Small Tank What Fish

[Kevstir]

Hi guys

First of I'm a total newbie (first post) that's just bought this first tank today, an Aqua One UFO 350

http/www.aquaone.co.uk/prod_details.php?id_no=52066SV

Its a small corner tank , 30l capacity according to the website , would have liked bigger but all the bigger ones were out of budget , now to get to the point.

Iv got it all setup and running but unsure of what type and quantity of fish to keep in the tank, the dealer who sold me it advised to keep small fish like neon's , neon's I'm happy with but just wondering what else would go well in there , also what type of algae eater would be good to get , i know my dealer will be able to sort me out with the right info but in case he's not as good as he should be i would run it past you guys ..

as iv just bought the tank today i realise i cant add fish for a while whats the best way of making sure the tank is up to the job when i add fish, i plan on letting it run for a week before i start adding a couple of fish, I'm going back to the dealers tomorrow to get an air pump (thought it came with one as standard doh! lol) so if you guys can advise me to get anything else that would be great ..

if realise I'm not the first to ask these questions and how annoying it can be to answer the same questions over and over again so even if you can fire some links my way i can try and get my head round it lol


from what iv read this seems to be a really good forum

Cheers

a very merry Kev hic up lol

 

[MegTheFish]

Have you considered fishless cycling? It can take awhile and be frusterating but once it is done with you can add fish without them having to go through the dangers of cycling, you can also fully stock the tank (where if you were cycling with fish, you can only add a couple at a time). 30 litres is....about 5 gallons, right? You can get away with a small school of 5-6 neons but you wouldn't really have room to add anything else. Some fish you could look into: bettas, cherry barbs, ottos, pygmy cories, guppies, shrimp, snails or african dwarf frogs.

 

[Kevstir]

Hi meg

since i posted this message i actually started reading up on cycling , as frustrating as its going to be i think i will go down that route, my partners brothers have tanks and say wait about a week then add just a couple to get me going but from what iv read here i think cycling might be better. I'm an avid animal lover so want the best for the fish I'm going to get ..

oh no only 5 or 6 neon's man i'm gonna need a bigger tank soon lol,iv just spent £130 on the tank and cabinet i just got too bet this is the time when you say iv been ripped off lol

Kev

 

[wodesorel]

If it's the tank you liked, then it's not being ripped off. Don't ask me how much I spent on my seven gallon glass bowfront.

Once you choose a fish you like, do some research into how many need to be kept to be comfortable - it makes all the difference the health of the fish (or invertebrate) and whether or not you'll see them acting normally. And you actually have an 8 gallon tank, so make sure you figure in all that room.

You should ask the people you know who have fishtanks to give you some filter media to jump-start your tank, then you won't have to worry much about cycling at all. I honestly don't know the best way to go about doing this, but someone else here can certainly fill you in!

 

[Kevstir]

cheers m8

yeah i do like the tank

As its only 8 gallons I'm just going to stick to small tetras and the like , still to find out whats the best fish to go for there's that many lol, I'm giving myself a sore head reading up on this new hobby lol

i would ask my other halfs brothers to donate some filter material but unfortunately they stay that far away that by the time i got it back to my tank most of the bacteria would have died if not all of it

can anyone tell me whats the best test kit to go for ? iv been looking at the API MASTER TEST KIT , its on eBay at the moment for £15 delivered is this a good kit , an easier test kit the better would be good lol

Thanks again

Kev

 

[sussexgirl]

can anyone tell me whats the best test kit to go for ? iv been looking at the API MASTER TEST KIT , its on eBay at the moment for £15 delivered is this a good kit , an easier test kit the better would be good lol

That's a good price. I pay £17.99 for that test kit and I've seen it sold elsewhere for £25.00.

I have a 28L tank that currently houses 6 neon tetras. It's my quarantine tank that I'm keeping ticking over ready for any new purchases or fry.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah the API is a good kit and that's a good price.

I'd be tempted with that tank to go for a shoal of endlers, you could probably have 8-10 in thereas they're teeny, but they're very colourful and unique. They're also very easy to breed (take 1 male and 1 female, add water... watch them go!) so if you wanted babies at some point you could get some easily (although you may need to set up a little fry tank). The I'd put in maybe 3/4 amano shrimp, colourful and active and they eat algae so will help to keep your tank clean, also cos they're small they hardly count towards the bioload on the filter.

good luck and get some pics posted when your all set up

 

[Kevstir]

i just phoned the lfs near my work and there doing the kit for £19.95 , think i will just go get it on my lunch break least i don't have to wait on delivery lol

the endlers do look very nice but not keen on the breeding side of it lol, I'm keen to get around 8 or 10 neon tetras (geat looking wee fish) would the amano shrimps be ok with them??

cheers

Kev

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i just phoned the lfs near my work and there doing the kit for £19.95 , think i will just go get it on my lunch break least i don't have to wait on delivery lol

the endlers do look very nice but not keen on the breeding side of it lol, I'm keen to get around 8 or 10 neon tetras (geat looking wee fish) would the amano shrimps be ok with them??

cheers

Kev

yeah they'd be fine with neon's too. I think probably 8 neons and 3 shrimp would be good