So I'll be getting an apartment this summer after this college semester (finally) so I'll finally be able to take my love of fish seriously. I'm planning to start with a tank between 40 and 55 gallons and it all depends on what's the best buy, I'll mainly be looking for these on Craigslist.
Acryclic or Glass?
I've been told Acryclic is much more reliable than glass (I'd rather not have my tank exploding in my living room or crashing through the floor ontop of my neighbors while they're having family supper lol)
The size of the tank isn't set in stone, it all depends on the price which I can get it but 40-55g is the range I'm looking for. Also this depends on my landlord and how big of aquariums they allow. I'm unsure but at what point does one have to worry about the weight on the floor becoming an issue? (I'd like to live upstairs, be the top person, because back in Pheonix my father and I lived on the bottom floor and the pipe burst (the nasty ones...) we had a very old woman living above us...) bad experience with 1st floor spaces....
The reason I'm starting this up now (~ 5 months before) is because first I need to settle on a size that will fit the fish I want (i am not touching tanks in the 100g area... that is just too much for me as a beginner and i know i'll have to worry about the floor then...) then I need to start looking around and gathering information, prices, etc. and THEN I need to call my future landlord and ask and if that landlord says no, I need to look for other apartments (my apartment has to be found and ready before i get out so i can just move in instead of having to haul my things my my grandmother's for storage and then haul them aaaaaall the way back) As you can tell... I have this pretty well thought out. Which is good, but the con is I'm fretting about it for 5 months. LOL
The main fish I'm planning on getting is Pictus Catfish;
For every 3 people that say pictus should go into a minimum of 70 or more gallons there's 10 that say they'll be fine in 55 gallons and then there's a mix number of people that say 30 gallons minimum will be perfectly fine. It's all over the place with no reliable, solid answer. As long as they have plenty of floor space in my future tank they should do fine. If they do get to big and uncomfortable, its not a hard situation, you give them to someone who has more room. I'm not sure why people chew my butt up about Pictus, the solution if they get to big is very simple. They only start out around 2-3" when you get them at the store so a tank around 55g shouldn't be a problem at all at first.
Reason why for pictus and not other fish is because I used to have one in the past as a child and he brightened up my day, every day, every hour. The breed is very dear to me with many good memories.
Aside from the Pictus, I want a few tankmates, preferably middle and top dwellers. I don't want the bottom to belong to anyone but the Cats. The middle and top fish need to be of similar size to the Cats and also need to be just as active. Recommendations? I was thinking about a molly of some type maybe?
Anyways, advice on tank sizes? How big can I go in an apartment SAFELY without worrying about weight?
Best place to get cheap tanks? Used is fine as long as they're in good condition (besides Cragslist?)?
I plan to get some hardy live plants to go in during the fishless cycle (and stay of course) that require minimal attention and do just fine left alone for the most part (aside from food and light and if its a tall plant, trims)
I'll be shopping at Petsmart (the LFS is untrustworthy here... lots of dead fish and bad care in the past) for most of my supplies but they don't seem to have driftwood (the fake plastic crud yes and even then very few selections) anyone know of a good place i can order some?
Acryclic or Glass?
I've been told Acryclic is much more reliable than glass (I'd rather not have my tank exploding in my living room or crashing through the floor ontop of my neighbors while they're having family supper lol)
The size of the tank isn't set in stone, it all depends on the price which I can get it but 40-55g is the range I'm looking for. Also this depends on my landlord and how big of aquariums they allow. I'm unsure but at what point does one have to worry about the weight on the floor becoming an issue? (I'd like to live upstairs, be the top person, because back in Pheonix my father and I lived on the bottom floor and the pipe burst (the nasty ones...) we had a very old woman living above us...) bad experience with 1st floor spaces....
The reason I'm starting this up now (~ 5 months before) is because first I need to settle on a size that will fit the fish I want (i am not touching tanks in the 100g area... that is just too much for me as a beginner and i know i'll have to worry about the floor then...) then I need to start looking around and gathering information, prices, etc. and THEN I need to call my future landlord and ask and if that landlord says no, I need to look for other apartments (my apartment has to be found and ready before i get out so i can just move in instead of having to haul my things my my grandmother's for storage and then haul them aaaaaall the way back) As you can tell... I have this pretty well thought out. Which is good, but the con is I'm fretting about it for 5 months. LOL
The main fish I'm planning on getting is Pictus Catfish;
For every 3 people that say pictus should go into a minimum of 70 or more gallons there's 10 that say they'll be fine in 55 gallons and then there's a mix number of people that say 30 gallons minimum will be perfectly fine. It's all over the place with no reliable, solid answer. As long as they have plenty of floor space in my future tank they should do fine. If they do get to big and uncomfortable, its not a hard situation, you give them to someone who has more room. I'm not sure why people chew my butt up about Pictus, the solution if they get to big is very simple. They only start out around 2-3" when you get them at the store so a tank around 55g shouldn't be a problem at all at first.
Reason why for pictus and not other fish is because I used to have one in the past as a child and he brightened up my day, every day, every hour. The breed is very dear to me with many good memories.
Aside from the Pictus, I want a few tankmates, preferably middle and top dwellers. I don't want the bottom to belong to anyone but the Cats. The middle and top fish need to be of similar size to the Cats and also need to be just as active. Recommendations? I was thinking about a molly of some type maybe?
Anyways, advice on tank sizes? How big can I go in an apartment SAFELY without worrying about weight?
Best place to get cheap tanks? Used is fine as long as they're in good condition (besides Cragslist?)?
I plan to get some hardy live plants to go in during the fishless cycle (and stay of course) that require minimal attention and do just fine left alone for the most part (aside from food and light and if its a tall plant, trims)
I'll be shopping at Petsmart (the LFS is untrustworthy here... lots of dead fish and bad care in the past) for most of my supplies but they don't seem to have driftwood (the fake plastic crud yes and even then very few selections) anyone know of a good place i can order some?
