Hey yall!
New to the forum. You guys seem like a good bunch, judging by the quality of the posts. Okay, enough of the brown-nosing!
I got an AquaOne 380 setup for my birthday (my gf is the best!). I had a tropical tank when I was about 9 or 10, so I'm not a lilly-white novice, but I'm nowhere near an expert.
This is my understanding so far...
From what I've read, the most important thing seems to be good bacteria and good water quality. That said, I'm under the impression that so long as I do a partial water change every week or so, and don't shock the fish with major changes, most fish don't sweat less-than-optimum pH and water-hardness. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are the real culprits, and if I build up my tank slowly, and change the water regularly, I should be sweet. Sweet?
So, assuming that I'm not too far off the mark there...
1.What do you guys think of the AquaOne tank, filter, light setup? Is there anything I should be particularly careful about with them? I've already got one, so don't tell me to get something else...
2.What fish do I get?
It's #2 that I'm most curious about. I've only got about 34 litres to work with, so I'll need to be selective. I'm thinking...
-A few interesting live-bearers.
-A group of 8-10 tetra-type schoolers.
-A couple *slighly* larger feature-fish.
-A couple of bottom-feeders.
Is this too much?
I remember having guppies when I was younger, and I like the idea of having some live-bearers again, but my tank will likely be maxed out after a few months of them doing their thing, alone! How bad would I be if I gave some cover to the fry, let them fend for themselves, and give away any surplus that made it? Or will the SPCA be on my tail? I want something not too common looking, which may be hard to achieve with live bearers! I've seen some interesting-looking platties, fat red ones with blue eyes, and the like...what comes to mind?
Neons are very popular, and I loved the ones I had years ago, but now I'd be partial to something else. I saw some silver coloured ones with a red eye and a black tail with a stripe. What are these called? What are they like?
I really like the look of the Silver-Dollars, and the American Flagfish. I've heard the Silver-Dollars are pretty agro tho. Is that true? Can they be trusted? How about the Flagfish? I don't know anything about them... Are there any less-common favorites out there I should consider?
And then there's the bottom-feeders. I like the look of the clown loach, but it may get a bit too big for my tank. What about those little eel-like guys? Anything else interesting come to mind?
Ah, and then I need to know what order to put them in! I kinda thought the few live bearers first, to let the tank come up to speed, then the tetras a couple weeks later, then the bottomers, then the others. Do I need to worry about teritorial type fish going in last? Have I mentioned anything that I need to be especially cafeful with?
Oh, and to keep algae down, are snails a good idea?
I'm kind of thinking out loud with this stuff, but I'd appreciate your comments and advise. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks!
Brian
