Tropical Fish

[Wallysaurus]

I bought my wife a 29 gal. aquarium and stand for Christmas. Since neither one of us has any experience what so ever, I was wondering if there was anyone here that could suggest a site or two that would be worth our time. We have purchased a few fishand have it up and running. One problem is that the water doesn't seem as clear as we think it should be. Thanks for your help. I hope this isn't too far off topic.

 

[ArkAoss]

i recently got fish to go with a newt, the fish killed the newt, now i have fish i hate, wish i knew of some websites to help. . im thinking of using the tank to liquid cool my PC, and hope the fish don't get pulled into the intake

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

I know what you're talking about, the water looks great until you get some fish and possibly plants, then it looks terrible, right? The same thing happened to me, it has something to do with balance not being quite right. There are some drops you can add to speed up the clearing, but I've seen some places recommend you avoid them. Read one place where it said to buy "feeder" fish and let them live in the tank for 30 days because it can take that long to be completely stabilized.

The stuff I used the last time I started a new tank was "start zyme" Establishes and maintains a healthy, biologically balanced aquarium. Contains 500 million beneficial microorganisms per teaspoon - but I still lost a few fish, so I'm not especially recommending it.

I think it would be beneficial to get a good qty of water from a healthy, established tank into your tank, if possible. Maybe someone at your local aquarium shop could help you out.

 

[Tripleshot]

Go to a reputable pet store and quiz them. Buy a book on beginning aqueriums. you need many supplies to raise tropical fish. If you are going to maintain a community tank,you must purchase fish that get along.The main diet of fish in the wild is other fish.Remember that.

A plecostamus is a must. He cleans the tank,is fun to watch and grows to a nice size. in the middle you can use tetras(i like about 10-15 neons in the community) and mollies and a shark is nice.you can get a bala shark,a black shark or a red fin shark. They keep the tank active.

do not over feed and you may want some live plants in the water as well.

water temp is critical to maintaining healthy fish. deviations can cause desease in a heartbeat. Thats why you need a book on your fish community and a good heater and thermometer. Also a good under gravel filter sytem does a good job keeping the tank healthy.

Just my 2 cents on tropical. Salt water fish arte a whole different subject. Also,I don't think warm tropical water is as good as cool air for your cpu

 

[ArkAoss]

well id intake from the fish tank, to a filter then have it run over the fins of a radiator that would be hooked in circuit to the pc, so the water from the tank would pull heat from the radiator, hopefully and i wouldnt need a heater in the fish tank. . or the stupid bubler thingy that all my little fish hide behind because i got a fish that is a bully, it had another of the same make, model and version (of fish?? yup) but it bullied that one till it died. .

 

[thebestMAX]

Go here:
Petsforum

Register free and read the numerous posts on aquaria culture, some easy some hard.

Fishnet here also.

 

[Doggiedog]

Don't know about any websites, you might want to do a Yahoo search.

As for the water, after you start a new tank and you put fish in it, you will have an algae bloom. It is a common occurance as the bacteria in the filter have yet to take effect. However, if you've had unclear water for a long time, then you may have too many fish in your tank.

What kind of tank is it (fresh, salt)? How many fish are in your tank? What kind of fish? Etc...

I had tropical fish for 10 years until the damn blackouts in NYC last year cut off the power to my tank and killed all the fish in my tank.

 

[Doggiedog]

Whoops, double post.

 

[Wallysaurus]

Ark Aoss,
LOL

Yo_Ma-Ma,
I used a stabilizer (It came with starter kit I bought) when I filled the tank and I have bottom feeding algae eater and a top feeding algae eater. Sorry I don't know their species.

Tripleshot,
Along with the algae eaters I mentioned above I have two neon tetras, two striped angel fish, and two silver ????fish. I have the water stable at 76° and a PH level of 7.0-7.2. I'm using a top mounted power filter. I have only bought eight fish, so far, because that is what the pet shop person told us to do, add a few at a time.

 

[Wallysaurus]

thebestMax,
Thanx, I'll check it out.

Doggiedog,
It's a new tank. (Only been operable two days)

 

[Doggiedog]

If its only been 2 days then its just your common algae bloom. It should go away within 2 weeks. If you have 8 med-large fish in a 29 gallon tank I would think it to be too many. 8 tetras are not a lot though.

Edit: To clear up your water, you may also want to get live plants. There are many inexpensive and nice ones. They look great in your tank if you have them.

 

[Optimus]

Welcome to a very rewarding hobby! But please - don't join the huge numbers of people who buy a tank setup - fill it with water, put in some fish... then the fish die (due to water conditions) and they abandon the whole thing.

You mentioned you have fish - usually you need to do the following to a tank first:
1) fill it with fresh water (unchlorinated, so from a well, bottled, or treat tapwater with a dechlorinator like AquaPlus for 24 hours before using.
2) A 29 gallon tank should cycle for a week to 2 weeks before fish are put into it. This can be very important, but I should say that some fish survive the tank "break in" period all right, so don't panic about the fish in there now. Just be careful as they could have trouble with the water.(Don't give up if they die!)

Most fish stores don't tell people about tank break in periods because they love to sell a kit and fish all at once.

Cloudy water can indicate either particle matter or poor water conditions. Get a test kit and check your water levels (PH, etc)

If it is just harmlessly cloudy, some clean new cotton wool (like from a craft store) can be added to some filters to remove the particles - check with your filter manufacturer and pet store first!


An excellent site, with great forums, is AquariaCentral

Good luck!

 

[Tripleshot]

Wallysaurus

Sounds like your on your way

get a book on tropical fish or search the web. Everything is on the web. The stiped angels are beautiful and it sounds like you have some silver dollar fish. If you have 10-15 neons,they school across the middle of the tank. they protect each other. They add nice color. Try for a shark. You won't regret it. They live a long time. Neons do not,but they are cheap. You must also size your fish to meet the size of your community. If you have a dominate sized fish,they sometimes do not play well in the tank and will badger the smaller fish until the smaller ones die from injuries.

I highly recommend getting a book for reference. They are handy in comparing fish and habitat and desaase symptoms and cures.

 

[Azraele]

sounds like the water PH isn't quite right. You can gets kits to test that. I'd also recommend that you get an algae eater (if you don't already have one) as they are very handy in keeping the tank algae free.

 

[Xcrown]

Best aquarium resource on the net....


The Krib

Likewise, you can PM or email me if you want and Ill gladly answer any questions. I have been raising fish for nearly 10 years.

Xcrown

 

[HiveTyrant]

Hey wally, welcome to fishkeeping!! I have a 30 Gallon tank myself but its not setup yet, im moving in March so no reason.

Tips:

Avoid the Generic Chinese Algae Eaters. There cute when there 1 inch long but these mofos get as large as 4 inches and are very territorial. Fast too I couldnt get mine out of my tank because he was so fast.

Snails are cool but the little brown ones can quickly multiply and east everything. Get the gold ones if you want one

Plecauthcus(?SP) are a must these gentle giants are cheap and the come small, be warned they can get to 8 inches easily. These eat algai and if you have a algai drought a piece of lettuse on the bottom will work.

Angel Fish and Neons dont mix!!!!! In the wild Angels eat Neons, I cant tell you how pissed I was everytime I saw a neon freaking out in my angels mouths....

LEt your aquarium cure for 2 weeks, you can put a couple of neons or a catfish in there (corydora) to help the bacteria level get started.

Plants are great, just be sure to get some fertilizer for them and make sure teh soil is at least 4 inches deep otherwise they wont live. And you do have to prune them, this helps stimulate growth.

Go to the library there are some awesome books out there that tell you what fish eat what food and what temps and water ph they live in.

Goodluck and let me know how they do, Different color lights are good too

 

[HiveTyrant]

Hey wally, welcome to fishkeeping!! I have a 30 Gallon tank myself but its not setup yet, im moving in March so no reason.

Tips:

Avoid the Generic Chinese Algae Eaters. There cute when there 1 inch long but these mofos get as large as 4 inches and are very territorial. Fast too I couldnt get mine out of my tank because he was so fast.

Snails are cool but the little brown ones can quickly multiply and east everything. Get the gold ones if you want one

Plecauthcus(?SP) are a must these gentle giants are cheap and the come small, be warned they can get to 8 inches easily. These eat algai and if you have a algai drought a piece of lettuse on the bottom will work.

Angel Fish and Neons dont mix!!!!! In the wild Angels eat Neons, I cant tell you how pissed I was everytime I saw a neon freaking out in my angels mouths....

LEt your aquarium cure for 2 weeks, you can put a couple of neons or a catfish in there (corydora) to help the bacteria level get started.

Plants are great, just be sure to get some fertilizer for them and make sure teh soil is at least 4 inches deep otherwise they wont live. And you do have to prune them, this helps stimulate growth.

Go to the library there are some awesome books out there that tell you what fish eat what food and what temps and water ph they live in.

Goodluck and let me know how they do, Different color lights are good too

 

[TonyG]

Hi, welcome to the hobby. Letting the tank cycle is a must but since you have already added the fish keep a close eye on them for any diseases like ick which can be caused by the stress of the cyling process. I myself have many different tanks ranging from freshwater to saltwater and have kept many different kinds of fish. The place I have found to be the most helpful is the help forums at fishgeeks.com. There is a large number of different topics to post you questions in and there are many helpful people there. I would considered the equivalent of anandtech but for fish instead of computers.

Hey Xcrown are you a member of fishgeeks? If not you should come bye and check the place out. I do agree with you about the Krib being quite helpful though.

Fishgeeks.com

TonyG

 

[fir3wir3]

wally

put a tsp of arm and hammer baking soda in there everytime you clean the tank

no kidding!!!!

I've had tropical fish (mostly sharks) for 5 years

 

[Xcrown]

This is definetly NOT a rip on your post, just mentioning a few things out of experience.

<Avoid the Generic Chinese Algae Eaters. There cute when there 1 inch long but these mofos get as large as 4 inches and are <very territorial. Fast too I couldnt get mine out of my tank because he was so fast.

For some reason, I have had really good luck with these. For the most part, they take quite some time to get to 3-4 inches, and they can do a job on any green algae growing in your tank. Its better if kept in groups, as any fighting will be done within the species and is quite harmless. There are other options, Ottos, Siamese algae eaters, and a few others. Each is usually good for a certain type of algae.

<Snails are cool but the little brown ones can quickly multiply and east everything. Get the gold ones if you want one

Or look for long shaped cone snails. Small, brownish. These are Malaysian trumpet snails. Very good snails especially if you have live plants.

<Plecauthcus(?SP) are a must these gentle giants are cheap and the come small, be warned they can get to 8 inches easily. <These eat algai and if you have a algai drought a piece of lettuse on the bottom will work.

Plecastamus, and once again there are many different types of these, some that excel at eating different types of algae. They also eat almost anything else. Hive is right that they can get big. One of mine is 18 inches. HUGE. This is the most common type. Get dwarf plecos, such as a clown pleco, or bristlenose. These are IMHO the best.

<Angel Fish and Neons dont mix!!!!! In the wild Angels eat Neons, I cant tell you how pissed I was everytime I saw a neon <freaking out in my angels mouths....

I hate angel fish.....could that be because I love Neons????

<LEt your aquarium cure for 2 weeks, you can put a couple of neons or a catfish in there (corydora) to help the bacteria <level get started.

This is strongly debated in some places. Ive gotten away with not doing that many many times. I also use live plants. You CANT go wrong if you do that though. If you are in any doubt, do it.

<Plants are great, just be sure to get some fertilizer for them and make sure teh soil is at least 4 inches deep otherwise <they wont live. And you do have to prune them, this helps stimulate growth.

PLANTS ARE GREAT!!! I cant see any aquarium looking good without REAL plants. One of my aquariums, the 55 gallon, is strictly plants, with just a few fish. Plants make a world of difference. There are plenty of plant types out there that grow easily without even any fertilizer or even any soil. There are many things when you get really serious with plants, such as CO2 instertion, proper lighting, heating, fertilizer, soil, oh my oh my...I could go on forever.

<Go to the library there are some awesome books out there that tell you what fish eat what food and what temps and water ph <they live in.

Most definetly yes. Or dig online. tons of great resources online.


Thats it from me.....

Xcrown

 

[Doggiedog]

Ok, in the spirit of Anandtech, list your rigs:

75 Gallon freshwater tank with canister Fluvel filter.

Pre-mortem denizens:

2 Albino Severums
1 Green Severum
12 Clown Loaches (love those loaches)
1 Clown Pleco
1 Royal Pleco
1 Golden Nugget Pleco
6 assorted Corys
2 Banjo catfish
1 Blind Tiger Loach

 

[Optimus]

33 Gallon w/ regular filtration
2 Giant Danios (3-4in each)
1 4 in Picto cat
1 6 inch Bumblebee Ciclid
1 3 1/2 in &quot;Julie&quot; ciclid

The tank was also occupied by my prize - a 14 inch African Clown Knife! He was a beauty, but was too big for my 33 gallon. Alas - he has been traded to a much better home with a huge tank for him to grow in, so I'm happy that he is in good hands with someone else there.

I plan to replace him with more Ciclids.

 

[loup garou]

I'd say something, but it seems as if everyone has mentioned what you need to do. Do be careful when buying Plecastami, because some do get huge! My roomate didn't know this and bought 2 that got up to about 10&quot; apiece, in a 29 galon tank. They were eating 2 sliced cucumbers a week (man that was funny to watch) before he donated them to the local aquarium store.

Other fish I've had and recommend:

Congo Tetras--quite possibly the most beautiful freshwater fish I've ever kept. My aquarium guy said that they can be somewhat territorial, but I didn't have any problems with them in my mixed tank, but YMMV. Make sure you buy chemicals (tannin, especially) to bring out their colors, otherwise they just look silver.

Glass Cats--beautiful transparent fish that get along with anything. If you get several, they'll school near moving water in your tank. Very resilient fish, too.

Clown Loaches--will eat anything. They can get big too!

Khuli(sp?) Loaches--one of my favorites. Cool worm--looking loaches with a tiger-stripe pattern that like to hide. If you get some, you should probably get something for them to hide in, like a Ghost house or tube.

Cory Cats--these come in so many different varieties. Very docile, as are most bottom feeders. I like the albinos, personally.

Neon Tetras--very fragile, but a school of them can bring together a tank.

And finally, this one fish I can't think of the name of. It's silver near the snout, which gradually fades into a bright bright yellow at the tail. It is a top feeder, with a flat head. Lovely fish, I wish I could remember the name.

Some fish to avoid: Tiger Barbs and Danios. They can be very territorial, and rip your other fish's fins to shreds.

Live plants and grass shrimp are wonderful additions to any tank, also. I personally like Java Moss (and so do the shrimp), but you must prune it, or it will take over your tank. As you can see from my recommendation, I like bottom-feeding fish. IMO, they're the secret to a clean, successful tank, but of course, a tank doesn't look good unless you have top feeders, swimmers/schoolers, and bottom feeders. Have fun with your new hobby!

 

[loup garou]

doh! Heavy forum traffic.

 

[Doodoo]

20 gallon saltwater
live rock
2 cleaner shrimp
1 percula clown
1 leather coral
tank jus finished cycling

Well..29 gallon is a nice size. Definately added the fish too soon. I personally hate plecos but some of the dwarf ones are nice. Make sure the fish you get are compatible. PH and temperature seems rt. Neons...i have a feeling those are gonna go soon unless they are fully grown. I once had 10 neons with 3 clown loaches...neons are beautiful fish. The cloudy water will clear once the bacteria is set up and the tank cycles. That may take a while with 8 fish though. Most add 2 for a week or two then slowly add more. I'd highly advise against adding the baking soda. At first it lowers the pH of the tank and once the gas escapes the pH rises considerably. I've used it to raise the pH of my saltwater tank.