What New Fish To Buy

[lucifor666]

Hi I'm new to fish keeping I've got hold of a tropical fish tank of a relative of mine that didn't want it any more its a 20 litre tank its currently got a rainbow cichlid a Angelicus Botia Loach and a Gold Neon Tetra these so far have been living peacefully for some time but i wish to get some more fish as the tank looks empty does anyone have any ideas I'm looking for some cool/unusual freaky fish a bit out of the ordinary I don't want a boring tank of the bog standard fish you see and if i could some inverts like a clam of shrimp for the bottom feeders any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[shane87]

Hi I'm new to fish keeping I've got hold of a tropical fish tank of a relative of mine that didn't want it any more its a 20 litre tank its currently got a rainbow cichlid a Angelicus Botia Loach and a Gold Neon Tetra these so far have been living peacefully for some time but i wish to get some more fish as the tank looks empty does anyone have any ideas I'm looking for some cool/unusual freaky fish a bit out of the ordinary I don't want a boring tank of the bog standard fish you see and if i could some inverts like a clam of shrimp for the bottom feeders any help would be greatly appreciated

20litres isnt much did u mean gallon?

 

[kelly528]

Hi I'm new to fish keeping I've got hold of a tropical fish tank of a relative of mine that didn't want it any more its a 20 litre tank its currently got a rainbow cichlid a Angelicus Botia Loach and a Gold Neon Tetra these so far have been living peacefully for some time but i wish to get some more fish as the tank looks empty does anyone have any ideas I'm looking for some cool/unusual freaky fish a bit out of the ordinary I don't want a boring tank of the bog standard fish you see and if i could some inverts like a clam of shrimp for the bottom feeders any help would be greatly appreciated

Honestly, you will want to just clean it out and start over. Polka-dot loaches and Rainbow Cichlids are more suited to a 150L tank. The neon needs to be kept with at least 5 friends of the same species or they will be just miserable (well, not emotionally but you get the point )

You can craigslist them or take them to a LFS and try to get a credit for them. From there, you could go with a betta, some guppies, a pair of sparkling gouramis, or maybe some african dwarf frogs. Dwarf puffers are another good one if oddballs are up your alley--- all that puffer personality packed into 1 inch of fury!

 

[JustFrozen]

Hi I'm new to fish keeping I've got hold of a tropical fish tank of a relative of mine that didn't want it any more its a 20 litre tank its currently got a rainbow cichlid a Angelicus Botia Loach and a Gold Neon Tetra these so far have been living peacefully for some time but i wish to get some more fish as the tank looks empty does anyone have any ideas I'm looking for some cool/unusual freaky fish a bit out of the ordinary I don't want a boring tank of the bog standard fish you see and if i could some inverts like a clam of shrimp for the bottom feeders any help would be greatly appreciated

its only 5 US gallons, does it really look that empty? does it have plants, gravel etc it in?

keep in mind, especially with a tank that size, it will be harder to maintain low levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. it sounds like the tank is already cycled, but u never know when adding a lot of fish what will be too much (use liquid test kits for this to find out, and slowly add fish especially when the tank is "full")

 

[lucifor666]

Oops sorry I meant I 54 litre tank I've just cleaned it all out got a new pump and filter as the old one was on its last legs and covered in algae, changed the bulb and scrubbed all the sides and décor inside clean and I know if there's any changes to a tank like water change or new set up you should leave it a week for it to settle. So know that why I'm asking about the fish cheers

 

[aly_starh]

Oops sorry I meant I 54 litre tank I've just cleaned it all out got a new pump and filter as the old one was on its last legs and covered in algae, changed the bulb and scrubbed all the sides and décor inside clean and I know if there's any changes to a tank like water change or new set up you should leave it a week for it to settle. So know that why I'm asking about the fish cheers

oh yes, its quite easy to confuse a 54l tank to a 20l tank.

couldya get the measurements of the tank?

 

[Wills]

Oops sorry I meant I 54 litre tank I've just cleaned it all out got a new pump and filter as the old one was on its last legs and covered in algae, changed the bulb and scrubbed all the sides and décor inside clean and I know if there's any changes to a tank like water change or new set up you should leave it a week for it to settle. So know that why I'm asking about the fish cheers

Hi there this worried me a bit - did you swap over the sponges into the new filter? If not you have really disrupted the tank and it will be starting a fish in cycle situation - maybe have a look at the beginners resource center at the top of the new to the hobby page.

I think tank dimensions are needed just so we are all on the same page as to what size tank you have. At the moment if we take the 54 as being right I think that the loach and the rainbow cichlid are not suited for life in this tank I would swap them out as said above also the neon needs some friends, but if you want new fish there are a lot of options for most size tanks. It just depends on the size of them.

Wills

 

[Harlequins]

If you've put a new filter in you will need to read up on fish in cycle in the beginners section,get a good liquid test kit to test for ammonia,nitrite,nitrate and ph.

If your tank is 54l then all of these fish ideally should be in a 30 gal minimum to thrive.

 

[kelly528]

If you've put a new filter in you will need to read up on fish in cycle in the beginners section,get a good liquid test kit to test for ammonia,nitrite,nitrate and ph.

If your tank is 54l then all of these fish ideally should be in a 30 gal minimum to thrive.

Agreed! A 54l is still no 150l. Still, it opens up more doors as to what fish you can get once you find a suitable home for the poor guys in there.

 

[lucifor666]

I'm planning on getting rid of the Rainbow Cichlid and the tetra and the loach and start a fresh i might try and get my hand on the dawf puffer or a betta but still not sure on which others I've checked the ammonia and nitrate levels in the tank its all good as nearly all the water that was in the tank before I got it was put back in all I did was clean all the algae and put a new filter on and topped the water up

 

[Wills]

I'm planning on getting rid of the Rainbow Cichlid and the tetra and the loach and start a fresh i might try and get my hand on the dawf puffer or a betta but still not sure on which others I've checked the ammonia and nitrate levels in the tank its all good as nearly all the water that was in the tank before I got it was put back in all I did was clean all the algae and put a new filter on and topped the water up

Ah good decision about rehoming The problem with the filter is that its not just a machine that makes the water livable for the fish older filters are better than new ones because they have bacteria growing inside them and this makes the water good for fish. Basicaly fish live in their own toilet and their poop gives off ammonia which is highly poisonous to fish and indeed anything living. The filters bacteria eats this ammonia and turns it into nitrite which is not quite as bad as ammonia for the fish but is still dangerous for them so an other type of bacteria eats that and makes nitrate which is okay for fish in low quantities and then we as fishkeepers remove the nitrate through waterchanges.

However when you put a new filter in a tank with fish in the fish poo the filter spins the water through but there is no bacteria to eat the ammonia and so eventually after a few days the bacteria starts to grow gradually and so then the ammonia is starting to slowly eaten by this bacteria so you can see how this goes. In a mature filter like the one your tank came with everything was all good because the fish were pooping and the bacteria were being fed and so the water was in good condition but in a a new filter it has to start from the beginning and while the filter is growing all the bacteria the levels of ammonia and nitrite rise and can kill the fish.

So even if you put all the old water back its not that important the most important thing you could have done is put the sponges from the old filter in the new filter as thats where the bacteria live.

Wills

 

[onebto]

I don't want a boring tank of the bog standard fish

One persons bog standard could well be another persons exotic its all up to taste good luck with the tank