Setting up an aquarium!

[Jodell88]

ah-ha!

http://bettacare101.com/tankmates2/


White Cloud Mountain Minnows
White clouds are similar to neon tetras in size and coloration but are more peaceful, hardy, and enjoy cooler water. Their temperature range is between 68-78 degrees but can survive in the 50 degree range. Their hardiness makes them an excellent fish for a beginner and their temperment makes them a great tankmate for a betta. However, the temperature of the aquarium would need to be in the upper 70's (78F) to accomodate the bettas needs and the white cloud's needs. Additionally, similar to the red cherry shrimp, white clouds are easy to breed and are believed to not eat their young (the betta might though). White clouds are a very good choice for a tankmate and for a beginning aquarist.

Sounds good.

 

[Rubycon]

Get an Oscar, feed it black worms until he gets a few inches long then rosy reds and small gold fish. If you can keep him in the tank by the time he's six inches long, get a larger tank (75gal) and you can add some other aggressors like Jack Dempseys or Arrowannas. If your desire to stay in the hobby survives you can go larger still with a paroon shark (actually a pangasiid - catfish) and perhaps a red tailed catfish. Those are a serious commitment like keeping dogs or goats!

 

[BoomerD]

Get an Oscar, feed it black worms until he gets a few inches long then rosy reds and small gold fish. If you can keep him in the tank by the time he's six inches long, get a larger tank (75gal) and you can add some other aggressors like Jack Dempseys or Arrowannas. If your desire to stay in the hobby survives you can go larger still with a paroon shark (actually a pangasiid - catfish) and perhaps a red tailed catfish. Those are a serious commitment like keeping dogs or goats!

Gawd-damned red-tailed catfish get HUGE!

Steinhart Aquarium used to have one that was about 4 feet long.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redtail_catfish

The redtail catfish is an extremely popular fish in Amazonian themed exhibits at public aquaria, where they are often housed with other large fish such as Colossoma macropomum, Arapaima gigas, and other large catfish.

Juveniles are often available as aquarium fish despite their eventual large size. In an aquarium where they may be well-fed, these fish can grow quite rapidly.[5] Weekly feeding is appropriate for this catfish; overfeeding is a common cause of death in this species.[6] It feeds heavily on live and dead fishes and other meat. Even as a juvenile of only a few inches in length, they are able to swallow many of the more common aquarium fish such as tetras, and it is only appropriate to house this fish with other species of relatively large size. Redtail catfish also have a habit of swallowing inedible objects in the aquarium. Though these are often regurgitated, both the swallowing and the regurgitation can present a problem for the fish, and these objects are best kept out of the aquarium.[6] It is important that these fish are housed in large aquariums. A minimum size tank for a full grown (4-5 feet) is 1000+ gallons.

 

[Rubycon]

Gawd-damned red-tailed catfish get HUGE!

Steinhart Aquarium used to have one that was about 4 feet long.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redtail_catfish

Yes they do and probably have some of the most unique personality of the larger so called pet fish.

Strong filtration is a must (completely outside of the tank) as these guys tend to wreck everything inside. Better have a drilled tank with a schedule 80 standpipe. No over the side overflow boxes, they will push that junk right out! They have been known to swallow large bio balls only to spit them out hours later when they cannot digest them!

 

[BoomerD]

Yes they do and probably have some of the most unique personality of the larger so called pet fish.

Strong filtration is a must (completely outside of the tank) as these guys tend to wreck everything inside. Better have a drilled tank with a schedule 80 standpipe. No over the side overflow boxes, they will push that junk right out! They have been known to swallow large bio balls only to spit them out hours later when they cannot digest them!

Yep. Great "personalities." Some friends had one in a 240 gallon tank. (fish was about 12 inches at the time) "He" always knew when it was feeding time, and would "nuzzle" any hand in the tank. VERY friendly...wanted to be "petted" by people. (also ate any fish small enough to fit in "his" mouth.)

IMO, they're not good "hobbyist" fish.

 

[Rubycon]

Depends on how far the "hobbyist" takes it. I know a person that spent over $600k on this "hobby" before and got out of it before he got "serious" [sic].

 

[MWink]

Yeah, I'm figuring that out slowly.

I'll probably do mollies and java fern. along with a chinese algae eater.

If I'm remembering correctly, Chinese Algae Eaters do not eat much algae and tend to be quite aggressive. If you want a fish that eats some algae your best bet is a true Siamese Algae Eater. They are really neat but get too big for a 10Gal.

Java Fern is a great plant to start with. It's very hard to kill. Also, if you want a regular (hang on back) power filter, I highly recommend the AquaClear's. Just make sure you get fish that won't fit through the strainer or you will regularly be rescuing them from the filter.

If you want a lifetime worth of reading material check out: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/

 

[micrometers]

arghs.

So I bought one of those plant bulb packs at petco...and nothing. Also, the ghost shrimp I bought died off pretty quickly. out of 10 maybe 3 survive right now.

I'm trying to feed my beta little ants but he doesn't seem interested.

 

[RPD]

You think plants grow instantly?

 

[SunnyD]

arghs.

So I bought one of those plant bulb packs at petco...and nothing. Also, the ghost shrimp I bought died off pretty quickly. out of 10 maybe 3 survive right now.

I'm trying to feed my beta little ants but he doesn't seem interested.

You'll go through a couple months of trial and error before things settle down. We went through three rounds of fish with my daughter. And I had been a fairly stable hobbyist when I was in my teens.

 

[micrometers]

SO I'm starting to turn into a regular petco customer

Picked up some java fern. Should I plant this somehow? Or just throw it in the tank and let it grow wherever it ends up?

Do african dwarf frogs eat any other animals?

I have a baby beta. It doesn't show much interest in beta food. I suspect that it might not be able to eat this food b/c its mouth is too small. I read somewhere that people feed bettas boiled eggs. Could this work?

 

[Rubycon]

Betas are best fed with neutrinos.

Betta splendens, OTOH...

Do you have a juvenile male or a female?
They will eat flakes. Grind them between your thumb and index finger (pinching) so they are very small. Remember most fish are not acclimated to their new surroundings and such feeding should be postponed for 48 hours. Don't worry they won't starve. Going light on the feeding always prevails over over feeding with un consumed food left to decompose.

 

[micrometers]

Well, the baby beta can't eat beta food

The poor kid is so lethargic. Also I turned on the filter and the air stone simultaneously, and I think he got caught in the current and hit his head on the wall, because now he just sits on the floor.

He does eat some small bits of flake food but not as much as I"d like to see. The Platys have a much healthier diet.

So I"m thinking that he needs brine shrimp.

I looked into hatching them...needless to say it's a bit of trouble. I'm wondering if it is possible to set up a colony of them. Maybe even in the aquarium, just throw a bunch of eggs into it. I know that they're saltwater, but some should still hatch in freshwater and there's probably a bit of salinity in the tank at this point, given all the junk I've thrown in.

I'm also looking into picking up a snail or two. I hope they don't munch on the plants too much. And after the snails get established, probably a pair of african dwarf frogs a week later.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Put a computer in there

 

[erikistired]

10 gallons is a fish bowl.

 

[jtvang125]

Java ferns can be planted in the substrate or tied to driftwood. After awhile the roots will attach itself to the driftwood. With low light and no Co2 they grow quite slow but with right conditions it can outgrow your tank quickly.

 

[NutBucket]

Brine shrimp are available frozen. No need to hatch them yourself.

And be careful of any fish you get from any pet store, period. Pay close attention to them for signs of disease. You can easily end up infecting your healthy fish at home with sick fish you add. Ask me how I know.....

 

[MWink]

You can bury a little bit of the roots of the Java Fern to anchor it where you want it. Just make sure you don't bury the rhizome if you want it to stay healthy. The rhizome is the green horizontal part that the leaves grow out of.

 

[Jodell88]

Well, the baby beta can't eat beta food

The poor kid is so lethargic. Also I turned on the filter and the air stone simultaneously, and I think he got caught in the current and hit his head on the wall, because now he just sits on the floor.

He does eat some small bits of flake food but not as much as I"d like to see. The Platys have a much healthier diet.

So I"m thinking that he needs brine shrimp.

I looked into hatching them...needless to say it's a bit of trouble. I'm wondering if it is possible to set up a colony of them. Maybe even in the aquarium, just throw a bunch of eggs into it. I know that they're saltwater, but some should still hatch in freshwater and there's probably a bit of salinity in the tank at this point, given all the junk I've thrown in.

I'm also looking into picking up a snail or two. I hope they don't munch on the plants too much. And after the snails get established, probably a pair of african dwarf frogs a week later.

You're on the road to disaster.
Do not add anymore aquatic life to the aquarium. The tank has not been cycled yet so the fish you currently have are in for a rough ride and not all might make it through.

 

[BoomerD]

At this rate, I foresee many dead fish and a disillusioned hobbyist...

The nitrogen cycle is your friend. Learn it...and live with its timing and limitations.

http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm


It usually takes 5-6 weeks for an aquarium to go from "newly set-up" to "fully cycled," IF you add a source of ammonia when you set it up.
Keep in mind that a 10 gallon tank isn't going to allow a very large bio-load...a few small fish that STAY small is about all it will handle. (The MAX load for freshwater is usually one inch of ADULT fish per gallon...and even that's only a very general rule of thumb as one 5 inch fish generates a LOT more waste than five 1 inch fish.)

NEVER start your aquarium with "sensitive species." IF you insist on using live fish to kick off the cycle, use cheap "feeder goldfish" and return the survivors to the pet store once the tank is cycled.
I usually toss in one or two frozen shrimp.

 

[NutBucket]

Hobbyists will argue about whether "starter" products work, but I had excellent results with this:

http://www.tetra-fish.com/sites/tetrafish/catalog/Detail.aspx?id=4224

I've never had any nitrite/nitrate/ammonia problems. I've only lost fish due to illness/disease.

 

[micrometers]

Well, I haven't seen any evidence of a nitrogen cycle. The fish appear healthy. I also have a number of live green plants in there, as well as an air stone operational. The air stone was really bubbly on the surface in the first hour or two of operation, and but now it isn't as bubbly.

The plants generally improved the mood of the platys. They appear to be pretty healthy, move around a lot, eat a lot.

I really had not expected the ghost shrimp to die off like that. Only 2 out of 10 survive. I actually caught one of the survivors cannibalizing the eggs in the abdomen of a dead ghost shrimp. Anyways, I've picked up two zebra snails.

the baby betta has eaten its first brine shrimp.

I'll probably add african dwarf frogs within two weeks.

 

[Jodell88]

Well, I haven't seen any evidence of a nitrogen cycle. The fish appear healthy. I also have a number of live green plants in there, as well as an air stone operational. The air stone was really bubbly on the surface in the first hour or two of operation, and but now it isn't as bubbly.

The plants generally improved the mood of the platys. They appear to be pretty healthy, move around a lot, eat a lot.

I really had not expected the ghost shrimp to die off like that. Anyways, I've picked up two zebra snails.

the baby betta has eaten its first brine shrimp.

I'll probably add african dwarf frogs within two weeks.

In two weeks or less your fish will start going belly up.

Patience is needed to be in this hobby. Jumping in like you did will only lead to a loss of money and the loss of lives.

 

[micrometers]

meh, given the amount of plant life, I don't think any nitrogen cycling will be that bad. plants way outnumber fish in this tank.

 

[Howard]

Should've tossed in a piece of shrimp to let it rot for a week first.