Starter Fish?

[ninjaginger]

Hi,

i've got a new tank (600 x 350 x 400cm).

i've been reading about the whole new tank syndrome and i have no idea what type of fish to put in first or when?

i don't particulary want my first fish to die so whats my best hope for survival?

thank you

ninjaginger

xxx

 

[daza]

hi ninjaginger,

have you also read about fishless cycling and considered doing it that way instead of by adding fish first off?

 

[yvez9]

fishless cycle is your best bet
that way no fish are harmed

and i hoped you meant mm in your tank size as opposed to cm, otherwise that's a massive tank!

 

[sylvia]

If your tank is at least 20 gallons, zebra danios are the best choice. Add about 5 and in 6 weeks your tank should have cycled.

If your tank is smaller than 20 gallons, platies are a good fish to use. I'd get a male and 2 females. The females will give birth but most of the fry won't survive anyway so you can give whatever does survive away or sell them back to your LFS. Alternatively, go for 3 males but keep in mind that you'll need to add 6 females later on if you decide you'd like them to breed (there should always be at least 2 females to every male).

You could use platies in a larger tank as well.

It should take around 6 weeks to cycle either way.

Alternatively (and my preffered method), get some pure ammonia and use it to fishless cycle your tank.

Getting some gravel from an established tank and hanging it in a stocking in your tank and/or getting some old filter media from an established tank or leaving your own filter media in an established tank for a week and then putting it back in your own tank, will also help cycle your tank quicker as you'll have added some of the beneficial bacteria to your tank already.

 

[The-Wolf]

If your tank is at least 20 gallons, zebra danios are the best choice. Add about 5 and in 6 weeks your tank should have cycled.

why, oh why do people always say zebra danios?
Yes ZD's can be used so can Leopard danios and white cloud mountain minnows etc.
(no offense ment sylvia)

you can also use fish food to cycle a tank as well as ammoina. There are many topics that will help you out posted on the forum. Use the search facillity and enter cycle.

 

[sylvia]

None taken... cause they are the hardiest and white clouds are for colder waters and leopards are harder to get hold of than zebras (well ok maybe not that much hader) Plus zebras are the most beautiful of the danios IMO so if you're going to get a danio... might as well be them.

 

[blue_ram]

i've got a new tank (600 x 350 x 400cm).

Is your tank really 6 meters long? That's almost 20 feet! If you have a money to buy a tank that big, why not hire an expert to maintain it for you? That way, you can get almost any fish you want.

Zebra danios are fine as first fish, but they are so small, they'll get lost in your big tank, unless you get a few dozens of them. But, you might want to keep them any way as your first fish, since they can be food for larger fish that you might later decide to keep. Also, livebearers (guppies, mollys, and sword tails) are good first fish as well.

It's easy to recommend first fish for most people, because they usually have 10-30 gallon aquariums. The size limits what they can keep. Unfortunately, your aquarium is so large, there's really very little restriction on what you can keep.

My recommendation is create a biotope/themed aquarium, and have an expert maintain it for you. Do a fishless cycle, and once the cycling is completed, add a large school of fish from same region; Amazon river for instance. For example, you can keep a large school of Cardinal Tetras, Discus, Corydoras, and smaller plecos. That way, its like having a small piece of Amazon River right in your own home.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Hi, from one ninja to another....


Wow, so that's a massive tank!!


If you can I'd say cycle it without fish, but if you have to then use fish. I personally don't know what to recommend to you, because I don't know what kind of fish you are eventually getting for this tank. I'm assuming that you are planning on keeping the fish you use if you cycle with fish, so you'll want something that will get along with the fish you will be getting later, but is hardy enough to cycle the tank with. If not then it doesn't really matter what you get so long as it gets the tank cycled. If you plan on getting something big that eats other fish, your cycle fish will end up as fishfood, which isn't a bad thing if that's what you are looking for. Personally I'm interested in what kind of fish you are planning on getting for such a big tank...

 

[yvez9]

I think he meant mm not cm, otherwise he has a 22000 gallon tank, which is big enough to hold a big shark or dolphins you can actually swim with!

Not to mention it is 13 feet high!

Free Willy buddy!

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Hey, I have no idea what anyone means when they speak in cm or liters, I'm strictly an inches feet and gallon person myself....

 

[sylvia]

I just ignored the measurements cause I can only work fish out in gallons or litres