Newbie

[jbradysr04]

Hello, Im getting back into the hobby and saw this forum on another site I was checking out for information.

When i was in high school i had a few Oscars and they where so much fun but I really didn't know enough about taking care of them properly. I ended up having to get rid of them. I had my aquarium stuff put away for a long time till the other day my girlfriend talked me into buying a Betta with her. The little guy (fugu is his name) really got me thinking about my old fish. So I've decided to pull out my old stuff and give it a shot again. I haven't decided on what type of fish I'm going to get but I am going to try for a live plant aquarium. I'm taking it real slow this time around and reading up all i can about taking care of both the plants and animals. The tank I have is a 30 gallon tank. Ive bought a new heater for it and a filter. I bought a bag of flourite for the substrate and have already been through an awful mess with it. I didnt wash it well enough as the instruction recommended it was not needed and ended up with chocolate milk looking water. Ive since washed it out and now the water is clear. I have treated the water and have been monitoring it. Im thinking about putting my betta in there for a bit to start cycling the water and get some bacteria growth while i decide on what plants and fish I want to get. One fish ive been looking into is a Black ghost knife but from reading I think my tank might be to small in the long run? Anyhow im looking forward to this forum.

 

[glolite]

Hi and welcome. So you've got the fish bug again eh?

If your Betta is in a cycled tank I would recommend using the filter material from the Betta tank to put in the 30g filter before adding your Betta. Rather than using the Betta to cycle the tank because without the filter material he would probably get ammonia poisoning during the cycling process. Ignore this if you already know. Other than that have fun and enjoy!!

 

[jbradysr04]

Thats what i ended up doing, i planted the tank and have the beta in there now. gona let it jive for a week or so. Ive been testing the water daily to make sure the lvls are too high for the beta. Then im prolly gona get some bloodfin tetras and neon tetras. Im pretty sure the neons will be fine with the beta but i dont know about the bloodfins? gona do some more reseach but if it doesnt work out i can just return the beta to his old home.