First Timer - Tropical Fish! General Info Required.

[Ronnie83]

Hi everyone
As im a newbie, my questions may seem silly but its just what i need to know.

I have just recently set up my very first tropical fish tank. I bought the tank and set it up a week before adding the fish. The fish were added on saturday and since then ive had a few casualties . I now find myself constantly checking them as the loss of the fish was very upsetting. The fish were given to me from a friend who knows a great deal about them and has several tanks of their own. They also checked the water and readings were good.

48 litre tank
4 mollies
6 neon tetras
2 harlequins - ( lost 2)
3 guppies - ( lost 1)
4 swordtail

All i really want to know are the basics for a beginner:

When & correct way to do a water change?
Getting the correct temp for new water?
How often to feed & how much?
How to ensure smaller fish (neon tetras) get food as larger fish get to the food first?
When to clean filter?
Should the water be clear at all time?

I realise in time i will become more confident with everything but alas i must start at the very beginning, thanks in advance to anyone with advice and help, believe me it will be very much appreciated.
Im sure i have left out pieces of info and i apologise if i have. Thanks

Ronnie83

 

[Randi]

Hi Ronnie83, a lot of people (myself included) get into fishkeeping without realizing how much is really involved in it. The most important thing for you to do right now is cycle your tank. This link has everything you need to know http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/224306-fish-in-cycling/ You say the water reading were good, but what were they exactly?

As to your other questions: To do a water change you need a gravel vacuum or a piece of hose and a large bucket. First, unplug all of your equipment. Then siphon the water from the tank into the bucket using the gravel vac or hose. To refill the tank simply fill the bucket with tap water, adding dechlorinator as you fill. You can just use your hand to check the temp. When pouring the water back into your tank be careful not to crush your fish. Pouring onto a large rock or decoration instead of just into the water helps with this. You will generally need to do a water change about once a week but it all depends on your water chemistry. You may have to do them daily while your tank is cycling.
I feed once a day, no more than the fish can eat in 2 minutes. If there is food left after 2 minutes I scoop it out with the net. Once again, while you are cycling you may want to cut back on feedings to reduce ammonia production.
In order to get food to my smaller fish I generally put some food on the surface of the water and while the bigger fish are distracted I add more but put in down in the water column. This way you get some fish feeding at the surface and some feeding at midlevel.
Clean the filter about twice a month by swishing it around in tank water that you removed during a water change. Do not use tap water to clean the filter, it will kill the bacteria. Also, filter manufacturers recommend replacing the filter media once a month, DON'T DO IT. Keep your filter media until it is literally falling apart.
Water should generally be clear but a bacterial bloom will give it a white cloudy appearance. This is not harmful to your fish. Also, if you have a sand substrate you may see particles in the water depending on the force of your filter.

Hope this helps!

 

[Lufbramatt]

IMO that tank is quite overstocked, the mollies get fairly big for an 18" tank. also adding all the fish at once probably wan't the best idea as they are all producing ammonia as a waste product which cannot be processed if your filter is not "cycled" ie. has a big enough colony of bacteria to break down the ammonia into nitrite and then relatively harmless nitrate.

Did your friend give you any sponge or media from his filter to add to your filter when you set your tank up? TBH I would see if you could give the fish back temporarily until you have cycled the filter as with that number of fish in a small uncycled tank your are going to lose more, quite quickly, as the ammonia builds up. Then I would stick with the neons, guppys and rasboras and leave the mollies and swordtails with your friend.

If your friend has lots of tanks the quickest way to get your tank up and running is to ask him for a portion of his filter media or gravel if he uses under gravel filters which will add a decent amount of the right sort of bacteria into your filter.