New Tank - Please Help

[New to fish]

Hi

My six year old wanted a pet so have bought our first tropical tank but did not realise how complicated this fish keeping is!

The tank holds 30 litres and we set it all up (gravel, real plants, treated water but minus the fish) three days ago. Was told by the pet shop to 'run it for a week before buying our first fish to cycle the tank'. But having read about the ammonia/nitrite cycle will keeping it running for a week benefit? Or do I need a fish to cycle the tank?

I do not fancy 'fishfree cycling' as it sounds quite complicated - but also do not fancy killing any fish.

So when and what fish should I start with?

What testing strips do I need?

Also planning to have four small fish in total - is this about right? or can I have more or need less?

Any help would be great.

 

[Nevergone815]

I'm no good with converting but 30litres is about 7.5 gallons right? If you don't like fishless cycling my suggestion would be cycling your tank with a 2 or 3 hardy fish, maybe platies or swordtails. I myself find female bettas to be great cycling fish. In that size tank you can really only have 3-4 small fish (platies, female bettas,fancy guppies (do not cycle with guppies though, they are sensitive fish) ect.) and maybe 2-3 small cories (bronze, pigmy or albino) These fish have always worked well for me, and this is all my personal opinion. Also, with cycling with fish there is always a chance of a sick fish, so I recommend getting a small 2ish gallon quarantine tank, and pick up some meds (maracyn, tetracycline ect) just incase. Also test strips aren't horribly accurate, liquid test kits are much more reliable. Hope i helped

 

[New to fish]

I'm no good with converting but 30litres is about 7.5 gallons right? If you don't like fishless cycling my suggestion would be cycling your tank with a 2 or 3 hardy fish, maybe platies or swordtails. I myself find female bettas to be great cycling fish. In that size tank you can really only have 3-4 small fish (platies, female bettas,fancy guppies (do not cycle with guppies though, they are sensitive fish) ect.) and maybe 2-3 small cories (bronze, pigmy or albino) These fish have always worked well for me, and this is all my personal opinion. Also, with cycling with fish there is always a chance of a sick fish, so I recommend getting a small 2ish gallon quarantine tank, and pick up some meds (maracyn, tetracycline ect) just incase. Also test strips aren't horribly accurate, liquid test kits are much more reliable. Hope i helped

Thankyou that has helped. So am I ok to add two of the hardy fish tomorrow?

 

[Nevergone815]

I added 2 fish to my 10 gallon 48 hours after setting it up (1 platy and 1 female betta) those fish are still alive! and my tank has been set up for 3 months now. Remember if u get bettas only females in the tank! and platies have to have a 1:2 male to female ratio, so if you get platies get 2 females. Like I said ealier when u pick up the fish get a liquid test kit, and a small quarantine tank. Any other questions feel free to ask!

 

[New to fish]

I added 2 fish to my 10 gallon 48 hours after setting it up (1 platy and 1 female betta) those fish are still alive! and my tank has been set up for 3 months now. Remember if u get bettas only females in the tank! and platies have to have a 1:2 male to female ratio, so if you get platies get 2 females. Like I said ealier when u pick up the fish get a liquid test kit, and a small quarantine tank. Any other questions feel free to ask!

Thanks - Think I will go shopping in morning. This fish stuff can me a be addictive. I am sure I will be in touch again soon. Thanks

 

[Nevergone815]

Not a problem! Make sure and tell me what kind of fishies u get!!

 

[pokagon55]

just a note...if you don't want to do a fishless cycle then the rule of thunb for a fish cycle is 1 fish for every 5 gal. of water. So only buy 1 fish to start the process,like a danio or a Plattie. Smaller tanks are harder to keep stable so you will have to change water often and if you use tap water you will have to get a water condtioner. It is also a good idea to but a bacteria product to help you along like Stability.

 

[Bloo]

And on another note - you can't add a danio to 7.5 gallons the need more like 15 - 20 gallons.

 

[pokagon55]

And on another note - you can't add a danio to 7.5 gallons the need more like 15 - 20 gallons.

are you talking about a giant danio? I was talking about a smaller danio. A smaller danio would be fine. So would a platie and a platie is bigger than a small danio. Or is that to big too?

 

[Bloo]

No, just your normal bog standard danio. If you do a few googles, it will confirm they need minimum 20 gallons. The are very fast swimmers and require a lot of space. They will become very stress, eventually ill and die prematurely in a tank too small
Keep in mind that these fish also shoal and there's no way you can keep a shoal in a 7.5 gallon tank

 

[Fella]

Bloozoo is right, Danios might be small fish, but the space they need is large.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Please do not put a swordtail in this tank as Nevergone suggests; it is FAR too small. Swordtails are big fish, and they are also extremely active, and can get aggressive if kept confined in too small a space.

In fact, the size of the tank does create an additional problem if you want to cycle with fish. The usual suggestion would be danios, but as bloozoo says, they need a lot more swimming space, being fast active fish. Also, with only a few danios in a tank (which is all you could fit in here), you are likely to get aggression issues.

The other fish usually suggested for cycling are black widow tetras and platies. Tbh neither is ideal here. You would only be able to cycle with one fish in such a small tank (1 inch fish/5 gallons water for cycling), and that fish would be miserably lonely for the 4-6 weeks of the cycle, particularly if you went for the tetra which is a schooling fish. You would also find it difficult to fit in a proper school for the tetra, once the cycle was finished.

That leaves the platy. And yes, it could be done, if you are very careful checking the water parameters every day, to make sure it doesn't go toxic. But since you're going to have to do that- isn't it easier to do a fishless cycle? Seeing that the water has to be checked anyway. And it's quicker. And then you would be able to choose from a much wider range of small fish. There are some very attractive small tetras out there. And pygmy corys would be good in a tank like that.

Are you sure we can't sell you the fishless cycle? When I started up my new tanks last year, I let myself be persuaded by the members of the forum, though I was very dubious at first. To my surprise I found it much easier than the fish cycles I had done in the past, and had the added advantage of being able to stock up with my choice of fish once the cycle was over (my tanks cycled in record time: 10 and 14 days respectively).

 

[New to fish]

Hi

Have just got in from buying our fish and read the last few messages (but unfortunately bit too late). Have bought 2 small platies (one blue and one orange). Also have bought testing kits for nitrite, ammonia and pH. Introduced the fish slowly as instructed and they seem to be happily swimming - so far.

So when should I do my next water test?

What should do I do if the levels rise?

Also do I need a air pump/stone?

Thanks again.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi

Have just got in from buying our fish and read the last few messages (but unfortunately bit too late). Have bought 2 small platies (one blue and one orange). Also have bought testing kits for nitrite, ammonia and pH. Introduced the fish slowly as instructed and they seem to be happily swimming - so far.

So when should I do my next water test?

What should do I do if the levels rise?

Also do I need a air pump/stone?

Thanks again.

Oh well, it could have been a lot worse; two platies aren't too bad.

You want to test the water daily for ammonia and nitrites. When either of them goes over 0.5 do a partial water change of 25 or so. If the readings shoot up really high you may need to change more. Don't forget to dechlorinate the fresh water you put in, and bring it up to temperature, by adding hot water from the hot tap or from the kettle. You may get other posters saying water changes slow down your cycle, but really there is no evidence of that, and in any case IMO your first duty is to your existing fish, to keep them as happy as possible.

Platies are some of the nicest fish there are to my thinking, so you should get a lot of pleasure out of them once the tank is established.

You probably won't need an airstone if there is a bit of water movement on the surface from your filter. I mainly use mine in the summer when the weather is hot.

 

[New to fish]

Thanks for that.
This is an excellent web site full of really knowledgable people - shame you lot dont work in the pet shops!!