First tank... and just got some fish :D

[Luke_e]

My tank (excuse the blured image, couldnt sort flash out properly..)


My 2 silver sharks..




And my 2 others (sorry forgotten the name, maybe someone could say what type they are?), some times they are blueish, but sometimes they are yellowish.




I'll be waiting one week before i get any more fish (6 next time, then 8 and until it seems full enough).
Thanks for viewing, and btw i will be getting some backing for the tank so it looks nicer .

 

[laurasmithuk]

did u cycle the tank mate?

 

[OohFeeshy]

Uhh... is this the 28g tank? Waaay too small for silver sharks. And they need to be in groups of 3+. The other two are guppies..... As above, is the tank cycled? Last time I checked it wasn't

 

[Luke_e]

Well i had it running for 4weeks with declorinated water, then i added the fish and i am doing a cycle with fish in..
I will get another silver shark next week then if you recomend groups of three, but a few people in the LFS i asked said my tank size is fine for them, and they have had silver sharks in the same size if not smaller tanks and they have been fine.

 

[OohFeeshy]

No, its not fine. Silver sharks get to at least 12'', and can get to 14''. I think you shop at Pets At Home (I think you've mentioned it before). Do you honestly think they give a damn about what happens to the fish? Umm.... no. You are going to take the two sharks back. Or get a 6'x2'x2' tank very soon.

 

[jolaf]

One inch of fish per gallon of water is a rule to follow. That is "adult" size of the fish. They won't have enough oxygen to breathe as well as stress that will cause illness in your fish if you overcrowd them.

Well i had it running for 4weeks with declorinated water, then i added the fish and i am doing a cycle with fish in..
I will get another silver shark next week then if you recomend groups of three, but a few people in the LFS i asked said my tank size is fine for them, and they have had silver sharks in the same size if not smaller tanks and they have been fine.

[snapback]902937[/snapback]​

 

[IMCL85]

Nice tank, just make sure u have larger tank for those two bala and u should be fine .

 

[Luke_e]

Thanks, i'll go to my pet store tomorrow and see if they will take the silver sharks back, and i'll exchange them for 2 others that wont grow to 12".

 

[Luke_e]

Oh, and btw i made a mistake, my tank is 125ltr/32 gallon according too this conversion site http/www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Canning/number-liters.html. (i know for deffo its 125ltr) so if i use the 32 galon, it means i can have up too (32 divide by 5) = 6.4inch of fish. Which seems v. small?

 

[OohFeeshy]

No, its 1inch of adult fish per gallon, it only really applies to fish like tetras.

 

[Luke_e]

Sorry, but this is confusing. It applies to fish like tetras but not others?
Say i get rid of the silver sharks, and keep the two guppies.. how many more guppies and/or tetras could i get? If you could pm me if you have msn as it would make it easier to talk. Thanks.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Sorry, but this is confusing. It applies to fish like tetras but not others?
Say i get rid of the silver sharks, and keep the two guppies.. how many more guppies and/or tetras could i get? If you could pm me if you have msn as it would make it easier to talk. Thanks.

[snapback]903096[/snapback]​

The inch per gallon thing is useful, but has a lot of exceptions . I'd say you'd be safe using it for guppies if you want them, but don't forget you need a very minimum of 2 females per male, and you'll get a lot of fry.

 

[Luke_e]

Say i have 4 guppies, 8 neon tetras.. (the tiny ones), would that be 'a lot' for my tank or would i be safe to get a few of other small fish?

 

[Luke_e]

Dimensions of the tank are (according too the manufacture site)
Aquarium
width =81 cm
depth = 36 cm
height = 50 cm
125ltr.

 

[dwarfgourami]

The reason OohFeeshy said the 1 inch rule only applies to fish like tetras is that some fish have extra requirements that need to be fulfilled.
For instance, silver sharks are schoolers so need to be in groups of at least three. Also, silver sharks are very fast, active swimmers, so their tanks need to be extra large to allow for this. Also, they grow very large.
Other fish, such as plecos, are heavy waste producers, so need extra space for that reason, to dilute their mess.
Other fish are very territorial, so need space to hide in (or space for their tankmates to hide in...).
Basically, for any fish you think of buying you need to read up carefully on its needs and habits.
Guppies need a certain amount of space (not less than 10 gallons), but a tank the size of yours is fine. Neons are also fine with the space, but fussy about water quality, so the tank needs to be cycled first and preferably have been running cycled for a few months without problems. Eventually, you would have room for both these, and perhaps a small school of corys. But first you must read up on cycling!