New Pictures For A New Member:)

[Slufa111]

COuld figure out how to upload it so click the link to imageshack and youll see it

Fish are hiding



and one more bit clearer



Suggestions are welcome

Now that I have this, I want a bigger one.

I just got this a week ago, and I started the cycle with "starter" fish. After it is cycled, what are good fish to add? I want cool ones



-Paul

 

[K.J.]

Personally not my style. the decorations don't matter as long as the fish are happy. If it were me I'd change the substrate to something more natural, like pea gravel or sand, take out the ship and treasure chest and replace it with some big rocks. But then again, if it were me, I'd be spending $500 on live plants.

 

[Slufa111]

Personally not my style. the decorations don't matter as long as the fish are happy. If it were me I'd change the substrate to something more natural, like pea gravel or sand, take out the ship and treasure chest and replace it with some big rocks. But then again, if it were me, I'd be spending $500 on live plants.

yeah i mean the tank does look a tad noobish but it really is my first try at fish.

I would do something more natural and or better looking however, I dont know how

 

[K.J.]

It actually isnt too hard! You can buy some play sand or pea gravel at local hardware/pet stores. If you want to go natural you could still pick easier plants like java ferns or moss, anubias, vallisneria wisteria etc. You can create a cool look by piling round rocks in a pile, plus it makes great hiding places for fish. And a black background will really make the color of the whole setup pop out.

 

[Slufa111]

It actually isnt too hard! You can buy some play sand or pea gravel at local hardware/pet stores. If you want to go natural you could still pick easier plants like java ferns or moss, anubias, vallisneria wisteria etc. You can create a cool look by piling round rocks in a pile, plus it makes great hiding places for fish. And a black background will really make the color of the whole setup pop out.

isnt the sand too light and itll float all over the tank?

Any good online fish accessory websites?

 

[K.J.]

Not usually. Some can be annoying if they're stirred up but it's usually just dust taken care of by the filter, and soon that'll stop. Look around the Planted Aquarium Journals, really good ideas for sand/plants there.

 

[Christine1014]

Welcome to the forum and to fishkeeping! Your tank looks like a lot of newbies' tanks, but that's not a bad thing.... your tastes will evolve the longer your in the hobby and see pics of other people's tanks and figure out what you like or don't like. (I'm pretty sure this is a leading caus of Multiple Tank Syndrome!) I've had fish for years and one of my tanks has red gravel, a sucken ship, and a pirate's skull. But it's sort of become my husband's tank and he loves it (he's a kid at heart, what can I say?!) The bottom line is that as long your fish have some places to hide, the water quality's good, and you're happy with it, that's what counts.

 

[Slufa111]

Welcome to the forum and to fishkeeping! Your tank looks like a lot of newbies' tanks, but that's not a bad thing.... your tastes will evolve the longer your in the hobby and see pics of other people's tanks and figure out what you like or don't like. (I'm pretty sure this is a leading caus of Multiple Tank Syndrome!) I've had fish for years and one of my tanks has red gravel, a sucken ship, and a pirate's skull. But it's sort of become my husband's tank and he loves it (he's a kid at heart, what can I say?!) The bottom line is that as long your fish have some places to hide, the water quality's good, and you're happy with it, that's what counts.

well, thanks for the encouragement

I was reading about places to hide, you think they are adequate hiding in my tank. If not, what can I add? I would change most of my tank now that I think of it buuuuuuuut I dont want to disturb the cycle

 

[K.J.]

Yeah, I wouldn't do anything during the cycle. A good idea is to add ceramic pots, they love to swim in and out of them but once you get things like caves they usually aren't necessary. Also good for cave breeders, though I don't know if you have any?

 

[Christine1014]

As far as hiding places, I think you'll be okay for now; at least until you decide what fish you eventually want to keep. There are some fish that like to dig around in the gravel/substrate, so you if you end up with those, you end up having to take most decorations & plants and stuff out to protect them and your fish! But if you're just going with some standard beginner fish (mollys guppies, platies, danios, etc), I think you're okay. As for playing around with the look of the tank, I think the gravel is really the only thing you'd have to be careful of. You're cycling with fish, right? I think I'd worry that changing the gravel now could stir up a lot of gunk, and just the process switching it out might be kind of stressfull to you're already-stressed fish.

 

[Slufa111]

Yeah, I wouldn't do anything during the cycle. A good idea is to add ceramic pots, they love to swim in and out of them but once you get things like caves they usually aren't necessary. Also good for cave breeders, though I don't know if you have any?

I think Ill replace the plants on the left (or move them or just have one) and buy a rock in place of the NO FISHING thing

I guess my fish selection will be a little wide here......"real" fish is what I want. I wish i could get clowns but they are s/w

 

[Christine1014]

......"real" fish is what I want. I wish i could get clowns but they are s/w

I'm pretty sure at the LFS, they're all real (Reminds me of my mom who once bought a plastic, floating fish for one of those betta vase things...) But I sort of know what you mean.... something fun to watch, maybe a little less common, etc. etc.? The good news is that you'll have plenty of time to do research while your tank cycles and matures. Things to keep in mind are the size of your tank, what fish are compatable with what other kinds of fish, and what size groups each type of fish prefers. (What size is your tank? By the pic I'm guessing 10 gallon... if I'm right, there's a pinned topic somewhere - maybe in the newbie section? - of what fish are good in a ten gallon. One of the best ways of researching is to go to your LFS, see what you like, then go back home and google it, or ask people on here if it would work in your set up.... BEFORE you buy the fish! (I always feel so bad telling a person, "yeah, I know that's a cool looking little fish now, but it's going to grow to be two feet long, and you only have a 5 gallon tank"....)

 

[Slufa111]

......"real" fish is what I want. I wish i could get clowns but they are s/w

I'm pretty sure at the LFS, they're all real (Reminds me of my mom who once bought a plastic, floating fish for one of those betta vase things...) But I sort of know what you mean.... something fun to watch, maybe a little less common, etc. etc.? The good news is that you'll have plenty of time to do research while your tank cycles and matures. Things to keep in mind are the size of your tank, what fish are compatable with what other kinds of fish, and what size groups each type of fish prefers. (What size is your tank? By the pic I'm guessing 10 gallon... if I'm right, there's a pinned topic somewhere - maybe in the newbie section? - of what fish are good in a ten gallon. One of the best ways of researching is to go to your LFS, see what you like, then go back home and google it, or ask people on here if it would work in your set up.... BEFORE you buy the fish! (I always feel so bad telling a person, "yeah, I know that's a cool looking little fish now, but it's going to grow to be two feet long, and you only have a 5 gallon tank"....)

I do plan on upgrading at some point. when i boght the 10 gallon I thought it was big enough but its very small. Maybe 29 gallons would be a good upgrade, give the 10 to my gf or sister

 

[tropicman]

Hi and welcome your tan is looking ok atthe moment but may i ask what sort of fish that is in the bottom left hand corner behind the" no Fishing" sign as it looks died

 

[Slufa111]

Hi and welcome your tan is looking ok atthe moment but may i ask what sort of fish that is in the bottom left hand corner behind the" no Fishing" sign as it looks died

No he isn't dead hehe. They are called fruit salad tetra. Thats what it said on the tank. he is actually very active and swims around alot.