A New Fish Lover - Beginner

[Izz]

Yes, those are all freshwater community fish, compatible with most anything that won't eat them. And otos are the bomb. They're smaller than my pinky toe, but they eat algae like they're... well big or something.

One shortcut to cycling your tank could possibly be to seed your tank with some gravel from your grandma's tank. This should help out, unless anyone else here says otherwise. I'm not the greatest source. *crazysmil

 

[FroggyFox]

NO that is not the best way to put new fish into your tank. Generally you should float them at the top of the tank for at least 10 minutes, then pour in about 1/2 a cup of your tank water every 10 minutes or so. Then you should net the fish out of the bag and put into the tank. NEVER dump the water from the bag into your tank because you'll get all of the nasties from your fish store into your tank.

I dont know why you need to know this though...because if you add all of your fish when you get the tank the same day they'll probably not make it for too long.

 

[LongTime]

I've heard when you get the fish, when they're in the plastic bags, you undo to the bags and slowly dip them into the water, then after five minutes or so, let them out of the bags. Is this true? It's on a few fish websites!

I think you just opened a can of worms!

Unless there are great deal of difference between temperature, etc., or the fish are very delicate. I do not do the floating thing. The Skeptical Aquarist had a wonderful article but the site is down. www.skepticalaquarist.com I don't know if I stored the article or not. I'll check when I get home. If I have it I'll post it.

The bottom line is I think floating can be dangerous and stressful to the fish. Here are a couple of sites to look at:
http://www.bestfish.com/floatdip.html and
http://www.csupomona.edu/~jskoga/Aquariums/Acclimation.html

As you can see, not even all the biologists are in agreement and many people will probably disagree with me. *PEACE!*

For a lot of years I floated and mixed. I haven't done that in about 8 years. I haven't lost a fish.

 

[FroggyFox]

I think the biggest reason I make sure to mix my water with the bag water is because I found out that many of my stores keep water conditions that are VERY different from mine. Everything from pH (which a change of more than .2 on the pH scale in like an hour can put a fish into shock), to the temperature difference in the car. (now for SW the Specific gravity of a tank can be far off...yesterday I had to acclimate a fish from his store tank of 1.020 to 1.025)

I figure the fish being calm in a bag, they have oxygen from mixing the water in etc...I'd rather do that than just plop them in the tank...I DO think that the process of acclimating new fish is as much theory and personal preference as everything else in this hobby though

 

[Fish Friend]

You open the bag.. and stuff.... leave it for 5 mins then dip it in to get a little bit of the water in the tank in.. and keep repeating this for half an hour... well... thats what i do anyway

 

[LongTime]

I figure the fish being calm in a bag, they have oxygen from mixing the water in etc...I'd rather do that than just plop them in the tank...I DO think that the process of acclimating new fish is as much theory and personal preference as everything else in this hobby though

I also think it is theory and personal preference. *BOUNCINGS

What got me on the "calm in the bag" part was someone pointing out how stressful it could be for a fish that can see places to hide but can't get to them while being viewed by other fish in the tank.

 

[Chazwick]

Okay - I'm getting my tank tomorrow and will get the fish the following day - tomorrow i'll be choosing them and reserving them so they're all ready for the following day! So back to the point! Can anyone give me some small. colourful fish recommendations? Nothing big please, i want to start on small fish! thank you

 

[Stillwaters]

Chazwick,
why are you going to have your dad sort all of this stuff out for you? Come on
i read your bio, you got some great goals. Use your smarts, you have asked for advise
& got some good feedback, no one advised next day stocking. Perhaps you need to
talk with someone your own age who can help you from doing something uber stupid.
" Ballon Fish" is on this site a lot, & has a real good grasp of how things work.Look him up at the top of the page @ members list & send him a short message of your questions, & also what YOU want to do.
Good luck!

 

[FroggyFox]

I'm sorry. I'm not willing to give you anymore advice until you read all of the advice that was given to you in this thread. There's a lot of information, especially in the threads that were linked for you to do some of your own research.

 

[f8fan]

A new tank is NOT READY FOR FISH until it has cycled. Everyone here has told you that. Please do not post in a couple of days that all of your fish have died and ask WHY??
Please read up on cycling a tank....you will not only save yourself money and frustration but save some poor fishes lives.....

 

[zohar78]

Here let me break it down.
A) Buy tank tomorow.
B) Setup tank. NO FISH
C) Let run for like a Week.
D) Try a Fishless Cycle
E) Not Possible, Buy 1 or 2 small fish to start fish cycle.
F) Check Parameters, for a month to 2 months. It should cycle within 6-8 weeks.

I was every bit the newb 3 months ago. Now i have 3 tanks and lost only 1 out of 40 fish. And that was my fault for getting hyper and throwing his butt in 90 degree water, when he just came from 75 degrees.

I will add one final thing, if you cant do a fishless cycle, then use a hardy breed of fish. 1 1" of fish per 10 gallons of water. The two fish i would recommend is White Clouds mountain minnows or Zebra Danios. Either fish are schooling fish and they are very active. Especially the Zebras.

 

[lordroad]

If your heart is set on starting immediately with fish after the first 24 hours, then here are my suggestions...

Zebra danios to cycle your tank to begin with, then move on from there... talk to your lfs first and see if they'll accept em back, some will, some won't.

Oh, and if you really want to get into the nit and gritty, use Bio-spira-- it will cycle your tank almost instantly and be ready for your full load of fish.

 

[LongTime]

Here is a good site on selecting a good Local Fish Shop (LFS) and on acclimating your fish.

http://www.aquamaniacs.net/forum/cms_view_article.php?aid=32

In My Opinion (IMO), it is better to forget the Bio-spira. Take your time and save your self some grief. Trust me, in all the years I've been keeping fish I've killed them in more ways than you can imagine. The best way is to take your time and do it right!


EDIT to add closing from the above article.
In closing:
If you absolutely have to float, consider keeping the bag sealed while floating and then do a quick dose and net to avoid the problems that occur when the bag is opened. Here are a few combinations and scenarios to consider, which are much better alternatives to the float methods:

If the fish have been shipped a long distance, over many hours:
- Dose and net.

If the drive was short and you bought your fish from a reputable dealer with similar water parameters:
- Dose & net or just quickly net.

If you are absolutely certain of the conditions in the tank that the fish are coming out of, or the distance between tanks is short:
- Dose & dump, dose and net, or just dump or net.

The need to float newly acquired fish is one of the most common misconceptions in the aquarium hobby. Hopefully, you will take the time to practice some of the other techniques and further develop your fish selection and acclimation skills. The time to start off the right way is now

 

[Chazwick]

I am happy with all the replies, thank you. I brought my tank today - it's not massive, but a great reasonable size and i've "decorated" it to match the enviroment to the fish i've chosen, I don't remember the fishes types... but i know one is a black moore or something, not so interesting, i know - but i want to start of small. I've done the tank, and it says to wait TWO WEEKS before putting the fish in, as i have a small does of some sort of conditioner that will make the water better.

PS: And, yes, i did this all on my own! lol - plus i did the filter.

 

[FroggyFox]

You are going to put more than one goldfish in an 8 gallon tank? Hmm...that sounds like a recipe for a mess to me. Generally one goldfish needs at least 10 gallons to himself because they are VERY messy fish. What kind of filter did you get?

Now that we know the size though...some people ought to be able to give you some suggestions for stocking a small tank...or you could look through the threads to find some ideas? In my opinion your tank is not big enough for one goldfish, let alone more than one. And again...I dont think it'd be smart to mix tropicals and goldfish.

 

[Chazwick]

Like i said - Goldfish are the only fish i can purchase in my nearby shop. I supposed they're the most... popular in the UK. I don't know exactly how big my tank is - It may even be smaller than an 8GAL, i'm not sure... but it's a fair good size for a starters.. i didn't get a starters kit or anything.. it's a good size!
And i'm not sure what filter i'm using... no idea!! lol

 

[ashleigh]

I don't want to sound like I'm being brisk with you but you don't seem to be listening. An eight gallon tank is not suitable for any goldfish species, especially if you are a beginner. Eight gallons is very small. You had in another thread that you wanted plants and had bought some- do you know that goldfish eat plants? You intentions are good but listen to what people are telling you- you physically cannot start small with goldfish. goldfish are big. I think maybe you need a bit more time for research- I find it very hard to believe that your pet store has a selection of live plants and only one kind of fish. You can have a great tank with eight gallons- I have several small tanks too, but what you are planning is not going to work. You need to take things more slowly, find out what fish appeal to you and go from there. This is not a hobby where you take things quickly. We have a lot of members here from the UK and I don't think any keep exclusively goldfish- you should ask them where they buy fish. I'm sure they will have suggestions on where to buy fish perfect for your tank.

 

[Chazwick]

I'm 14 - i live in a small place, there's only two petshops in my area. One that only sells different types of goldfish and the other sells... NO fish at all. The shop with fish only sells goldfishes for freshwater or tropical fish, which i am not ready to take on yet, so yes - Goldfishes are my only choice, and my parents will not allow me to buy fish off the internet because i don't want.. nasty ones. lol.

PS: I've been examining my tank more closely and i think it's more than 8GALS perhaps 10... i'm really not sure. But i'm positive it's more.

 

[ashleigh]

I don't understand what this means
"The shop with fish only sells goldfishes for freshwater or tropical fish, which i am not ready to take on yet"

Look- no one is trying to be unkind to you or discourage your interest- but even one goldfish in an eight gallon tank will not work. We're all just trying to keep you from making a big mistake. We have all made them- I made LOTS at your age. I didn't mean to, and it made me so sad when I lost fish. But people are trying to explain how things work to you so that you don't have that experience. If you don't read the materials people are posting and listen to what we are saying, you are going to have a hard time with this.

 

[Chazwick]

What i meant with the fish thing is that the shop that sells goldfish have either them or tropical fish, of which i can't have. I understand what you mean - but they're the only thing i can get - unless you can recommend a smaller fish, that i can be on the look out for?