New to the Site...

[ChrisMerlino]

Hello, all. I am new to this site and new to the hobby. I currently have a 55 gal tropical fresh water tank. It's a simple set up I picked up at Petsmart. Being overenthusiastic, we made a ton of mistakes and lost some neat fish, but in the process, I learned a little bit about how to care for a tank. More importantly, I learned about "fishless cycling," which would have been useful information back in late May. But my water seems to be through the cycle now (ph - 6.8-7.0, NH3 - .25 barely, NO2 - 0, NO3 - 10-20). The survivors are 1 Orange Ghourami, 2 Tetras (glo-fish), 5 Neon Tetras, 3 Golden Tetras. We lost a few mollies and a few glo-fish over the past few weeks, which sucks, but I think if I wait the cycle out, I will limit those losses in the future.

My next effort will be a 125 gal cichlid tank. I will pick up the tank, three filters, two heaters, and several other items later tonight.Over the weekend, I plan to clean everything, and research the best set up for my tank. I will be asking lots of questions. I hope to make a lot of friends on this forum.


Chris

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

One aspect you may not know much about, being new to the hobby, is water parameters. You mention losing fish, which may likely have been a cycling issue, but given the mix of species you might also have a parameter issue.

Parameters refers to the mineral hardness (GH, general or total hardness), carbonate hardness (KH, also called Alkalinity) and pH (acid or basic). Temperature is also a parameter but one we can more easily control. The GH, KH and pH of your source water, whether tap or well, are going to remain basically constant, depending what they are to begin with, so this is crucial to know. Some fish, such as mollies and livebearers in general, must have moderately hard or harder water, while many of the tetras need soft to very soft water. With some species, the two cannot possibly be combined because one will lose out.

You should be able to ascertain your parameters from the website of your water authority if you are on municipal water. Or you can ask them. I would find this out before going any further. You mention cichlids, and the African rift lake species are hard water fish; their Central American cousins are soft to moderately hard water, while the South American species tend to be soft to very soft.

The tetras are shoaling fish, meaning they must have a group. Six is usually suggested as the minimum, but with some species this has to be more, and with all of them they will certainly be better with larger groups. "Better" means less stress, better metabolism, so healthier and less likely to contract disease and more likely to live a normal lifespan. Many other factors impact this too of course. But sort out the water parameters first, or you may only be acquiring more fish to die on you.

Byron.