Fluffypants Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Hi, we just bought our aquarium on Saturday for our daughter's 14th birthday. It's an Aquastart 500 50w x 34d x 50h - 65 litres. The tank has been set up with live plants, and we have put in some Ferropol fertilizer, Stress Zyme and Aqua One water conditioner. The tank is now running at 25.9 C (thermostat 23.5) after our initial 'cooking' of the plants with 28C when the stat was set at 25 (and we now have an internal temp probe). Better to learn that the stat setting is unreliable before we put the fish in! I have been reading a few books (and this forum) and now have information overload. My head has started to spin when calculating the final size of the fish and the tank quantity. I just do not compute!!! We want a good variety but are worried that we might cramp the tank. Our plan was to have: 10 neon tetras 6 platies 6 zebra danios 2 dwarf gouramis 6 guppies 1 siamese fighter Is this amount too much? Are the numbers of each type correct? And should we introduce the neons or the platies first? (I read something about neons getting white spot in a new tank.) We don't know what sort of algae eaters to get and have been put off by some of the big fish (?plecos) that we've seen in the petshops. This brings me to the next question. Where to buy from? Animates seem expensive compared to the other stores. Should I always buy from the same store to minimize the risk of introducing infections? Some shops seem to have really dirty tanks especially when compared to Organism (where we bought some plants from yesterday). Lots of questions but I'm hoping I've come to the right place for advice. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great White Hand Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Welcome Fluffypants! Unreservedly recommend "Organism" (IMO we must support small LFS if we wish to enjoy the friendly, dedicated, and expert service and products they provide) . You should also go for a trip to "Redwood Aquatics" in Hussey Rd (opposite Willowbank). Animates (where I won't shop again) sold me a beautiful male Betta (siamese fighting fish) knowing I had a Dwarf Gourami, the gourami tormented the Betta for a couple of days (the real damage was done at night when I couldn't see what was going on), before I could seperate them (had to get a hospital tank set-up). the poor Betta died a day later. So Betta and Gouramis, same family, in this case, potential conflict. Regards, TGWH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Welcome Fluffypants!!! Love the name!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Hi fluffypants and welcome. That will be too many fish for your small tank. Save money and stop adding the fertiliser, Stress Zyme and water conditioner, they are not needed. You will not have cooked the plants at 28C and by now you will realise that 25 on the heaterstat doesn't necessarily mean 25C :roll: . Neons are not good to start a tank with as their quality seems to leave a lot to be desired these days and they will most likely die in a newly set up tank. The zebra danios would be excellent to start with as they are hardy. 6 of these would cycle your tank nicely. If you start with them, do not add any more fish for at least 1 month to give the bacteria time to build up in the undergravel filter. This is what we mean by "cycle". As the fish produce waste, this is converted by good bacteria into harmless stuff and builds up slowly over time. If you add too many fish at once they will die from ammonia poisoning as the new bacteria can't multiply fast enough to keep up with the wastes produced. Guppies and platies are livebearers so will produce fry every 4 - 6 weeks - hundreds of them! If you do not want this, as you will have to have somewhere to put them, get all males. Otherwise, you want a ratio of one male to every 3 - 4 females. I would not add a Siamese Fighter (although many will disagree with me) I feel they are better suited to a species only tank of their own. Dwarf gouramis are sensitive to water conditions so don't add them either until the tank has matured a few months and stabilised. How about attending the next Totally Tanked meeting? Check out http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/februa ... 18496.html They will be able to give you a lot of help (and maybe fish and plants too ) and help you work out what is best for your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Good advice there for you fluffypants. Welcome aboard. Visions of you in a bunny suit with that name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopy Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Hi there Fluffypants! and WELCOME! Lol! You bet me to it Caryl! You will all be more than welcome to come along to our meeting! Welcome again and hope to see you! Sharon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypants Posted January 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Thank you everyone for the welcomes and good advice. We are going to Organism (have to be careful how I say/type that name) tomorrow to get some fish and will probably go for the danios. Good to know about the prolific breeding habits of the guppies and platies. My daughter is keen on breeding but there is no way we are equipped for that kind of stuff yet. We had been planning on introducing the next species a fortnight later but will now wait at least a month? Alan - I have been known to wear a bunny suit before but not the sort you would see in a certain magazine :oops: Loopy - saw the notice re the meeting on Saturday. Sorry, but we won't be able to make it as we already have something on. We would love to come to the March meeting though. Thanks again for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Sorry this is late, but welcome to the forums You will love it here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypants Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Yay, our tank now has occupants. The kids have been so desperate to have fish that they had started to name the leaves that were floating in the tank. Our new family members are 2 golden plecos (Flo and Joe) and they have been flat out whizzing around the bottom and sides of the tank giving it a good going over since we introduced them. I have tried to get a photo of them but I am surprised at how fast they can move. Now we just have to wait patiently until our next adoption :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I hate to say this but they are a bad choice for a newly set up tank They graze on minute algae and your new tank won't have any. The tank is not cycled either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Hi and welcome. I'm having a good laugh at the thought of the kids naming the leaves :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Plecs generally live in polluted waters in the wild, so should be ok. Just make sure to feed algae tablets. If they are bristlenose then make sure the tank has wood in it. Personally I think Danios are the best first fish to go for. I'm quite liking pearl danios lately. What type of 'plec' is it? Golden Bristlenose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Organism Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Dont worry Caryl, the tank already has some algae starting to grow. They also have JBL plecochips which contain wood lignin for digestion. We almost always recommend hardy algae grazing fish as starting fish. In this case GBAs locally bred and raised. This helps keep new tanks clean in the initial start up phase (when algae can often grow quite quickly) We also find that these types of bottom dwelling fish are better suited to picking up any "overfed food" which can happen with new tanks and new hobbiests feeding patterns. We also carefully explain correct feeding amounts and tank cycling procedures. We will be monitoring fluffypants water closely to pick up on any potential water quality problems associated with cycling before they become a threat. We use these types of fish and procedures time and time again with great results. Kind regards John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Good to hear John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 That's awesome. Good work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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