Nov
28
Starting up a tropical fish tank aquarium HELP?
Filed Under Fish
NoName asked:
Can someone give me all the must haves for starting up my first tropical aquarium and the best fish to have as a starter!Thanks
IRVING
Can someone give me all the must haves for starting up my first tropical aquarium and the best fish to have as a starter!Thanks
IRVING
Comments
8 Responses to “Starting up a tropical fish tank aquarium HELP?”
get all the fish you want, but only one Oscar ! ! !
have something where the fish can hide behind if they feel threatend…a big MUST is to have a heater… fed 1nce a day, defently a filter to clean out the waste…start with about 3fish in the tank then wait for a couple of weeks and get more (if you want) and get fish that are quite small to start off with
hope i helped =]
my dad wrote this. this is really handy: you should print this out!
Note: the larger the tank, the easier it is to maintain. Large tanks take care for themselves (except for a scarping of the front glass a few times a year to keep it looking spectacular (only takes 5 mins) and topping up with water during summer due to evaporation. In contrast, small tanks seem to require weekly intervention for one thing or another, and frequently require re-stocking with fish.
The following Q/As are scanned from a very old leaflet. Most of the information is correct – note my comments in blue font.
Q. Can I use tap water in my aquarium?
A. Not unless you allow the water to stand 24 hours or use a CHLORINE NEUTRALISER.
Available from aquarists Just add a few drops to a bucket of water and mix.
Q. How many fish can I put into my tank?
A. The rule of one inch of fish per gallon of water is the best. If you aerate you may double this.
Q. What is the best temperature for tropical fish?
A. It is best to keep tropical fish at 25.6°C.
Depends on fish in the tank – their requirements can vary.
Q. Can I mix goldfish and tropicals together in the same tank?
A. It is unwise to do so as tropicals need a high temperature whilst goldfish need a low one.
Q. Should I put additives in my tank to prevent diseases?
A. If you wish, yes, but don’t overdo this.
NO. Not unless you have a serious disease outbreak. The additives usually kill the plants! Take sick fish out and treat them in a separate container, returning them only when they are healthy (if they survive).
Q. My dealer tells me to put salt in the water. Is this good?
A. A small portion of NON IODISED salt in aquarium water is beneficial. About 1 teaspoon to each 2 gallons is enough.
Nonsense. Don’t add salt.
Q. When should I change all the water in my tank?
A. Only change all the water if it smells foul, is very cloudy, or the tank requires a thorough clean out (about once or twice a year if you have filtration).
Rubbish. Even if the tank is cloudy and filthy, FILTER out the cloudiness through your filter and/or make a few SMALL changes (10%) of tank water over a few days. Keep an eye on the pH. A change of 1 pH unit should be done over a period of hours to days, NOT MINUTES or the fish will become very sick or die.
Q. The gravel in the bottom of my tank is going black. What shall I do about it?
A. This is caused by bacteria and denotes that it is time that you cleaned the gravel.
Yes, but it also can mean your light is too intense. **** the top layer away using a piece of plastic tubing and allow sand to totally dry in the sun for a few days. The bacteria/algae will die and you can return the sand/gravel to the tank.
Q. My water keeps going cloudy. How can I stop this?
A. This is caused by pollution. Are you overfeeding or is anything rotting in the water? If so either cut down on feeding or remove the rotting matter. If necessary clean out the whole tank.
Clean out the whole tank only if the pollution has occurred very suddenly. Otherwise, clean the filter and feed less. If that doesn’t work, THEN change small volumes of water over a week.
Q. There is a green slime growing on the glass of my tank. Is this OK?
A. Yes, it is OK. This is algae and is quite normal. Cutting down the light level retards its growth but the easiest control is to wipe it clean with a nylon scrubber or aquarium scraper.
Green is healthy, brown is not. If the glass is dirty, discover the single-edged razor blade and scrape it off. Super fast, efficient and easy!
Q. Some dealers tell me to change some water once a week, is this right? How much?
A. It is a good idea as it helps remove some of the fishes’ waste products and prevents over acidification. Change about 1/5th of the tank’s volume weekly.
LEAVE THE WATER ALONE. The more you fiddle with it, the more problems you will have. Seriously – I had to set up my large tank again 10 years ago when we moved house and I’ve never disturbed the sand EVER or changed more than 10% of the water at any one time since! I just top up water which has evaporated. The water is crystal clear and my fish die only of old age. I’ve not had Ich (white spot disease), but have had one or two incidences of fungal infections when I introduced NEW fish to the tank – (obviously been kept at too low a temp for some time in the pet shop). I check the pH of the water about once a year, or if something is not going OK. (e.g. if it becomes alkaline, algae starts to take over and/or the plants stop growing). My plants all do fine and don’t need “peat pots” to grow.
Q. My water has turned quite green looking. Why? What can I do about it?
A. The green is due to suspended algae in the water. Arrange less light and use an algae inhibitor (available from your dealer).
Q. What sort or rocks should I use in my tank?
A. Be careful with rocks. Don’t use marble, limestone, granite, etc. Check with your dealer for SAFE rocks.
My rocks are from Redcliffe Peninsula. Boiled first and thoroughly rinsed. They have a brilliant red tone under the lights, and they are all FREE.
Q. Should I use sand or gravel as a bottom media?
A. Sand is inclined to pack too tightly for good plant growth unless it is very c:oarse. Gravel is generally considered better.
NONSENSE. Sand is perfect. All my sand is courtesy of Enoggera Creek., washed THOROUGHLY first. Plants spread roots and multiply well. In contrast, gravel is a pain. All the fish **** falls amongst it and rots (instead of being picked up through the filter). That is the primary cause of tank pollution. It is also unsightly as algae grow over gravel.
Q. Do I need a pH kit and if so what does it do?
A. The pH of water is important to fish as pH is an indication of how acid or alkaline the water is. Preferably water should be about neutral (pH 7.0). pH test kits are readily available from your dealer.
Q. Should I stick to one type of fish food all the time?
A. Should you eat steak and chips all the time? Variety will keep the fish healthy and ensure that there are no dietry deficiencies.
Discover live Tubifex worms and frozen brine shrimp or blood worms (aquarist). The fish go crazy, especially the worms (though you need a small plastic feeder for the Tubifex).
Q. Are any local fishes suitable for my aquarium?
A. Many of our native fishes are quite suitable and attractive. Examples are Rainbows, Smelts, Blue-eyes, Gudgeons, Glass Perch and Silversides.
Q. If a fish is injured what first aid can I apply?
A. Dab the injury with acriflavine or fish steriliser.
Q. Is it bad to handle fish with bare hands?
A. Use a net whenever possible. Never handle a fish with dry hands.
Q. I would like to breed some fish but have no experience. How would you suggest I get started?
A. Buy a pair of guppies, mollies or goldfish. Your dealer will advise on method and equipment
Q. Are scavengers useful in the aquarium?
A. Yes, they are extremely useful for cleaning up uneaten food. It must be kept in mind that they don’t get sufficient nourishment from mulm alone and must be fed at times like the other inhabitants.
They are essential. They stir up uneaten food and excrement so it will float to the filter. I have a red fin shark (looks great), spotted catfish (that little fella does the most work) and a clown loach (eats small Asian crabs which may sneak in and cause problems in the tank when you buy contaminated plants from a pet shop).
Q. I sometimes find my pet goldfish spiraling in the water and then floating”– on his side. Can you explain this?
A. This is caused by a badly developed swim bladder. The fish as a fry has probably been kept in too deep water. Unfortunately there is no known cure.
Happens with tropicals too. Order the coffin.
Q. What fish can be kept through winter without heat?
A. Other than goldfish, the paradise fish, white clouds, and rice fish can stand low temperatures. Swordtails and mollies can also stand a temperature drop but need to be conditioned (i.e. gently acclimatized to a low temp).
They forgot guppies.
Q. Do live bearers eat their young?
A. This happens quite often in small tanks with few plants. Apart from removing the female after she has delivered her brood, another way of ensuring the young survive is by placing the pregnant female in a breeding trap.
Q. What is the best method of heating a fish tank?
A. If you have a fish house either a sawdust burner or kero heater, but if you have only a few tanks the most trouble free way is electrically. Special approved heater and thermostat combinations are readily available.
You can see how old this leaflet is!
Q. Do snails keep the glass clean?
A. They do some glass cleaning. You can do it quicker and better with a razor blade scraper, piece of steel wool (are you crazy?) or nylon cleaner.
Q. How can I feed my fish if I am going away on a holiday? ;;~~
A. “Vacation” blocks capable of feeding for a few days to weeks are available from your dealer.
Get a selection and always have them handy for that last minute dirty weekend down the coast.
Q. My plants keep going brown and dying. What am I doing wrong?
A. Usually plants die when they do not receive enough light. Also acid water or very soft water can cause this. Try more light and also an aquarium type fertiliser.
Green algae is good, brown is not.
Q. Whenever I buy new fish they die within a few days of getting them home. Can you tell me why?
A. Get your dealer to test your water, it is possibly due to vastly different water chemistry. Other causes are temperature changes, rough handling, and being kept in the bag too long. pH test kits are readily available.
Q. Can I put my fish straight into the tank water?
A. NO. To do so could shock the fish badly and even cause death. Floa
check this out bro…the first thing is to get a good size gallon. 2inches per gallon of the fish. i started off with a 30 gallon tank from wal-mart that came with a 20-40 gallon water filter and starter kit and still have it…and also oscars are a fun fish to watch but very aggresive with other fishes..and if you want a very docile and very therapuetic fish to watch get a gold fish..go to walmart and ask for the 30 gallon aquarium starter kit…its good to start with that…..
I can’t beat Jerry’s answer but a good external canister filter is beneficial for larger aquariums or an undergravel filter for smaller aquaria.
You will also need:
A heater (one watt per litre of water/ 5 watts per gallon), Aerating pump, timber or other decorations (A mix of timber, plants and rocks gives a natural look), Gravel substrate I do not advise Sand as it is hard to keep clean.
Depending on whether you want to keep a community tank or other depends on the warmth of the water. (24/25 Degrees Celsius or 75/77 Fahrenheit for community setups) 26/28 Celsius or 79/83 Fahrenheit for cichlids and 28/31 Celsius or 83/88 Fahrenheit for discus. However I wouldn’t advise keeping discus if you’re a first timer.
Let the setup run (mature) for two weeks before adding all your fish. (add a hardy fish in the first two weeks (Molly, platy)) Check your nitrites every day during the maturation period, once they drop to zero you can slowly add other fish.
If you decide to keep cichlids remember that they should not go in a community tank and the different aggresion levels should not be mixed.
Good Luck
Get the biggest tank you can - it is actually easier to look after than a smaller tank and you have a bigger choice and range of fish.
After you set your tank up it will take a couple of weeks to cycle, use this time to research what fish will suit you.
Do _not_ believe everything the salesman at the fish shop tells you. Research everything yourself or you will end up with a bad selection of fish - we found this out the hard way.
you will need of course a tank
and then for the fish infos….
you can look up to wikipedia
or maybe search engine or maybe
here
it depends on what you want
The type of fish you get all depends on your tank size and shape. I would recommend you start with some tetras. You would need a tank at least 60 cm long. There are lots of different types and they’re small but usually very active. I have Rummy-nose tetras in my tank. Others are neon tetras or cardinal tetras, if you like colour.
A popular beginners fish are the liverbearers, which are fish that give birth to live young. They are easy to breed and colourful. The ones that I have experience with are mollys, platies and swordtails. If not tetras or liverbearers then catfish are an easy fish and the cory variety breed quite easily so you might have a try at raising fry, which is always fun.
You need to have a reasonably quite place for the tank, on a stable stand. You should probably read into the scientific side of keeping fish, like pH and water treatment and I highly recommend borrowing or buying a good fish encyclopaedia so you can have information on the fish you have or might like to have. Make sure you get a good brand of tank- I often buy products from Sero or AquaOne.
Water quality is the most important part of fishkeeping. Make sure you do partial water changes weekly and condition the water. That’s about all I can think of at the mo.