Fish tank rookie!

[yunt]

I've had a 30 gal tank for several years. I've had the same fish for most
of the time. I clean the tank about once a month to get rid of the excess
algae. I've read somewhere that the algae isn't bad, it just isn't very
pretty. I really don't have a clue about chemical balance, but I do know
not to add too much water at once. I think I read somewhere that it was OK
to add up to 20% of tap water to the tank and it wouldn't screw things up.
If possible I let the water sit out before I add it to the tank.
I have a couple of silver dollars, a few goldfish, some different types of
tetras (I think), a few mollies, and recently a new fish that is black and
white striped and looks something like a shark (but it's not...I'm just a
bit goofy and can't remember what it is). If and when I buy new fish I
always ask for fish that aren't aggressive because I don't want any fighting
going on...so far I've been lucky.
Anyway, I really would like to learn more about making sure the chemicals
are right and my fish are getting the most out of their existence. I've
talked to a few people that are passionate about fish and tanks and I find
that I get a bit overwhelmed with all of the information and I just pretty
much throw my hands up and put off trying until later. What I really need
is for someone to tell me where to start in really basic terms. I live in a
small town and we have a Wal-Mart. About 50 miles away there is a larger
town with a few pet stores that I could purchase the right things, but I
just don't even know where to start.
Oh, also I've never been able to keep a plochastomus (I know it's spelled
wrong!) alive. What's the trick? I feed the fish twice a day, but I'm not
sure if it's been enough. I hate to think that they died from hunger :( I
just don't know.
Anyway, please don't yell at me if I'm not doing things right. I appreciate
any help that you offer. Thanks. Kat

[Watkins Lady]

Hi Kat

There are others here which can answer your questions better than I can. I
just wanted to congratulate you on taking the time to learn the basics.
Many people don't even do that. I purchased a book called "Fancy Goldfish"
by Dr. Erik L. Johnson, DVM and Richard E. Hess and I found it helpful in
explaining the nitrogen cycle in terms I could understand. I don't really
have time right now to break it down for you, or I would.

Good luck with your fish, and with your research.

Tammy <>{

[T]

"Watkins Lady" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hi Kat
>
> There are others here which can answer your questions better than I can.
I
> just wanted to congratulate you on taking the time to learn the basics.
> Many people don't even do that. I purchased a book called "Fancy
Goldfish"
> by Dr. Erik L. Johnson, DVM and Richard E. Hess and I found it helpful in
> explaining the nitrogen cycle in terms I could understand. I don't really
> have time right now to break it down for you, or I would.
>
> Good luck with your fish, and with your research.
>
> Tammy <>{
>
>
>
>

With Pl*co's often time people believe these fellows will feed on remanants
in the tank..Not always so.. The common types of Pl*c's available to the
local WalMart or LFS are usually herdavoires.. Meaning they willing eat
vegatation.. Common available food for these critters are Algae disks.. (
you can find them at WalMart but a little more expensive in such a small
quanity ) which you can toss one in after the lights go out.. Pl*co's are
generally nocturnal feeders.. Also something Pl*c's will like are deshelled
fresh green peas, let alone everyone else in the tank.. As far as the
tetra's go ( this includes your silver dollars as they are tetra's ) they
require more of a neutral water ( a pH of around 7 ). The mollies require
brackish water. A water condition with an amount of salt.. Something the
tetra's will not enjoy much. As far as what the other fellow is ( the shark
charactor ) I can not even speculate to what this charactor is.. Most
tropicals a general rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon of water.
Now the GF rather much enjoy harder water than the tetra's prefer ( I said
prefer because most tetra's can adapt to harder water conditions ) . These
fellows are often reconmended to have 10g per inch of fish, as they tend to
be a rather messy fish.. You can buy a basic chemistry set from a place
like PETsMART or PetCo or even a specalty shop.. The best place to start is
reading as much material as you can, a reconmended web stie is thekrib.com .
Which will give you a vast resource of learning about fish keeping etc..
Don't throw your arms up, just welcome yourself into another vastly
intresting world..

Tim..

[Geezer From Freezer]

Bristlenose Plecos are good from what I have read, as far as I am aware
other plecos develop a taste for fishies slimecoat when they mature - beware!

Tropicals and Goldfish shoud not live together, water chemistry requirements
are different, and goldfish are extremely messy in comparison to Tropicals.

As far as water changes, more than 20% is fine, as long as it is treated for
Chlorine
and Chloramines and is temperature matched.

[[email protected]]

http://puregold.aquaria.net/
http://puregold.aquaria.net/pg/care/care1.htm#essentials



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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http://puregold.aquaria.net/
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Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
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endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Donald Kerns]

Geezer From Freezer wrote:

> Bristlenose Plecos are good from what I have read, as far as I am
> aware other plecos develop a taste for fishies slimecoat when they
> mature - beware!
>

In my case the goldies that were sharing a tank with a female
bristlenose catfish (the more social sex) were decidedly "skitish" with
the pl#co in there.

The behavior went away when the pl#co was removed. Never saw any
sucking, but in my case, there was a directly correlated behavior
change.

My $0.02US

-D
--
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving
that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the
proof." -Galbraith's Law

[T]

Wish I had that Albino Female Bristle nose... Dang...

Tim


"Donald Kerns" > wrote in message
...
> Geezer From Freezer wrote:
>
> > Bristlenose Plecos are good from what I have read, as far as I am
> > aware other plecos develop a taste for fishies slimecoat when they
> > mature - beware!
> >
>
> In my case the goldies that were sharing a tank with a female
> bristlenose catfish (the more social sex) were decidedly "skitish" with
> the pl#co in there.
>
> The behavior went away when the pl#co was removed. Never saw any
> sucking, but in my case, there was a directly correlated behavior
> change.
>
> My $0.02US
>
> -D
> --
> "Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving
> that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the
> proof." -Galbraith's Law

[Donald Kerns]

Jim used to have them...

[sniff]

T wrote:

> Wish I had that Albino Female Bristle nose... Dang...
>
> Tim
--
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving
that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the
proof." -Galbraith's Law