First time fish keeper - but need some help!

[Matt_Lam_97]

Hey all! Another quick update - the tank is going really well and everything is as it should be. The levels have dropped and everything seems to be flattening out! We took a sample for testing at our local and he said everything came back good and healthy and said it would be safe to add some more fish if we wished! So we got four new friends today! We bought two Red Honey Gouramis, both males and a male and a female Swordtail! The male has a striking black tail and a little 'Italian' moustache! They have settled in ever so quickly and the tank seems to be a very peaceful environment with all the fish on top form! We added another live plant and have providee them an extra monument to congregate in! My father in law currently has a sole Silver/Bala Shark that seems to be a bit small for his tank so we're considering adopting it however, we don't want to overcrowd our tank! We're going to give him a few months to settle in better in his big tank at my F.I.L's but if he still seems a bit overshadowed then we'll see what we can do! I can definitely see how addictive this hobby is becoming!

 

[Matt_Lam_97]

I'm getting there with the tank shots... I hope!

 

[LostBear]

Massive thanks for the reply! We replaced the foam filter straight away before we got it running so we had a clean start. The gravel that came with the tank had been cleaned and separated so we ran cold water over it before we put it in and then added a bag of our own pink gravel over the top just to add a bit of colour!
The fella in the shop drew us a graph to explain that the tank will become poisonous over the next few weeks and to keep testing the water but to take him a sample in two weeks for him to test. And that after a few weeks the good bacteria should start developing and it should all level itself out. Will do another test later on and post the results Guppies have definitely perked up this morning, they were front and center when we came down stairs. I'm hoping they are starting to feel a bit more at home now! (Their colours seem to be absolutely glowing again aswell!)

It would actually have helped to cycle your tank had you kept part of the old foam filter for a few weeks to get beneficial bacteria kickstarted. Same with the gravel - our instinct is to get everything as nice and clean as we can, but tanks need to be a bit dirty. TBH, the seller should have asked you to take in a water sample before he sold you any fish if you had a new tank and you were novices.

Fish-in cycling is a way of developing the nitrogen cycle in your tank but it is very cruel to the fish - it is incredibly stressful for them, and can result in a high mortality rate. You (and your fish) have been pretty lucky.

I've just read down the posts and seen that you are adding more plants - that's excellent - it will help a lot. However, I would be wary of what the seller tells you in future as he hasn't given very good advice to start with. I f you want to make any changes I'd ask the folks on here first - they have been of huge help to me, and there is a wealth of knowledge to call on.

You will find fish-keeping to be:

a) addictive*

b) a delight

c) expensive - you will find yourself wanting bigger and bigger tanks so that you can indulge your lust for more and more varieties of fish.

*There is no 12-step programme for fishoholicism - tough!

 

[LostBear]

I'm getting there with the tank shots... I hope!

You will find that you have a tank full of swordtails very soon!

We fell into that trap many years ago - they are such lovely fish - but as livebearers they seemed to be having babies every five minutes! Hopefully the bloke who sold them too you will take your excess stock. It is very exciting when you find you are a fish grandparent, but you get a shock when you see how many there are!

 

[Matt_Lam_97]

It would actually have helped to cycle your tank had you kept part of the old foam filter for a few weeks to get beneficial bacteria kickstarted. Same with the gravel - our instinct is to get everything as nice and clean as we can, but tanks need to be a bit dirty. TBH, the seller should have asked you to take in a water sample before he sold you any fish if you had a new tank and you were novices.

Fish-in cycling is a way of developing the nitrogen cycle in your tank but it is very cruel to the fish - it is incredibly stressful for them, and can result in a high mortality rate. You (and your fish) have been pretty lucky.

I've just read down the posts and seen that you are adding more plants - that's excellent - it will help a lot. However, I would be wary of what the seller tells you in future as he hasn't given very good advice to start with. I f you want to make any changes I'd ask the folks on here first - they have been of huge help to me, and there is a wealth of knowledge to call on.

You will find fish-keeping to be:

a) addictive*

b) a delight

c) expensive - you will find yourself wanting bigger and bigger tanks so that you can indulge your lust for more and more varieties of fish.

*There is no 12-step programme for fishoholicism - tough!

Ha! Yes me and the Mrs are already considering another tank after Christmas - I think we're in dangerous territory now! ? Yes in hindsight we'd have kept the old filter in for a bit, we did add some filter boost for the new one when we started. I suppose it's all part of the learning curve! We know for the next one what not to do! The seller at the aquarium did advise us similar to the kind folk here when we bought the first batch to keep testing the water everyday and make sure everything was fine. Nothing seemed to spike too much thankfully, and after yesterday's results, they've settled even more so, I guess we were lucky! They are all enjoying the live plants, especially the new one, we are definitely going to sub the rest of our fake ones for real ones in time... All 10 fish seem very happy and have settled in wonderfully, the male Swordtail is certainly strutting his stuff! ?

 

[Matt_Lam_97]

You will find that you have a tank full of swordtails very soon!

We fell into that trap many years ago - they are such lovely fish - but as livebearers they seemed to be having babies every five minutes! Hopefully the bloke who sold them too you will take your excess stock. It is very exciting when you find you are a fish grandparent, but you get a shock when you see how many there are!

I'm excited indeed! Yeah the seller at the aquarists did say that they would be having babies along the way. We have an incubator for when that happens and he said he'd be happy to have them from us should we not want to keep them! The two Swordtails don't seem massively infatuated with each other yet, the female seems to be very friendly with our Dwarf Gouramis and the male is happy, well... Showboating his tail ?

 

[LostBear]

I'm excited indeed! Yeah the seller at the aquarists did say that they would be having babies along the way. We have an incubator for when that happens and he said he'd be happy to have them from us should we not want to keep them! The two Swordtails don't seem massively infatuated with each other yet, the female seems to be very friendly with our Dwarf Gouramis and the male is happy, well... Showboating his tail ?

They are splendid aren't they?!

I'm glad you have someone to take your excess babies - it's very thrilling to actually see them and watch them grow. Ours were green swordtails and they were absolutely stunning fish! Very, very beautiful indeed.