Top 5 Newbie Cautions?

[liverpool.fc]

Greetings, all. I'll shorten the backstory to get to the real issue here. My girlfriend and I have been planning on getting into fishkeeping for a few months. Being sort of nerdy, and priding myself on being a conscientious sort, I began reading. And reading. And reading. There' quite a bit to this, and so we decided to wait until we moved into a bigger place (buying time as well) so we could do it all proper-like. Then her son turned 6 and grandma bought him an Aquatic Gardens 25-liter bookshelf aquarium kit. It has a tank. It has a light. It has a filter. It came with no heater nor any test kits. The next day brought gravel and assorted tankscape goodies (synth plants, much to my green thumb's dismay). I'm not sure if anyone else out there has a 6-year-old boy, but patience is not exactly the forte of this age. He's already asking, 3 hours after filling the tank with water and starting the filter, if it's ready for fish yet.

I've read the stickies for guys like me (and I say that because in all probability it'll be me taking care of the tank); I've read other articles about cycling the tank, with and w/o fish; I've read about as much as I can read with the "google" approach. So I joined up here. If at all possible, could you seasoned fishkeepers give me your top 5 no-nos or yes-yesses for having as successful a go at this as possible? Can I start adding ammonia as soon as I have water in the new tank? (My gut says no.) By the way, he wants an eel of some sort...not sure if I can get him out of that.

Anyway, I'm trying not to be clueless, but I am. Thank in advance for any suggestions or advice...or any admonishments that might naturally occur.

 

[Kissyboots]

Good for you to research!!

I have a 25 litre (6.6 gallon) bookshelf as well. I used it mostly for fry (baby fish) but I also had a betta in there at one point. Now I have a dwarf puffer in it. If he's really that interested in eels, maybe a DP wouldn't be that bad. It's kind of "exotic-like" and their pretty easy to care for.

As for cycling, go to MissFishy's site. MissFishy's Guide to Fish
That should get you going.

Five tips: Hmmm, I'd say read and read and read. You can never know enough about the fish you are about to buy. Some of my bad experiences include using towels to plug up gaps in the lid and then finding the floor wet next morning...BigManLittleFish will no doubt show up here and tell you about his evil curtains who have a tendency to drink from his tank a lot.

That's all I can really say for now. You'll soon notice that we love pics, so post whatever you've got!

Welcome to the tank, btw.

 

[Whiskers]

welcome to MFT liverpool. just make sure what fish you pick won't be to big for tank when fully grown. make sure you don't overstock tank with too many fish which in your case it won't take to many. keep in mind that one goldfish is very dirty and needs a 20 gal tank as example so know what kind of bioload your fish will produce. lol i know what you mean about kids not having patience i have 2 but they are older and still want it now. most won't recomend a fish in cycle but it can be done, you just need to watch tank really closely and moniter ammonia and nitrite levels. i'm sure from reading and researching you know ammoina goes up and when it goes down nitrite goes up and so on till you get nitrate reading. like kissyboots said you can read missfishys cycling advice and there are others but all about the same. i don't know what products are available to you but there is a product called biospira which is a live bacteria and will seed your tank. this should help with getting fish in sooner than a fishless cycle and maybe keep fish from a bad ending. the choice is up to you how you do your cycling. get a test kit and keep close eye on tank since it is small it won't take to much to get out of wack. a larger tank is more forgiving. well i guess thats some food for thought for now (all that comes to mind) and im sure someone else will have more to add. good luck and i think your on a good path to sucess with your reading and asking questions.

 

[homebunnyj]

Yes, you can go ahead and start fishless cycling the tank with ammonia. You can hurry it up by getting some gravel or a used filter pad from you local fish store (easier if it is a small local store rather than a chain store) or from a fishkeeper with established tanks. You could do this several times, every few days. Maybe there's a freshwater aquarium club in your area.

You'll need the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits, of course. If you end up cycling fish-in, you'll have to do water changes whenever ammonia or nitrite are above 1.0.

 

[Violet]

Children have no patience...., is this something they grow out of as I am in my 30's and still have an issue with that. Is there hope for me? I still want fish NOW! Lol.

 

[Aaron]

The best advice I'd have would be to buy a test kit and don't cheap out on it because there are only two ways to know if your water is bad 1) test it or 2) watch for the floaters.

 

[GiantManLittleFish]

1. Go big or go home. Get the biggest tank you can afford and have room for. This way the water conditions are more stable and you'll have less deaths and stay interested in the hobby.
2. Filtration, Filtration, Filtration! Over filtering is good. By a filter or two that does more gph than your tank has.
3. Decide early planted or not. It is hard to switch gravel, buy more lighting, and set up a CO2 system after the fact. It is possible though.
4. Fish choices. Make sure all fish are compatible, are from the same water conditions, and are the right size for your tank.
5. Get a background. Whether it is black or a fish haven get one.
6. Location. Make sure it is in an amazingly stellar spot for viewing and an easy spot to clean at the same time. Avoid direct sunlight. Also as Miss Kissy has pointed out do not put next to curtains. My infamous curtains will stay in the back of everybody's mind from now on when they are deciding do I put it against that window? Oh wait let's get blinds.

 

[liverpool.fc]

Thanks for the advice. If G-ma ends up getting the fish before the cycle is complete, can I simply do a water change to keep ammonia and nitrite levels fish-safe? (There's got to be a better term for that...) Or is there something else I ca do?

I'll put some photos up when I have healthy swimmers. Cheers.

 

[jo3olous]

Thanks for the advice. If G-ma ends up getting the fish before the cycle is complete, can I simply do a water change to keep ammonia and nitrite levels fish-safe? (There's got to be a better term for that...) Or is there something else I ca do?

I'll put some photos up when I have healthy swimmers. Cheers.

keeping the water good for your fish through a cycle could be tough if she buys too many, or the wrong fish. hopefully she gets nothing more than some tetra or a betta!

welcome to the tank, you sound like you're well on your way *thumbsups

 

[joy613]

Set up an extra tank for hospital or quarantine. You can always keep it cycled with a one small fish like a male guppy or betta, something that you can put in the main tank while treating or quarantining.

 

[simplyfish]

Hi Liverpool, will try not to hold your football allegiences against you, I am just sat watching my team vs Inter ;-) ...

If you already have the tank (big is best) in something like that I would be tempted to try a Betta (siamese fighter) they have impressive finnage your son would probably appreciate. you could also have a African Dwarf frog in there too (ADF) again this may appeal to the sense of somethin unusual, if not the frog a couple of cory (panda maybe) these are very 'cute' little fish and have lovely little personalities.

Both these fish appreciate stable water conditions so you may want to wait until the tank is fully cycled first. If patience won't allow that and you have already added the ammonia, then before you add fish you want to do a big water change, like 60-70% to bring the ammonia right down, the fish will create there own ammonia anyway.... I might even be tempted to put something like 2-3 tiger barbs in to cycle the tank if you are doing it fish in, they are a bit more tolerant of water conditions, still appealing and once you have the tank cycled the fish store will prob take them back from you....

I stand to be corrected on any of the above advice but IME most of the above should stand up....

 

[jerzeepunk79]

5. Get a background. Whether it is black or a fish haven get one.

why are they so expensive? is it absolutely necessary?

 

[GiantManLittleFish]

I just used black poster board cut to size. I plain to paint in when I have to move the tank. it isn't necessary, but it looks alot better to hide all of the mechanical stuff and cords. Also it brings out certain colors of fish if planned right.

 

[Whiskers]

another option is to paint the back of the tank itself or any other side you see fit. if you paint it you can use any color combo you want.