Hey Guys,
My names Matthew and recently started an interest in fish within the past month or so with my partner.
It all started out with a goldfish tank.... one fancy goldfish and 3 cloud minnows.
Two days later... the circular fish bowl was replaced with a tropical fish tank, 5 gallon hexagonal, with internal filter in the hood. The first horrendous event was setting up the tank absolutely perfect; small brown gravel, with a "stream" of blue larger pebbles through the middle of it, with silver pebbles lining it (will add pictures when I find the lead for my phone!!). A Japanese bridge joins one side of the "land" to the other side, with a pagoda on one side, and greenery on the other. Filled the tank with water, preparing for its natural cycle. It looked great, sitting on a lovely glass coffee table. The two of us sat back to admire our work and crash - 5 gallons of water, a broken coffee table and fish tank all over the floor of my room. Needless to say this was not welcome after all our hard work, at 3am. After 2 hours of clearing we finally got it all cleared up, and bought a cold water version of the tank the next day. (So now we have a replacement light, pump, lid etc).
Learning from our mistakes, our tank is now on a more stable surface. After following advice and allowing the natural cycle to occur, we introduced the three minnows, along with another, and 4 new neons. They adapted excellently and get on very very well.
Saturday past, we were in the fish shop getting nessesary bits and pieces, and could not resist an Angel Fish we saw (fully grown). The pet shop owner seemed reliable, and we fell into the trap of buing the pair. Admittedly the tank may be slightly small for them, however they seem completely comfortable, and have not irritated the other fish as of yet, and vice versa. After reading some advice on the internet this may not have been the best course of action, in impulse buying. They seem OK at the minute however, and my friend has a tank at hand if we need to move them. We intend on getting a larger tank of our own when we get our new house in July. Until then, we only have 5 gallons of water. The advantage is the tank is quite tall. Before introducing them, the better half attempted to use a gravel clearner on the bottom of the tank, and messed up our design. Needless to say, they spent the rest of the night recreating the stream, into a kind of pond in the middle of the tank.
Only today we bought an external pump to add an air stone to the bottom of the tank. The desired image is complete, and if I don't mind saying so, for a beginners tank, it looks pretty damn fine.
However, this aside, we realise that this is not all there is to fish keeping. So I have a few questions, and then any further advice is welcome.
1. Should I turn the external pump off at night?
2. Feeding the fish - I don't go by what the food says... before the angel fish I was feeding a small amount of flakes each day. The pet shop recommended once every two days. When I put some flakes in the tank, the angel fish immediately go for the food, and I have to keep putting flakes in until the angel fish stop eating and let the flakes fall. On the bright side, they are not letting any fall, causing bacteria. So how often should I do this, this way?
3. I have a thermometer on the side which I monitor - however I do not have anything to measure PH levels etc, because I'm not too sure about them. Do I have to invest in this?
So far, we have spent around £250 setting up a small tank - an expensive yet enjoyable hobby. I dont want anythign to go horribly wrong, and our beginners luck hasn't been great. Any help is welcome.
Not a great pic... but I'm working on it
Many Thanks,
Matthew
My names Matthew and recently started an interest in fish within the past month or so with my partner.
It all started out with a goldfish tank.... one fancy goldfish and 3 cloud minnows.
Two days later... the circular fish bowl was replaced with a tropical fish tank, 5 gallon hexagonal, with internal filter in the hood. The first horrendous event was setting up the tank absolutely perfect; small brown gravel, with a "stream" of blue larger pebbles through the middle of it, with silver pebbles lining it (will add pictures when I find the lead for my phone!!). A Japanese bridge joins one side of the "land" to the other side, with a pagoda on one side, and greenery on the other. Filled the tank with water, preparing for its natural cycle. It looked great, sitting on a lovely glass coffee table. The two of us sat back to admire our work and crash - 5 gallons of water, a broken coffee table and fish tank all over the floor of my room. Needless to say this was not welcome after all our hard work, at 3am. After 2 hours of clearing we finally got it all cleared up, and bought a cold water version of the tank the next day. (So now we have a replacement light, pump, lid etc).
Learning from our mistakes, our tank is now on a more stable surface. After following advice and allowing the natural cycle to occur, we introduced the three minnows, along with another, and 4 new neons. They adapted excellently and get on very very well.
Saturday past, we were in the fish shop getting nessesary bits and pieces, and could not resist an Angel Fish we saw (fully grown). The pet shop owner seemed reliable, and we fell into the trap of buing the pair. Admittedly the tank may be slightly small for them, however they seem completely comfortable, and have not irritated the other fish as of yet, and vice versa. After reading some advice on the internet this may not have been the best course of action, in impulse buying. They seem OK at the minute however, and my friend has a tank at hand if we need to move them. We intend on getting a larger tank of our own when we get our new house in July. Until then, we only have 5 gallons of water. The advantage is the tank is quite tall. Before introducing them, the better half attempted to use a gravel clearner on the bottom of the tank, and messed up our design. Needless to say, they spent the rest of the night recreating the stream, into a kind of pond in the middle of the tank.
Only today we bought an external pump to add an air stone to the bottom of the tank. The desired image is complete, and if I don't mind saying so, for a beginners tank, it looks pretty damn fine.
However, this aside, we realise that this is not all there is to fish keeping. So I have a few questions, and then any further advice is welcome.
1. Should I turn the external pump off at night?
2. Feeding the fish - I don't go by what the food says... before the angel fish I was feeding a small amount of flakes each day. The pet shop recommended once every two days. When I put some flakes in the tank, the angel fish immediately go for the food, and I have to keep putting flakes in until the angel fish stop eating and let the flakes fall. On the bright side, they are not letting any fall, causing bacteria. So how often should I do this, this way?
3. I have a thermometer on the side which I monitor - however I do not have anything to measure PH levels etc, because I'm not too sure about them. Do I have to invest in this?
So far, we have spent around £250 setting up a small tank - an expensive yet enjoyable hobby. I dont want anythign to go horribly wrong, and our beginners luck hasn't been great. Any help is welcome.
Not a great pic... but I'm working on it
Many Thanks,
Matthew
