Hardy Tropical Fish?

[Antoniakr]

Hello everyone. 

I was planning on getting platys but because they breed like rabbits it will be quite expensive to look after them. 

Also buying all the treatments for the water is expensive too

What i don't get is, i have  2 Goldfish and 2 shubunkin x common goldfish for 8 years, without any water treatment, without any aeration and without any plants in their small aquarium. (i know they need over 100L tank)

So im looking for some tropical Hardy fish. I'm desperate to have this hobby but i still live with my parents. My mum went wild when she found out i was going to spend over £100 on everything for my fish and because i don't have a job she questioned me how i will be able to keep the water stable and feed them

So what species of Tropical fish are hardy and don't need much water treatment? 

Please help

 

[eaglesaquarium]

What size tank do you have?

Are you using well water?

Is there a heater in the tank, or are you trying to avoid using a heater?

Do you have a filter?

 

[Antoniakr]

Its a 10 gallon Tank with a heater and a filter.
Spending money on water treatments will cost a lot - its like £20 for a few bottles and i'm not sure how long they will last as i haven't started cycling my tank yet.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

You don't need to use much dechlorinator for that size tank, and there's really no other water treatment you need.
Clean tap water already has everything the fish need, except with chlorine and perhaps some heavy metals.  A quality dechlorinator will eliminate that problem.
 
 
Get the biggest bottle of something like Prime, and its cost will be lower over the length of its use - a little goes a long way.
 
You can also save money on test kits, by only buying the ammonia and nitrite kits.  Ask your LFS to test the pH, kH, and gH.  These are fairly stable, and you only need to know the value, not track it constantly.  If a problem comes up, take a sample to the LFS again to test those again. 
 
Buy a single quality food, and you can reduce the cost there as well.
 
 
There a lot of fish that are hardy and beautiful for a 10 gallon tank, but there's an even longer list of fish that some believe are suitable, but are not.
 
I recommend you go with a very hardy, little fish... in a single shoal. 
Harlequin rasboras would be very nice.  They are suitable for a 10.  Similar looking fish, like espei rasboras or hengeli rasboras are also very nice, and a bit smaller.

 

[Antoniakr]

Thank you very much for your help, i absolutely fell in love with the harlequin rasbora in the pet Shop when i saw them! But at the time i was hooked on Platys Haha.

I appreciate your help and it's Made me a lot happier now that i can have gorgeous fish. Thats a great way of doing the water tests. Because i am new to the water cycling i guess it seems a little daunting! but you've made me feel more confident, Thanks again!

 

 

[AquaPit]

I went through the hard way the first time I start fishkeeping...

I absolutely knew nothing about fishless cycle or even a dechlorinator!

My first fishes were 15x Harlequin Rasboras, 3x Red Zebra Danios, 2x Balloon Rams, 3x Sterbai Cory
and 4x Silvertip Tetras...

All my Harlequin died plus one of my silvertips..

The rest struggled but eventually became the survivors till now(which I have since rehome all of them)

So...in my personal opinion, the Danios the.most hardiest amongst all...

They were active to start with and still active after the struggles...

Hope this helps...

All the.best!

 

[Antoniakr]

Thank you for the tips! I do love Celestrial Pearl Danios, although they're very expensive! 

 

[Bailpy6]

Harlequins are amazing little guys, got 8 of them myself, could watch em for ages! recommend them!

 

[AquaPit]

Thank you for the tips! I do love Celestrial Pearl Danios, although they're very expensive!

And! Do check about stocking issues..

Try(a simple three letters word yet difficult to do! Lol)not to overstock your 10Gal tank..

Read more about it or ask the experts here!

Fyi, I am no expert coz I'm always having trouble with the stocking issues! Always 'trying'! LOL!

Lots more to learn! All the best! You wont regret this new adventure of fishkeeping!!

 

[Stimo]

£12 for tetra Aquasafe 500ml .........5ml of that treats 10 liters of water , that won't cost you alot to dechlorinate

 

[Antoniakr]

Yes i know, about 3 Platys could fit in a 10gallon tank, About 5 Celestrial pearl danios could fit in a 10Gallon as well (not with the platys) i've read up on the fish ive been interested it  

And thank you, thats a pretty good deal 

 

[Barb-barian]

If you keep the stocking on your tank smaller you wont have to change the water as often and will help save your de-chlorination.  Keep in mind that not all fish are the same and by that I mean even a typically hardy fish can die pretty fast or even a typically finicky fish can be a survivor. Good luck with your tank.

 

[Antoniakr]

Thank you, do you think 3 platies is an ok amount to fit in a 10Gallon?

 

[daizeUK]

Personally - no. I don't think harlequin rasbora are good for a 10 gallon either. Both platies and harlequins need a 2ft tank but a 10 gallons is usually only 18 inches. I'd be looking at a 17G/60L tank as minimum.

 

[ashcole1989]

Hey there!

I'm pretty new to all of this too! I've been having some similar questions but I've given in to going to a 60l tank as my starting point.

Everything I've learnt towards starting out is to ensure a good cycle and plenty of questions/research. Dechlorinator is quite essential and as already said a basic ammonia and nitrite testing kits, with using your LFS (so long as they are friendly enough) to test your pH etc.
Years ago in my pre-teen tank my LFS were happy to check everything for me; guess I was lucky?
Also getting some filter media from them would definitely help get you started out!

I also really like the harlequins, and also the typical beginner fish; neon tetras have you thought of them? Possibly even a handful (5 or so) male guppies?

I hope you get sorted and work it around your parents!