FishChannel Forums / Freshwater Forums / A Place for Beginners

Easiest fish to start with...

kozayagi — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:53:29 GMT

I'm new to fish keeping. I posted something on the "general freshwater" forum to ask about my son's fantail goldfish (he had a sinking problem and now looks like he's not going to make it).

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of fish would be good to start our fish keeping experience with. A different kind of goldfish?

My son is really sad about losing his fish after 5 months or so and I was hoping to get something that would be easier to keep (as easy as a fish could be, I guess).

I did read the post about cycling - very interesting and learned a lot. Did retest our water in the tank: amonia, nitrite and nitrate are at 0.

So, any suggestions?

Thank you.

Kozayagi :)

My three goldfish

Elena — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:54:51 GMT

hey i got 3 fancy goldfish 2 weeks ago, and one of my ryukins is forming black edges on his tail and fins. any ideas what it is?:) he is a boy...
my tank is 10 gallons, and i have one female moor and one female ryukin and one male ryukin.

Goldfish tank

Elena — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:02:06 GMT

is it OK for goldfish to be in a 10 gallon tank in the range of temperatures from 63-74 degrees Fahrenheit?:w00t:

Want to add another fish

ScarletDreams489 — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:48:43 GMT

Hello, I'm new to fish channel, but have been active on cat channel for quite some time. I was just recently given a 5 gallon fish tank and have already added a couple fish to it. I'm not quite what you would call a beginner. I grew up around fish tanks. My mother really had some beautiful cichlid and community tanks. But I have never really had a tank of my own.

I read on here that a new tank should be cycled, but I didn't do that. I actually have never heard of it until I got this tank. My mother may have cycled her tanks when they were new, but I'm not sure. I have three fish in my tank right now and they all are doing fine, so maybe it's a small enough tank so it didn't need as much cycling?

Anyways, in my tank I have a beta, a kuhli loach and a cory cat (not completely sure what kind, it's gray and spotted). I'm experienced in betta keeping because I always had my own 1 gallon betta tank until a few years ago. My experience tells me that I need to be careful what else I add to the tank, but I'm not completely sure what else to add. I was thinking about getting another loach and another cory cat, but I don't want to overload the tank.

I'm not sure what the PH of the tank is, I just remember that the water here comes out of the faucet with a good PH for tropical fish (I live with my grandmother, while I'm in college and she used to have a tropical tank and the PH always checked out fine). I plan on investing in some test strips. Also, the water has been conditioned with water conditioner. I had some trouble with the temp of the tank because I live in the basement so I couldn't go on room temperature, I had to buy a heater. I have the temp set around 75.

So, any suggestions on what to add, or what I could do with my tank to make it better? Like I said, I have some experience, but have never really done it on my own. Any suggestions for anything would be good :)

Pictus catfish staying at top

emt49126 — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:13:24 GMT

Hey guys quick question. I have three pictus for about a week now. I have done testing on the water every day to every other day. The Nitrite is between .5 and 1.0 They are staying at the top of the tank around the filter. I have bought an airstone thinking that this will get them to the bottom. Still no luck. Any ideas on why they are staying at the top. They are eating and swimming just fine. Thanks

newbie Philippines

mujacko2002 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:03:34 GMT

Mabuhay!

Thank you all for the replies/comments/suggestions/advises/compliments, thankyou thank you

thank you.

Finally, i was able to find the batteries of my digicam and i was so excited i took some

pictures of my planted tanks eventhough its already very very dark. :twitch:

I swear, i was never successful rearing the so-called "red bacopa", reinecki and green/red

cabombas in my 25g but here in my 75g it looks like survivors and the red bacopa is now

sporting

big leaves but more compact and an orange color. My problem is how to trim the red bacopa,

i am really scared anyone who would like to share their experiences with this plant? TIA

These is the other half of my 75g, its filled with low-light plants. And i am really awed

by the power of the sun although this side its not always hit directly i can see that they

are pearling Is it a good sign?

My 25g after a little pruning, i added a tenellus (is it correct?)

Challenge/s:
My 75g is sun-fed and i've noticed that the plants are in their "sleep" state when night

time comes because most the leaves are "closed". is it harmful to plants if i turn the

lights on at night? i do this because i want to look at it after i get home from work.

TIA for any response.

Pictures i took these morning

my 10g experiment, my substrate is a secret for now.

Enjoy!

Godbless

How much 'stuff' to put in a tank

piratesgurl — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:07:37 GMT

The 2.5 gallon tank I bought for my betta currently has one silk plant and a hide-a-cave in it. What do bettas like better: more stuff in which to hide or more room to just swim around? I'm including a picture so maybe you all can tell me how I'm doing decorating the tank, and if/what else I should put in.

Improving my Aquarium...From the Beginning

cipher — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:20:04 GMT

I have a 48 gallon bow front tank. I have two penguin 350 bio wheels and two Aqua Clear 20 power heads for my undergravel filter. I have all fake plants as of right now, but would like to start growing real ones. I have an eclipse "Real Daylight" bulb. I have two Gold barbs and two Green barbs that have been with me from the beginning, one Dwarf Pleco, two fancy guppies, and two Gouramis.

I am curious about filtration; Do I have too much?

Oxygen, with my powerheads and bio wheels and one bubble wand, will I have too much oxygen?

I am planning on moving my tank to another wall where it won't get as much sunlight (hopefully a bare minimum). Will this keep my tank cleaner?

How will real plants affect my aquarium?

I am in the process of testing my tank everyday and changing out water often, due to a mini-cycle caused by the new biowheels I put in.

I have read about some of this on the forums already, but wanted to be thorough. Any general information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Cody

plastic hood vs glass hood

takhisis — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 13:11:56 GMT

Okay, i was doing alot of research and it was brought to my attention that i have some plants that i am attempting to grow that require high light. I have a plastic hood. I have been attempting to find a 24" 75-100 watt bulb for my hood light and i haven't been able to, i was going to switch to incandescent and get the compact fluourescent bulbs, but i'm wondering if i need to upgrade to a glass hood to prevent melting.

Are glass hoods better then plastic in say the ability to keep water from evaporating ?

Female Bettas

SKeith — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:40:04 GMT

I went to Petco yesterday and started to look at the bettas. I ended up buying two female bettas ( a standard and a half moon) b/c they looked so pitiful (I am not going to try breeding them). I put them into a 1 gallon tank that I had bought a year ago for my other betta (he moved to the 29 gal tank a couple of months ago). My half moon's fins were pretty torn up at the store. Is there something I can do to help regrow them? They don't seem to move much around the tank and they try to keep separate. Is this too small of a space for two of them? Is there a small heater I can put into the tank for them (do they make heaters for this small of tanks)? I posted pictures of their tank on Flickr (link below).

1.5 gallon tank for a betta

emt49126 — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:19:47 GMT

Is a 1.5 gallon tank good enough for a betta. My wife is wanting one and I had a few goldfish in this tank and they all died. Mainly, my wife thought it would be good to have five goldfish in that tank. She knows now not to have that many in there. She is only wanting one betta.( That is the number I will allow.) It has a light, a filter, a heater for it. So is this size ok. Also, should I change the filter in it even thou it has some bacteria on it right now. Thanks

just want to know

justin30 — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:13:50 GMT

for christmas I got a master test kit, well I love testing my water for whatever reason. I want to know something, Is there any way to get your nitrate levels down to 0 in a well astblished tank or is gravel vacing 2 times a week in an attempt to get it there a lost cause. I like cleaning my tank so I wont stop vacing 2 sometimes 3 times a week I just want to know if its possible.

New fish not eating/hiding

twaddo — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:16:45 GMT

Just started to stock a new 34 gallon tank. Have an angelfish and silver dollar fish who are eating and swimming around. Also have a gourami, who is not eating and hiding almost all times. I'm new to this and any advice to get the gourami fed and active would be appreciated. Thanks.

Update New Tank

piratesgurl — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:50:50 GMT

So I finally got a bigger 'tank' for my Betta, Stanley. He was given to me as a gift in a small bowl (maybe 1/2 gallon or so?). I went to Petsmart today and found a square, 2.5 gallon tank that was within my budget. There are no filters or lights or anything, I really can't afford all that.
Do you think cleaning it out completely once a week will be sufficient?

I will post pictures soon and you all can let me know what you think of it.

Betta's and Candles

piratesgurl — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:49:52 GMT

I have one betta that I am keeping in my room. Right now he is in a 1/2 gallon or so bowl, but I am going out tomorrow and getting him a bigger one. My question is this: I love to light candles in my room. Is the smell and smoke of the candle bad for the fish? My room is kinda of small and I'm afraid the smell is too strong. Can anyone shed any light on this?

stocking

bettasrcool — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:07:15 GMT

Anyone keep cherry barbs? How many could you put in a ten gallon with glowlight tetras (say five glowlights)? I don't have either right now but am thinking for a possible future new tank.
Also how big exactly do dwarf gouramis get? Yes they are called 'dwarf' but can they live comfortably in a ten gallon?
Thanks Happy Holidays:)

Want to add more Fish

Hellcat — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:28:12 GMT

I have a 37 gallon aquarium with the dimensions 30 inches long by 22 inches high and 12 inches wide. It has been running now for about 6 months and i currently have 2 cories 12 neon tetras and 6 black neon tetras my question is i want to know if i can add any more fish in and if so what kind any suggestions would be great i was thinking about some more colorful species that have no special requirements and are not aggressive.

my tank parameters are the following:

Ammonia 0ppm

Nitrite 0ppm

Nitrate 5ppm

pH: is about 7.2

Help is needed

Elena — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:04:20 GMT

hi!
my name is Elena and i just moved to the US from Europe.
i am planning to get fishes , as that will be my first pet.
any ideas for compatible fish which would fit perfectly into a tropical freshwater community tank. please note that i am a beginner, haven't had any fish or animals before, and will probably buy a 26-28 gallon tank.
regards,
Elena:w00t::cool::):D:P

Betta with pictus catfishs

emt49126 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:57:03 GMT

Will a betta do good with pictus catfish? I was thinking about adding one to my 38 gallon tank. Also, can you guys suggest some fish that will be good with cats. Thanks

Fish that eat decaying plant matter?

Neowolf242 — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:09:51 GMT

i'm looking for a fish that will eat the decaying plant matter at the bottom of the tank like what Vultures do on land. Any suggestions?

Rams and Tetras

Napalm — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 09:30:57 GMT

I Have a German Blue Ram (his mate passed a couple of weeks ago) and I am interested in getting some Rummy Nose Tetras. I read that Rummy Nose Tetras should not be housed with aggressive fish. Would we consider Rams aggressive? Would this be an okay community considering I have Rasboras aswell?

Thanks for any help.

Violet Gobys (Dragon Fish)

SKeith — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:24:51 GMT

How can you tell the sex of a Violet Goby? My office is trying to name mine, but they are disagreeing on whether is should be a female or male.

Should I do an ick treatment after introducing a new fish

SKeith — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:01:42 GMT

I have been buying alot of neon’s as of late due to ick and bamboo shrimp (they are gone now). When I look at the store's tanks, I always see one or two fish with ick in the tanks. I will make sure that none of the ones I am buying have it and after introducing them to the population I will do an ick treatment for just in case.

Should you do an ick treatment after introducing a new fish to the population as a routine precaution even if there was no visible cause for concern?

Someone told me when I do an ick treatment I should follow up with an parasite treatment. Is this correct?

Puffer fish

SKeith — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:49:16 GMT

Walmart sells little puffer fish. What would be the ideal tanks size and conditions for them and what do they like to eat. The store guy told me that they only like to be with puffers and that they are very aggressive, and that they would do fine in a 10 gal tank (this is the same guy who told me that the goby was fine in a 10 gal tank). I have a 10 gal not being used and thought that maybe puffers might be nice to have. Any thoughts?

Mixing male and felmale bettas

SKeith — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:22:35 GMT

What size of tank do you have to have before you can mix a male and female betta? I know that generally you let the male make it's bubble nest and then you take him out and then put in the female to lay her eggs and then you take her out and put the male back in. I was reading that in larger tanks you can put both the male and female in the tank, but it didn't say how large of a tank that would have to be.

I was also told that when they breed the bettas that the children will eat their weaker siblings and that the ones that are left are fine to live in the tank together. They only fight when they are put into tanks with other betta that aren't in their "original" clan.

Any thoughts?

Jurapari Earth Eater

Neowolf242 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:37:20 GMT

Does anybody know what kind of set up should be used for the Juripari Earth Eater? It's an interesting looking fish. I'm Going to try and get a picture of them some time soon.

Betta and Chinese algae eaters

SKeith — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:05:03 GMT

At the top of the water in my tank there is a white film. This happened once before when it was just the betta in a smaller tank. Is this the betta making a nest? He seems to be slowing down, just more hanging out rather than attacking the pumps or people comming into the room (he's always been a perfect gentleman with the other fish). Is he ok or does this have something to do with the film?

My chinese algae eater always seems to dig up my bamboo. I planted them on one side of the tank- they kept getting dug up and then I moved them to the other side and they are still being dug up. He doesn't seem to dig anywhere else.

Net for Pictus Catfish

emt49126 — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:39:55 GMT

I was wondering if anyone knew where I could purchase a good net that will work on pictus catfish. I know that a regular net is not a good one to use on them. Any suggestions will be greatly welcome. Thanks

Your New Aquarium

David Lass — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:04:24 GMT

We have had a number of threads here on FC.com about "cycling" a new fish tank, and I thought I would post my current thinking, in the hope that you guys will chip in with your thoughts. Sorry it is such a long post -- but this stuff is really important.

Cycling a fish tank has nothing to do with a two wheeled vehicle; it also does not mean to simply let the tank run with water for a week or two. Cycling refers to getting the Nitrogen Cycle established in a tank. The Nitrogen Cycle is what makes it possible for us to keep fish in glass boxes which are, essentially, their own toilets. The Nitrogen Cycle starts with ammonia, which is the result of fish metabolism, dead plants, etc. and which is very harmful to fish; a certain set of bacteria convert the ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is also pretty harmful to fish, and a second group of bacteria convert nitrite into nitrates. Nitrates are much less harmful to fish, and nitrates can be removed by having lots of live plants, or doing frequent regular water changes. There are also just coming into the hobby a number of products, both as additives and entire filtration systems, that will house the group of bacteria (which need a low oxygen environment = anoxic or anaerobic) that convert nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas. This last stage of the Nitrogen Cycle works very much the same way that live rock works in a Berlin style marine tank. The technology is coming to the tropical fish hobby/industry from the commercial aquaculture of food fish industry -- and it is now possible to complete the cycle without doing weekly or regular water changes.

The requirements for the Nitrogen Cycle to get going in a fish tank are 1) the bacteria -- they can be allowed to build from the population in any tank, or they can be "seeded" by adding gravel, plants or filter stuff from an established tank into the new tank, or from any of the liquids or powders available as tank starters at your lfs. 2) The bacteria need a place to live -- which is usually part of the filtration system of the tank, although the bacteria actually live on every surface of the aquarium. 3) They need food -- in terms of ammonia to start with, then the nitrite that is the product of converting the ammonia -- the food can be in the form of adding ammonia directly, or from the fish.

It is very important to understand that without all three components -- the bacteria themselves, places for them to live, and food for them -- the Nitrogen Cycle will never become correctly established in a tank. There are many ways to get the Cycle started in a new tank. One is fishless cycling which involves adding ammonia (or letting some cocktail shrimp decompose) to the tank in enough concentration and over time for the bacteria of the NC to get going. The problem with fishless cycling is that most folks do not want to look at an empty tank for 4 -- 6 weeks while they feed ammonia to the bugs, or watch a few shrimp decompose. You can also get the NC going by adding something to "seed" it from a healthy existing tank. This can be a sponge filter, plants, gravel or filter medium. In my experience what works best, especially for new hobbyists with their first tank, is to use Nitrogen Cycle starter products from the lfs. These can be in the form of liquids with millions of live bacteria, or dry powders with suspended bacteria and food to get them started.

I have tested all of the methods for starting the Nitrogen Cycle in a new tank, and in my experience what works best is to start the new tank with bacteria either in liquid or dry form (and to add any "seeds" you can get), and to slowly add fish to the tank over a 4 -- 6 week period. You should absolutely buy your own testers for testing "The Big Four" -- pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. The test strips work just fine, and they are the best investment (other than a good book) that newbies can make in their aquarium hobby. LFS's like to encourage folks to bring in water for them to test, which is fine -- except that the Nitrogen Cycle and how it works is so critical to understand that it is really important that you do the testing yourself -- don't just rely on your lfs telling you that things are "ok". You need to have the numbers for "The Big Four", and to keep track of them in a log, as the direction/trend of any tank parameter is much more important than the absolute number -- unless the numbers are so high as to really threaten the health of the fish.

Bottom line, for me -- buy some test strips to test ammonia, nitrite, nitrates and pH -- add some "starters" either from the lfs or from existing healthy tanks -- add the fish over a 4 -- 6 week period -- test "The Big Four" each time before you add new fish, and keep a log -- don't rush things, and most important --- LEARN ABOUT FISHKEEPING AND HAVE FUN!

can anyone recommend fish?

Elena — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:26:28 GMT

can anyone recommend any common compatible species of tropical freshwater 26 gallon tank for a beginner like me?:unsure:

salt question

bettasrcool — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:53:59 GMT

I just wanted to ask about aquarium salt. I was reading on another site that someone mentioned adding a little aquarium salt to the tank is beneficial for most tropical fish and some plants. Is there any truth to this or should salt only be added for those "brackish" fish like mollies and guppies?

Dragon Fish with other Fishes

SKeith — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:18:11 GMT

I have a 20 gallon tank at my office. It has tons upon tons of plants and I have two 20 gallon filters because of them. I have a tetra fish, male betta, plecostomus, and a dragon fish. I recently purchased the dragon fish (Walmart told me that they were fine in fresh water) and when I did some research about them I found out that they needed a little bit of salt in their tanks in order to keep them happy ( 1tsp for every 10 gal, I think). Will salt hurt the other fish I have in the tank?

5 way test strips & snails & plants

SKeith — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:56:48 GMT

I just bought 5 way test strips that test : NO3, NO2, PH, salt, ALK, TH.

I have a fresh water tank with tons of plants and 3 neon tetra, 1 betta, 1 sucker, 1 dragon, and 10 little snails.

What is a normal tank suppose to be at for those and how would I fix each situation?

P.S. are the bigger (total body length 1/2 inch) snails bad for you plants? I don't ever see them on the plants but someone told me that they would eat them.

And can someone recommend some sort of fish or other that would eat the dead parts of the plants?

ammonia question

tesla2101 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:41:28 GMT

Will vinegar lower ammonia levels in aquariums? If so, is it safe to use in the aquarium containing fish?

Why all the love for betta's?

Taylor0302 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:31:57 GMT

There seems to be a huge amount of people of love the bettas and I feel like I am missing something. I really don't get why they are so popular. When I see the male betta in a small little bowl they don't get me very excited and I guess I just don't get it.

Can someone help me understand why these little guys are so popular?

Gender Identification - Platinum Gouramis?

Taylor0302 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:14:18 GMT

OK, I was in the LFS the other day and saw some Platinum Gouramis. The guy in the fish store seemed knowledgeable but mentioned that male Gouramis have red in their eye whereas the females do not have any red.

I have always thought that you could identify gouramis by their dorsal fins and the females have a smaller, more rounded dorsal and the males have a longer, pointed dorsal.

Today I was speaking to someone else who said that all Platinums have the red in the eye so I thought I would ask you guys.

Can female Platinum Gouramis have red in their eye or is this strickly a male trait?

White buildup?

aust10n — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 11:13:57 GMT

I just started the cycling process the other day.
Before I did so I noticed that a thick white substance has dried and cacked itself on the cover of the filter and along the top the cover where there is an opening. I wiped it off with a dry towel. I come back several days later and it's back.
What might the problem be?

NOT feeding your fish

David Lass — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:25:06 GMT

Even though I have lots of friends who own local fish stores, and sometimes they don't like what I have to say; this is one of those times. Just as I don't think you should be playing around with the pH trying to get it to exactly 7.0, you really don't need to worry about feeding your fish if you are going to be gone for a weekend -- or a long weekend -- or in some cases a week.

We just got back from being away for 9 days, and Jen and her daugher came in twice a day to feed and play with the cats (who I don't even think really knew we were gone), but all of my fish went without any feedings. I've got 6 large tanks (120 to 300 gallons) that are heavily planted, including the 120 with the 12 adult S.jurupari and the F1 and F2 Royal Farlowellas, the 300 with the wild discus, and the school of rummy noses and roseline sharks, and all sorts of oddball suckermouth cats, and another 120 with 9 large fancy designer discus. All of the fish were fine, much of which is because of the live plants. In my wholesale fishroom, where all of the tanks are bare, almost everyone was fine. Only problem was there was one tank where the airline tubing had come off the filter, and a few of those fish were dead. Other than that, everyone was doing just fine -- hungry, yes -- but fine.

My point in all of this is that healthy fish in a healthy fish tank can go for quite a while without food. This is, of course, based on the fact that they have been fed well, on a good variety of different kinds of foods, and that the water quality in the tank is good. IMHO, the silliest thing that lfs's have for sale (and there are a number of silly things) is the "betta weekend feeders" that I have seen. Bettas, of all fish, can go quite a while without food, and the idea of needing to buy something to feed them while you are gone for a weekend is, to me, silly. As always -- just my opinion.

Help?

papillons rule! — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:24:36 GMT

Ok, here's the thing, I kept fish for 2 years in a 10 gallon heated aquarium. It didn't really work very well. I had lots of alga, the tank smelled funny, I killed fish fast, and non of the plants I got lived (with the exception of my java moss) and there were organisms constantly in there that I did not put in and probably shouldn't have been in there. For example: at the last part there were weird little wiggly white things that took residence in the gravel and on the plastic plants. Recently all of my fish died, so deciding I was tired of it for the moment, I took all of the gravel out, gave away the java moss, scrubbed everything out, and bleached the whole thing so whatever the white things were they would die. It was all fine and dandy until I realized like a weak afterwards that I desperately missed my fish. I want to start it again but don't want unhealthy fish, but I don't want to pay for more equipment than I absoulutly need. Here is a list of stuff I have.

Heater
Aquarium Gravel
One rather small whisper filter (rated up to 5 gallons)
A flouresant Lamp/hood
Lots of fish food
Water conditioner
Plant fertilizer
Alga scraper
Ten Gal aquarium
Plastic plants

Here are some questions I have:

Do I really need plants for healthy fish?
What type of filtration system is the best?
Should I even bother restarting my aquarium?
If plants are nesesary, do I need a CO2 diffuser?
What are some tough, common plants?
What were the white wiggly things?
Do I need to buy any equipment?
What in the world does nitrogen cycling mean?

Please give me all the help you can. And please don't use abreaviations on this, I'm reaaaaly blond and if you use them I will have no idea what you are saying.

Some new ideas for fish.

Neowolf242 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:53:04 GMT

heres what we're looking at:

Raphael Catfish

African Featherfin Catfish

Pictus Catfish

My petsmart said these would all work with angels but i am confirming before we do anything