Hello Fishpeople

[Marfy]

Hello to you all'
 
My name is Martin and I am from Kent.
 
Well I decided to join these forums as I am completely new to keeping fish so it would be nice to join a community that will be able to help me along the way.
 
I have always wanted to keep Tropical fish but I had children at an early age and well they took over my life but now they have become slightly less needy and I do mean slightly I now have time to start my new hobby.
 
My dad used to have tropical fish when I was younger and lived at home, I used to love watching them and help care for them but alas I cant really remember that much about keeping them.
 
My partner's friends dad moved house recently and as such decided that he didn't want to carry on with his hobby and as a result was giving all his gear as well as fish away, my partner knew that I wanted to start keeping fish and told her friends dad that we would have them and now they are in my house and swimming around the tank.
Unfortunately for me I was at work when the fish were dropped off and he set the tank up without me, and although I assume that he has set everything up correctly I have had no time to study up on keeping them I have kind of been dropped in the deep end and have no clue where to start.
 
Anyway that's my story so far, you may see quite a few questions posted in the help me section.  
 
I will post a few pics of my fish and tank so far but be warned it looks like a very basic set up at the moment I am reluctant to touch anything yet until I sort of know what I am doing.
 

 

[Ch4rlie]

to the forum!
 
That's good you are asking and going to find out more before going any further with your fish tank.
 
First off, i'd recommend you read this article first 
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/
 
Then you will also need some ammonia and/or bacteria starter which may help your chyle process go bit quicker, here is a link to help you get an idea of which products you'll need for your fishless cycle.
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/427161-ammonia-and-bacteria-starter-sources/
 
Hope that helps a little bit for you.
 
Glad to have you aboard and hope you enjoy the forum.

 

[MrJerry]

welcome
 
the forum is really help full and you will be up and running in know time .......
 
good place to look at or ask if your stuck i know cos iv done it haha

 

[Fishmanic]

did you use the old  media from the filter--you will want to leave that old media in so as to make the cycling go faster---with old media, cycling could take about a week-----if you have to start from scratch you may be doing daily water changes for a month or longer to keep the ammonia and nitrites close to 0---you need to buy a liquid test kit such as API to keep and eye on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels 

 

[Marfy]

Thank you for your warm welcome 
 
I will check out them links you sent me asap, I know that there is so much to learn when it comes to looking after tropical fish but it is something that I have wanted to do for so long so I am more than happy to learn.
 
Again thank you for your help this far 

 

[Stimo]

welcome

 

[Marfy]

did you use the old  media from the filter--you will want to leave that old media in so as to make the cycling go faster---with old media, cycling could take about a week-----if you have to start from scratch you may be doing daily water changes for a month or longer to keep the ammonia and nitrites close to 0---you need to buy a liquid test kit such as API to keep and eye on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels 

Just checked with the original owner as he set everything up while I was at work and yes he did use the old media , I will be getting some test kits tomorrow. 

 

[Ninjouzata]

to TFF! I hope you enjoy it here.
 
If you can get some pictures of the fish someone here should be able to ID them for you. Glad you're picking up a test kit ASAP. Hopefully there will be no issues since he used the old media.

 

[Marfy]

to TFF! I hope you enjoy it here.
 
If you can get some pictures of the fish someone here should be able to ID them for you. Glad you're picking up a test kit ASAP. Hopefully there will be no issues since he used the old media.

Thanks again for the welcome 
 
Yeah I will get some pics up and some fish id'd I think I know a couple of them but I would look a right plonker if I am wrong so I will let the pro's tell me what they are XD

 

[508]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Hello! My only point is to get a LIQUID test kit.
 
 
Welcome aboard!

 

[Marfy]

Hey guys and gals have a few pics for you to take a look at

 

 

 

 
I do have another fish that will not come out and play when he does come out I will get a snap of him

 

[ReMz]

Hey Marfy.
 
Welcome. Thank you so much for being responsible and coming here for some answers.

 
Good to hear the tank might still be "cycled" - meaning that the beneficial bacteria in the filter is converting harmful fish waste into much less harmful waste product.
 
How large is the tank? If you do not know, take a width x length x height measurement and we can tell you or you can simply google a tank gallon calculator.
 
First pic is a.... *sips wine*... geesh. some sort of loach if I am remembering correctly. I've forgotten a lot since i've been inactive on the forums. Someone can chime in there.
 
Pic 2: tetras - hard to tell the kind form the pic but harmless.
 
Pic 3: Common Pleco (looks good)... I hope it is a big tank or you are going to need to rehome.
 
Pic 4: Molly
 
.... let us know when you get a water test kit. I can't stress enough how important this is.

 

[Ninjouzata]

That first one looks like a chinese algae eater. If it is..you want to re-home that. As they get bigger they stop eating algae and start going after other fishes slime coats
Those tetras are different, right? Or is just the picture? The bottom one looks like a silver tip tetra except that one looks orange rather than yellow. Could be the lighting?
Third I'd have to agree with ReMz. Same for 4th. In the background of it there are neon tetras.

 

[Gruntle]

Welcome to the forum.
 
I would hope your donor loved his fish and did the right thing setting up. Don't panic, like a lot of people have already said, get a test kit and test your water frequently until you're sure everything is in order.
 
I can't remember who said it, but "if it looks like something is wrong, DO A WATER CHANGE and then work out what's going on." If it takes a while to get your kit, watch the behaviour of your fish, if they look like they're "gasping" or sucking at the surface, change as much water as you can immediately (of course using a water treatment like Prime).
 
And please ask as many questions as you need to. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask.