Edit: A New Question About Cycling

[smokey]

hi ive been thinking about starting an aquarium for a while now and ive finally done it i dug my old tank out, cleaned it up, bought a new filter, air pump, heater and got a few ornaments etc and its all ready to go except i have no fish yet

i took a browse around my local fisheries when i bought everything and theres a few that caught my eye, i thought i would run a few by some experts on here and see what you all think

the first i saw were these small fish called Coloured Glass Fish, they were silver with luminous coloured stripes down their backs, all were different colours and i thought they were pretty but someone told me those colours are not natural and are injected and eventually fade. does anyone know if this is true?

i also noticed these adorable little frogs, no bigger than 1-2cm that sat at the bottom of tanks and then sort of 'jumped' through the water. they were very cool would i be able to keep these with fish? would they eat fish food or would i need specialised food for them?

i also thought about getting small crabs and/or snails from ebay as the sellers usually say they are suitable for community tanks and are great cleaners.

ive only ever kept goldfish before (though i had one goldfish for like 5 years and he grew to about 8 inches ) so im looking for some advice on getting this aquarium started. any extras i need? i got some of this stuff to treat the water. is this enough?

one last question, this may be very blonde of my, but thats because im blonde.. do i need to put salt in the water for tropical fish? if so how much

thanks!

 

[The-Wolf]

the first i saw were these small fish called Coloured Glass Fish, they were silver with luminous coloured stripes down their backs, all were different colours and i thought they were pretty but someone told me those colours are not natural and are injected and eventually fade. does anyone know if this is true?

yes it is. this pratice is horrible
please visit http/www.deathbydyeing.org/ for more info on this cruelety

i also noticed these adorable little frogs, no bigger than 1-2cm that sat at the bottom of tanks and then sort of 'jumped' through the water. they were very cool would i be able to keep these with fish? would they eat fish food or would i need specialised food for them?

depends on if they were afriacn dwarf frogs (ADFs)or african clawed forgs (ACFs)
do a forum search for frog and you'll find what you need to know

i also thought about getting small crabs and/or snails from ebay as the sellers usually say they are suitable for community tanks and are great cleaners.

generally speasking if it has claws,pincers then it is not suitable for most community aquariums.

ive only ever kept goldfish before (thought i had one goldfish for like 5 years and he grew to about 8 inches ) so im looking for some advice on getting this aquarium started.

a forum search for cycling will help you there

do i need to put salt in the water for tropical fish? if so how much

salt is only really used when treating certain paraiste infections, also many fish can't tollerat salt.
it is best to ask about salt when you come accross a parasite infection. otherwise, No don't add salt.


Lastly
to the forums.

 

[smokey]

very useful, thanks a lot

i visited that site about the dye injections and i think thats terrible. i wont be getting those fish afterall

 

[theamazingmaise]

Hi wlecome

 

[Jenll]

Hi and

Choosing fish for a new tank is never an easy job I think... I have a big tank with about 8 fish at the moment - simply because I can't decide what else to have... I can recommend Rainbows, as they are relativly easy to look after and great beginner fish - as are Mollies and Platy's... I've always been recommended to use the rule of having a few bottom feeders and then some fish in the 'middle'' of the tank...

Good luck!!

 

[smokey]

hey

i read up on the differences between ACFs and ADFs, checked at the fisheries and they are labeled as Golden Frogs. i checked them out and they seem to have the characteristics of ACFs, but i still wasnt sure. i read about them being mislabeled often. has anyone ever heard of golden frogs or are these most likely mislabeled ACFs?

 

[smokey]

nevermind ive looked up golden frogs and they could not possibly be those. i should probably tell the fisheries that they are selling african clawed frogs.

i have another question about fishless cycling though; i read up on it, i just wanna make sure i have it right - basically i just put ammonia in the water and then watch the ammonia level drop, nitrite level rise, then drop, nitrate level rise and then start changing some of the water and its cycled?

if this is correct, i have another question; where does the bacteria actually come from? how does it get in the tank in the first place i mean?

 

[Captain Retardo]

That is correct.

I believe every tank has some (very little) of that bacteria in it already, but once ammonia is in they're they spread like wildfire! If you have a friend who is a fish keeper you could ask for them to spare some gravel that they have used in their main tank, or a sponge, and that will jumpstart your bacteria population.

Good Luck!

 

[smokey]

great, thanks a lot