Nooby With No Clue+a Tank

[Scrott]

hi
weve had a fish tank for over 10years now, was my mums and she looked after it very well (even managed to get some to breed).sadly she passed away last month, and id love to keep these beautiful fish.ive had a long think about it, as it was seeming to be alot of effort...but i had a look through these forum pages and its already easier than i thought.

for instance i never noticed the light use to be turned off somtimes lol! and thought the massive amounts of algae was doing damage. i now know about the nitrogen cycle and how/what levels should be looked at, and am loking forward to keeping them for a long time, learning as i go.

anyway onto my point, i only have a pleco thingy, suckamouth catfish one..hes around 8 inchs atm and had no idea they can live soo long! also a clown loach fish which weve had for about 2 years (how long do they live?) sadly the once thrieving tank has now only the 2 fish.we had a major water comtamination and had no idea....after mum done a water change the fish all slowly died barring these 2 (now fixed) and id like to get it back up to standard!

i want THE most hardly, idiot proof fish i like those thai crabs but i dont think plec would like them as he spends soo much time on the floor. how hardly are those algae eating shrimp, as they are very nice when i saw them.i dont want a packed tank but just say 2 species that are in a 5+shole each(dont know if im using the right words here lol correct me if im wrong) maybe a mate for clownloach and say 3 'medium' fish (bit smaller than mr.plec)

dont know if i sound like a complete fool or not lol but as long as the fish arnt suffering i want to try to keep this tank
many thanks
scott

ill take some pictures, host then post 'em in 'ere as soon as i get my hands on the misses camera

 

[cheesy feet]

hi
weve had a fish tank for over 10years now, was my mums and she looked after it very well (even managed to get some to breed).sadly she passed away last month, and id love to keep these beautiful fish.ive had a long think about it, as it was seeming to be alot of effort...but i had a look through these forum pages and its already easier than i thought.

for instance i never noticed the light use to be turned off somtimes lol! and thought the massive amounts of algae was doing damage. i now know about the nitrogen cycle and how/what levels should be looked at, and am loking forward to keeping them for a long time, learning as i go.

anyway onto my point, i only have a pleco thingy, suckamouth catfish one..hes around 8 inchs atm and had no idea they can live soo long! also a clown loach fish which weve had for about 2 years (how long do they live?) sadly the once thrieving tank has now only the 2 fish.we had a major water comtamination and had no idea....after mum done a water change the fish all slowly died barring these 2 (now fixed) and id like to get it back up to standard!

i want THE most hardly, idiot proof fish i like those thai crabs but i dont think plec would like them as he spends soo much time on the floor. how hardly are those algae eating shrimp, as they are very nice when i saw them.i dont want a packed tank but just say 2 species that are in a 5+shole each(dont know if im using the right words here lol correct me if im wrong) maybe a mate for clownloach and say 3 'medium' fish (bit smaller than mr.plec)

dont know if i sound like a complete fool or not lol but as long as the fish arnt suffering i want to try to keep this tank
many thanks
scott

ill take some pictures, host then post 'em in 'ere as soon as i get my hands on the misses camera

Sorry to hear about your mum passing away.Hope your ok

As for tank you forgot to mention some factors.What filter have you got and how large is the tank.

thanks

 

[Scrott]

yes getting on best i can, just dont wana let her animals down ya know?theres also her parrot called balou, who (for some reason)hasnt liked men since she got him 22years ago, not helpful as its only me (a bloke) looking afterhim lol! but hes older than me and no way do i have the heart to sell him

anyway, the tank is 100x40x30cm (water filled part) also have a smaller tank she used for babys,empty atm. once i know what im doing id like to get one of those red long shark like fish or possibly a amphibious setup, those thai crabs make me laff. but i guess i need to know what im doing with this tank first

filter is a eheim 2010 (if thats the model number) flows 220-500 litres hour(so the box says)...i keep it on the smaller bubble setting as it was before...guess thats ok?are carbon filters worth it?i remember mum saying about a reason why she didnt use them
also have a little aqua-air pump with undergravel sand stone giving oxygen
as said im a noob soo probably using all the wrong terms so please correct me where i talk crap
cheers

 

[cheesy feet]

yes getting on best i can, just dont wana let her animals down ya know?theres also her parrot called balou, who (for some reason)hasnt liked men since she got him 22years ago, not helpful as its only me (a bloke) looking afterhim lol! but hes older than me and no way do i have the heart to sell him

anyway, the tank is 100x40x30cm (water filled part) also have a smaller tank she used for babys,empty atm. once i know what im doing id like to get one of those red long shark like fish or possibly a amphibious setup, those thai crabs make me laff. but i guess i need to know what im doing with this tank first

filter is a eheim 2010 (if thats the model number) flows 220-500 litres hour(so the box says)...i keep it on the smaller bubble setting as it was before...guess thats ok?are carbon filters worth it?i remember mum saying about a reason why she didnt use them
also have a little aqua-air pump with undergravel sand stone giving oxygen
as said im a noob soo probably using all the wrong terms so please correct me where i talk crap
cheers

No,your doing fine.I can tell you have done your research!
The pleco or suckermouth catfish will outgrow your tank (get 11' atleast,up to 2ft),and so the clown loach will(slow growers luckily).But as they are not to big atm i think it will be ok.
Just to get you started on basic maintenence here are some points of general maintenance.

• Water changes,change your water once a week.About 30% should be enough this will keep the bad things levels down in the water.
• Feeding-from what i understand you have

Just thought it would be easier for me to talk to you on msn or something.Have you got it?

 

[rdd1952]

Also sorry to hear about your mom. It's nice that you are taking over the tanks and especially the parrot. I think they can live for wuite a long time. It's also nice to see that you are researching how to take care of the fish. Your tank is about 32 gallons and the filter is rated for about 145 gph. That's about a minimal filter so you will have to keep up with the water changes. Usually, the minimum filtration is 5X the tank size. As mentioned, a water change once a week should be fine. Most people change between 15 and 25 percent. You do have a very messy fish in the pleco and that may mean you need to do larger water changes. Just test your nitrates and see what they after a water change and then at the end of a week (also test your tap water so you know if you are adding any nitrate from the tap).

The pleco and clown loach will both outgrow your tank so you may need to look at rehomiing them. The best fish for that size tank are tetras, rasboras, paradise fish, corys or other peaceful community fish. Also, the shrimp will be fine. They really don't add anything to the bio-load so you can put 5 or 6 in easily without any problem. If you are going to go the route of community fish and shrimp though, don't get a crab as it will eat them.

You also need to identify the algae you have. Different fish/shrimp eat different types of algae and there are some types that no fish will eat. Here is a pretty good site with photos of different types of algae and what type fish/shrimp will best eat it.