Hi, I am new to fish tanks. My son is 4 and he decided he wanted fish, as did my husband and I. We got a 10 g tank at a garage sale, and checked for leaks, and i got rid of their old rocks and got new everything. We got a Aqua-Tech filter and a air pump, some decor and all that. I was wondering if there was anything specific I need to do before adding fish? I know I have to let the water get to normal temp and all that, but chemical wise? I do not know anything about that stuff. Also about how many fish can we put into a 10g? Any suggestions or help ideas would be wonderful at this point, cuz i am a little lost. Thanks alot!
Newto Fish tanks.. a little help please??
- Thread starter jtjjlawson
- Start date
Okay well for one thing you need to add water conditioner to your tap water. This helps rid the water of chlorine, chloramines and heavy metals. You'll need this everytime you change water out of your fish tank.
Also you're no where near ready to put fish into that tank. It has to cycle. MissFishy has a great website, here, that will explain cycling to you. It also has great information about a lot of basic fish care. I suggest you read that first.
In a 10 gallon you can hold up to 10 inches of adult size fish. So you have to decide what fish you want first and go from there. You may not be able to get everything you want. 10 gallons honestly is not a lot of space to work with when it really comes down to it. Also if you're doing tropical freshwater fish you need a heater. It doesn't matter how hot your house is during the day. It's swinging temperatures that can stress and kill fish. Heaters keep your tank at a constant temperature and prevent this stress. Also don't mix goldfish with tropical fish. It's just not a good idea for either fish.
Also you're no where near ready to put fish into that tank. It has to cycle. MissFishy has a great website, here, that will explain cycling to you. It also has great information about a lot of basic fish care. I suggest you read that first.
In a 10 gallon you can hold up to 10 inches of adult size fish. So you have to decide what fish you want first and go from there. You may not be able to get everything you want. 10 gallons honestly is not a lot of space to work with when it really comes down to it. Also if you're doing tropical freshwater fish you need a heater. It doesn't matter how hot your house is during the day. It's swinging temperatures that can stress and kill fish. Heaters keep your tank at a constant temperature and prevent this stress. Also don't mix goldfish with tropical fish. It's just not a good idea for either fish.
Okay so when i bought the tank the guy gave me a bunch of stuff with it, right now I have : Aqua safe:water conditioner, Watercare: Chlor Out, and Easy balance: water treatment. Now I don't really have a clue what each of these does, but from what you were saying the aquasafe seems like what i need. We were interested in some of the tetras & guppies? We haven't bought any fish because weknew we had alot to do, but those were the 2 fish for sure my son likes. Are there any other fish that can go with those 2? Thanks for your help too... all help is appriecated.
Sounds like they had your purchase three different products that do the exact same thing. All you need is something that gets rid of chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals. Don't let them tell you that you need water clarifiers or bacteria in a bottle. It's useless. I work at a Petsmart so I know how pet stores associates try to get people to buy stuff they don't need.
Guppies and tetras are fine. What kind of tetra are you thinking of, though? I'm assuming neon tetras which are the little blue and red guys. If so they should really be in schools of 5-6 in order for them to be comfortable. Otherwise they spend the whole time swimming frantically back and forth. I'd consider something other than them. With guppies you can get mollies or platties. Platties are very cute spunky fish. The next time you visit the pet store jot down which fish you're interested in and also look at the maximum size they'll grow. Since you want to look at the size they'll be down the road..not their current size.
Guppies and tetras are fine. What kind of tetra are you thinking of, though? I'm assuming neon tetras which are the little blue and red guys. If so they should really be in schools of 5-6 in order for them to be comfortable. Otherwise they spend the whole time swimming frantically back and forth. I'd consider something other than them. With guppies you can get mollies or platties. Platties are very cute spunky fish. The next time you visit the pet store jot down which fish you're interested in and also look at the maximum size they'll grow. Since you want to look at the size they'll be down the road..not their current size.
just make sure you read read read, i know its hard with a 4 year old and wanting to put fish in, but it will be worth the wait to do it right. Read up on cycling, and make sure u fully understand it. it will save you money, headaches, and a sad kid. You can ask the people on here how nerve racking it is to not do a proper fishless cycle, im one of them luckily i made it through but i spent weeks stressing, plus alot more money then i needed to to save fish
The Guppy, Poecillia reticulata Profile, with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish
this has lots of good info on guppies.
Make sure you DON'T get any females, they'll breed alot... not a good thing in a small tank!
this has lots of good info on guppies.
Make sure you DON'T get any females, they'll breed alot... not a good thing in a small tank!