Beginner - In Need Of Help.

[Chazwick]

Hey there! I'm a complete newbie to the whole fish-pet thing, by the way! I have brought my tank and it's going well - but i have been told (by the manual) to wait two weeks before getting the fish, and that's fine!
My real... "question" is about lights.
My tank is a freshwater tank, and i've heard that lights can really brighten up the tank, what lights do you get though? My tank is a fairly small one about 8gallons i'd say, as i'm just starting and don't have any room for a big one (plus my parents would kill me if i got a big one!), but could i buy an ordinary lamp and stretch it over the top of the tank so the light shines down (you know - one of those desklamps) or should i not bother at all? I need help.

Thanks,
Chazwick x

 

[Balloon Fish]

if your doing plants the lamp is fine just try to get some compact flourescent light bulbs (the spirally ones) cause most of the other typse of lights don't grow plants that good but it is possible. oh and if you want the tint of the light to be realy white look for the Kelvin rating and get one that is from 5500k to 6500k or if you want yellow go for something around the 2000k to 3000k and if you want blue look for something around 9000k but i personally like growing plants in 6500k casue that is the color temp of the sun.

 

[Chazwick]

Thanks for the civilised reply. I've soon realised they have lamps that are MADE for my tank, so i'll have to go on the lookout. I certainly want one!

PS: You seem like an expert. Are air pumps any good for freshwater tanks?

 

[Balloon Fish]

he he i've only been in the hobby for a year so i wouldn't consider myself as an expert, maybe in 2 more years when i can get a car and go to the lfs on my own . Air pumps are great for freshwater aquariums unless you are injecting co2 into the tank which usualy you dont want to put an airstone into the tank (because adding an airstone will let the co2 out) but there are a lot of circumstances when you will want to like if you have too much co2 and not enough o2 and your fish are at the top of the tank gasping for air. Also some people with heavily planted aquariums stick airstones in their tanks at night when the plants are also absorbing o2 (forgot the name of this proccess) but i have never stuck an aistone into my 20g even at night and never seen my fish gasping for air .

edit: forgot to mention that usually the lamps that are made for or come with your tank aren't enough for plants. In an 8g i would see if i could find a nice small screw in power compact bulb that is around 20watts, that way you can grow most of the plants you want. But make sure you find one in the right color temp that you want but any temp can still grow plants. Oh and make sure it can fit into the hood cause 8g's are usualy qutie small.

 

[Chazwick]

Thanks for the advice. I'd say my tank was a little bigger than an 8GAL perhaps a 10GAL. It's actually designed for goldfishes, and reading through the manual and looking at the tank, it would be a suitable enviroment... But i've heard that it wont be from people on here. Though if it's made for goldfishes (and it wasn't cheap or anything.. in fact it was pretty god damn expensive!), then surely it would be OK? In the ONLY pet shop around my area they only really have Goldfishes, you know, different types, fancy goldfishes, etc, and tropical fish (is it true you can get freshwater tropical fish? If so - i'll see if their freshwater ones!) I want more than one fish in my tank - because of "lonely" issues, lol, can you recommend any good fishes? Small ones? And they must be simple, because the shop doesn't do... unsimple ones. lol. Also give me your own views of goldfishes? Thank you x


PS: Wow you're only... 15? I'm fourteen you see - and by looking on your website at your amazing tanks i assumed you'd be older!! Where do you keep those tanks?! lol! and are your parents cool with it?

 

[ashleigh]

They may be marketing it for goldfish but that doesn't mean that it is appropriate for goldfish. For instance, you've no doubt seen tiny bowls marketed for bettas- but 99% of these are death traps. The difference between the advice that we are giving you and the advice that a company will give you is that we aren't trying to sell you a thing. They are. That's their job. And yes- you can buy freshwater tropical fish. The tropics are an area, not a type of water. The term tropical has more to do with temperature. I know I said the same thing on another thread but go to the freshwater profile section here and that will give you an idea of what is available.

 

[Chazwick]

I see - thanks. Sorry i'm really new to all this. I just kind of decided out of the blue that i all of a sudden wanted fish! Believe it or not, when i first mentioned it about3 days ago i didn't realise all about the cycle and everything. I thought you just brought a tank, filled it up, put a fish in and away you go! I've learnt quite abit now, but.. i've still been told that Goldfishes are bad pets... I know a few people with them, with absoloutly no bad words to speak against them. I really want a Black Moor goldfish! Would you recommend them?

 

[ashleigh]

No problem- everybody needs help when they're getting started. It takes a while for all of this stuff to make sense. It's not that goldfish are bad pets, it's that they are a bad choice for small tanks. Whether your tank is eight gallons or ten, a black moor will just get way too big. They get big quickly- and if they are not allowed to do so (i.e. if they are forced to live in cramped conditions) they will have health problems and die well before they should. They live to be over 20 years old. Small tanks need small fish- you might have to do a little bit of looking around but there are a lot of great species out there that will be perfect for yoru tank. Please don't take this as an insult, but I think you might just not know what species will work for you- some tropical fish are freshwater some are salt. I suspect you might have more options tahn you think. take a minute to go to the profile section. If you scroll to the very top of this screen you will see a tab on the left that says "Freshwater fish profiles" It's right under the myfishtank logo. Look around in there for a bit and see what you like. Your fish store might be able to order things for you- if not- maybe you and your aunt can take a trip together to a store that's a little more out of the way.

 

[Chazwick]

Don't worry - i don't take this as an insult! I'm just more of a dog-cat-rodent person and know... NOTHING about fish!! lol. I'll have a long look around! - Do you know of any SMALL goldfish varieties, though?

 

[ashleigh]

There really aren't any that stay small.

 

[ashleigh]

I'm going to try to post some links to fish in the profiles that are easy to care for and usually easy to find-
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/111/sort/7/cat/6/page/1

These guys are REALLY common, fun to watch, nearly impossible to kill, and I bet you have these or something similar in a store near you

http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/148/sort/7/cat/6/page/1

Tetras are a colorful family- I have found this species to be really hardy.
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/49/sort/7/cat/3/page/1

these are also easy keepers- but there's a catch- they can be aggressive, and their long fins are sometimes tempting for fish like danios to nip. You can't keep more than one of this species in a tank, and you can't keep them with some fish that are distantly related to them. They are best in a tank where they can be by themselves, but some don't mind having little tetras or something like that around. Other than those cautions, they are good beginner fish.
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/116/sort/7/cat/7/page/1

 

[Balloon Fish]

i agree with ashleigh, just cause they have goldfish on the box doesn't mean its for goldfish . I think ashleigh has said most of what's needed to be said. and by the way i'm not 15, i'm 14 and if you like my old tank wait till you see the new tank after all my plants come in and have some time to grow out so maybe before september i'll have a new pic.

 

[Chazwick]

Wow- Ashleigh thanks for going through that for me. The Danios have always really stood out to me! I really would love a one or two and i'd also adore a neon tetra school. I'll look out for them!
x

 

[Chazwick]

To Balloon Fish,
Oh - right, soz! It's cause your 15 THIS year, i'm 15 next year in April, so i got abit confused :S lol.
How the hell do you make room for that big tank? And don't your parents mind??? lol

 

[Balloon Fish]

not really, but i can't get any more tanks after the 20g. I'm sure lots of people out there have bigger tanks and a big number of people i know have tanks over 50g. I still have plenty of room for more tanks its just the electricity bill would be crazy and my parents will go crazy Also danios don't do good in groups less then 4 so if you were to get some get 4 or more cause they will bother the other fish.

 

[Chazwick]

Okay - thank you for the advice.

 

[Stillwaters]

Hey Cazwick,
you have already started to learn a lot stuff about this hobby! I have had fish tanks for 40 yrs & still dont know every thing & never will! Glad you were able to connect with Ballon Fish. Now about that 1st starter tank, granted its sorta small, did you know that the smaller the tank, the harder it is to keep it stable! So you are really need to rethink about getting that Black M. for now. I have been helping people start in this hobby for a long time & i always have them start out with
White Cloud Mountian Minnows. A tank of 10 us gal. or so can house 5, they really dont need a heater ( one thing less for you deal with ) EASY, EASY fish they are one of my faves. They are resistant to all sorts of stuff that ALL 1st timers do. If your 1st tank is successful you will stick with this hobby, & you will be getting that BIG TANK.
ps.
happy to see that you havent had your Dad step in right yet!

 

[ashleigh]

White clouds are great! This is just my opinion, but I think you could actually have a few more in that size of tank because they are not quite as active as danios, and they are a little bit smaller.
They're pretty cute.
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showcat.php/cat/6/page/2/sort/7/perpage/12/stype/

 

[Chazwick]

Hey thanks alot all - i really do appreciate it :') I have some pretty darn good news! My dad said theres a BIG fish shop just outside where we live a short drive away (which i never knew about... funny how you know basically NOTHING about the area you've lived in for your whole life!!) Anyway! Instead of goldfishes, i've decided to start with some smaller, peacful schooling fishes, like neon tetras, i know they need completely different stuff, so tomorrow i'm out to get those. I've jotted a few down that i like from this site, i've made sure they are fine for my tank and small! And tey seem perfect, i also want an apple snail! I wont be getting loads of fish, a small school to start with, see how it goes for a few weeks, then perhaps add a couple. Anyone think this is Okay?

 

[Balloon Fish]

Didn't you just start your tank like 3 days ago? 3 days isn't nearly enough to cycle a tank so i'm quite sure its not cycled yet unless you used biospira or something similar to that but i dont think there is Biospira in UK. Neon tetras are sort of weak fish if you dont know what you are doing and getting neons when you are cycling is just the same as killing them cause neons are sort of sensitive to ammonia and nitrite spikes so unless its cycled i wouldn't get these fish. Once your tank is cycled i would say a group of 6 to 8 in your tank along with an apple snail should put you at the limit but you won't get much schooling done in a small tank like yours (at least not in my experience)