Hello.

[oldskool]

Hi - i am new to tropical fish, however, I was raised by my father who kept fish of various types for over 50 years now. Before I started on my 39 gallon tank project I as for lots of advise. He told me to set the tank up with as much plant life as I could and make it pleasing to the eye. Then fill with water and leave for a week or so. I then added 6 platies and left for a couple of days - I then added another 6 platies at night and left the lights of till morning. The tank has been running for a month and I change 3.9 gallons of water a week. My water is crystal clear and my fish are healthy and lively - except for 1 that sits under the filter on his own and rarely comes out to the front of the tank - just to feed. How come do I read so much about people losing fish all the time and they check there tanks every five minutes for amonia, nitrire and other things - is this a marketing ploy to sell as much after market products and make shed loads of cash. Many of my fathers friends kept fish to and they all told me they never had the test kits available to them that we have now and most of them hardly ever lost fish.

can anyone inform me if i should carry on the way i am or should i be stocking up on test kits and testing the water every five minutes - even though the fish are fine.

 

[ncjharris]

Hi! Welcome to the forums!

I think this question would be more at home in 'Beginners Questions' and perhaps a mod can move it.

To answer your queries; there have been a lot of developments in fish keeping in the last few years, a lot more is now understood about the fish, their habitats, behaviour and the tanks environment.

You only have too compare any modern book and an newish book on the subject to see the mark difference in the technologies!

This aside, the proof really is in the pudding, if your fish are happy and healthy, and you are happy with everything then there really is no reason to change anything.

However, water quality really is the primary cause of any problems you may encounter. Getting a test kit and periodically testing your water can let you know of any probs before they manifest themselves in the form of dead fish!

Finally, bear in mind that the fish we keep will naturally be in an environment that is massive compared to the tanks we keep them in. Although most fish are hardy little things, its only fair to keep them healthy!

If you have any further questions, I'm sure there will be plenty of people willing to answer it!

N

 

[oldskool]

Oops - forgot to say I did get the shop to test the water before i purchased my first fish - I wasnt gonna put them into a toxic soup. )

 

[iggy01]

Your father gave you some really good advice..... by telling you to stuff the tank with as many plants as possible. Heavily planted tanks tend not to see high ammonia spikes when they are cycling. This article explains why.

Good luck!

 

[annka5]

There are times when people do seem to rely on test kits as opposed to common sense, am sure. I personally don't see the point in testing the water e.g. weekly if it's been stable for a while and you've not changed anything / had no problems.
However, i do think its worht testing in a new set-up as its better to change things before they give a problem.
It has to be said test kits are available now which are inexpensive and sensitive enough for most uses, which might not have been the case in the past.
I think never doing a water test is pretty extreme, but I don't see a need for testing water particularly frequently if you've no problems.

 

[freddyk]

Oldskool, things are going well because you did everything right. Heavy planting never hurts, you didn't add too many fish at once (leading cause of overwhelming spikes), and you are doing regular weekly water changes. At this rate you shouldn't have any problems. Testing isn't necessary when everything is done right, the fish will tell you what's going on. Testing is still handy as a safeguard, though it has the tendancy to lead to paranoia.

 

[Kinda Fishey]

Hey oldskool
Well you gave the answers to your question , in the question.
You listened (a lost art ), to your father when he told you something . Lot of begginers don't listen. They shake their head up and down, and smile, but they're not listening. Their minds are allready made up. You can see that sometimes,right here on this forum.

You planned ahead, filled the tank, let it set for weeks,planted the tank. added few fish slowley . gradually built up the load. Some begginers buy a load of fish and tank , go home and set it all up , in one day. Disaster ?

Whether you cycle your tank your dad's way, or modern fishless cycling, it amounts to he same thing. Planning Ahead , foreknowledge.
Keeping fish your dad's way, ( and mine , up untill recently ) is great . You do things because thats the way you've read, or been told, and they work. But when something goes wrong , you're usually in the dark , you don't know why.

Some of the bells and whistles, and kits are good, because it lets you , know whats going on in your water............ but...... they won't save an impatiant , know it all aquarist. Nothing will ,except patience, and knowledge . Now when we can put that into a little pill, or kit , we'll be getting somewhere.
Now, I still do things much the same as your dad , I just use the test kits to make sure.
The old blacksmith, carpentry rule , " Measure five times , cut once " ,works in fish keeping too, unlike some folks,who try it the other way.
Luck with your fish
KF

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Having at least ammonia and pH kits is a good idea. There are needed when you first start up a tank to enable you to check on the cycling process and to know what fish work in your water. After that they will mostly sit on the shelf, until something goes wrong. At that point they can be a big help in diagnosing problems-either as the cause or by being able to rule out certain things as the cause.

As one gets more sophisticated regarding plants in tank, especially higher light co2 added ones, test kits are essential.