Beginners Advice

[ellamay]

Hi!! I'm new to the forum and new to fish. I work with animals so I've always had an interest in fish but haven't started properly researching until recently.
It's really important to me that it's not trial and error for the first few months. I want to know as much as possible before starting so I don't make any big mistakes with the water or choosing the wrong fish to put together in a community tank. So I'd just like some advice on where to start really!

I'd been looking at a 64l/ 17 gallon tank but now I'm thinking it looks like that would be too small? I know I definitely want some Corydoras, I've read they like to be kept in groups of 5-6. I'd also like some other fish like platies, mollies or guppies. I'm struggling to work out what size tank I need for corys and another group of fish? I know I definitely want to start with some easy fish to avoid casualties.

Any advice on what sort of tank to get, plants, substrate and what some good types of fish to go with corys would be amazing!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

First thing to know before getting fish, is your water hardness. (GH and pH) You can find these readings on your local water providers website.

To my knowledge, the only corys that can be kept in a tank that small are pigmy corys. (Here is their SF* page: https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/corydoras-pygmaeus/)

We do need your hardness readings before suggesting more fish though. You could probably do a single Betta or maybe a trio of pea puffers.

*'SF' standing for SeriouslyFish.com, is a highly reliable site for getting good information on the care of fish.

 

[Essjay]

I'd been looking at a 64l/ 14 gallon

In fish keeping, gallons are always American gallons, so a 64 litre tank = 17 gallons


There are two ways to prepare a tank for fish - fishless cycling and plant/silent cycling.
The fishless cycling method we prefer to use is this one https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ which is a bit different from other methods you'll read on other sites.

There isn't an official sticky for plant or silent cycling yet, but there is one in progress

What is a planted/silent cycle?

So ya got yourself a fish tank, and now you're wondering how to cycle it. You have a few options: 1) Fishless cycle: Set up your substrate and filter (decorations and plants are optional), buy pure ammonia, add enough to your tank to read 3ppm, wait. Full instructions here...

www.fishforums.net

I suggest you read through both of those methods and decide which is the one for you.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

1. You can never get too big of a tank. No matter how big you get later on you'll wish you got bigger. If space and budget permits, go bigger.
2. A long tank is better than a tall tank for the most part. If you have the option to get a 20g long or a 20g tall, get the 20 long. For most corys to have a group of 6, you need at least a 20 gallon.
3. Sounds like you're off to a better start than most in terms of researching how many of a certain fish you should buy. The advice exists for a reason, so definitely heed the advice!
4. Know your water parameters and select your stock based on that (pH, GH, etc). Some fish like hard water, others do well in softer water, etc. It's easier to buy fish that are okay with your water parameters vs. messing around with your water to adjust levels to suit your fish. You mention plattys and mollies and I believe they need fairly hard water. So get a test kit or bring a sample into a pet store to have them test for you.
5. Most smaller fish I believe will be fine with corys as they are very peaceful and stay at the bottom. Try to go with mid- to upper tank fish so the corys have their space at the bottom and the tank has a good balance.
6. Don't believe anything you hear at your local PetCo, PetSmart, or other pet shops. Most employees are not knowledgeable, which was a surprise to me when I started in this hobby. Self educate by google searches and utilizing forums like these.
7. Read up on fishless cycling and be prepared to have patience throughout the process, which will seem like an eternity. There are some ways to speed up the cycle but you'll be staring at an empty tank for several weeks at a minimum (unless you know someone with an established tank who can give you some of their filter media).

Post any specific questions. The members here are really helpful and will point you in the right direction.

 

[Essjay]

Re your tap water hardness...

If you live in Leicestershire, your water company should be Severn Trent. If that's right, type your postcode in the box about half way down this page

Check my water quality | Water Quality | My Supply | Severn Trent Water

Find out more about your water, what's in it and even dishwasher settings by searching with your postcode.

www.stwater.co.uk

That will give you your hardness in several units of measurement - you want the number for 'hardness German'.

 

[mcordelia]

@mrsjoannh13 and @Essjay have given you wonderful advice, so I don't have much to add. The only thing I would say would be to look at your local classifieds / facebook marketplace / craigslist to see if there is anything of interest to you available used. Often, people get out of the hobby after a few months because all their fish died and they didn't learn enough about the process, so it's easy to find new tanks for reasonable prices. Important things to ask for when buying a used tank is how old it is, whether it's had any leaks, and how long it's been dry for. Silicone seams dry out with age, and dry out faster when not submerged, so you don't want a tank that's been sitting in someone's shed for the past year. Also I'm not sure if this is a thing in the UK, but many chains in the US do quarterly sales on fish tanks (for example, a "dollar per gallon" tank sale is what a chain called petco is known to do every few months), so if you have the patience keep an eye out for that kind of stuff.

I ended up buying a lot of aquarium stuff on Black Friday this past year, I ended up with 50% off a 125 gallon tank+stand kit, and 50% off a FX6 filter.

 

[Yohance1130]

Great information and advice has already been said.

I would just like to add that Information can be confusing, contradicting and overwhelming at times. Try your best to just have fun taking care of fish and do not stress yourself too much about it.

 

[ellamay]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

First thing to know before getting fish, is your water hardness. (GH and pH) You can find these readings on your local water providers website.

To my knowledge, the only corys that can be kept in a tank that small are pigmy corys. (Here is their SF* page: https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/corydoras-pygmaeus/)

We do need your hardness readings before suggesting more fish though. You could probably do a single Betta or maybe a trio of pea puffers.

*'SF' standing for SeriouslyFish.com, is a highly reliable site for getting good information on the care of fish.

That's extremely helpful thank you! Looks like my water hardness is around 200ppm. I've just ordered some test strips to make sure I've got an accurate reading. I'd read you can soften the water with different things like driftwood or peat.

I've been struggling to find a reliable website for information on fish, every website or person I speak to seems to say different things!

 

[ellamay]

In fish keeping, gallons are always American gallons, so a 64 litre tank = 17 gallons


There are two ways to prepare a tank for fish - fishless cycling and plant/silent cycling.
The fishless cycling method we prefer to use is this one https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ which is a bit different from other methods you'll read on other sites.

There isn't an official sticky for plant or silent cycling yet, but there is one in progress

What is a planted/silent cycle?

So ya got yourself a fish tank, and now you're wondering how to cycle it. You have a few options: 1) Fishless cycle: Set up your substrate and filter (decorations and plants are optional), buy pure ammonia, add enough to your tank to read 3ppm, wait. Full instructions here...

www.fishforums.net

I suggest you read through both of those methods and decide which is the one for you.

Ah okay thank you. I didn't realise there was different kinds of gallons!
That's really great thanks, every websites advice seems to be slightly different so I'll definitely have a read through both of those and make some notes.

 

[ellamay]

1. You can never get too big of a tank. No matter how big you get later on you'll wish you got bigger. If space and budget permits, go bigger.
2. A long tank is better than a tall tank for the most part. If you have the option to get a 20g long or a 20g tall, get the 20 long. For most corys to have a group of 6, you need at least a 20 gallon.
3. Sounds like you're off to a better start than most in terms of researching how many of a certain fish you should buy. The advice exists for a reason, so definitely heed the advice!
4. Know your water parameters and select your stock based on that (pH, GH, etc). Some fish like hard water, others do well in softer water, etc. It's easier to buy fish that are okay with your water parameters vs. messing around with your water to adjust levels to suit your fish. You mention plattys and mollies and I believe they need fairly hard water. So get a test kit or bring a sample into a pet store to have them test for you.
5. Most smaller fish I believe will be fine with corys as they are very peaceful and stay at the bottom. Try to go with mid- to upper tank fish so the corys have their space at the bottom and the tank has a good balance.
6. Don't believe anything you hear at your local PetCo, PetSmart, or other pet shops. Most employees are not knowledgeable, which was a surprise to me when I started in this hobby. Self educate by google searches and utilizing forums like these.
7. Read up on fishless cycling and be prepared to have patience throughout the process, which will seem like an eternity. There are some ways to speed up the cycle but you'll be staring at an empty tank for several weeks at a minimum (unless you know someone with an established tank who can give you some of their filter media).

Post any specific questions. The members here are really helpful and will point you in the right direction.

Thank you for taking the time to give so much advice I really appreciate it! I think I'll wait a bit longer and get a bigger tank, I think I'd regret it later on like you said I've ordered a water test kit so I'll have a better idea about what fish would be suitable. If I got a tank just big enough for 5/6 corys does it mean I could also have a different type of fish for the mid-upper levels as they wont interfere with the corys space?

 

[ellamay]

Re your tap water hardness...

If you live in Leicestershire, your water company should be Severn Trent. If that's right, type your postcode in the box about half way down this page

Check my water quality | Water Quality | My Supply | Severn Trent Water

Find out more about your water, what's in it and even dishwasher settings by searching with your postcode.

www.stwater.co.uk

That will give you your hardness in several units of measurement - you want the number for 'hardness German'.

My address isn't showing up on there for some reason! I've ordered a test kit though thank you

 

[ellamay]

@mrsjoannh13 and @Essjay have given you wonderful advice, so I don't have much to add. The only thing I would say would be to look at your local classifieds / facebook marketplace / craigslist to see if there is anything of interest to you available used. Often, people get out of the hobby after a few months because all their fish died and they didn't learn enough about the process, so it's easy to find new tanks for reasonable prices. Important things to ask for when buying a used tank is how old it is, whether it's had any leaks, and how long it's been dry for. Silicone seams dry out with age, and dry out faster when not submerged, so you don't want a tank that's been sitting in someone's shed for the past year. Also I'm not sure if this is a thing in the UK, but many chains in the US do quarterly sales on fish tanks (for example, a "dollar per gallon" tank sale is what a chain called petco is known to do every few months), so if you have the patience keep an eye out for that kind of stuff.

I ended up buying a lot of aquarium stuff on Black Friday this past year, I ended up with 50% off a 125 gallon tank+stand kit, and 50% off a FX6 filter.

That's such a good deal! I'll keep an eye out. I'm not in a rush because I want to make sure I know a lot before starting.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome....great advice above....be sure to get a liquid test kit, the paper strips can be inaccurate...
Many of us use this one for freshwater: https://apifishcare.com/product/freshwater-master-test-kit

 

[mrsjoannh13]

f I got a tank just big enough for 5/6 corys does it mean I could also have a different type of fish for the mid-upper levels as they wont interfere with the corys space?

Yes, the corys would be at the bottom and you could have something like a school of tetras in the middle part of the tank. I think there are a few fish that like to stay at the top. Betta is one but you'll see contradictory advice about whether or not they can coexist with corys. Hatchetfish is another top dweller I've seen mentioned but I believe it is kind of finicky and needs really perfect water parameters. I'm sure there are some other top dwellers, but if you go with something like a 20 gallon and get 6 corys and a school of tetras or other similiar sized mid-tank fish, you might be fully stocked. And it will look great.

 

[Essjay]

My address isn't showing up on there for some reason!

Is your water company Severn Trent? It might be a different company, it's hard to tell where the boundaries are between companies. But the tester you've ordered should tell you. Is it s liquid reagent tester or strips? Strips tend to give quite a wide band and some don't measure very high.