Getting New Tank

[Distrait]

Hello!

I'm a new member here and im a true beginner to the hobby. I decided to look up some stuf about fish and aquariums about a week ago and i have been hooked scince then.

I've convinced my parents to buy me a tank starter kit from our lfs. Its a 29 gallon tank with pump, filter, heater food, etc.

I would like to keep some community fish like tetras and such but im a bit worried about water conditions. One fish I really like is the neon tetra, and I've read they like softer water. My question is if water hardness is really important when keeping fish. I ask because we don't own a water softener and the city water where I'm from (K-W, Ontario, Canada) tends to be hard. Also, I've read that you should condition replacement water to remove chlorine...how do you do this and how much does it cost?

Lastly I just want some ideas on what you guys/girls think would be good in my tank. I was thinking:

5-6 neon tetra
3-4 zebra danios

some sort of small bottom feeder and maybe a few ghost shrimp

 

[suemack]

hi Distrait welcome to the forum ......and to the wonderful world of fish keeping

By asking questions first you have chosen such a good way to start your adventure...... means that by the time you have your tank set up with the fish you will already know how to look after them. There are some very good and easy to understand articles at the beginning of this section on fishless cycling for the tank (less likely to lose your fish with this) and how to get started.

IMO unless your water is extremely hard or soft the majority of fishes do seem to be ok (a lot are tank bred and raised) - I have guppies that thrive in soft water.

Isn't it fun standing looking at the tanks in the local fish shop imagining the fish swimming in your own tank

have fun - Sue

 

[joshua]

maybe it isn't a good idea to get neons as your first fish as they're quite delicate and die quite easily if not taken care of properly and thus you may be discouraged. maybe you should try guppies or platies

 

[drbrad25]

Hey Distrait,

Good to have another convert to the hobby! I did pretty much the same thing as you except i trusted my LFS and went against all advice to fishless cycle. Trust me, don't make the same mistake i did (unless you like floating fish).

The starter kits from fish stores are quite good, rather than trying to figure out what filter, etc. which can be very confusing.

To treat the water i use aqua plus (removes chlorine and chloramine) and water conditioning crystals to increase the general hardness (our water in melbourne is quite soft). Extremes of anything are bad (whether it's hardness, pH, etc.) but if it's just on the other side of normal it's normally okay. What's more important is STABLE water conditions.

What might be a good idea before you get your tank all set up is to get a master test kit (generally not that expensive) which has all the tests you need and test your tap water. Then post a message up on the board telling us your values and we can tell you more about what fish are good for those conditions (after it's fishless cycled of course) and what you need to do with your water.

Keep us informed and if your anything like me, i bet you can't wait to get your own fish. Beware, they are a efficient time waster. You'll find yourself looking into the tank for hours!

 

[Distrait]

Thanks for the comments guys. Hopefully i can get a water testing kit this weekend and find out what my water is like.

I was planning on getting the zebra danios first because they are supposed to be easier than the neons to take care of. So I'll add them or some other hardy fish after i try a fishless cycle. then if everything seems ok ill add more fish in a week or two.

thanks for the help