Jus Started

[mickyc]

Hi I hav recently moved and acquired a small 40ish litre heated aquarium that the previous tenant just left,it was plugged in and heater on and the fish seem quite healthy to my novice eyes,the previous tennant has left without a forwarding address.It has 5 small fish in it an I would like to know wot they r. All r small, 3 are quite colourful and have fancy tails, i googled em n i think might be mollies. the other 2 look the same are a bit bigger, not as fancy, one is black and one is white. Any ideas and advice wud b greatly appreciated thanks ! ps the two bigger ones seem 2 b protecting an area from the other 3. It is planted with live plants and has sum small balls of wot look like moss on the bottom. cheers

 

[jkilby]

Any chance of some pictures, it will lead to a much faster and more accurate identification.

Thanks

 

[mickyc]

Ill try but they move real fast and theres not many of em, i think the last tennant left 3 weeks ago so ive fed em wen i moved in yesterday and they seemed real hungry poor things, cheers

 

[mickyc]

Ill try but they move real fast and theres not many of em, i think the last tennant left 3 weeks ago so ive fed em wen i moved in yesterday and they seemed real hungry poor things, cheers

 

[mickyc]

Im struggling to upload pics, crap laptop im afraid sorry.The 3 lil ones r about 1.5 inches long, various bright coloured and the other 2 are maybe 2 inches each one is all black and one is all white, move very fast and spend most of the time @ the top of the tank. I have just noticed attached to the bottom of one of the plants is a small tangle of wot looks like white or cream matter ??? The two bigger fish seem to be protecting it ??? Sorry for my ignorance but this wasnt planned at all. Ive managed to find out wot the moss balls are though.

 

[fluttermoth]

Hey there mickey; congrats on your new tank

I've got a few tips to help you along the way.

First of all, don't put any tap water in the tank. You need to treat it with a dechlorinator (some times called 'water conditioner' or 'tap safe' or something like that) first, as the chlorine is very bad for the fish.

Second don't wash the filter out under the tap! There are good bacteria in there that keep the water from being poisoned by the fish's waste.

Third; don't overfeed the fish; it'll just pollute the water. A fish's stomach is only about the size of it's eye, so they don't need very much; as much as they can eat in two or three minutes once or twice a day is plenty.

Lastly, have a read of the articles in our beginner's resource centre (the link is in my sig below) and please don't hesitate to come back with any questions you may have

I think your smaller fish might be guppies and the larger ones mollies; have a google and see what you think.

 

[mickyc]

Hey there mickey; congrats on your new tank

I've got a few tips to help you along the way.

First of all, don't put any tap water in the tank. You need to treat it with a dechlorinator (some times called 'water conditioner' or 'tap safe' or something like that) first, as the chlorine is very bad for the fish.

Second don't wash the filter out under the tap! There are good bacteria in there that keep the water from being poisoned by the fish's waste.

Third; don't overfeed the fish; it'll just pollute the water. A fish's stomach is only about the size of it's eye, so they don't need very much; as much as they can eat in two or three minutes once or twice a day is plenty.

Lastly, have a read of the articles in our beginner's resource centre (the link is in my sig below) and please don't hesitate to come back with any questions you may have

I think your smaller fish might be guppies and the larger ones mollies; have a google and see what you think.

 

[mickyc]

Thanks alot for that, think ur right, i had a look on google images and u seem to be right.. Like I sed this tank was abandoned in the apartment by the previous tenant for three weeks without any incident. So the water was already in there and the tank is nearly full to the top.
I just moved in an low an behold a fishy family. Ive just had a really gud look in and there is a red shrimplike thing in there aswell ( very small hidden under a rock ) ?? Is this ok and wot the hell is it ? also any idea about the white tangle attached to the bottom of a plant ? thanks for any advice, I really like the idea of keeping the tank as its very nice to look @ cheers

 

[fluttermoth]

There are freshwater shrimp; it's probably a cherry shrimp.

I'm not sure about the 'white tangle' it couldn't just be the roots of the plants could it? Or sometimes plants come with their roots wrapped in something called 'rockwool' that is exactly like roof insulation; could it be that? If it is that, it won't do any harm but the plant would grow better without it.

 

[mickyc]

Shrimp eh ? thought they lived in the sea ( told u I was new to this ) U cud be right about the white stuff but the two mollies seem to be stopping the other 3 from going near it, its kinda hooked to the bottom of the plant in the corner of the tank near the heater bulb.. Oh well chees anyway, ill see how I get on with it. just one more thing with it only being a small tank approx 35 to 40 litres i wud guess is it fully stocked or cud i if i wanted get sum more in the future

 

[fluttermoth]

Freshwater shrimp are quite new in the hobby, so it's not surprising that you haven't heard of them

Mollies can be quite territorial, but it won't be eggs or a nest or anything, as both mollies and guppies are livebearers.

Your tank is probably fully stocked; you could always get a larger one

 

[mickyc]

great thanks for your help, sure ill be bak soon lol