New for the second time

Hi guys,

Name's Wynand, from Pretoria.

A few weeks ago a guy in Krugersdorp (might even be a member here, I don't know) posted on a different forum saying he has a tank that's in his way to give away. The tank was advertised as free, but with one corner having come loose (in other words, need to be fixed). I told him I'd love to take the tank as my older kid (boy, 2 years old) LOVES fish and he'd enjoy this.

Then COVID stuff happened and I ended up almost forgetting about it, not being able to pick it up and the guy graciously offered to have his driver drop it off at my place when he's in the area. I obviously accepted this and just over a week ago he dropped it off. From the get-go it was obvious it's not just a tank, and it came complete with sand/gravel, some rocks, some plastic plants (not my favourite), a small corner filter, two sponge filters (a small one and a bigger one), two air pumps, one not working really well, a water pump, a light fitting with two tubes, filter media, some food, 4 heaters (a 50W, 100W, 150W and a 250W), etc. etc. The whole shebang.

So I bought the correct silicone sealant and after cleaning the loose corner properly I stuck it back in place. Let it sit for the required time, filled up the tank and it held water without leaking. Great.

I stuck in the filters and everything, switched it on, let it run for a few days and yesterday we got fish. And then it started...

I have to add this is not my first time owning fish. I used to have a much smaller (around 30l) tank when I was a kid, holding mostly guppies that bred like bunnies, but I knew nothing back then and this time around I want to do it correctly. So here I am! Looking forward to learning as much as I can about this, because I'm currently in love. I forgot how incredibly peaceful a nice aquarium can be...

 

Welcome back! Hope you enjoy the stay

 

I love your story. Welcome to the forum. Your kids going to be really happy. Oh yea and we love pics so looking forward to seeing some

 

Welcome Wynand. You wouldn't happen to be the same Toxxyc from Carbonite?

 

The one and the same!

EDIT: But here I don't have to enforce rules, so I'm WAAAAY more chilled...

 

Haha nice! Small world. I don't think we really crossed paths on Carb (I suppose that's a good thing ). But I've been a member there for a while.
Welcome to the aquarium hobby! Let us know if you have any questions

 

I've got questions. Many, many questions. I can enforce a rule like it's nobody's business, but it seems I'm a tiny bit out of my depth with this new hobby. It started off getting a fish for my kid, but I can already see it quickly turning into my own personal thing to run.

I've already got a question as well. My wife got some fish yesterday, that we already introduced into the tank:

4 x Neon Tetras, some quite small (but not fry)
1 x Pearl Gourami (male, seems fully grown)
1 x Balloon Molly (seems fully grown)
2 x GMO Tetras (those GloFish types, apparently)

Now I got offered by a member on here to take over two Angelfish from him, a male and a female. I know my wife wants Angelfish BADLY, so I want to know if I can keep them with the Neon Tetras. My first research says "no", but I'm asking just to make sure. If I can't, I'm willing to donate the Neons to someone in order to get the Angels, to be honest. Wife wants them really badly, and they seem to be the common tiny fish you can't keep with larger species, at risk of them being turned into food...

 

Angels and neon tetras I'd not chance. Molly's I've heard of working but I've not seen with my eyes and again I wouldn't chance

 

I read up and most sources say an inch or smaller is a risk. I'd say the molly is a bit larger than that already. The Gourami is way bigger and the GMO Tetras also a bit bigger than that, and they're also fatter. Would they work - or should I just not get the Angels for now?

This hobby is HARD...

 

It sounds like you're already opening up the can of worms
Soon you will find out that CUD exists in the aquarium world as well.

Sometimes if you find a fish you really like, your best option might be to get another fish tank for them.

There's a couple questions you need to ask yourself when looking at new fish. This may not be a comprehensive list, but its the basics to consider
1. Do the new fish I'm introducing require the same/similar enough water parameters.
2. Will the fish be aggressive to each other
3. Is there enough space in the tank for the new fish - Also important to keep in mind that many fish require friends of the same species with them.

So in the case of the angel fish you want.
1. The water parameters are similar for them, so that's not an issue.
2. The aggressiveness could be an issue. Angelfish can be a bit feisty. If you had a lot of plants in your tank, you could possibly get away with it, because the smaller fish can go hide in the plants. But typically you'd be better off pairing angelfish with other big fish.
3. It's worth considering that the Balloon Molly might be feeling a bit lonely, as well as the Glofish. Even neon tetras usually like 5-6 in a group. But I suppose 4 might be good enough.

So, considering the third point, I'd say you've got to make a choice. You can either double down on the smaller fish, and get a few more balloon mollies and GMO tetras, or you can rehome those and go down the angelfish route.

By the way, you say the Pearl Gourami is fully grown. Just in case you don't know this, Pearl Gouramis can get 12-13cm. Is yours that big? Often when you a see a fish in the pet shop, it looks fully grown, but they can sometimes get 10 times that size You always need to be very careful about how big a fish can get. Always google the fish to see how big they get, as well as their preferred school size, aggression levels, and water parameters.

 

By the way, if you haven't read this already. Make sure you understand the nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen Cycle for Aquariums / How NOT to kill all your fish with your first tank | Tropical Aquariums SA
This is the key thing that will keep your fish and aquarium happy.

 

Nope, I didn't know the Pearls get that big. Mine's around 5cm, so not even half...

Regarding the numbers of smaller fish - yeah I'm aware I need more, but I can't really stock the tank to the brim right away. That's going to mess up the nitrogen cycle (yes, I read that the second I stepped on here, kinda opened my eyes), as I have it, so for now it'll have to do. I don't mind rehoming the smaller fish to make way for a few bigger ones.

I've also made a secondary plan. My sister has a tank and she has plants that's taking over. As such, I'm going to go pick up plants from here today. He husband also has a tank, and he said he'll give me some gravel and some ceramic noodles (not sure if that's the right name, but I know what it is) from his filter so I can stick it in mine. Both their tanks have been running for a long time, so there's a lot of good stuff in there. Sound like a good idea?

 

Yes it sounds like you're on the right track. Taking established ceramic rings from another tank is a great way to fast-track the cycling process.
I also just want to mention this in case you weren't aware - You also get products like Seachem Stability or Insta-Pure Magic Bacteria, which are basically bacteria in a bottle that significantly speed up the cycling process compared to just using fish without the supplements.
But since you're able to get established media, that's even better than using one of those products.

 

Welcome @Toxxyc

 

I'm going to replace the charcoal in my corner filter with them. It circulates the water pretty well with the two water pumps I have in there as well.

 

OK I can't pick up that stuff today, my sister got a bit busier than expected, so I'll get all that on Sunday. Still good, though, I guess. The fish in the tank are REALLY happy, they're super active and swimming up and down and through the currents, they don't even bunch up all the time like I've seen them do. The Gourami is a slow mover apparently and that's quite obvious, he prefers to stick to himself for the most part, sticking to the upper half of the tank and mostly just chilling in the current. The tetras though, both Neon and the GMO Widows all tend to swarm together, sitting in the current, then going to play in the sponge filter's bubbles, then sinking down to the bottom, etc.

This is awesome. What was best for me so far was seeing how they literally "slept" at night. I thought you could leave the lights on like I did with my previous tanks, but researched showed I should mimic daylight, so at night I switch it off. This morning I switched it on and at first it was a tiny shock, seeing the tank totally empty with none but the Gourami visible. Eventually after a few minutes the fish started emerging from the plants and the caves I built for them.

Worth the whole lot.

Today I got some new airline and some splitters and stuff, and now the large corner filter is also running. My air pump is a bit old, and it shows. The one side is barely pumping anymore and the corner filter is not moving a lot of air. I think it's going to give up the ghost sooner rather than later. I stuck the powerful side on the large sponge filter and the weaker side on the small sponge filter, with a T-piece leading to the corner filter.

Water pumps work 100s. Water is circulating well and crystal clear, no smells or off stuff and the fish are vibrant and happy. Makes me quite happy, actually. Kids LOVE it.