Totally New To Fish, So...

[IainG]

Hi all,

I'm new here so apologies if I've put this in the wrong place. I'm looking at setting up an aquarium for a few fancy goldfish, although I'm starting off light and getting a couple to get into the swing of looking after them before I think about getting more.

I'd quite like an attractive aquarium, and having been to the local garden/pet centre place found the Aqua One AR620T, which looked great with its rounded corners and no front joins on the glass. But then I read something that said fish like width to swim about in, so started considering something that held the same sort of capacity (around 100 litres) but was wider and shallower.

So I came across the Fluval Roma 125 (look here, link fans) which looks nice (although I haven't yet seen it "in the flesh") and comes with a decent looking set of extras.

Thing is, I know so little about aquariums and fish and all things related that I'm not sure if it's what I need. I don't know the difference between internal and external filters, and although I understand I need to set the aquarium up and run it for a couple of weeks before the fish turn up, I don't know much about what to change and when.

So I'm after a couple of things ideally... firstly, some kind of advise on whether this tank would be a good one to go for in terms of quality and suitability and suchlike, and also some pointers to a good guide of how to get set up, which plants to use and so on.

Sorry for rambling on so much, and thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me.

 

[aquila]

Hello

Fluval tanks are lovely. I have one myself and it seems very good quality and I have had no issues with it. The one in the link you posted seems to come with decent components, that filter should be fairly adequate with the right stocking levels and the lights will be fine providing you're not too ambitious with plants. Obviously for goldfish you will not need to use the heater

125l isn't a huge amount where goldfish are concerned - two fancy goldfish would be the absolute maximum to be honest. Remember that those inch long fantails in the shops have the potential to grow anything up to 12" long! Goldfish are also one of the messiest species and require frequent large water changes.

As regards tank set up, there are pinned topics in other areas of the forum that will help you.

http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...ease-Read-Here/ Is a good place to start. Be prepared to do lots of reading! It is not a case of filling the tank and leaving it to run for a week as you will soon find out.

As regards plants, goldfish will eat most of them. Luckily most of the hardy low-light species that would grow in a tank with that lighting are also goldfish-proof. Elodea, Cabomba, Java Fern and Moss are usually left alone and respond well to low light.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome

Most fancy goldfish don't get as big as their standard counterparts so if you get a couple of 2inch fancy goldies they will be fine in 125litres of water. At least for a while (a couple of years probably). If you can, try to get as big a tank as you can afford. This gives the fish more room to grow and will mean you don't have to buy a bigger tank next year should they happen to outgrow the current one. Having said that if you can only afford the 125 litre tank then use that.

Fish do best in tanks that are wide and long. Height is of little importance to them as long as they have water above and below them. Tall tanks are more for people's viewing pleasure. The wider and longer the tank is the better. Tall narrow tanks can look good but aren't the best for fish keeping.

Internal filters are filters that live inside the tank. External filters live outside the tank and are connected to it via plastic hoses or pipes. Most external filters can sit underneath the aquarium and this makes the tank look neater because there is only a couple of hoses in the tank. Internal filters are smaller and take up space inside the aquarium. They are cheaper but generally less effective than externals due to their smaller size.

It is prefered to set the tank up and add a liquid ammonia to the water. This is added every day for several weeks during which time the filters develop colonies of good bacteria. These good bacteria are used to keep the water clean by breaking down fish food and waste.
Using a liquid ammonia to start the filters is called a fishless cycle (because no fish are in the tank while it cycles/ develops the good bacteria).
You can have fish in the tank while it cycles but they are at risk of dieing due to the ammonia and nitrite levels that build up during the filter development phase.
The choice is yours as to which one you prefer to use. If you have fish in the tank while it cycles keep the feeding down to a bare minimum and do regular partial water changes to keep the ammonia levels low.

As mentioned goldfish will eat plants because they are vegetarian. It is good for them but can get costly replacing them. You can feed the fish on vegetables like peas and pumpkin and add vegetable pellets or flake to their diet. This limits the amount of plants that get eaten but will not stop it completely.