Starting out

[George&Ade]

Good morning.Myself and wife have just bought an aquarium (3ftwidex15in highx12indeep)We purchased this yesterday,have put in gravel,driftwood(has been pre-soaked).We are using a "fluval biolife"filter/heater and have purchased the relevant filters,biolife rings etc.the temperature is 75degrees at present.We have also added 2 capfulls of "cycle".We both realise the importance of NOT adding fish yet due to the levels of nitrite,nitrate and ammonia.The 3 questions we have are.1..how long before we can start to add fish? 2..what would the best type of fish be to begin with(we hope to have smallish but very colourfull fish) 3..what is the ideal temperature for the water?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this,as you can see,we are VERY new to tropical fish keeping,and would be very gratefull for any help or advice.

 

[Dragonslair]

Hello,
I know the excitement of having your first tank is overwhelming and so too is the resistance to put your first fish into the tank. May I suggest that you have a look at my pinned subject,"advice for the absolute beginner" and my colleagues,"avoiding new tank syndrome".
To answer your next question, the most hardy of fish to use to "seed" the tank would be in my opinion the humble guppy. Just 3 maybe, to start with. You will also need a good water test kit and check you water parameters regurarly to begin with to avoid any peaks.
I would wish you enjoyment in your hobby, and we are here to help in any way we can.

 

[Dragonslair]

Just a little addition to the above. Adding Cycle in a new tank is pointless at this stage. I will explain a little later, trust me at this point. You are literally pouring good money away. 22 deg. centigrade is usually the accepted norm. Some fish may need the temp a little higher, but we will come to that a little later.

 

[DrOizo]

Dragons lair I'm sorry but I have to disagree Guppies do not make good cycling fish and all I've had from them during the cycling period is trouble. All of my other fish (see sig) have been fine but I have lost 4 guppies and I think on eis irreversably damaged. I would sugges a few tetras and I'm sure people will disagree but from my own experience these colourful little fish are hardy and haven't given me any trouble

 

[handsomeboy]

try a fishless cycle?

then add some ghost shrimp?

then add some guppies?

i wanna try that

hb

 

[Dragonslair]

DrOizo- fair comment. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect that. All I can say is horses for courses.

 

[Tenko]

As a beginner myself I looked for some small, colourful and hardy fish to start with, the sort that I couldn't kill within a week of getting them. I got 8 guppies as you can get a variety of colours. They are very playful and active and fun to watch.

After a bit of an algae bloom, partially fuelled by the application of fertilizer before the plants had a chance to settle in, I got some baby bristlenose catfish. Although they spend they're life sleeping and eating (like us really), it's a laugh watching them going about it.

The next fish I plan to get are cardinal tetras. I think they're colourful, more so than neons, and provided you get a group of them, they should shoal which will be a contrast to the behaviour of the guppies.

Having looked around the lfs for more fish, I'm considering getting some dwarf gouramis. They are a peaceful community fish and colourful too.

I hope that gives you some ideas.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Hey George&Ade

When you first set up a new tank there is no ammonia or nitrite, and only the nitrates that were in the tap water. It's the fish that create the ammonia in the first place.

This means that you can add fish at any time.

When you add fish to an uncycled tank the ammonia will begin to rise. There is no bacteria to convert the ammonia, so it builds up. If you are not careful the ammonia can rise too high and damage or kill the fish.

There are two things you can do to avoid this. The first is to start off with as few fish as you can force yourself to buy. Any fish that is not considered 'delicate' will work for cycling if you are careful. Danios are the hardiest fish I've ever come across, but guppies and lots of other fish will work as well.
While you are at the store getting fish, purchase testers for ammonia and nitrite. Also ask the store for some filter floss from their own filters, and have them bag it like a fish. This filter material will have lots of bacteria on it, and will give the cycle a good boost if you introduce it into your own filter. The cycle product that you bought actually doesn't do anything productive, it's not worth a penny - that free filter material works much better.

Test the water regularly, and do water changes any time the ammonia creeps up past 1. This will keep the fish alive and healthy even if you added too many. The higher the ammonia tests, the bigger a water change you should do.

I use fish to cycle my tanks, and I don't lose any fish because of my care. I start with so few fish that I often miss the ammonia spike in the first place. When this happens I will let two weeks go by and then add more fish in a similar quantity to what I started with. Even if I test nothing I proceed to do water changes during the cycle on a twice-weekly schedule to make sure.

Hope this helps

 

[sinistral]

I would also recommend the fishless cycle. I got 3 platies to cycle the tank (I do highly recommend platies as well-- very colorful, hardy, and peaceful). However, I lost one of them in the cycling process. I know that it's a fact of this hobby that fish die, but it was heartbreaking to learn in retrospect that I could have cycled the tank without stressing out my fish.

Here is a link to the notion of fishless cycling.

The most important recommendation as one newbie to another though is to get a good beginner book and read it from cover to cover a few times. I'm not trying to shill one book or another, but I read a book called The Simple Guide to Fresh Water Aquariums by David Boruchowitz and it's saved me a lot of headache in the long term. Good luck!

 

[George&Ade]

hey....can i thank you all for the wonderfull replies youve posted here to my questions.......its nice to know there is help out there for newbies like us.......thanks once again

 

[debi0662]

I started my tank with the 3 white cloud minnows

 

[MadAsToast]

I would also recommend the fishless cycle. I got 3 platies to cycle the tank (I do highly recommend platies as well-- very colorful, hardy, and peaceful). However, I lost one of them in the cycling process. I know that it's a fact of this hobby that fish die, but it was heartbreaking to learn in retrospect that I could have cycled the tank without stressing out my fish.

Here is a link to the notion of fishless cycling.

The most important recommendation as one newbie to another though is to get a good beginner book and read it from cover to cover a few times. I'm not trying to shill one book or another, but I read a book called The Simple Guide to Fresh Water Aquariums by David Boruchowitz and it's saved me a lot of headache in the long term. Good luck!

I too like the idea of Fishless cycling, however George&Ade are based in Bristol (just down the road from me) in England, Pure Ammonia is virtually impossible to get in the UK (one reason being it's a main ingredient in home made explosives so i'm told).

I'm sure it can be bought in the UK, but my my attempts to obtain it were fairly conclusive NO!

I'm a relative newbie too, and the good folks here are full of informative info. I personally used 6 Siamese Algae Eaters to cycle my tank, they're all still alive and my tank is almost cycled.

MadAsToast

 

[Jen]

When i started my tank, my first fish were 5 zebra danios. They did perfectly and lived to be 2 and a half.

 

[sinistral]

Pure Ammonia is virtually impossible to get in the UK (one reason being it's a main ingredient in home made explosives so i'm told).

Didn't realize pure ammonia was that difficult to get across the pond! White Clouds are a great choice though! I wanted to get some to start my tank in December but the gentleman working in Petco told me they were illegal in Massachusetts. Of course, I went to a different Petco in Massachusetts after I changed my mind to platies and saw some white clouds in a tank there...