I am absolutely a newbie the fish aren;t even in the tank yet -i have just got myself a jebo R790 my 12yr old daughter and I love fish and have decided to reseach this hobby together, she has managed to care and look after 6-goldfish without losing any so we are up grading to a tropical adventure - my husband has brewed home made wine for years so he understands how to keep things at a stable temperture, we have read so much information over the last 3-4 months it gets confusing so I would like to hear some more experienced point of veiws -

How many fish IS best in a 167l tank ?

what is the best community mix?

We like fish with character who are they?

what sort of heating would we need? :bounce:

welcome to the forums shyfan

you will get lots of help on here

well done on the researching first and your daughter has done a good job so far with the goldfish

Welcome Shyfan.

It might help if you put your local in the profile so local people can help out.

Well done with the move to tropicals and may MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome) be the least of your worries

Navarre

I am absolutely a newbie the fish aren;t even in the tank yet -i have just got myself a jebo R790 my 12yr old daughter and I love fish and have decided to reseach this hobby together, she has managed to care and look after 6-goldfish without losing any so we are up grading to a tropical adventure - my husband has brewed home made wine for years so he understands how to keep things at a stable temperture, we have read so much information over the last 3-4 months it gets confusing so I would like to hear some more experienced point of veiws -

How many fish IS best in a 167l tank ?

what is the best community mix?

We like fish with character who are they?

what sort of heating would we need? :bounce:

Hi Shyfan, welcometo the site and welcome to the fantastic hobby of fishkeeping! It's great to hear that you're doing research before you start and I understand how it can get confusing when there's so much to know. But that's what keeps the hobby so interesting!

I would suggest that the single most important thing to understand about keeping fish is the nitrogen cycle. That explains how fish waste gets turned from deadly poisons into harmless substances in the water. It is vital that a tank goes through the "cycle" before you keep delicate fish in there.

I assume you have come across the concept of cycling a tank in your research - but if there is anything you don't understand please feel free to ask lots of questions here and we will help guide you through it.

As for first fish, I would highly recommend some of the peaceful barbs (gold, rosy, cherry etc). They have the following advantages:

- hardy (can even be used as cycling fish if that's what you choose)

- stay reasonably small

- compatible with all kinds of other peaceful community fish

- colourful and attractive

- bold personalities so you will see a lot of them

- cheap to buy

- easy to breed if you choose to get into that side of the hobby later.

You will need to keep them in a school of approximately 6 to 10 fish of a single type.

Other people will have other suggestions, so ask lots of questions and hopefully you will find some fish you love!

By the way, you don't mention in your profile where you live. I would also suggest visiting people in your area who have established tanks to help you get more ideas.

Welcome Shyfan.

To answer some question you will need a 200w heater all thou you might get away with a 150w.

How many fish depends on the size of the fish but a rough guide that I was told was 6 cm for every 10L

As for fish suggestions in depends on what you like some ideas are:

Cardinal Tetras and Rummy nose Tetra (This is only two of many Tetra)

Rainbow Threadfins

Corys (Pandas are V.Cute)

Glass eye catfish

For character Kribs, Blue rams and paradise fish although paradise fish can get a little aggressive.

Tropical Fish The Basics: (my opinion anyway)

To start with: set-up your tank just as you did with your goldfish (cold tap water) add the water conditioner, stick the heater in turn her on and a way you go.

Heat: use a aquarium heater (which cost $20+) these will have a in built thermostat which turns the heater on/off keeping the tank at one temp (set by you) most tropical fish need around 25'c.

Fish: neons, sword tails, rocket pencils, guppies, clown loaches.

Food: a good tropical fish flake, with some frozen or live food 1-2x per week (water flea, bloodworm, brine shrimp etc.)

Water changes: remove 20% of the tank water per week and top it up with fresh stuff.

Note: the only main deference between tropical and cold is the temp.

there are some good info topics in beginners corner

this on stocking rate

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1372

Hi shyfan and daughter. Welcome to the forums :bounce:

All the fish suggested so far are great community fish. You might want to have a look at some Bristlenoses too. They are a good cleaning crew and they are known to spawn in a comm tank.

Remember that you shouldn't add all the fish at once, get the tank cycled first then slowly add more fish over several weeks so the biological filter has time to adjust.

Thanks guys for your response, you have given us some awesome advise and answers to my questions , I will look up all the fish you have mentioned and study them well, also the answer to the heating system I will need.

Some of you mention about profile, I am still getting my way around this site so I am not to sure what you mean, I am 43 from New Plymouth is this what you mean?

I would be happy to connect with anyone in my region who has experience and can give me ideas, I am willing and patient to learn before I act rashly and make unnessary mistakes, even if it takes another 3 months to gather imformation before we start.

whetu wrote

I would suggest that the single most important thing to understand about keeping fish is the nitrogen cycle. That explains how fish waste gets turned from deadly poisons into harmless substances in the water. It is vital that a tank goes through the "cycle" before you keep delicate fish in there.

I assume you have come across the concept of cycling a tank in your research - but if there is anything you don't understand please feel free to ask lots of questions here and we will help guide you through it.

awesome, I had not come across this infro before, can you please expand it a bit for me

Thanks SO MUCH everyone your help is much Appreciated

Hi & welcome!

You will get lots of help here. As far as resourcing using the net, I usually try to find several areas and compare, in short if one site states one thing and several others state the same I think it's safe to say that it is good advice. But even when browsing the net, I usually still come back here to ask, people who are actually in the hobby I think are one of the best resources. Although, as with anything you may get different opinions (human nature)

There is a good explaination on here regarding the "cycle process" but darn I can't find it but maybe someone else can :-?

This hobby is a continious learning process I find and one that is very rewarding :bounce: :bounce:

Take care & have fun,

Caper

Hi Shyfan, I found this which seems to explain the whole start up process pretty well..... http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biolo ... ycle_2.htm