about cycling and fishless cycling. Your LFS can help you speed up a fishless cycle as well by letting you 'borrow' some used filter media right out from one of their healthier tanks. That'll itnroduce soem good bacteria and almost instantly cycle your tank.

Remember that the good bacteria need a source of ammonia to stay alive - either rotting food, fish waste or pure ammonia that you add daily.

 

[trisha1972]

Will do. Probably will do the bio-spira thing too.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You have to remember also that unless the bio spira has been refrigerated during its transport and keeping at your lfs, it will not work as the live bacteria it contains dies when not refrigerated.

 

[trisha1972]

Thanks guys! Please bear with me if I ask a ton of questions! Also, for the smarta**es around (before I do ask "newbie" questions), I do know what the search button is and will try hard to do the research before I post unless it is an emergancy.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

I do know what the search button is and will try hard to do the research before I post unless it is an emergancy.