Hi. Total novice

[Stumpweasel]

hello. new to this forum and fishkeeping. From not so sunny scotland. Hoping for some advice on my start up if thats ok.
Just bought a 2nd hand fluval edge 46l tank. Its come with gravel, decorations etc. Ive also had a shopping spree and bought the following. Dechlorinater, bacteria startup, filter sponges, air sponges etc.
I want to give my future new fish the nice home they deserve so could i ask some questions?
The tank dosent leak and all works fine but it does need a clean, whats the best way of cleaning it and the gravel and decorations.
When i fill with water is it ok to add dechlorinator and bacteria starter together? Ive ordered ammonia and nitrate test strips so even with bacteria starter i want to make sure its perfect before adding fish. The article on new tank syndrome i read sounds horrific for fish so want to avoid that like the plague!
Lastly (for now haha) id like to keep blue shrimp and blue fish so apart from neon tetras what would be a pretty, peaceful blue fish to have. And for a 46l tank how many?
And breathe
Thankyou for reading to end!

 

[Fiji]

Welcome to the hobby!
Before you do anything tank related I highly suggest you read up on the nitrogen cycle.
As for cleaning, I just run the decor under tap water, just do NOT use soap to clean anything you are putting into the tank due to the residue left behind can be harmful to inhabitants.
Did your tank come with a filter? If not then I'd recommend looking at Fluval or Aquaclear.

For testing water parameters, test strips have been known to be quite inaccurate, I'd also highly recommend the API Master test kit. It can be a little pricey but it is totally worth it in my opinion.

46l (~12 gallons) is a pretty small tank so your options are pretty limited here. Neon tetras would be fine, but also look into other small fish like guppies, rasboras, and possibly barbs (not tigers). I wouldn't recommend shrimp for your first tank as they can be quite sensitive to water conditions; but if you must have shrimp you could probably put about 10 in there, depending on the other fish.

Any questions are welcomed! Good Luck!

 

[Essjay]

You will need to cycle the tank before getting any fish. The best way is the method written up on here http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ When you add the first dose of ammonia you may as well also add the bacterial starter as you have bought it; you might be lucky and find it speeds up the cycle, but it is quite likely to do nothing, I'm afraid.
And I agree with fji, liquid testers, the kind with test tubes, are better than strip testers. The master kits also contain testers for pH and nitrate.
A toothbrush - a cheap new one - is ideal for cleaning in tight corners.


The Edge is not as easy tank to stock as even the 46 litre version is only 43 cm long - it has the same footprint as the 23 litre version, it is just taller. This lack of length for the fish to swim across limits the fish that can be kept to small fish that 'pootle' round rather than dash around. But you have a few weeks while the tank is cycling to decide on fish.
The first step is to test the pH of your tap water - both freshly run and some that has been allowed to stand overnight - and find out how hard your tap water is. This should be available somewhere on your water company's website; if you can't find it post the name of the company and we'll see what we can find. Though as you are in Scotland, there is a good chance you have soft water.
The next step is to take a trip round all your local shops and see what fish they stock. Make a note of any fish that catch your eye, including the latin name if they give it as that makes it easier to search for fish on-line. Don't tell them you are doing a fishless cycle as most shop workers don't believe in fishless cycling, just say you are trying to make your mind up if they pressure you.
Finally, lookup the fish you've seen on http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ You need to check if the fish are suitable for your tank size and your water hardness, as well as reading up on their behaviour.

Post any wish-lists on here and the experts can advise if the fish on the list will be OK in this tank and with each other.


One final comment for this post. Don't believe anything a shop says till you've checked it for yourself, either with the members on here or on Seriously Fish. Some shops give terrible advice and their only aim is to make a sale.

 

[Stumpweasel]

Thankyou very much for replies. Ill follow advice to the letter. I can only have a small tank as space is lacking so i totally understand ill be limited. Id much rather a small amount of happy fish than lots of unhappy guys.
Ive cleaned the tank and gravel in just water and very diluted vinegar solution rinsed thoroughly and am now waiting on supplies ie filter sponges coming. Should be here tomorrow.
Ill get ammonia this weekend. Im terrified of this new tank syndrome thing so if it takes months to get tank conditions right before new fish so be it.
Your right (im a farmhand so stock husbandry is def my thing) i would never listen to shop staff so hopefully you guys wont mind me badgering you all haha.
In my head ive got blue or black fish. Even for a small tank id like a bit of a theme if possible. My thing is halloween so if i can find fish that would be comfy in a small tank that are either of these colours id be a happy bunny.

 

[Essjay]

You have obviously come across shop workers' advice before


Before we can suggest fish, we need to know how hard your water is. I know that a lot of fishkeepers in Scotland have very soft water but we need to know if yours is the same, or if your area is the exception.
Have a look at your water supplier's website. Hardness should be on there, somewhere. We need the number and the unit as they could use any of about half a dozen units.

 

[Stumpweasel]

I know from working with livestock not to listen to sales reps touting mineral blocks etc
Ok from Scottish Water pdf ive found our info.
MgCa/1 - 10.5
Mag - 1.36
Hardness as Mg/1caco3
So classed as soft.

Any suggestions on nice blue or black fish that would like my tank to be their new home?
I would love some blue shrimp in the future. Years ago before farming i worked in the fishing industry and always loved any crustaceans.

 

[Essjay]

Now that we know you have soft water, have a look at green neon tetras. They are also called false neon tetras. Don't let the name green put you off because they only look green when looked at from a certain angle, the rest of the time they look blue. They do have some red on them but a lot less than their close relatives neon tetras and cardinal tetras.
There are some grey bodied fish which have blue eyes such as Norman's lampeyes.
And some killifish, though I don't know much about these so I'm not sure if they'd be OK in a 43 cm long tank.

There is also a blue variety of dwarf gourami but I would advise against these. They are very disease prone fish which is why I don't recommend them.

For black fish, what about pygmy cories. OK, they are grey with a black stripe rather than pure black but I can't think of any black fish suitable for a Fluval Edge and soft water.




When you look round shops you will see blue and black guppies and platies. These are hard water fish and won't do well in your soft water. Please resist buying any!



I'm sure other members will be able to think of more blue and black fish

 

[Stumpweasel]

Wow you guys are so helpful thankyou. Ok i really like those lampeyes but i fear as a novice keeper from what ive read i wont be skilled enough to provide the water conditions theyd prefer. Im not dead set on black or blue fish (was just my preferred options) id much rather whatever fish i have to be happy and healthy and to be able to sit watching them after a hard day dosing uncoperative sheep!
I promises no guppies or platies.
Can i keep (sorry for laymans term) fish that like to attach to side or bottom of tank? Id guess algae feeders?
I do like the look of those tetras too.
Ive so much to learn!!

 

[Essjay]

The fish that like to attach themselves to glass etc are plecs. There are hundreds of species of plecs, and some of them grow a lot bigger than your tank! There are small species, but I would advise against them in your tank. Otocinclus are a shoaling species, unlike most plecs, so you would need at least half a dozen of them. But a 46 litre tank won't be able to grow enough algae to feed this many fish.
If you get those blue shrimps eventually they will help with algae - though some algae in a tank is natural, it's when it gets out of hand that causes problems. And the best thing then is to find out why there is so much algae and correct whatever is out of balance (that's usually one or more of plant food, carbon dioxide and light)

If you don't mind red fish, look at ember tetras or one of the Boraras species. These both like soft water. Ember tetras will look pale orange in the shop tank but once they've settled in they would become deep orange red.

 

[Stumpweasel]

Now youve gone and done it! Totally in love with the mosquito rasbora. My tank is 43 x 26 x 59 cm. it does state this wee beauty prefers a slighter bigger base dimension but would i be being cruel with my tank? And bonus they could be and would be happy with shrimp as tank mates.
I will read up more but if theres a chance i can have them then i would be delighted. They look like wee devils so they also fit the halloween theme.

 

[Essjay]

Boraras brigittae should be fine even with a couple of cm less than recommended. You are more likely to find them called chili rasboras in shops, and they will be pale little stressed things in shop tanks.

One thing I should say is that these small shoaling fish do better in larger shoals than bigger fish. And by larger I mean at least 10 of them, though more is better. Although you need small fish because of the footprint of the tank, you can have a couple of large shoals because of the volume of the tank.
These small fish also tend to be timid so you will need some decor for them to hide in. It sounds backwards but they come out more when they know there are hiding places for them to rush into if they get scared.
One thing to consider while you are cycling - live plants. With the Edge having just that small access hole, the easiest plants to start with are java fern or anubias attached to small pieces of wood. If you do decide on this, wood needs to be soaked to make it sink, so now is the time to get it and let it soak in a bucket while the tank cycles. I have a 180 litre tank full of wood with plants attached so I am biased

 

[Stumpweasel]

This is fantastic news! Ive set it all up with new filter media and added the dechlorinator and bacteria supplement. Testing strips havent arrived yet but ill get ammonia and wood on saturday. And look at plants too. Im not a fan of artifical plants so live ones it is. And while im there ill look at fish too. Thankyou so much youve been a fountain of knowledge.

 

[Essjay]

You may find that you have to get the ammonia from Ebay or Amazon. Not many shops sell it - and fish shops never do. If you find Jeyes Kleen Off Household Ammonia that is a good one to use as it does not contain any detergent or perfume etc. It doesn't say on the bottle but it is 9.5% (for using in the ammonia calculator in the calculator section of the How To Tips). I got some of that from my local DIY shop. Homebase is another shop that might sell it - if there's still one open near you.