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Newbie Questions
I have just purchased my first tank and would like some tips from you
experts. I have a 2ft tank have filled it up with water, heater is set for 26C and the water temp is steady at that temp. I have bought a water softening pillow and put in the filter for 24 hours (as I have extremely hard water in my area) I have also Added some tap water conditioner to the tank as well as some water clearing solution. When Can I add the fish? There are 4 plants in the tank and I have added a large rock feature (plastic resin) for the fish. I have got a PH testing kit and the PH level is now at 7.0 which I am told is good for a mixed fish tank. Regarding the PH levels. My tap water was a PH of 8 which was a little bit too high, now to lower this I used water from my tap water filter (the ones you use to filter your drinking water) as I did a test on this water and the PH level was 5.5 so I guessed that adding this water would eventually balance the PH level out. 1. Ok now what fish should I get? 2. How many fish will this tank sustain without being overcrowded? I would like fish that don't eat each other and no fish that grow larger than a few centimetres. 3. Is my cheap solution an ok way of balancing the PH levels out? 4. What other "stuff" do I need to get i.e. ammonia testers, as I have seen so much stuff my head is spinning. 5. What food is good for the fish I am about to get?? 6. When I do a small water change(not the whole tank) do I have to warm the new water up or can I just add it a bit at a time? 7. Anything else you can think of that might help TIA my e-mail address is blazer666(at)rapidplay(dot)com |
wrote:
some water clearing solution. When Can I add the fish? Read this: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html Regarding the PH levels. My tap water was a PH of 8 which was a little bit too high, now to lower this I used water from my tap water filter (the ones pH is not that important, unless you're trying to breed a particular kind of fish. 1. Ok now what fish should I get? Depends on what you like. 2. How many fish will this tank sustain without being overcrowded? I would like fish that don't eat each other and no fish that grow larger than a few centimetres. A crue rule of thumb is 1" of fish per gallon of water. 3. Is my cheap solution an ok way of balancing the PH levels out? Leave the pH alone. 4. What other "stuff" do I need to get i.e. ammonia testers, as I have seen so much stuff my head is spinning. Read the website. 5. What food is good for the fish I am about to get?? Good quality food is important. Flake is ok, frozen food is good. 6. When I do a small water change(not the whole tank) do I have to warm the new water up or can I just add it a bit at a time? Depends on the temp differential. 7. Anything else you can think of that might help -- Victor Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam he Email me he |
"Victor Martinez" wrote in message ... wrote: some water clearing solution. When Can I add the fish? Read this: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html Regarding the PH levels. My tap water was a PH of 8 which was a little bit too high, now to lower this I used water from my tap water filter (the ones pH is not that important, unless you're trying to breed a particular kind of fish. 1. Ok now what fish should I get? Depends on what you like. 2. How many fish will this tank sustain without being overcrowded? I would like fish that don't eat each other and no fish that grow larger than a few centimetres. A crue rule of thumb is 1" of fish per gallon of water. 3. Is my cheap solution an ok way of balancing the PH levels out? Leave the pH alone. 4. What other "stuff" do I need to get i.e. ammonia testers, as I have seen so much stuff my head is spinning. Read the website. 5. What food is good for the fish I am about to get?? Good quality food is important. Flake is ok, frozen food is good. 6. When I do a small water change(not the whole tank) do I have to warm the new water up or can I just add it a bit at a time? Depends on the temp differential. 7. Anything else you can think of that might help -- Victor Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam he Email me he |
Re which fish to get,look on a website or get a book with different species
and what they need. 'Community' tank fish are usually the easiest to keep. They tend to live and feed at different levels of the tank so to make the most of the space you could have 'bottom level', 'mid', and 'top' feeders. hope this is useful, Fifi "Victor Martinez" wrote in message ... wrote: some water clearing solution. When Can I add the fish? Read this: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html Regarding the PH levels. My tap water was a PH of 8 which was a little bit too high, now to lower this I used water from my tap water filter (the ones pH is not that important, unless you're trying to breed a particular kind of fish. 1. Ok now what fish should I get? Depends on what you like. 2. How many fish will this tank sustain without being overcrowded? I would like fish that don't eat each other and no fish that grow larger than a few centimetres. A crue rule of thumb is 1" of fish per gallon of water. 3. Is my cheap solution an ok way of balancing the PH levels out? Leave the pH alone. 4. What other "stuff" do I need to get i.e. ammonia testers, as I have seen so much stuff my head is spinning. Read the website. 5. What food is good for the fish I am about to get?? Good quality food is important. Flake is ok, frozen food is good. 6. When I do a small water change(not the whole tank) do I have to warm the new water up or can I just add it a bit at a time? Depends on the temp differential. 7. Anything else you can think of that might help -- Victor Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam he Email me he |
Definately keep to small fish when fully grown. I have only had fish for 5
months and soon upgraded from 96 litre(2'6" along front) to 260 litre (4' front) There is so much more activity in the larger tank even with the same fish, my tetras love the extra space as do the platies. Each are considered suitable for your size tank. My planted first tank didn't give enough cover when the inevitable "bully" appears and there always seems to be one!!, but my large tank has no such problems. When it has cycled, cories are delightful for the bottom, again get 3 or 4 of the smaller ones and keep it simple to start with by either a fishless cycle or 3 fish to cycle with and lots of small water changes to minimise the stress for them. I cycled with 3 platies (didn''t know any better at the time) who are still thriving, with the inevitable fry on day10 of the cycle, who are now beautiful fish and I kept them all!! I now have 21 platies, who IMO are great. I have angels, tetra, otos and cories, but my platies add colour and activity, they are always busy, and the angels now are helping with the inevitable population explosion that comes with livebearers. So, keep it simple, there are plenty of sites who recommend good first fish and the reasons why. wrote in message ... I have just purchased my first tank and would like some tips from you experts. I have a 2ft tank have filled it up with water, heater is set for 26C and the water temp is steady at that temp. I have bought a water softening pillow and put in the filter for 24 hours (as I have extremely hard water in my area) I have also Added some tap water conditioner to the tank as well as some water clearing solution. When Can I add the fish? There are 4 plants in the tank and I have added a large rock feature (plastic resin) for the fish. I have got a PH testing kit and the PH level is now at 7.0 which I am told is good for a mixed fish tank. Regarding the PH levels. My tap water was a PH of 8 which was a little bit too high, now to lower this I used water from my tap water filter (the ones you use to filter your drinking water) as I did a test on this water and the PH level was 5.5 so I guessed that adding this water would eventually balance the PH level out. 1. Ok now what fish should I get? 2. How many fish will this tank sustain without being overcrowded? I would like fish that don't eat each other and no fish that grow larger than a few centimetres. 3. Is my cheap solution an ok way of balancing the PH levels out? 4. What other "stuff" do I need to get i.e. ammonia testers, as I have seen so much stuff my head is spinning. 5. What food is good for the fish I am about to get?? 6. When I do a small water change(not the whole tank) do I have to warm the new water up or can I just add it a bit at a time? 7. Anything else you can think of that might help TIA my e-mail address is blazer666(at)rapidplay(dot)com |
Most importantly, don't forget to properly cycle your tank. Too many fish at
once can only lead to disaster and heartache. The nitrogen cycle is the #1 thing to consider in starting a new tank. Start with a few very hardy fish to get the waste product going and hence the ammonia eating bacteria colony started. Zebra Danios are an excellent starter fish. If your tank becomes cloudy with a milky color after a couple weeks, don't worry about it, it's a bacteria bloom and is normal part of the cycle. It will work itself out in about a week. Check your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels regularly and do alot of 20 - 25% water changes during this time. You'll see a spike in the ammonia, then after that you'll see a spike in nitrites. When ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and you have some nitrates in the tank, your cycle is complete. Live plants play a part in this also. Once your cycle is completed (usually 6 to 8 weeks) then you can stock your tank with your preferences. pH isn't that big a deal. I've read that the best practice is to leave the pH alone. Hope this helps. -- Happy Fishin' ... Ray wrote in message ... I have just purchased my first tank and would like some tips from you experts. I have a 2ft tank have filled it up with water, heater is set for 26C and the water temp is steady at that temp. I have bought a water softening pillow and put in the filter for 24 hours (as I have extremely hard water in my area) I have also Added some tap water conditioner to the tank as well as some water clearing solution. When Can I add the fish? There are 4 plants in the tank and I have added a large rock feature (plastic resin) for the fish. I have got a PH testing kit and the PH level is now at 7.0 which I am told is good for a mixed fish tank. Regarding the PH levels. My tap water was a PH of 8 which was a little bit too high, now to lower this I used water from my tap water filter (the ones you use to filter your drinking water) as I did a test on this water and the PH level was 5.5 so I guessed that adding this water would eventually balance the PH level out. 1. Ok now what fish should I get? 2. How many fish will this tank sustain without being overcrowded? I would like fish that don't eat each other and no fish that grow larger than a few centimetres. 3. Is my cheap solution an ok way of balancing the PH levels out? 4. What other "stuff" do I need to get i.e. ammonia testers, as I have seen so much stuff my head is spinning. 5. What food is good for the fish I am about to get?? 6. When I do a small water change(not the whole tank) do I have to warm the new water up or can I just add it a bit at a time? 7. Anything else you can think of that might help TIA my e-mail address is blazer666(at)rapidplay(dot)com |
As others have posted, messing with pH can be a real pain. I do tend to
disagree with the statement that pH isn't important. Putting fish that prefer a low pH in a tank with a pH of 8 can shorten the life of the fish. With a constant pH, it may not make that big of a difference, but you may eventually decide on breeding etc. With a pH of 8, if you want the best bang for your buck, IE. lots of fish, I'd research the Lamprologus multifasciatus. These cichlids from Lake Tanganyika would love your pH of 8 and you could do about a dozen in that tank. Tim www.fishaholics.org Here's a profile on the L. multifasciatus I haven't moved to the new site yet. http://66.70.90.40/fish/l_multifasciatus.shtml |
Subject: Newbie Questions
From: "Ray Martini" Date: 10/31/2004 7:21 AM Central Standard Time Message-id: Most importantly, don't forget to properly cycle your tank. Too many fish at once can only lead to disaster and heartache. The nitrogen cycle is the #1 thing to consider in starting a new tank. Start with a few very hardy fish to get the waste product going and hence the ammonia eating bacteria colony started. Zebra Danios are an excellent starter fish. If your tank becomes cloudy with a milky color after a couple weeks, don't worry about it, it's a bacteria bloom and is normal part of the cycle. It will work itself out in about a week. Check your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels regularly and do alot of 20 - 25% water changes during this time. You'll see a spike in the ammonia, then after that you'll see a spike in nitrites. When ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and you have some nitrates in the tank, your cycle is complete. Live plants play a part in this also. Once your cycle is completed (usually 6 to 8 weeks) then you can stock your tank with your preferences. pH isn't that big a deal. I've read that the best practice is to leave the pH alone. Hope this helps. Instead of using fish to cycle a tank (it really is hard on them, sometimes lethal), why not fishless cycle the tank. http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html |
wrote in message ... SNIP There are 4 plants in the tank and I have added a large rock feature (plastic resin) for the fish. I have got a PH testing kit and the PH level is now at 7.0 which I am told is good for a mixed fish tank. Regarding the PH levels. My tap water was a PH of 8 which was a little bit too high, now to lower this I used water from my tap water filter (the ones you use to filter your drinking water) as I did a test on this water and the PH level was 5.5 so I guessed that adding this water would eventually balance the PH level out. what is the pH of tap water after sitting in a bucket for 24 hours? Bob |
i agree on the zebra dainos. i started my 100 gal tank with them. i got 6 of
them, i only lost 1. i still have them in the tank to this day. dont rush stocking the tank, let it cycle out. for a community tank id stick to the feeding levels formula. a few top feeders, a few mid feeders(the zebra dainos) and bottom feeders(i prefer clown loaches) . when algae starts to appear(most probbly will,and its not a bad thing, it part of nature) get a algae eater. i have 2 china algae eaters in my 100 gal tank and they do a good job keep the tank clean. i stay away from any chemicals to get rid of algae. nature provided algae eaters for that job. once your tank settles down usualy you only have to check the ph once in a while. i use good flake food in the mourning, and at night i drop in a frozen cube of brine shrimp. every once in a while i put in freze dryed blood worms for ruffage. if i notice a lot of junk on the bottom of the tank(uneaten food) i skip the brine shrimp for a few days. and let the clown loaches clean up the tank(they get lazy after a while and start eating at mid level of the tank) that forces them to eat off the bottom. me personaly, i try to stay away from chemical stuff for the tank(other than ph chemicals, and chlorine remover. ) i agree on the ph bieing not that big of a deal within reason . fish have a good range (like 6.5 to 8) so if u tank settles at a steady 7.2 without gooffing around with it, id let it there. my tank wants to hang at a 7.2 normaly, and i can lower the ph to 7(mid line) but it wants to climb at stay a 7.2, so i gave up, all my fish seem fine and happy, so let it be. dont forget the fish come from streams that get run off from rain so the ph changes often . i like the product called "stress coat" . i also use aquarium salt. (there are diffrent opinions on a touch of salt in freswater tanks) but from my experences it keeps my fish healthy. i also have learned to let sick fish work it out on there own. i treated glass fish for ich, they died anyway and i also killed a bunch of black neon tetras in the prosses of treating the tank(sorry but i cant afford a hospital tank). the best way to describe this hobby , is that you are taking care of the water,not the fish. "Ray Martini" wrote in message ... Most importantly, don't forget to properly cycle your tank. Too many fish at once can only lead to disaster and heartache. The nitrogen cycle is the #1 thing to consider in starting a new tank. Start with a few very hardy fish to get the waste product going and hence the ammonia eating bacteria colony started. Zebra Danios are an excellent starter fish. If your tank becomes cloudy with a milky color after a couple weeks, don't worry about it, it's a bacteria bloom and is normal part of the cycle. It will work itself out in about a week. Check your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels regularly and do alot of 20 - 25% water changes during this time. You'll see a spike in the ammonia, then after that you'll see a spike in nitrites. When ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and you have some nitrates in the tank, your cycle is complete. Live plants play a part in this also. Once your cycle is completed (usually 6 to 8 weeks) then you can stock your tank with your preferences. pH isn't that big a deal. I've read that the best practice is to leave the pH alone. Hope this helps. -- Happy Fishin' ... Ray wrote in message ... I have just purchased my first tank and would like some tips from you experts. I have a 2ft tank have filled it up with water, heater is set for 26C and the water temp is steady at that temp. I have bought a water softening pillow and put in the filter for 24 hours (as I have extremely hard water in my area) I have also Added some tap water conditioner to the tank as well as some water clearing solution. When Can I add the fish? There are 4 plants in the tank and I have added a large rock feature (plastic resin) for the fish. I have got a PH testing kit and the PH level is now at 7.0 which I am told is good for a mixed fish tank. Regarding the PH levels. My tap water was a PH of 8 which was a little bit too high, now to lower this I used water from my tap water filter (the ones you use to filter your drinking water) as I did a test on this water and the PH level was 5.5 so I guessed that adding this water would eventually balance the PH level out. 1. Ok now what fish should I get? 2. How many fish will this tank sustain without being overcrowded? I would like fish that don't eat each other and no fish that grow larger than a few centimetres. 3. Is my cheap solution an ok way of balancing the PH levels out? 4. What other "stuff" do I need to get i.e. ammonia testers, as I have seen so much stuff my head is spinning. 5. What food is good for the fish I am about to get?? 6. When I do a small water change(not the whole tank) do I have to warm the new water up or can I just add it a bit at a time? 7. Anything else you can think of that might help TIA my e-mail address is blazer666(at)rapidplay(dot)com |
It was about 7.8
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I have got 3 Silver Mollys now in my tank. They have been in there for 3
days now all all seems well until today when all they do is swim on the surface gulping. I am not sure if this is a sign of lack of oxygen or they are hungry (I have been feeding them a small pinch of flaked food twice a day) I have also chucked in 8 small oxygenating pills. Any ideas |
wrote in message ... I have got 3 Silver Mollys now in my tank. They have been in there for 3 days now all all seems well until today when all they do is swim on the surface gulping. I am not sure if this is a sign of lack of oxygen or they are hungry (I have been feeding them a small pinch of flaked food twice a day) I have also chucked in 8 small oxygenating pills. Any ideas I would not use the oxygenating pills! Do more small water changes. -Jen |
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