Hey, new to this hobby, this is where I am at!

[prettylittlefishtank]

Hey All,

So very new to this hobby, only a couple of months in we found my husbands dads old fish tank in the shed when we took over the house it’s around 90 litres.

First thing we did was go to Pets@Home (where else to get advice) great guy from there actually recommended forums so here we are! Anyways after speaking to this guy that worked there we decided to venture down the tropical fish route, so we were told how to set up our aquarium little did we know it needed a heater and all that jazz, anyways couple of months on we are all set up...

We started off with 4 Rosy Tetras and a Male Betta, this worked well no issues, everything working as it should, we have been testing the water every week, doing regular water changes once every two weeks etc, we have the flu Val 2 filter - we then added in some Platys all is well..

maybe me bring me, female lol decided to add in some more fish - fast forward we now have;

4 Rosy Tetras
3 Platys
3 Corydoras
4 Danios
4 Gold Barbs
4 Tiger Barbs
2 Gold Algae Eaters

We also had 2 babies appear, god knows how they survived, hiding behind the filter maybe!

however a couple of weeks or so into this hobby we noticed fish dying, not many just a few, so we lost in order;

1 Platy
2 Gold Algae
The Betta

Not together but randomised times... not sure what went wrong, our water was fine is still fine, we went to pets@home and the guy seems to think the barbs might be the problem, but I’m not so sure, I watch them closely and none of them seem to pick fights with each other, the barbs seem rather peaceful, the danios run around chasing each other but not other fish.

The guy at the shop seemed to think the Betta died because the tanks to big and the others died because the barbs were on the attack? But I guess nobody knows.

All thought and opinions welcome...

The tank is not heavily planted, this is the route we want to take, it has a few plants, but we are moving to a 200L tank as this 90L is very old.

Any advice on a mixed rock and planted aquarium start would be great too???

 

[Sgooosh]

betta's tanks can never bee too big. barbs or water quality

 

[prettylittlefishtank]

Our water quality is fine, I check it every week no signs of ammonia or anything, so it must be barbs then? I know not all can be aggressive, and to be honest I’ve not ever seen them go after any other fish other than circle in their groups, my danios however are crazy and chase each other but not other fish....

 

[Sgooosh]

Our water quality is fine, I check it every week no signs of ammonia or anything, so it must be barbs then? I know not all can be aggressive, and to be honest I’ve not ever seen them go after any other fish other than circle in their groups, my danios however are crazy and chase each other but not other fish....

heater? maybe too many fish

 

[prettylittlefishtank]

heater? maybe too many fish

Is there any of the fish above you wouldn’t recommend putting together? We are switching to a 200L from a 90L also how do you measure how many fish you put into your tank?

 

[Sgooosh]

Is there any of the fish above you wouldn’t recommend putting together? We are switching to a 200L from a 90L also how do you measure how many fish you put into your tank?

if you are a beginner start with a good planted tank with 1 species like some guppies or a single betta. but since you have a huge 200 liter maybe some similar species like some guppies and platies. or mollies and platies. maybe 1 smaller goldfish or pleco or something. i measure 1 inch for 1 gallon(4 liters)

 

[Utar]

Welcome to the forum. Now let me warn you about MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome), you will get it so there is no avoiding it. We all have it....lol...

 

[Kyle E.]

So true.

 

[ClownLurch]

First things first: Find out your water hardness. It’ll be on your suppliers website.
Second things second: Dont believe anything that anyone in the fish business tells you if they’re trying to sell you something.

Just because your local pets at home sell certain types of fish doesn’t mean they should be kept in your local water OR together. About 60% of my local PAHs fish shouldn’t be anywhere near our town. Our water is too hard.

Fish have different needs in water hardness, water PH, water temp, food, tank size, tank mates, family numbers etc. Whereas Aquatic shop employees needs are simply to sell you as much stuff and fish as they can. Unless youve hit lucky.......which judging by your stock list doesn’t seem be the case.

Dont worry we’ve all been mugged by them in the past. No one here will try and sell you anything.

Research ALL of your fish on seriouslyfish.com to get an idea of how to start putting the PAH employees wrongs right.
I’d write each of your fishes requirements down in a table to allow easy comparisons. Water hardness, temp, PH, tank size, family numbers etc.
It’ll be a start.

Best of luck. Oh and welcome. You’re in good hands on here.

 

[Fishmanic]

Bettas can be aggressive to other fish and prefer to be alone. If you get a Betta, get him his own 5 gallon heated tank.

 

[Essjay]

Is there any of the fish above you wouldn’t recommend putting together?

4 Rosy Tetras
3 Platys
3 Corydoras
4 Danios
4 Gold Barbs
4 Tiger Barbs
2 Gold Algae Eaters

As the other members have said, you need to check on the hardness of your water. This will be on your water company's website. You need a number and the unit of measurement, though 3 companies in the UK don't give numbers. If you can't find it, tell us the name of the water company and I'll see what I can find.

A few comments about your fish list.
Platies are hard water fish, everything else is soft water.

Tetras, cories, danios and barbs need to be in groups of at least 6 of the same species.

As mentioned, tiger barbs are one of the nippiest fish in the hobby and are best kept in a species only tank. This thread makes an interesting read https://www.fishforums.net/threads/...should-not-buy-aquarium-or-farm-grown.463553/ If this was my tank, I'd rehome them if possible. Or keep the 90 litre just for them, plus a few more.

Gold algae eaters are a colour variant of the Chinese algae eater. These fish grow big and have a nasty habit - as they mature they stop eating algae and start to suck the slime coat off other fish. If you can rehome these fish you'll be doing the other fish a big favour.

Gyrinocheilus aymonieri – Sucking ‘Loach’ (Gyrinocheilus kaznakovi, Gyrinocheilus monchadskii) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Of the other fish, it does depend on your hardness as to whether they are suitable, so I'll leave that until we know what it is.