tropical tank, fish people help :)

[WombleHerp]

Ok so as you may or may not know, I am setting up anew tropical tank

I have done a fair bit of research so far, and I just want to see what I have missed

I know I need these:
1. Tank big enough for all the fish.
2. Plants to hide etc.
3. Ornaments/hides.
4. Filter.
5. Substrate ( gravel or sand or whatnot)
6. Fish food ( tropical and betta)
7. Fish ( of course lol)
8. Light/UV
9. Tank running for 2 weeks to get the correct water quality
10. Water tester kit ( PH,KH,Nitro,Ammonia etc)
11. Heater

anything I have missed please tell me

these are the fish I am putting together:

5 glass bloodfin tetras (top of tank space)
10 kuhli loaches (substrate space filled and cleanliness of tank)
2 bristlenose catfish (as above)
3 longfin glass fish
3 glass catfish
3 red eye tetras
3 rummynose tetras
1 deep black/bold red/white betta as a focal point in the tank

my theme is black/red/white/clear

Tell me what you think? And any extra advice would be great


Nat x

 

[bk201]

bettas and long finned glass fish is not a good idea bettas will nip at fish with long fins and long fined bred fish are often weak and imbred.

 

[missllama]

i made a tropical fish tank thread ill add the link in a sec beacuse i was clueless at first and there were some extreemly helpful members on here that were fish experts! and it made setting up my tank so much easier!

 

[missllama]

here it is
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/other-animals-5363/i-want-fish-105968

lots and lots of posts on there so u might find some usefull info i sure did! i had no clue about fish and now i have been sucessfully keeping them (alot better then i thought lol)

 

[WombleHerp]

Oh! I forgot, also 3 harlequin rasboras aswell.

 

[WombleHerp]

Whoops when I said 'nitro' I meant to say nitrate haha

 

[Tsubakai]

Some brief suggestions -

The Kuhli's will appreciate a sand substrate - can be harder to keep clean but the loaches will love it.

Just running the tank for two weeks does nothing for the filter/water quality. You need a source of ammonia to start the whole cycling process. Once you have the tank/filter populated with appropriate bacteria then its ready - this can take as long as six weeks. Read this thread on fishless cycling - FISHLESS TANK CYCLING (MUST READ) - MonsterFishKeepers.com You can use a piece of dead prawn or something if you can't get your hands on pure ammonia.

Thirdly, have a read of some of the good fish websites around and enjoy your new hobby.

Oh I'd also suggest groups of six or more for the tetras but that is up to you. They just look really cool in bigger schools.

 

[dragozz]

Thats right it will take longer then 2 weeks to cycle your tank. Make sure that you get your toughest fish first and that you only add one or two (small amount at a time) I would leave the tetras until the end, but ye have a read on cycling a new aquarium. There are a few methods, I have always found that starting them with a tough fish first to get the ammonia in the tank is a good way to go and by adding only a fish or a couple of fish at a time as that won't shock your system.

An aerator might also be a good thing to add to your list for some extra oxygen in the tank for the fish. What size tank are you thinking of getting and what type of filter?

 

[Tsubakai]

Found another intro piece on cycling - http://www.fishforum.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=163

Personally I won't use fish to cycle a tank as I think its cruel to put them through the spikes of ammonia and nitrite which is why I always push the fishless cycling methods.

 

[WombleHerp]

Ahh yes, I forgot to mention I'm going to get an air pump/tube/stone to put some extra bubbles in there

ok, so longer then two weeks thanks for that info, I'll give those websites a look

I agree, I will not use fish until the water conditions are fully set up and ready to go, just wasn't too sure how long it would take. However I am patient and this is going to be so much fun!

I've never thought any other hobby besides herps would interest me, but I've been looking at fish recently and I got that feeling, the one that tells me I'm really going to get into this, Just as much as herps

I've looked after fish at one of my jobs, so have a little bit of experience already which to me is great lol I'm not just starting out so to speak.

One day I'd like to have a couple of marine tanks, but I'll leave those until I'm married and my hubby can help with the workload lol I'm already going bonkers with animals as it is (on my wage ATM while I'm studying that is, once I get a full time job it's ANIMAL time!! Hehehehehehe)

ummmm for the filter and tank size, I haven't really put that much thought into yet, but I'm going to make sure it can happily house all my fish with places to hide if they ever need it.
Any suggestions what size tanks to go for? Maybe 4ft?
Not one of those aquaOne tank products already setup, not interested in one of those. It can be cheaper running it from scratch

thanks again!! Big help already, I appreciate that

Nat x

 

[WombleHerp]

Oh, also, if I did get bigger schools of the fish rather then just 3? What tank size would you suggest?

I just didn't want to overcrowd them, and still
have a large variety to fill almost all the spaces in the tank (top, bottom, centre, ad sides.)

 

[oreo1]

dont forget the guppys!! oh wait..by tropical do you mean salt water

 

[WombleHerp]

I don't particularly want guppies in my setup they are spastic lol they would be cool in other setups, but not myne as of yet. I probably will be getting more tanks as the hobby goes on lol I'll definately get some guppies, but not just yet

 

[Sock Puppet]

I have a 4' tank with Aussie natives in it (can see some pics in my profile albums). Currently the only filtration I use is an under gravel filter with a high flow rate dual outlet air pump with large airstones. This has served me well for a number of years, however I have recently been considering going to a canister filter (anyone with recommendations or advice please PM me, I'd like to be hear real life experiences with these rather than just the pet shop sales spiel).

Just remember once your tank is set up, don't overfeed the fish. And get into a routine of regularly testing the water, depending on your local water supply, pH & hardness levels can fluctuate considerably. It's better to do smaller, but more frequent, water changes than to leave it for ages & change a lot of the water.

Real plants instead of fake are so much nicer in the tank, & don't be shy with the plants either, you can put quite a few in. If you use natural wood, it's a good idea to soak it for a while before adding it to the tank so it can leach out any tannins which would turn your water brown (nothing unsafe about it, it's just brown water).

Don't forget to get all your cleaning items too, a scour for the glass, a gravel siphon, & I use a toothbrush to clean out air tubes.

Good luck & don't forget to post some pics when it's set up!

 

[miss2]

cycling your tank is one of the most important things you can do and also one of the main things people tend to not do. also member to add your fish slowly... 2 or 3 every few days never introduce a big bunch to a newly established tank.
filter wise, if you have the money to do it i would recommend a fluval canaster filter, i run them on my 3ft,4ft and 6 ft tanks and have never had a problem, they come with a warranty and just generaly a great product!

 

[dragozz]

I would go for a canister filter, Eheim is brilliant. Jager heaters are also brilliant for heating. I always run two filters just in case so one canister and one hang on filter like the aqua clear. You can go 4 ft, but don't forget about the width of the tank too. You can have a standard width or 18" or even 24" so that will make a big difference too.

Starting to cycle your tank with one fish, especially in a 4ft tank for eg. is not cruel at all. The ammonia produced by one fish will not do anything to it. It will just kick start the cycle by them producing a steady production of ammonia and therefore producing a steady amount of good bacteria in your filter bed. But of course each to their own, In my experience however I found that some ammonia products can put your tank out of whack more then do it any good.

Also, keep in mind that if your products for fishless cycling are exposed to higher heat they will no longer work so when purchasing them, if they have mishandled (at any stage from importing to keeping at the shop ) they simply won't do the job.

Fish are a lot of fun, I had 20 tropical tanks and a 3 marine tanks before I got into reptiles haha just not enough time and space to keep it all now

 

[miss2]

also c if you can get some of a product called " cycle" it starts the cycle off by adding bacteria - i use it even when doing a small water change