What do with a 30L tank

[nz_mitch]

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend's birthday is coming up and she's always kept goldfish (stopped a couple of years ago) so I thought I'd get everything going for her again. Problem is, I've never found goldfish that entertaining - so I wondered if anyone had any ideas about something reasonably straightforward that would be little bit more than (sorry don't meant to offend any goldfish enthusiasts!) you're everage goldfish bowl.

The dimensions are 460mm w x 250 d x 260 h; there's a decent pump/filter etc although it'd need a heater.

I'd really like to do a marine setup, but I've gathered that's not really feasible in such a small tank (I think I'm catching MTS just from browsing these forums... and I can foresee an imminent purchase of a larger tank for myself ...). If it were possible to do one (especially with clowns, we all loved Finding Nemo!) I'd really appreciate some advice on how to go about that.

Otherwise, and I think this would be the most feasbile (and cost-effective) option, could anyone suggest a good tropical setup to suit the tank? I've been down to the LFS in Takapuna and the selection of fish there was very limited. I quite like the look of Cichlids, would this be a good option?

I'd like to keep things around the $100 mark too...

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Mitch

[sharn]

cichlids probably wouldnt really work IMO. its not really long enough for any to have territories, perhaps a gold ram, possibly two.. you want something that doesnt get over 5-8cm max size i would think.

if i was in your shoes i would be getting some good lights on there (wouldnt be costly cause the tank isnt too large), planting it out real well and putting a school of cardinals, rummies, neons etc in there. possibly setting up diy co2 but you probably wouldnt need it. the heavily planted tank with a few colourful fish swimming together looks quite neat IMO.

30L is pretty small and would be hard to maintain water quality, im not sure a salt tank would do well, or be able to be set up for under 100 but im no expert on that one :lol:

good luck and have fun deciding what to do with your tank :bounce:

[SpidersWeb]

I'd go with Neon Tetras and guppies. They're friendly, and dont eat each other. Also they're cheap Guppies can be quite a bit of fun with a little moss plant thrown in as well, as they will breed quite happily. For a first time tropical owner, the cuteness of guppies and seeing the little babies wins hearts.

Cichlids are known to be aggressive and territorial in general and I agree with sharn that your tank might be a bit small for that. If you get a tank later on, I'd suggest investigating in to these fish though, I love them. Well I love them when they're not beating each other up anyway :-?

[ljtan55]

Theres plenty you can do with 30L . I agree with sharn and spider though, those cichlids wont do well in a small tank, and they get really aggressive. Exceptions are the dwarf cichlids like the blue rams - the smallest of em and only semi-aggressive.

Guppies, platies and neons go really great together in a tank like that, hardy and you're most probably get lots of babies eventually. BUT if you want more of a challenge, what about siamese fighting fish? 8) Or maybe dwarf gouramis....

[ljtan55]

Btw, go to Hollywood fish farm corner Tawa Drive and Rosedale in Albany, they've got a really good selection. But be careful or you're gonna spend waaaay more than $100.. I speak from experience :roll:

[Alan]

You don't say how far away the little lady's birthday is.

If it's a month or so, try and set it up at a mates place with half a dozen neons to get it cycling.

Then present it to her on her B/day.

Otherwise it could be a joint effort, set it up with her on the big day, you could speed things up by having the water in buckets, aged and warmed, but do the fish thing REAL slow, otherwise you will end up with deaths.

You could take her shopping at the local LFS, and say go for it, BUT $$$$.

Or do out a gift certificate for her, give a copy to the LFS and give her a B/day that way.

Happy B/day to her any way.

Alan 104

ps. Where in Auk are you.

If you are over the 'Shore, then there is a real good club there that I'm sure would help if necessary.

Also Wok is involved in another club in West Auk I think.

Al

[Rebecca]

Hi Mitch

What a neat idea for a birthday present but be warned MTS is not far away If you're on the Shore Pupuke Aquarium is a great shop, especially for a beginner as Brent is very knowledgable(?) with fish and will tell you everything you need to know, also he's got some gorgeous fish The North Shore aquarium club is great, super friendly and helpful people.

Good luck

Rebecca

[nz_mitch]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the advice - I'll pop up to the Pupuke Aquarium and have a look there. I've got a couple of weeks until birthday so I'm planning on stealing the tank and gettings things going asap..

Using the largely unreliable species-identifier, Google Image Search, I think I quite like the look of Siamese Fighting Fish (although, based on the name, are they too not too agressive for the smaller tank?).

Many thanks for your advice and anymore is appreciated - I'll let you know (as I'm sure you're all terribly interested in the goings on of a 30L tank!) how it goes.

Thanks

[Wok]

If you also want to make a little money, the best way i think is to start off with wcmm (White Cloud Mountain Minnows) and lots of Ambulia, Cabomba plants.

you can sell any extra fish you get back to the fish shops for at least $1 each. and you won't need a heater and they look good too when you have a lot in your tank.

Start off with 10 wcmm and in about a month you should have a lot more.

[Caper]

as I'm sure you're all terribly interested in the goings on of a 30L tank

And why wouldn't we be , it's not the size that...ah...well...okay, um...okay size to the fishies, *whew almost put foot in mouth*

My tanks aren't very big...but that doesn't mean my fishies and tankies , yah, I lost it...are just as important! If there is one thing I've learned here...it's about the hobby...fishies, tanks, people that own them. So, yes here's one that is interested...and I know I'm not alone

Keep us updated...and once things are all set up...and your lucky girlfriend has her great gift...post some pics

Oh...and I get the feeling MTS has begun already :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[ljtan55]

heh heh.. first you start with 30L and then you get a 50L in the next room, and then 300LITERS in the living room!!! Don't forget quarantine tanks, and breeding tanks, and spare quarantine breeding tanks... You know you've got problems when your home page is the fish place in trademe....

Love em fighting fish, but its all luck of the draw with the aggressive ones. I had 2 males that won't have anything else in the tank - kept on poking the suckerfishes even... and another 2 which swam with the fancy guppies 8). You could get a few females in a community tank, or one male in each tank. Males generally look alot nicer with the long flowing fins, but females look nice too. Nice thing about siamese fighting fishes (bettas) are that they're relatively hardy little fishes. Good luck deciding .

[Keri Anne]

I'm interested too... personally I'd put some male guppies and some male hi-finned platties in there...oh, and a bristlenose

[whetu]

1) The betta option:

Siamese fighting fish (betta splendens) are very pretty - take a look on trade me, someone is selling a few (males and females) and they're all very attractive. Start looking there for some examples of colours that are available.

If you do have a betta, you're best to plan on having one male in the tank on its own because (as mentioned above) some will simply not tolerate tank mates, and also other fish can pick on them because of their long, flowing fins. But the tank can still look gorgeous with plenty of live plants (you'll need a good light to keep the plants healthy) and other decorations like driftwood and rocks. But make sure there's nothing that will catch and tear its fins.

2) The guppy option:

Personally I find that guppies (and platies and other fish that give birth to live young) are just too prolific. The babies are cute, but you need to plan how to get rid of them because you'll have hundreds, then millions!

3) The small schooling fish option:

Neon or cardinal tetras are pretty and colourful and look great in a school. Get ten or more and I'm sure your girlfriend will think they look just stunning. For best effect, use dark gravel, dark rocks or driftwood and live plants (reminder: you'll need a light to grow the plants, and it will also make the tetras glow magically!)

Rummynose tetras are also very pretty, and school tightly, but they can be a little harder to find and harder to keep healthy from what I've heard.

P.S. OF COURSE WE'RE INTERESTED! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[nz_mitch]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the advice - especially your thread whetu.

I'm liking the look of a male Siamese fighting fish; would it be possible to put anything else in their with it? Just for some variety...

As for those fish on trademe, is that the best way to buy them - or should I get them from a shop?

Also, as far as plants/gravel go - I guess they're best to buy from a shop?

Many thanks - I'll certainly keep you posted!

[nz_mitch]

Alright I might as well ask now - seeing as I will be soon anyway. Could anyone point me in the right direction for a guide on setting up the plants? I'd like to get the plants/cycle going tomorrow or Friday.

If I could the tank setup in the next couple of days - that'd give me about 10 days until I'd want to add the fish. Is that too short? I'd rather wait and have things properly setup and it appears there's plenty of fish on trademe (and I'm sure in the shops) so I'm guessing I wouldn't be missing out.

Thanks

[Alan]

You haven't said what your filtration is yet.

You'll need that up and going for the cycling to commence, a few fish ( that's why I said 6 neons, you can build the numbers up later.) or a small piece of raw meat to start the ammonia off, forget about Cycle or anything else like that, it IMHO is all so much cr rubbish.

Check the locals on the forum for plants and fish.

You should be able to get WCMM at about $1.50 from them. Better than $5 plus from a shop.

Alan 104

[Alan]

Oh!

It I wouldn't be Alan if I didn't suggest killifish,

but then you have to have friends in high places to get some usually, unless you get the run of the mill ones from the LFS.

Alan

NZKA 104

[Wok]

You mean from me don't you Alan :roll:

:lol: :lol:

[Alan]

Yeah Wok, you're pretty high.

How come you never put your hand up for President??

You would have been real high then.

Alan 104

[nz_mitch]

I'm leaning towards whetu's recommendation:

Here's what I'd do with your little tank, Mitch...

$6 - $10 for some driftwood like this

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=57072403

$10 - $15 for a fish like this

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=57629042

$10 - $15 for a bag of black gravel (I'll bet the stuff in the tank now is "fruit salad" ie multi coloured. Not my personal favourite as I think black sets the fish's colour off better, but that's personal preference.)

$15 - $20 for a heater like this

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Fish/Other/auction-57521563.htm

and $800 for a light like this

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Fish/Other/auction-57597762.htm

Hey, I said it's what I would do if I had a $100 budget! :oops:

But seriously, you still have enough left to buy a small light, some plants and some bits & pieces like food, chlorine remover, etc.

I've even bought the driftwood!

I very stealthily stole the tank this evening and I'd quite like to start getting things going tomorrow. The filter/pump is crappy and needs replacing so any recommendations for what's the best option there?

Actually, I wonder - seeing as all I've now got is an empty tank; would it be worth buying something like this? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 651721.htm

Would that setup handle a Siamese Fighting Fish (and if possible anything else?) The tank is pretty much exactly the same size; it just seems like better value with heater/light/filter all included.

[nz_mitch]

After much assistance from the very hospital people in the #aquaria IRC channel I bought the above tank.

I'm picking it up tomorrow; so I'll let you all know how it goes

Thanks again for your help

[Keri Anne]

Would love to see pics once it's set up. :bounce:

[Alan]

Looks like ya got two tanks now.

That's good, remember what quaranting is now.

Alan 104

[nz_mitch]

Hello everyone,

I'm just about to head off to get my teeth drilled but I picked up the tank today; there's only about 40% water in the tank so I've just got the air going (the filter is too big to fit in with so little water) and I'm using the heater to heat up water in the spare tank to add later this afternoon (I left that water to sit overnight too).

There's quite a lot of green, hairy algae in the tank - it was very green after the drive but it settle so now there's just a green hue in the water and some of the stones have green hairs on them. What's the best way to deal with this?

There's about 10 guppies in the tank already and the guy had a much bigger tank with Angels etc. in it and it was it looked in very good condition so I figure the tank is 'cycled,' but I guess I should do some tests? I've had a look at petplanet.co.nz and on Trademe and test kits seem to be around the $40 mark; is this really neccessary for me? I was hoping I could just buy 75c worth of litmus paper

Anyway, I'll hopefully get the water topped up later today and we'll see how we go from there.

Thanks

Mitch

[Keri Anne]

Most pet shops will test your water for a small fee.