New To Fish And New Aquarium - Help Please

[samanslow]

Hi

I have been fascinated by tropical fish for aslong as i can remember but have never been in a position to start keeping them myself.

My family have brought me a full tropical aquarium setup for my birthday (yesterday) and have had it cycling for the past 5 weeks so it would be ready for me to add fish.

I have no idea where to start, been looking around online and completely confused myself with all the differing information given.

What fish are the best/easiest to keep for a beginner?
How many fish in a 10g tank? (its a Via Aqua - 380 10G(45L) Curved Glass Aquarium)

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[tetraman]

Hi! I tell every newbie this, but you should go with a few zebra danios and a few cories. They are interesting, hardy, all of the levels of the aquarium will be occupied, and you won't need a heater as long as the temperature doesn't drop below 72 degrees F. How old are you? I'm 12.

 

[samanslow]

Hi! I tell every newbie this, but you should go with a few zebra danios and a few cories. They are interesting, hardy, all of the levels of the aquarium will be occupied, and you won't need a heater as long as the temperature doesn't drop below 72 degrees F. How old are you? I'm 12.

Hi,

Thanks for that atleast I now have some idea which I should get. The aquarium has a heater anyway and I live in England so chances are temp will drop lol. I'm 25. Wow you're really into your fish and so young. How long have you been keeping them?

Sheryl

 

[SugarQube]

Hi and welcome from another newbie

 

[wendywc]

Hello!

I would definately get a heater for a tropical tank no matter what; it'll regulate the temperature. Take a look at the LFSs near you, write down what catches your eye, and research them here and other places online for compatibility, etc. before you buy any fish. Have fun!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hello and welcome to the forum

hate to confuse you with conflicting advice but danio's aren't the best idea for a 10g tank, yes they are hardy, they mix well with cories and it will occupy the top and bottom of your tank.... however danio's are very active and like a lot of swimming space i wouldn't recommend them for under a 20g tank.

you will also probably need a heater, I would always advise it for tropicals, maybe if you live somewhere where it is 26oC every single day you could get away with not having one.

 

[Torrean]

I think this will probably be helpful =)
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...mp;#entry979097

Welcome to the forums and good luck with your new hobby. The best advice I can give is to triple check any purchases you make...don't impulse buy, and don't depend on an lfs (local fish store employee) he may be knowledgable and honest but I've met a few that would sell you a common plecostomus (a 20 inch fish) without a second thought.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I agree that you should scrap the idea of danios- not only do they need a longer tank, but they need to be kept in schools of at least 6. IF yours is a curved glass tank, it is probably not rectangular, which further reduces swimming space. SO I would look at small fish that are not fast swimmers. Guppies or platies (check for correct sex ratios before purchase), cherry barbs ( a trio of 1 male, 2 females), small corys (at least 3 in a group), glowlight tetras (at least 6 in a group) would all be possible options. You could also have amano shrimp- they go well with most small fish and are very entertaining to watch. Or a Siamese fighter (betta)-though they can be difficult to combine with other fish.

But first, can I just check, how did you cycle the tank? Did you add ammonia?

 

[dwarfgourami]

I agree that you should scrap the idea of danios- not only do they need a longer tank, but they need to be kept in schools of at least 6. IF yours is a curved glass tank, it is probably not rectangular, which further reduces swimming space. SO I would look at small fish that are not fast swimmers. Guppies or platies (check for correct sex ratios before purchase), cherry barbs ( a trio of 1 male, 2 females), small corys (at least 3 in a group), glowlight tetras (at least 6 in a group) would all be possible options. You could also have amano shrimp- they go well with most small fish and are very entertaining to watch. Or a Siamese fighter (betta)-though they can be difficult to combine with other fish.

But first, can I just check, how did you cycle the tank? Did you add ammonia?

 

[rtfm]

Okay, I am pretty new to this, however, I seem to like "fish keeping and I am intrested in pursuing this hobby." though I dont think it is as simple as it sounds.

I walked into a pet shop 2-3 days back & told them that I am intrested in purchasing a fish tank and did enquire on facets such as maintaining a smaller talk to a bigger tank. After reading a couple of articles I decided to go a mid-pack aquarium for a starter, as I understand the water chemistry in smaller tanks is difficult to handle.

Here was my take, make a 30X15X18 glass tank and I'll be back in a couple of days to pick it up and let them my contact details..

Two days later, they called my home and asked if they can drop of the tank.

Unfortunately, my wife is a novice to this...
When I returned home, my wife tells me that the folks from the petshop setup the tank...
I go and take a look, the tank had been setup with gravel, they have plugged in the UGF, airstone and left it running with

2 black moors, 4 pearlscales, 2 gouramis, 4 black skirt tetras, 2 guppies, 2 sharks!!!!

Now, question is where do I start, what do I undo or what can I re-do?
All I can do is panic, i'm worried.. if this will end up in a disaster.

btw, they have not left me with any test-kits...

 

[rtfm]

Could someone reply on my query.
I am currently at work, would like to return home and ensure something is being done to ensure the tank inmates are safe!

 

[DarkEntity]

erm...well id suggest getting some water conditioner for a start as you now have fish in uncyled water which is bad. Easy Balance, Stress Zyme and others are items which add healthy bacteria to water to help remove stuff that will hurt the fish. Another option is do you know anyone local who has a mature freshwater tank that can give you some tank water and/or filter squeezings to speed things up a little /

UGF, didnt know they still sold them, not something many people use anymore due to the time and work required to clean it etc. I suppose you could just pull the uplft pipe off and close it up then add an external filter if you wanted.

Itll be pure luck if all the fish survive tbh

 

[dwarfgourami]

Could someone reply on my query.
I am currently at work, would like to return home and ensure something is being done to ensure the tank inmates are safe!

Sorry about late reply- sometimes it takes a while before someone gets back from work, becomes free from housework or wakes up (international forum!) and spots your post. Also, it's really easy to miss in somebody else's thread- that's how I missed it.

Who decided on the fish for your tank- yourself, your wife or the lfs? Had you actually asked them to add fish straightaway? It's a bit of an odd mix: the black moors (and pearlscales?) are coldwater fish, some sharks are territorial- others grow far too big for the tank, if both the gouramis are male you could get aggression problems. And then there is the whole question of cycling: the tropical fish you've got there are not hardy enough to cycle a tank, and the goldfish shouldn't be in a tropical tank.

I would contact the shop at once (ok tomorrow, if it is evening where you are). If they chose the fish, tell them to take the whole lot back so you can do a fishless cycle at your leisure. Don't listen to any nonsense from them about fishless cycles not working- what do they know?

If the selection is not entirely their fault, or if you want to stay with a few of these fish, at least tell them you cannot keep the goldfish with the other fish and ask them to take those back. Also one of the sharks at least (depending on species- if they are black sharks or bala/silver sharks, they should both go back).

Then check the pinned topic above about people willing to donate filter media and see if there is anyone near you who could help. The undergravel filter might complicate matters, but there must be ways around
that. If not, you will need to take things very slowly. Buy a liquid test kit and test every day for ammonia and nitrites. If these go above 0.5 ppm do a partial water change, dechlorinating the fresh water you put in. This is the most risky option (unless you can get mature filter media), but if you are careful you might pull it off.

A third mid-way course would be to return all fish except the black widows, get 2 more black widows and cycle the tank with them. They are hardy fish, and they would be happier in a slightly larger group anyway. Six of them should be enough to cycle your tank. Again, get a liquid test kit and test every day.