What Fish Should I Have?

[Goldfish_girl]

Helloo everyone! I have decided not to be true to my name after finding out my [post="http/www.aquaone.co.uk/starter_aquariums.php"]aquastart 500[/post] is not suitable to hold any goldfishys .......... So instead I am going to start a tropical community ... ....... anyway more to the point I have some questions,

- What fish are pretty and interesting, make good community fish that will be able to live comfortably in a 65 litre tank (I think about 17 gallons) but are reletively easy to look after for someone who is 13 years old?

- will my UG filter work OK or should I get a HOB filter keeping inmind that my budget is about 70$ (Auzzie dollars) for everything except for the aquarium and gravel .

- I have a 50-55 watt aqua one heater (used it once) which reccomends using it for up to 55 litre aquariums but I dont really have the money to buy another 50 heater....do you think I could use the old one?

-What fish could cycle the tank and stay as permanent residents in my aquarium that still look nice etc.?
Thanx guys for any help I'm really looking forard to this!

Lauren

 

[mark.w.jones]

Id go for a HOB, frees up space in tank + is easier to maintain than an UGF.

That heater will probably be OK. It will have to stay on longer to heat your water up so may not last as long.

Fish wise platys are considered quite hardy, as are pygmy cories. Harlequin Rasboras, Cherry barbs and some tetra sp. are also good.

Ideally you should fishless cycle your tank. Check link in my sig. This needs to be done by an adult though as ammonia hydroxide is very toxic. If you don't want to fishless cycle then get hold of some filter sponge / media from a mature tank's filter and add that into your HOB where indicated. Then add a small school, maybe 5 of your chosen fish. Leave these for a few weeks to help things settle, then add your next school of fish and repeat until fully stocked.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi, a tropical sounds a good idea, there are lots of nice and colourful fish can go in a 65 ltr tank, Can't advise you on the filters, I'm afraid, as I've never used an UG- they hadn't been invented when I first kept fish 35 years ago, and were considered old hat when I took up fishkeeping again recently. But somebody else will know.

For suitable fish- if you like the colours and personality of goldfish, I don't think you could do better than platies. Two or three females would still leave room for other fish, and if you don't introduce a male, they will stop having babies eventually. (this is the only real problem with keeping livebearers, they breed like rabbits). If you are really lucky, you may be able to find someone who can sell you virgin females, so that sorts the baby question. Males are obviously a more baby-safe option, but you can have aggression issues with male platies, they're not as peaceful as they were, possibly because so many of them have swordtail in them these days. If you do go for males, I'd get at least 5, to spread aggression.

Platies are technically speaking hardy enough to cycle a tank, but I would really advise you to look into the pinned topic on fishless cycling; it made my second phase of fishkeeping so much happier than the first.

Not sure how cories go with an undergravel filter, otherwise they would be second on my list of recommended fish. Lovely little characters, peaceful and great fun. But somebody would have to advise on the filter.

Then there are various tetras. Neons are not very hardy and really only want to go in a mature tank, preferably in soft acid water, but there are lots of others to choose from: glowlights, black neons, black phantoms and lots of others. Tetras tend to be schooling fish, so you would want to get a group of at least 6. Just make sure you check them out on here first, as some are more sensitive/picky than others.

Harlequin rasboras are another nice little schooling fish.

Cherry barbs would also do well in a tank that size. They are a little shy, and you don't need to keep a full school: a trio of one male (the red ones) and 2 females would do nicely.

You may be advised to get danios as being hardy, and this is true. The only problem is that they are also very active, and the tank is actually a tad on the small side for their level of activity.

Stay away from anything with a shark in its name: it is bound to require a big tank! Also avoid common and sailfin plecs. You could squeeze in a bristlenose, if you were content just to have a few other fish in the tank.

 

[fishboy619]

-What fish could cycle the tank and stay as permanent residents in my aquarium that still look nice etc.?
Thanx guys for any help I'm really looking forard to this!
some good starter fish for you could be hardy tetra such as black neons or cardinals, platies and guppies are excellent starter fish but do breed quickley.i think a few male guppies wiuld look great, i know they can be aggressive but kept in small groups of about 3-5 they do ok, i have never had problems.they are hundreds of different platys to chose from.
personally a HOB filter would be best, more room in tenk for fish and easier to work IMO.adding a few live plants also helps filtering, it wont rerplace needing a filter but will help.not too sure about the heater as you live the other side of the world from me and the temp. is a lot different from cold,wet england, i would say aslong as you tank water is kept as a regular temp of around 25oC then what ever works best.personally i now people wont like this but i have always cycled with fish, usally live beares or tetras, i have never lost any fish due to this.but of corse its up to you.