My New Tank - Cycle & Design Ideas

[analioness]

Hi All,

I bought a 4 Ft fish tank last week. I've never owned fish before. The previous owner sold me the entire setup including the fish (a few zebra danios, convicts, angelfish, a type of catfish and a blue something...I still can't remember all the names). The fish are currently being minded at the pet store and I am keen to get them in as its costing me $10 per week to keep them there.

I've been fish-less cycling for a week now. On filling the tank, I added water conditioning salt and declorinator (which turned by water blue, and has since subsided). I had my water tested by the fish store and they said that there was 0.5 - 1 ammonia and the Ph was 7.0, there was a small amount of nitrates present (she didnt write a figure down, but must have seen a change) and my GH was 190.

The only advice she gave me was to change 1/4 of the water, let it run and retest in a week. That was 2 days ago. I have since changed the water twice, hoping to speed things up, and I plan to go back in to test again in another 2 days.

The previous owner told me that he kept the fish in fresh water and didn't de-chlorinate or condition the water and they were doing just fine.

I was just curious what peoples thoughts were on bringing in the fish now, slowly, a few at a time rather than waiting until the cycle is over, which could be 8 weeks or so and $80 later

I'd rather spend that money on the fake plants and ornaments

Which leads me to another question, anyone know of good sites where I can purchase great looking ornaments and fake plants (delivered to Australia)? I found aquaticsupplies.com.au to look realistic, however a picture is always different until you see it in real life. I also need some ideas for landscaping...i.e. what plants work better than others etc?

Attached is my current bare bones setup.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Firstly, your tank should have been cycled when you bought it. Yes there may be a mini cycle from moving it, but not enough to do damage. That is unless you scrubbed the filter and replaced all the media. As for speeding it up, put in a couple of table shrimp to rot. It adds ammonia as it breaks down, and do no water changes until you have zero ammonia and nitrites, and start showing nitrates.
Secondly, the convict doesn't belong with the rest of your fish. These can be seriously aggressive. The blue something needs to be identified as well. It may not be compatible also.
If you can post pics of the fish, someone here can i.d. it for you.

 

[analioness]

Firstly, your tank should have been cycled when you bought it. Yes there may be a mini cycle from moving it, but not enough to do damage. That is unless you scrubbed the filter and replaced all the media. As for speeding it up, put in a couple of table shrimp to rot. It adds ammonia as it breaks down, and do no water changes until you have zero ammonia and nitrites, and start showing nitrates.
Secondly, the convict doesn't belong with the rest of your fish. These can be seriously aggressive. The blue something needs to be identified as well. It may not be compatible also.
If you can post pics of the fish, someone here can i.d. it for you.

I scrubbed the tank and all accessories/rocks with salt and water before knowing that was a no no. But in other terms, I was worried about bad bacterial too.

Should I just add the shrimp in a cup with some rocks so it floats or straight in frozen? The lady at the aquarium shop told me this would make alot of mess and not do much with ammonia after I told her about that. Grr...conflicting advice for beginners is difficult.

As for the fish species, they also told me that they shouldn't be put together but seem to be ok together. They currently have the convicts/danios them separated in the same tank to the others. Maybe I just donate them to the fish shop.

Attached is a pic of the fish

 

[thereverendturtle]

Yeah, just throw a shrimp in. Won't make much mess, the bacteria will eat it as it breaks down. Once the tank is cycled just remove any remainder.
As for the fish, definitely get rid of the convicts. The danios will be fine if you like them. The blue fish is an opaline gourami, can be aggressive, but typically with other gouramis. I also see a Hypsophrys nicaraguensis, these are a central American cichlid, and vary in temperament. Some are very peaceful, others are total brutes. The angel is a good fish with most other fish, but they are cichlids as well, so may show some aggression.
I hope this helps.
See if the store will give you credit on the fish you don't want. May off set the cost of them boarding them a bit.
Sorry I can't help you with decorations, the only place I can recommend is eBay. Sometimes you can get good deals on there.