Newbie Just Got A Tank

[andyt_uk]

i could be mistaken (rare but does happen )
but i think the only dwarf angels are real marine fish, not ones that you could make look like might be marine fish but are really freshwater

BTW my baby angels are only an inch tall, but i expect they will be taller than my hand quite quickly (well maybe a year or so.. not the fastest growing fish but not the slowest either)

 

[whitney]

Angels are a mistake....you're just beginning this hobby, go for fish that aren't as delicate or aggressive as angels.......

Do you think that the upside down fish you saw may have been an upside down catfish? They're very good community fish and would be ok in a tank the size of yours.

I started out thinking that I was going to make a "saltwater looking" tank....but in the end, I realized that it could never be that....so I got over it, and did the nicest freshwater tank I could....

For example....I think that plants are a great idea, they're attractive and very good for the health of the tank....but you should realize that saltwater tanks can't have green plants.....they won't grow in that environment- so just by having plants in there will sort of be a tip-off that it's not saltwater.

Another thing is that most freshwater fish simply don't look like saltwater fish.....

Cichlids (which include angelfish) can have some very impressive colors, but many of them get very big and they have a very distinct body shape...... They also tend to be aggressive.

I think that freshwater puffers are very cool looking....but they're super-aggressive, so they really need to be kept by themselves.....They're also really brackish fish...which means that you'd need to have aquarium salt in the mix......

Do you want a community tank or a semi-aggressive or aggressive tank?

The more aggressive the tank, the more spectacular the colors can be, but the more trouble you're asking for......

Tiger barbs are very attractive fish and they are good for semi-aggressive communities....you need to keep them in groups of AT LEAST 5 to keep their aggression towards others minimal.

Livebearers such as swordtails (I like the lyretail), platies, and guppies, and endler's livebearers (which are fabulously florescent in person) are very colorful...but they reproduce like rabbits, so if you get them, you can very soon have an overpopulated tank.....

For bottom dwellers, I've recently seen freshwater gobies that look like they belong in a saltwater tank....very cool......and many kinds of loaches are quite striking and have an interesting body-shape.

You can also add colorful shrimp to a not-very-aggressive community. Cherry shrimp are very cute (look like tiny lobsters, but are totally fish-safe)...and bamboo shrimp are awsome....

If you're getting an aggressive community, you can even consider getting a blue crayfish.....they're bright blue- very cool....but don't trust them with little fish, because they'll ambush them in the night.

If you really really want to get a cichlid....I'd suggest looking into getting "ram" cichlids. I have a variety called German Blue Rams. They're colorful (yellow, black, red, and irridescent blue), pretty, have personality, and, possibly most importantly, will NOT outgrow your tank. Bolivian Rams and Keyhold Cichlids are also good choices....look them up.

Let us know what you decide to do.

 

[whitney]

Another note.....

It's good to get water in your tank for at least a few days before adding your first fish....

It doesn't "cycle" the tank...but it will allow you to get the temperature stable and for the water to "age" a little. Figure out what the ideal temperature for the most sensitive fish you're planning to get is, and set the temp there.

Be sure to add de-chlorinator such as "stress-coat" to your water.

Finally, and most importantly........When you get your fish, also get BioSpira this is very important. If the store tries to sell you another kind of instant cycle product, don't get it.....BioSpira's the only product on the market right now that actually adds live bacteria to the tank....the other brands add a bunch of dead bacteria that do nothing but dirty up the tank.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

bio spira's also not available in the UK where a lot of TFF members are from.

having never had access to it I can't comment on it's effectivness, but we manage fine without it so it's not all that essential!

however maturing the tank correctly is.

sorry but there's no such thing as dwarf freshwater angels, the small ones you saw are just juveniles. they will all get big, unless they are stunted from being in too small a tank in which case they will die a horrible death far too early

 

[madmatt]

I found out that the fish I saw was a mono. It looked upside down because of the fins and location of the face.

Would that be good in my tank? I do like the crayfish idea. I also saw blue lobsters.

The man I was talking to mentioned plecos.

I am also thinking of a small school of fish. Possibly tetras or tiger barbs.

With plants, I am going to do very few tall plants in the corners and next to some of the fake corals. I dont know what they are called, but are one long thin plant, grouped of abt 4 or 5 leaves. The look like linguini. They have a twist throughout each leaf. What are they called?

 

[whitney]

hi,

Actually, I just looked it up and I found on the Aquaria Central forum that people in the UK CAN get biospira (at least they could a couple of years ago.....Go to this website http/www.aqualink.co.uk/

If it's not up, you can e-mail Paul at RbP NUTTER@ aol.com on info on how to get it- or go to this website and order it http/www.fishstoretn.com/

Sounds like the plants you like is a type of vallisnera- or tape grass. They're fast growing and demand medium lighting conditions (which is much more light than you'd think). Make sure you have the right kind of lightbulbs in your tank for them.

When you had mentioned the mini-angels, Monos had come to mind for me. Monos are brackish fish....which means they like a semi-salty environment. It's less complicated that a marine set up.....you can basically do a good freshwater filter and add aquarium salt (in the right quanitites for the fish you'll have)- but that will, of course, affect what other fish and what plants you get (as they all have to be brackish compatible). I had briefly thought about having a brackish tank, but ultimately decided that as a new fishkeeper, I had enough to worry about without adding salinity to the mix. Check out this website for brackish fish info... http/www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...;articleid=3299

If you do decide to get a crustacean- make sure you know what species it is.....some get very large.....also, be sure they're just calling it a lobster, but it's really a crayfish- because lobsters are saltwater- crayfish are freshwater. Also, I've been told that they are best added after the tank is already established because they are sensitive to ammonia fluctuations.

Plecos-----I have an albino bristlenose pleco- whom I thought to be pretty ugly when I first brought her home, but now I think she's adorable. I happen to really like plecs, but you need to be careful again that you get a species that stays small, because many of them will get to be a foot long and outgrow your tank. Clown Plecos and Bristlenose Plecos are both appropriate for your tank. Also, be aware that some of the really attractive plecos- like Zebra Plecos- are carnivorous. As are many types of good looking catfish.

You seem to really like the tall body shape of the angels.....maybe you would be happy getting pearl or dwarf gouramis or a single male betta (bettas are often ok in community set-ups as long as they're the only betta and none of the other fish have flowing fins).

Well, that's my two cents for now......happy fish shopping.

 

[madmatt]

Can I keep one of the crayfish/lobsters with a pleco? I want to be certain as they are both bottom dwellers.

 

[madmatt]

Is that possible to do?

Also, is there a finer gravel I could use? What are thhe sizes of gravel?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

if you want really really really fine gravel....... use sand

you need to make sure it's not got anything else in it like builders sand does, so get play sand from toys r us or somewhere like that, wash it thoroughly and use that.

crayfish are a risky option... some people report sucess keeping them together so it is possible, however a lot of people have a lot of problems. you'd need to have a spare tank and all the equipment to set it up as you'd need to be able to seperate the crayfish/rest of the fish at a moments notice is nescessary

 

[n3ont3tra]

If you wanted a fish that looks like it belongs in salt water, look at the Red Tailed Shark (also called the RTS, Red Tailed Black Shark, or RTBS)

They get to be about 5 inches, but they're very active and semi-aggressive. They are also considered bottom dwellers. You wouldn't be able to keep too much else in with them. I'm thinking maybe one RTS (they don't like thier own kind) and about 8 tiger barbs.

If you have good filtration, that should work out and look nicely. But you MUST have good filtration, I suggest double of what you'd normally have for a 30g tank.
You could also put danios with it. Danios are very hardy fish, and often used for cycling tanks.

They are fast, peaceful schooling fish, and I'd recommend having 6.

Yet another suggestion is Kuhlie Loaches. They look like eels, and aren't aggressive at all. They grow to about 3 inches and are bottom feeders. You may not see much of them, as they are nocturnal, but they help clean up the bottom of the tank.

 

[puddle_inc]

i prefer small fish. maby get some ghost shrimp, tetras, maby rams, maby even a young oscar, there cool. but they can get big so you gotta be ready to get them a nice tank =P

 

[n3ont3tra]

I wouldn't suggest an oscar for a beginner.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hmmm actually oscars are pretty hardy, takes a lot to kill them! however they are very often mistreated as people don't realise you need an absolutely massive tank and very very good filtration which can be expensive.

 

[InaneCathode]

Sorry, just felt some clarification was neccesary here (the op is a complete newbie)

Angels are a mistake....you're just beginning this hobby, go for fish that aren't as delicate or aggressive as angels.......

Do you think that the upside down fish you saw may have been an upside down catfish? They're very good community fish and would be ok in a tank the size of yours.

I started out thinking that I was going to make a "saltwater looking" tank....but in the end, I realized that it could never be that....so I got over it, and did the nicest freshwater tank I could....

For example....I think that plants are a great idea, they're attractive and very good for the health of the tank....but you should realize that saltwater tanks can't have green plants.....they won't grow in that environment- so just by having plants in there will sort of be a tip-off that it's not saltwater.

Another thing is that most freshwater fish simply don't look like saltwater fish.....

Cichlids (which include angelfish) can have some very impressive colors, but many of them get very big and they have a very distinct body shape...... They also tend to be aggressive.

I think that freshwater puffers are very cool looking....but they're super-aggressive, so they really need to be kept by themselves.....They're also really brackish fish...which means that you'd need to have aquarium salt in the mix......Only some species are 'super aggressive', freshwater puffers are just that, freshwater. Not brackish.

Do you want a community tank or a semi-aggressive or aggressive tank?

The more aggressive the tank, the more spectacular the colors can be, but the more trouble you're asking for......

Tiger barbs are very attractive fish and they are good for semi-aggressive communities....you need to keep them in groups of AT LEAST 5 to keep their aggression towards others minimal.

Livebearers such as swordtails (I like the lyretail), platies, and guppies, and endler's livebearers (which are fabulously florescent in person) are very colorful...but they reproduce like rabbits, so if you get them, you can very soon have an overpopulated tank..... Unless he cleans out the tank of fry every once in a while, plus most fry get eaten within a few days anyway lol

For bottom dwellers, I've recently seen freshwater gobies that look like they belong in a saltwater tank....very cool......and many kinds of loaches are quite striking and have an interesting body-shape. Correct me if i'm wrong, but theres no such thing as a true freshwater goby

You can also add colorful shrimp to a not-very-aggressive community. Cherry shrimp are very cute (look like tiny lobsters, but are totally fish-safe)...and bamboo shrimp are awsome....

If you're getting an aggressive community, you can even consider getting a blue crayfish.....they're bright blue- very cool....but don't trust them with little fish, because they'll ambush them in the night.Amen on the ninja crayfish, also they get conciderably huge

If you really really want to get a cichlid....I'd suggest looking into getting "ram" cichlids. I have a variety called German Blue Rams. They're colorful (yellow, black, red, and irridescent blue), pretty, have personality, and, possibly most importantly, will NOT outgrow your tank. Bolivian Rams and Keyhold Cichlids are also good choices....look them up.

Let us know what you decide to do.