Beginners Advice

[smudge_]

Hey

Over the last week or two I have been setting up my first ever tank, I got it sorted and have been adding my first fish, so far I have added two platy's, two molly's, a frog and a siamese fighting fish all of which seem happy. I have also just acquired an air stone which is causing issues see (http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/384201-air-pump/page__pid__3226429#entry3226429 ) but that will hopefully be easily sorted. I had originally decided to use fake plants but decided it might be better for the fish if I used real plants so I went and bought some suitable plants today. However when adding these I found that the gravel that came in my tank when I got it was far too shallow to be suitable. I have an idea that id like to fill half the floor of the tank with sand and then double up the existing gravel, whilst I am sure this would look nice I was wondering if this could potentially be a bad thing (since I got the tank I have been told a hundred times how the smallest factors can annoy the fish) and I was also wondering if certain fish preferred sand or gravel or do they simply not care?


Thanks for your help!

 

[MegaZerino]

Hey

Over the last week or two I have been setting up my first ever tank, I got it sorted and have been adding my first fish, so far I have added two platy's, two molly's, a frog and a siamese fighting fish all of which seem happy. I have also just acquired an air stone which is causing issues see (http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/384201-air-pump/page__pid__3226429#entry3226429 ) but that will hopefully be easily sorted. I had originally decided to use fake plants but decided it might be better for the fish if I used real plants so I went and bought some suitable plants today. However when adding these I found that the gravel that came in my tank when I got it was far too shallow to be suitable. I have an idea that id like to fill half the floor of the tank with sand and then double up the existing gravel, whilst I am sure this would look nice I was wondering if this could potentially be a bad thing (since I got the tank I have been told a hundred times how the smallest factors can annoy the fish) and I was also wondering if certain fish preferred sand or gravel or do they simply not care?


Thanks for your help!

unless you have something like corys, the substrate wont matter, its all about the plants when it comes to substrate. You would probably need to get dirt/soil and use that as the bottom layer and then something else like gravel or sand for a thinner top layer. Personally i would use sand as it is easier to clea, especially if you have plants, because sifting through the gravel to find fish poo isnt a good idea if the plants are trying to root themselves. When you go to buy the plants at your lfs, ask one of the staff about what soils they have and explain in more detail what you are trying to do. by the way what type of frog do you have, ive always wanted one??

(im sorry if that was a bit confusing)

 

[smudge_]

[/quote]

unless you have something like corys, the substrate wont matter, its all about the plants when it comes to substrate. You would probably need to get dirt/soil and use that as the bottom layer and then something else like gravel or sand for a thinner top layer. Personally i would use sand as it is easier to clea, especially if you have plants, because sifting through the gravel to find fish poo isnt a good idea if the plants are trying to root themselves. When you go to buy the plants at your lfs, ask one of the staff about what soils they have and explain in more detail what you are trying to do. by the way what type of frog do you have, ive always wanted one??

(im sorry if that was a bit confusing)
[/quote]


funny you should mention Corys I did want Julli Corys (think thats how you spell it) what do they need?

looks like that, he is an African drawf or something like that, I love him he never stops moving and when I put the plant in earlier he swam up and sat on my hand, a very amusing "fish." its great to to watch him flail around the tank.


not the best with the fish terms I still tend to call them "the red ones" and "the white ones"

 

[MegaZerino]

[/quote]

looks like that, he is an African drawf or something like that, I love him he never stops moving and when I put the plant earlier he swam up and sat on my hand, a very amusing "fish." Very amusing to watch him flail around the tank.


not the best with the fish terms I still tend to call them "the red ones" and "the white ones"
[/quote]

ive never kept corys, but i know theyre shoaling fish and need to be kept in a group of 6 minimum, which is the main reason i dont have them. So you may have room, you just need to check they wont get too big when they get to adult size, you will have to ask in the shop for more details. And wow, he actually looks like a frog, ive only ever seen albinos, i doubt i could put him in with my 5 fighting fish though and dont worry, ive only named 2 of my 6 fish and ive had them a while

 

[snake007]

Since nobody has mentioned it, I will.
Did you cycle your tank?

 

[smudge_]

Since nobody has mentioned it, I will.
Did you cycle your tank?

yes. Like I said the fish themselves and the water etc is fine.

 

[snake007]

How did you cycle it?

And when you say fine, whats your exact water parameters?
If you've only had the tank up and running for a week then it will not be cycled, which means it hasn't had time to build up a bacteria colony.

 

[smudge_]

How did you cycle it?

And when you say fine, whats your exact water parameters?
If you've only had the tank up and running for a week then it will not be cycled, which means it hasn't had time to build up a bacteria colony.

its been up longer than a week, I used stuff from an existing filter and added a bottle of something for start up tanks.




Any advice on the air pump issue?

 

[snake007]

Is there a notch or anything to turn it? If not then your stuck with it, I knows there is a way to calm it down but not sure on that one.

 

[smudge_]

Is there a notch or anything to turn it? If not then your stuck with it, I knows there is a way to calm it down but not sure on that one.

no adaptability at all, annoyed at pets at home over this I was going to get a smaller pump but they recommended this one for my tank size, when I take the lid off it actually sends to water above the level of the glass.


So i went into the fish shop today and they said just buy some play sand (got a big bag in Argos for a couple of quid that I am going to wash out thoroughly) and put that in the tank. All simple enough but I know sand doesn't settle for a while so I am going to bag my fish and float them in another tank whilst I put the sand in. Basically I was wondering if the sand isn't completely settled (ie. still some floating in the water) when the fish go back in will this do any harm? or will it not bother the fish?


Thanks

 

[KISSfn]

A gang valve like this will control your air pump problem. When I switched from gravel to sand I added it very slowly and it didn't cloud the water at all and my fish were in the tank.

 

[riffraff]

i`m pretty sure you have the wrong frog going by that picture, that one has no webbed front feet and i think its an african dwarf clawed frogs , these can get quite a bit bigger than the adf and not quite so compatible with fishies.


i`m a noob so help me out if i`m wrong please

riffraff

 

[Dieses Madchen]

How big is your tank? A lot of what you can put in your tank will depend on size.