New - help!!!!

[candym0m]

Hi Everyone

I am so confused! All this talk about T5's and T8's, sump's, filtration etc... WTF????
I had NO idea keeping a few little fishies was gonna be such hard work :(
Someone PLEASE HELP!!! :wondering:

[Singularity]

Hi and welcome candymom. Maybe if you tell us a little bit more about your setup and fish you currently have and what problems you are experiencing we can try and help. It isnt that hard work to keep fish, well it isnt hard work at all if you do it right. Atleast you are at the right place now for some good advice from the TASA members.

[solex69]

Ola and welcome to TASA

As Singularity said, post any problems you may have and we will try and assist the best we can

Cheers
Dale

[Dolphin]

Welcome to TASA!Tell us more about the aquarium you have or want to get and we'll do our best to guide you...Remember, no question is a stupid question. Rather ask the question here and save yourself time, money and protect the lives your little fishies...

[candym0m]

I have a small tank - 30x22x23. 1 guppy, 1 goldfish, 2 snails- 2 live plants + lots of decorative river stones,shells etc. I need 2 knw about lighting + filtration etc.

[candym0m]

I have a small tank - 30x22x23. 1 guppy, 1 goldfish, 2 snails- 2 live plants + lots of decorative river stones,shells etc. I need 2 knw about lighting + filtration etc. ive done quite a lot of reading etc bt i just need sum solid advice.

[Dolphin]

are you planning on getting another aquarium or is what you have to work with?If you're gonna be keeping this tank for awhile then lets see what we can do with it...Filtration: This is going to be dependent on how many fish and what type you eventually want to keep in there and if you will be keeping plants. If you're keeping plants, then undergravel filtration will not do it as it will disturb the roots of the plants. The simplest filtration that will work for you is going to be a corner filter filled with some filter wool, ceramic rings and charcoal. If you want to spend some money on filtration then go for a good internal or hang on power filter (you're going to need this type of filtration if you want to keep goldfish or large body fish such as cichlids etc). If you have to medicate the aquarium, remove the charcoal from your filter.Lighting: With this size tank your best option will be COMPACT FLOURESCENT lighting if you want to keep a good selection of plants (I used this type of lighting on my 50L planted and the plants overgrew that tank!). Your tank is about 12-15L so you're looking at about 30W of light.Heating: You should have a 50W heater in there and the average aquarium temp should be 24-26C. This brings us to the question of your goldfish: Do you want to keep tropical fish or goldfish? I would suggest you make this decision now and then plan the additions you will be making carefully.Fish: You should add no more than 20 25mm fish to your aquarium. So now you need to research the fish you want to keep so you know what its eventual size will be. If you want to keep fish that will eventually grow to say 10cm, then you can only get 5 of them for your tank - eventhough they might only be 4cm now when you buy them. But, for your size aquarium I would suggest you only keep smaller fish which will only grow to about 4/5cm which means you can keep 10 fish of that size in your tank. I would recommend a mix of Tetras, Rasboras, Danios (not the artificially colored ones), flying fox or otocinclus & a small cory - these should all go nicely with a planted setup. Alternatively you can select some nice guppies, platies and swords. Word of caution: Do not purchase mollies as they require salt and the addition of salt will not make the other fish happy and might even cause their demise. Mollies go well with a selection of puffers, scats and other brackish water fish and their aquarium should be planned and setup accordingly.Feeding: Get a good selection of dry flakes or small pellets for your fish and supplement this with some frozen bloodworms once or twice or week.Books: Not sure which books you've read, but you should get yourself a good book - usually not available from an LFS so browse around a CNA for somethin comprehensive that covers all the above and more.Hope that helps, shout if you have more questions...

[candym0m]

Wow! Thx 4 all dat, Dolphin. I am keeping da tank i have.. I dnt hv lots of money at the mo 4 an elaborate setup. Maybe 1 day. All those fish u named.. No idea wot they lol. I am a complete novice! Bt i will luk them up + wil get myself a gud book:) all 3 of my fish have died:( so im gna wait til i knw wot im doin b4 gtn more.

[Dolphin]

sorry to hear! Well, atleast you can start right again and plan your aquarium...

[LiftCrazy*]

Eish, sorry to hear...

I found an easy DIY filter tutorial, it would cost almost nothing to make.
And guy making the video clip is quite thorough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6LLxYbUe6U

[candym0m]

Hi Guys

So I've finally managed to set up my tank (properly this time :) I purchased a filter, heater and a test kit. Then, yesterday I bought some new fishies to add to the 2 snails and black moor that I have.
I got 2 neons (I didn't know!! :( ) and 2 cherry barbs. The neons are doing fine, but the barbs are just hanging around the bottom of the tank ? Am I doing something wrong??
What is the correct temp for the heater to be at?
I tested the water and treated it etc and that's all fine.

[Henk Hugo]

cherry barbs and neons are both schooling fish and should be kept in a school of atleast 5 or more.

Blackmoors form part of the "goldfish" side of things and need to be kept in an unheated tank/pond

[Singularity]

and tank temp +/-26C

[candym0m]

OMG :( I'm just going to cry! WHY don't these aquarium ppl tell you these things??? They can clearly see that I'm a novice - or is it that they want us to fail?!
So what can I do now? Must I remove the black moor (I do still have a small fish bowl)? Do I have to get more barbs & neons and how many can I safely have in my 14L tank (12L's of water).

[Henk Hugo]

i would take out the goldfish, take back the either the cherries or the neons and select one school... ie 5 or more :D

[candym0m]

You think the shop will take them back??

[Henk Hugo]

who did you get it from?

[candym0m]

A little bubby shop converted into a pet shop. They are very nice tho...

[Henk Hugo]

mmmmmmm ok - take them back and tell them you want to swop them for more of the other species and you also want some extra

[candym0m]

Ok, kewl... I'll try that. Do you think they'll be ok till the weekend tho? Cos I work fulltime and that's the only chance I'll get to exchange them.

[Henk Hugo]

yea that should be fine - just get that blackmoor out asap....

[candym0m]

Ok... but he seems fine. He isn't acting funny at all. He's eating and swimming ok. I have my heater set to 24.5 degrees... so it's not to warm but it's not too cold either. What do you think?

[Henk Hugo]

i just had a look at a few of my books and they all state 10 to 20 (some say 10 - 18) deg C for gold fish....

[Henk Hugo]

just found another book that states " 2 - 25C with 17 to 21 being ideal"

so i dont know :D

[candym0m]

Hahaha maybe it just depends on the particular fish? Cos he really doesn't seem fazed at all :) I'll keep an eye on him and if he seems at all stressed I'll move him.

[Henk Hugo]

ok cool :D

[LiftCrazy*]

My two Gold fish kinda liked it in my tank (Jacuzzi) at around 26.5 deg...
But now they have taken a permanent winter vacation to my Grandfathers pond.