Got the tank, and getting the water right, now just..

[christina_ski]

I got the 29g kit tank. Its much bigger then I thought so I am glad i went with it instead of the 55g! I almost got a 75g but it was so heavy i could not pick it up empty

and all it came with was the hood/light nothing else. I will have the water set-up for a tropical community tank. I was thinking of having:

3 dalmation mollies

3 black mollies

2 dwarf gouramis males

1 angelfish

6 or more zebra danios (I know they say angelfish will try and eat these, but I figure if they have enough places to hide they will be ok. I want to use them to cycle the tank)

sometype of bottom level fish

I just want a nice active, colorfull tank. Something I can sit and watch for hours like I use to watch my moms as a kid, but can not remember what all she had in hers besides the angelfish. I also thought maybe a few ghost shrimp or snails to help with cleaning up. I know in the past when i had zebra danios they spawned quite often and their babies kept my molly fry well fed.

Just tossing around some ideas. Won't be getting any fish till next week, setting the tank up today and letting it run a few days.

Christina

 

[mad for mini's]

Congrats ! You will love your new tank once it is up and running and full of active fish

If you can't wait and have to add fish after only a few days, start with just a couple and make sure they are a hardy kind. Your tank's water will go through alot of changes in the first few weeks and really isn't safe to put delicate fish in for at least a week. The best thing is to get it filled, get the filter running and add benificial bacteria to it, then let it run for at least a week without fish. This gives the bacteria time to grow and stabilize the water before the stress of fish waste is added to the filters work load. I've only had freshwater and saltwater fish, never had tropical fish so I can't help you on the fish selection. I can only add that if you have fish that will chase and harass other fish, it is not a good idea no matter how much room. The harassing puts alot of stress on the fish and they may not get enough to eat and die or become sick, possibly with something that will spread to others in your tank. If I ever had any doubt about fish getting along, I would pass on them, it isn't worth the risk to others in your tank. Good luck and enjoy your new tank.

 

[Charlene]

ideally, your tank should cycle for several weeks before adding fish. as has been said, you can get bacteria to add to your tank immediately that will help the process along.

be careful with snails, they reproduce like rabbits and will soon take over. i'd stay away from them entirely. a couple of little catfish will keep the bottom cleaned up and a pleco will keep the glass clean. you should not add either catfish or a pleco until your tank has been running with other fish for a couple of weeks. if you add them too soon, there will be nothing for them to eat.

when you go to select fish, you'll probably be dazzled by the cichlid tanks but don't let a salesperson talk you into getting any. they are breeding gorgeous colorful cichlids these days but they are still extremely aggressive and should be kept in a cichlid-only tank. they are not community tank material!

schooling fish such as zebra danios or neon tetras do best if you can fit about a dozen in your tank.

the rule of thumb is 1" of fish per 1 gallon of water. a school of a dozen zebras would equal about 12 fish.

also be careful with bala sharks and red-tail sharks. they are normally pretty peaceful but they CAN get aggressive and they can get pretty big.

what kind of filter are you using? i always found the best was the bio wheels.