New Wannabe Fish Owner Alert!

[jennybugs]

Greetings peeps! I'm JB.

I'm very much interested in getting some fish, probably freshwater tropicals, and have been shoved in this direction to gather as much info as I can before I start on the happy path of fish ownership

I've got my beady eyes on a small 30l Biorb to start off with...don't want to sink before I can swim!
I'm off to have a trawl about and see what tips I can pick up as I have no idea where to start...

 

[madmom]

 

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

 

[three-fingers]

Welcome to the forums, this is the best place for information on fish keeping in my opinion. The information in books can become outdated very fast, so forums are the most up to date place to research .
One thing to remember is it's always best to double check some of information with the staff at your local fish shop, but if people on this forum tell you that its not OK to do something and the staff at the lfs say it is, it's usually safer to listen to the forum.
That works the other way too, if the forum says it's OK to do something and the lfs staff say you shouldent, it's much better to listen to the staff at the lfs .

 

[jennybugs]

Thanks for the greetings and advice

Just got a Biorb set up so ready to do some fish research now while the tank is settling in. To say I am excited is an understatement

 

[stang1]

 

[aquaticadmirer]

The first tank is always the most exciting! Welcome and good luck!

 

[jennybugs]

Cheers It's interesting to see how opinions differ vastly on here to Biorbs and the livestock that can be put in it!

Just wondering if everyone started off with the large tanks (or seemingly large to a novice like myself) they are suggesting I get instead

 

[stang1]

I think quite a few people start off with smaller tanks, that was my plan but my partner got me a 48G. He then decided that he wanted to keep fish so he got a 24G. Then I wanted Guppies so we got a Aquaone 320. Bettas are my favourite fish so we brought a little 5 Gallon tank, now we have four of them!
And finally for Chriatmas we brought ourselves a 137G tank and at the same time were offered a 48G marine tank for a really good price!
So beware, they end up taking over and before you know it you'll have countless tanks!!!

 

[lilfishie]

i started off with a 3ft tank stocked with 6 medium sized angle fish, a few barbs, few tetras, platies and a betta (siamese fighter) but they al got on fine until the tetras stated disappearing, but since joining this forum i now have a healthy 15 gallon tank that isn't near as overstocked as that one was, and you can tell, the fish are happy and active. so this is a great place for the right advice

and now i have 6 tanks in the house luckily the 15 gallon is the largest but there are 2

 

[aquaticadmirer]

I've been keeping fish since I was about 5 years old. I started out with just a goldfish in a bowl, and I had many of those throughout the years. (Now I know a bowl is a bad home for a goldfish, but I didn't at the time!). Then my parents bought me a 10 gallon tank for my birthday when I was 10 I think. I had that for a few years until my parents bought me a 20 gallon. Then I turned 16, got my first job, and bought a 55 gallon tank with the money I made, and that's the one I still have up now. At one point I had all 3 tanks set up, but with school taking up most of my time, I only have the 55 gallon one up now (but I'm thinking of setting the 20 gallon back up!)

So yeah, I definitely did start out small!

 

[jennybugs]

I finally have my tank set up with 5 tiny white clouds. It's cat tv now Still got some plants to go in yet when I can decide what I want...the moss balls need company. I know it's hardly a professional set up but I like it

 

[barnesj2]

taht is a great set up for someone starting up and the volcano in the middle looks great

 

[jennybugs]

Theres' more...

Already planning my next tank. This one's gonna have corners and everything