Hello! Beginner Here!

[ails81]

Hi everyone
We have just started keeping tropical fish, mainly for my 3 year olds learning and curiosity but now me and my partner are becoming a bit more obsessed!
 
We have started quite small (dont have much space) and have a 26l tank, after initial concerns think we have things ok with the temperature, air pump, filter etc.
 
We picked up our fish on saturday, we have 11 neon tetras, sadly one died the morning after we got them, he never seemed happy from the start and separated himself from the rest so we werent surprised.  

We also have 4 little stripey ones which I have forgotten the name of already!  They remind me of anteaters with funny little pointy noses and they love nibbling round the plants.  And we have 2 red line torpedo barbs.  Unfortunately one of them managed to get himself wedged in one of the ornaments earlier and he was stuck fast.  We managed to get him free with some wiggling but he doesnt look too good.  He is still swimming around etc but I can see he has damaged his scales and looks swollen so I am not too sure he will make it either, not sure there is much I can do though.  

   No idea how he managed it must have been complete fluke.  So thats sad.  And to make matters worse the other one seems to be bullying him now and chasing him about.
 
By the way I call them all he but have no idea what sex they are and the shop didnt mention anything about sex as far as I know 

 
I wondered, do you think thats too many fish for the space?  I am thinking it might be and although they seem quite happy now I am wondering if there may be problems ahead.
 
Grateful for any pointers!
 
Thanks

 

[Byron]

Welcome to the forum and this wonderful hobby.
 
I'm afraid I have mainly bad news for you.  First, a 26 liter/5 gallon aquarium is very small and you have selected fish that will outgrow it very fast.  The store either doesn't care or doesn't know, as they should not have sold you torpedo barbs for this tank (this is a largish fish that attains six inches, and that needs a group of eight--the aggression you've mentioned is one result of not having this--which means a 4-foot tank minimum.  I would return these quickly.
 
The unknown fish might perhaps be cory catfish?  The neons, small though they may be now, will need a larger tank soon.
 
Then we come to cycling a new tank, and I recommend you click the "Cycling a Tank" tab at the top and read up on this.
 
Good luck.
 
Byron. 

 

[ails81]

ok thanks, I have read the cycling a new tank page.
Guess we will have to upgrade our tank then, either that or just have a couple of fish.  I am guessing then that you can only have 2 or 3 fish in a tank this size?? 
I'm just wondering why they sell them if they are too small to really hold many fish?
I will let my partner know to take the barb back, hopefully they will take it.

 

[ails81]

oh and I have just found it the others are tiger loaches

 

[fishlover101]

A 5 gallon is very small for MANY fish.... let alone that many that will grow to such a large size... neons are EXTREMELY active and prefer big schools... my suggestion would be to consider upgrading to a 20 gal OR returning the fish and going for something less active... guppies can basically live in any size, although its not good for them and they wont thrive.... I have about 3 guppies in one of my 5 gals and they did fairly well...have you considered doing a planted tank and having a male betta? I have 4 males at the moment.... they are fascinating to watch and very interesting little guys..... hope this helped!

 

[ails81]

thank you fish lover that does help.  To be honest I'm a bit lost as to what to do and I am starting to think we shouldnt have got into this!
I will phone the shop tomorrow and see if they will take some of them back.  I am a bit annoyed they didnt even ask any questions about what tank we had or anything like that.  And then funnily enough the day after my partner popped to a big pet store who we purposely didnt buy the fish from as we thought we would be better off at a specific aquatic store, and the guy there quizzed him on all sorts.  So turns out we should probably have just gone to the big store in the first place.
So now we have spent a lot of money on things that arent right and stressed out all these poor fishes if we now take them back.  Not the best first experience of keeping fish 

 

[ShinySideUp]

We all make mistakes when we start but we get over it and continue a steep learning curve. If you can reduce your stocking as mentioned above to a level best suited to your tank then you can have a restart of this fascinating hobby safe in the knowledge that there are many people here who will guide you along the way.

 

[DeanoL83]

Welcome to TFF  Sorry that you haven't had the best first experience - I am new as well (first time with tropical fish ever) and am learning along the way too.  
 
Feel free to post any questions in here - there are many many knowledgeable people here who are happy to help.  I have learnt a lot by asking what I thought were stupid questions.  Over time, you'll get more confident and eventually start offering advice to others!
 
My tank is only 2 weeks old but I am absolutely fascinated by it and love watching all the fish.
 
One thing I have learned is to do research online (and this forum in particular) before buying any fish - decide first what type of fish would suit your tank and then go looking for those fish in particular.....not the other way around.  Don't go to a store and try and pick the best one there based on what the people at the LFS tell you - most will say anything to make a sale.
 
 
Hope you can get it sorted soon.

 

[Ninjouzata]

As has been mentioned pretty much none of the fish are suitable for this tank.
 
A lot of us get started on the wrong foot with bad advice from LFS so don't beat yourself up. I would return all of them since the tank isn't cycled and then work on cycling it and figuring out a suitable stocking.
 
If you do a fish-less cycle following the article already mentioned you'll want a liquid test kit (API is a popular brand), and some ammonia. You can find ammonia sources HERE.
Make sure you at least get tests for ammonia & nitrite though pH and nitrates are good to have too, as well as tests for kh and gh.
 
After it's cycled a single male betta would be good, if he is laid back he may accept shrimp or snails as tank mates too. I imagine one fish might sound boring at first but they have loads of personality!
 
When getting fish in the future I would ask about them here or look them up on seriouslyfish.
 

to the forum btw! Hope you enjoy it here and stick around~

 

[Byron]

oh and I have just found it the others are tiger loaches

These won't work either, another shoaling fish needing a group, and depending what species they are (common names are often applied to more than one species) they may get very large, over a foot.  Don't despair, many of us have been through this and learned form it, you will too.
 
This is a very scientific hobby, by which I mean that we are dealing with living creatures in an aquatic environment so even without our doing anything, chemical reactions will occur, fish will do this or that impacted by tank size, numbers, water parameters... it may sound insurmountable but it isn't.  Research first, acquire after is a good practice.
 
Byron.

 

[ails81]

thank you everyone, I realise now we have gone about it the wrong way.
My partner did prepare the tank but was told if he had it set up a week before we put fish in it would be fine which is what we did.
We do have all the ammonia and nitrite test kits already, I tested them earlier and ammonia was somewhere between 1 and 2 and nitrite about 1.  Partner is going to do a bit of a water change when he gets in from work.  They seem ok at the minute.
I am waiting for the aquatic shop to get back to us but had no response so far which is a bit frustrating to say the least.  And we did ask them if the fish were all ok to go together and if we had the right amount etc.
 
And to ask a stupid question how do I get back them back to the shop?  Will any type of polythene type bag be ok to transport them in?
Once we have heard back from the shop we can make a plan on our next step.  Maybe one fish would be nice, but it is nice to watch more than one so I'm not sure.
 
I have attached a pic of the stripey one i think is a loach maybe someone can confirm.  I really like these ones too they are really fun to watch, nosing about in the gravel all the time.
 
I have no doubt I will be back to pick brains once I know what we are doing next! 

Oh and something else I meant to ask, how do you know if you are feeding them the right amount?  I know it says whatever they can eat in 2minutes but how do you know the smaller ones are getting enough as the bigger ones eat most of it first.  I have been putting very small amounts in but it is gone in about 20seconds so have been putting a little bit more in and so on but I find it very difficult to know.

 

[Byron]

Yes, that is a loach and a clown loach which should attain 12 inches, with 8 to 12 being usual in aquaria, though it has been known to attain 16 inches.  When such fish are kept in small spaces even when young (they grow continually and rather fast at this stage) they may become improperly developed internally, sometimes stunted, and this leads to further health issues and a shortened lifespan.
 
Transporting the fish can be done in the bags they arrived in, or strong clean new ones.  Loaches have spines that they can erect under the eye when stressed and these will easily puncture bags.  Perhaps a large jar with a lid would be better.  And your aquarium is not large enough for any of the fish we have mentioned so far in this thread, so please find someone to take them (store, other hobbyists in the area, whatever).
 
Feeding fish we learn by experience.  My non-hobbyist neighbour once asked me how I knew how much to feed, and I couldn't answer.  Upper fish (not the loaches, these are substrate fish) should finish their feeding in a matter of seconds, a minute max, and the food should be gone.  Substrate fish pick away at sinking tablets and pellets and this takes longer.
 
Byron.

 

[ails81]

Thank you.  I am trying to find somewhere to take the fish but no luck so far and no response from the shop.  I will keep looking.

 

[ails81]

Ok managed to speak to shop and they will take them back so partner taking them over today.
So going to cycle tank again and do more research while doing that. Are we better just starting afresh with new water?

 

[Byron]

Ok managed to speak to shop and they will take them back so partner taking them over today.
So going to cycle tank again and do more research while doing that. Are we better just starting afresh with new water?

Yes.  I would drain the tank and frankly clean the filter well, and the gravel substrate, and wash off any decor.  Fish carry pathogens, and given that the fish that were in this tank were under stress (not only from the situation but just from being netted and put into a new environment) you don't want unwanted pathogens.
 
Research, ask questions here, and decide on possible fish.  You can be doing this while cycling the tank.  Give us your water parameters so we can better advise; some fish have preferences, especially the small fish suitable to this small tank, and it is better to acquire fish suited to your water as it makes life much simpler for fish and you.  There are very few fish that will work in a 5 gallon tank.
 
Byron.