Newbie Questions

[Gizela]

Hi All

I bought my first tropical fish tank setup yesterday....we are currently in
the process of staining and lacquering the stand.

The tank itself is a 20 gallon (???)....measuring 30inches long, 35cm wide
and 45cm high (I think). It came with an undergravel filter, a heater.
fluoro light, gravel, pH test kit....ummm....I think thats all.

Questions......

1. How long does the tank have to be setup for before I add fish? The guy at
the shop said 3-4 days, some internet sites say a week, some sites say 3
weeks.

2. What are some ideal first fish to get? i.e. ones that are hard to kill

3. Following the above, are there any fish that are totally "incompatible"
with other fish? What make good combinations?

4. How strict is the rule of "1 inch of fish per gallon"?

5. I have a pH test kit but the guy mentioned nothing about a nitrate test
kit (plus another type I read about on the net).....do I need one?

6. A friend mentioned adding white spot remedy stuff to the water....which
will make it blue. Should I add this before the fish go in or when then get
the white spot?

I think thats it...for now...

Thanks in Advance

Angela

[MartinOsirus]

>
>1. How long does the tank have to be setup for before I add fish

Run tank 24-48 hours - before you add fish
Go to Krib.com - to learn about Nitrogen Cycle. This can take 2-6 weeks.

>2. What are some ideal first fish to get? i.e. ones that are hard to kill

Zebra danios - put in 2

>3. Following the above, are there any fish that are totally "incompatible"
>with other fish? What make good combinations?

In general - agressive fish like tiger barbs that nip other fishes fins don't
go with peaceful long finned fish. It depends what you like !

With a 20 gallon tank - you can set up a nice "community tank" - do a search on
google for "community tanks" and this will give examples of compatible fish.

Instead of cycling your tank with the zebra danios - you can get a product
called Biospira - which are the actual needed live bacteria to cycle the tank
immeadiately. Then you can add a few compatible fish right away and avoid the
2-6 week wait for the tank to cycle.

Consider adding a hang on the back power filter to your UGF. Best is Aquaclear
150 or 200.
Set up your UGF filter for reverse flow - less likely to get clogged. Ugf
filters have to be well maintained or they get clogged.>
>6. A friend mentioned adding white spot remedy stuff to the water....which
>will make it blue. Should I add this before the fish go in or when then get
>the white spot?

>
>6. A friend mentioned adding white spot remedy stuff to the water....which
>will make it blue. Should I add this before the fish go in or when then get
>the white spot?

don't add any medicine to tank - unless fish are sick.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

[J Cox]

Martin knows his stuff, I totally agree with everything he posted. But as to
the test kits, I believe everyone should have at least a Ph test, Nitrate
test, and an Ammonia test kit. These three are important to the proper
cycling of the tank, as to the other tests available, they sure don't hurt
having them but you don't need them to be successfull.
As to the "1 inch of fish" rule, I think you might want to stick with it for
now. When you become more experienced with keeping fish, you'll learn ways
to bend this rule. Welcome to the hobby and good luck!!

Jason


"Gizela" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All
>
> I bought my first tropical fish tank setup yesterday....we are currently
in
> the process of staining and lacquering the stand.
>
> The tank itself is a 20 gallon (???)....measuring 30inches long, 35cm wide
> and 45cm high (I think). It came with an undergravel filter, a heater.
> fluoro light, gravel, pH test kit....ummm....I think thats all.
>
> Questions......
>
> 1. How long does the tank have to be setup for before I add fish? The guy
at
> the shop said 3-4 days, some internet sites say a week, some sites say 3
> weeks.
>
> 2. What are some ideal first fish to get? i.e. ones that are hard to kill
>
> 3. Following the above, are there any fish that are totally "incompatible"
> with other fish? What make good combinations?
>
> 4. How strict is the rule of "1 inch of fish per gallon"?
>
> 5. I have a pH test kit but the guy mentioned nothing about a nitrate test
> kit (plus another type I read about on the net).....do I need one?
>
> 6. A friend mentioned adding white spot remedy stuff to the water....which
> will make it blue. Should I add this before the fish go in or when then
get
> the white spot?
>
> I think thats it...for now...
>
> Thanks in Advance
>
> Angela
>
>

[E.Otter]

When doing the "1 inch of fish per gallon" rule, don't use the fish's
current size. Find out how big the fish will be when fully grown and use
that size. It may look silly to have a big tank and two tiny fish, but fish
grow and in a couple years it won't look silly. Also, some fish have
special requirements (very messy, very active, or should be kept in a school
of 6+ fish, etc...) and may need bigger tanks. Just as stress can make a
human sick or even die, fish can be stressed by inappropriate tank setups
and get sick and die too. Research the fish before buying it.

http://fins.actwin.com/ is a good place to start.

E.Otter