Hi All Another Newbie To The Group

[Fragglerocks]

Hi everybody,

Been married 5 yrs now so we have decided to take the plunge and get a pet, lol only jk but bare with me.

Serious note, Me and the wifey have always wanted a fish tank but tried and failed before, more our fault as we did not have a clue about tank cycling amonia and other chemicals. But we also blame the shop as we said we have never kept fish, they just said they will be fine just fill the tank with water turn the pumps on and in go the fish. lieing gits eh.

So 4 yrs later we have decided to try again my step dad donated us a little tank it measures 18 inches long 10 inches high and 10 inches deep. Could some one please tell me how many gallons that is please.

Next couple of days we will be buying all the amenities (or how ever u spell it) as well as the ph tester ammonia etc etc and start the fishless cycle, but in the meen time i am getting info on fish. personaly i want a nice tank but not one that has all the common fish in, if u get me and i realy like the look of the pygmy dwarf blowfish but i am led to beleave that i can not keep any other fish with him.

What would u lot put in a tank of this size, pref would like a good mixture with at least one school or how ever u spell that lol.

Thanks all
Your friendly Fraggle.

 

[pauly]

Hi Fraggle,

My advice would be to read read and read. There's loads of newbie threads on here that are really useful. Some bullet points to remember though:

• keep your water clean (regular water changes)
• don't over feed (little pinch of food every other day)
• don't over stock (1 inch of fish per gallon)

Your tank is about 6.5 UK Gallons / 29.5 Litres.

Good luck

Paul.

 

[dwarfgourami]

In a tank this size, I probably would go for a dwarf puffer. Plenty of character, great fun.

Other suggestions:

one betta (Siamese fighter) and maybe a small group of pygmy corydoras or shrimps
or
5-6 male endlers, v. colourful
or
1 sparkling gourami + otos/pygmy corys
or
(if you can find them) a small group of heterandria formosa- they are so small you could even breed them in there
or
(if you have soft water) a group of tiny rasboras, not the harlequins you see in most shops, but there are micro-species

 

[Musho3210]

If you want something quite peculiar try out a mossy RCS (red cherry shrimp) tank The green moss and brown driftwood will go really well with the red bodies of the shrimp.

 

[rowdyburns21]

In a tank this size, I probably would go for a dwarf puffer. Plenty of character, great fun.

Other suggestions:

one betta (Siamese fighter) and maybe a small group of pygmy corydoras or shrimps
or
5-6 male endlers, v. colourful
or
1 sparkling gourami + otos/pygmy corys
or
(if you can find them) a small group of heterandria formosa- they are so small you could even breed them in there
or
(if you have soft water) a group of tiny rasboras, not the harlequins you see in most shops, but there are micro-species

Agree with the puffer idea I love their character, welcome to the forum

 

[Fragglerocks]

Thanks all for the info i think i will go the puffer route is there another few fish i could add to the tank with a puffer as i would like a few in there if not it will be the most spoilt puffer ever.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Puffers do not make good community fish, being vicious little things. However, you might be able to keep either a male and female dwarf puffer, or one puffer and some otos.

 

[james morrisontoxic2]

hi and welcome

 

[waterdrop]

Hello there Fraggle couple and welcome to TFF!

Great that you have given thought and decided to come back for another more serious try at the hobby, its really fun and rewarding.

Its sounds like you are pretty set on your nice little tank and beginning to even get ideas for the stocking. Just as a sort of "check" I thought I might mention (mostly just so you can reject it but at least have thought about it) that you could consider using the 8 gallon as a hospital/quarantine tank and perhaps find room somewhere in the house for a tank in the 20 gallon (75L ish) range. Beginning fishkeeping is somewhat the opposite of what one might think in that larger water volumes are actually -easier- than smaller volumes. The larger amount of water tends to dilute and slow down developing problems, giving beginners more time to detect that something is wrong. Its also gives one more flexibility to try out a few more species in the first community of fish and get to know them.

Anyway, your plan may be already too set for this but seemed now would be the time to throw it out for some thinking, as it will be harder to make that change from this point forward because you will have bought equipment sized for the little 8 gallon. Being able to discuss things here prior to choosing each piece of equipment is exceptionally lucky compared to the point at which we meet up with most beginners!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[PhoenixWizard]

Go with the puffer ive had 2 before they had special little characters

 

[waterdrop]

Ugh!, yet another ancient thread that was pulled up and we didn't notice the date!