Best Tropical Fish For A Noob ?

The chilly dipper · May 5, 2011

hey guys my missus said i could have a tropical tank , after endless nagging and hinting lol.

what would be the must have "tough nut" fish to have in there all who tolerate a similar temp.

also in case of power outing , would the fish survive?
im looking for tropical fish that are hard as nails lol.

and also please could you provide me with a month long example fishless cycle dosing chart please.
this is because people do different methods but whats the best way to dose the tank?

i know its asking alot but i know i can rely on you guys for everything fish the internet is full of shhhhhh...

thank you
the dipper

Kelly-Jo · May 5, 2011

Congratulations on successful nagging

If you want fish that are quite hardy, you could try Black skirt tetras or white cloud mountain minnows. Both those fish are really good for beginners and especially new set-ups as they are fairly versatile when it comes to temperature, pH etc. Danios are also a good starter fish.

If the power goes off, the fish will survive (providing the power isn't off for days of course). If the power is off for 1-2 hours then the water shouldn't cool too much in that time from experience.

The chilly dipper · May 5, 2011

gotchya thank you

it took a while but we went to fish fish store the other day and she saw this neon blue fighting fish,i understand the americans call beta fish or somthing...i think that fella clinched the deal lol.

i keep fancy fish but want another tank too :hyper:

so minnows,danios and tetras are hardy fish like the humble goldie?

hehe thank you
any ideas on fishless cycling?

waterdrop · May 5, 2011

I like rasbora heteromorphs as a really solid beginner fish, but like all stocking choices, it can depend on your tank volume, shape and other factors. Making a stocking plan is best done over the period of weeks while the tank is cycling.

Unfortunately there is no easy dosing chart that can be drawn up and followed because every fishless cycle is different. But the process is quite easy. Our main Fishless Cycling article for our standard Add and Wait method is in the Beginners Resource Center and the way to carry it out is via a "fishless cycle" thread here in the beginners section so that the members can help you apply all the latest details and watch for problems.

~~waterdrop~~

haylz · May 5, 2011

cory cats! lovely little fish and very hardy. my first and still my favourite fish is my bronze cory Seth. Have had no problems with corys whatsoever and would highly recommend

The chilly dipper · May 5, 2011

waterdrop said:
I like rasbora heteromorphs as a really solid beginner fish, but like all stocking choices, it can depend on your tank volume, shape and other factors. Making a stocking plan is best done over the period of weeks while the tank is cycling.

Unfortunately there is no easy dosing chart that can be drawn up and followed because every fishless cycle is different. But the process is quite easy. Our main Fishless Cycling article for our standard Add and Wait method is in the Beginners Resource Center and the way to carry it out is via a "fishless cycle" thread here in the beginners section so that the members can help you apply all the latest details and watch for problems.

~~waterdrop~~

thanks WD

Kelly-Jo · May 5, 2011

Yeah they are all good choices, but steer clear of neon tetras and other smaller fragile tetras as they are notoriously prone to succumbing to new tank syndrome...

awww yeah, fighting fish are beautiful. I have a really old one myself. If you do decide to add one then I'd advice you to wait 12 weeks after adding your first batch off fish to ensure that the water is of the best quality as fighters can be quite delicate.

I agree on the cory cats, they are beautiful fish and are pretty hardy too. But it is best to keep those in groups of 6 or more as they are a schooling fish

The chilly dipper · May 5, 2011

haylz said:
cory cats! lovely little fish and very hardy. my first and still my favourite fish is my bronze cory Seth. Have had no problems with corys whatsoever and would highly recommend

hmm they are good looking too :good:

OldMan47 · May 5, 2011

We have a nice thread here on TFF that describes a fishless cycle and walks you through the essentials. If you already have a functional filter on a cold water tank it can be used to jump start your tropical tank cycle and get your time down to around a week. If not, the longer approach described in our thread has worked fine for many people. One of the most common threads you will find in this part of the forum is a person's log of their cycle progress with lots of help by other members along the way.

AstonN24vantage · May 5, 2011

remeber, its hard to keep bettas with many other fish. do you know about cycling?

keimak · May 5, 2011

Kelly-Jo said:
Yeah they are all good choices, but steer clear of neon tetras and other smaller fragile tetras as they are notoriously prone to succumbing to new tank syndrome...

awww yeah, fighting fish are beautiful. I have a really old one myself. If you do decide to add one then I'd advice you to wait 12 weeks after adding your first batch off fish to ensure that the water is of the best quality as fighters can be quite delicate.

I agree on the cory cats, they are beautiful fish and are pretty hardy too. But it is best to keep those in groups of 6 or more as they are a schooling fish

Around where I live, bettas are the hardest fish of them all! :hyper:

The chilly dipper · May 5, 2011

Kelly-Jo said:
Yeah they are all good choices, but steer clear of neon tetras and other smaller fragile tetras as they are notoriously prone to succumbing to new tank syndrome...

awww yeah, fighting fish are beautiful. I have a really old one myself. If you do decide to add one then I'd advice you to wait 12 weeks after adding your first batch off fish to ensure that the water is of the best quality as fighters can be quite delicate.

I agree on the cory cats, they are beautiful fish and are pretty hardy too. But it is best to keep those in groups of 6 or more as they are a schooling fish

do fighting fish get on well with others?

some great ideas im getting here thanks. :lol:

OldMan47 said:
We have a nice thread here on TFF that describes a fishless cycle and walks you through the essentials. If you already have a functional filter on a cold water tank it can be used to jump start your tropical tank cycle and get your time down to around a week. If not, the longer approach described in our thread has worked fine for many people. One of the most common threads you will find in this part of the forum is a person's log of their cycle progress with lots of help by other members along the way.

ohh yeah my filter is working lovely filtering out ammonia like no ones busines now

ill take a look mate at the threads.
thank you

yeah i know about cycling.
i just finished cycling my 60 litre bio orb with fish in.
it was orrible losing fish like that.
so this time a fishless mate.

please note though i only lost fish because i was uneducated on the matter but now i am they are all fine thank god

Kelly-Jo · May 5, 2011

Fighting fish can sometimes live in a community tank; as mine does, however it really depends on the fish and its nature.

However, you should never have more than one male fighter as they are very territorial and there will be aggression between them and as their name suggests, they will fight to the death.

You can usually keep fighting fish with peaceful fish such as corys and usually with most larger shrimps.

Never put fighting fish with guppies or any other fish with brightly coloured/flowing finnage as the fighting fish may show aggression towards them, thinking they are another fighting fish.

Avoid fin-nippers such as tiger barbs and mollies :good:

The chilly dipper · May 5, 2011

i see. what temperature do you keep him at?
i understand when you say fin nippers, they have envyable fins :sick:

.

the nippers are just jealous lol.
would you mind sending a picture of your tank please just to see what you have stocked too and you fighting fish?

cheers
the chilly dipper

Kelly-Jo · May 5, 2011

My tank is the one in my signature, although it doesn't look at all like that now because of plant additions/general reshuffle

I have an exceptionally unconventional mix of fish so I wouldn't personally recommend that combination to anyone else...I just have 'unique' :blink:

...fish that seem to get on even though they shouldn't.

My community tank is at around 79F

http

/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/359860-my-betta/page__p__2998441#entry2998441 there is a photo of him in this topic :good:

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