Hi!

[Geemance]

Hello,
My name is Georgia, I’m 24 and currently living in London.
I have always loved fish and wanted to keep some myself. Im looking to start a small tank, hopefully with some guppies and possible neon tetra. Any advice for a first timer is much appreciated

 

[corylover5]

Welcome!

 

[Fishmanic]

Welcome to TFF. Lots of knowledgeable members here to answer your questions.
Check out our Tank of the Month contest. Click on banner at top of the forums and cast your vote.

Hope you enjoy our forums!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

You mentioned guppies and tetras? Unfortunately, guppies are hard water fish and tetras are soft water fish, so this mixture would not work out.

What is the pH, GH, and KH of your water? These measurements will determine what fish you can keep.

Have you read up on how to cycle your tank? If not, please do so here:https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

I know it seems like a lot, but we will get through it together!

 

[Geemance]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

You mentioned guppies and tetras? Unfortunately, guppies are hard water fish and tetras are soft water fish, so this mixture would not work out.

What is the pH, GH, and KH of your water? These measurements will determine what fish you can keep.

Have you read up on how to cycle your tank? If not, please do so here:https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

I know it seems like a lot, but we will get through it together!

Hi,

Thank you for the advice! I’m surprised to hear that Guppies and Neon Tetra can’t live together as I’ve read many things that have said it should be fine! But of course I will always put the needs of the fish first so I will not mix them.

I’m in the process of finding out the ph,kh and gh levels in the water, I’ve ordered a test kit that hasn’t yet arrived so unfortunately I can’t answer that just yet but I have also been reading up on natural ways to adjust the levels if needed.

I have read up on cycling the tank and am going to do it for 6 weeks as recommended before adding any fish. Thanks for the link I will read through the article incase there is any new info in there!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Hi,

Thank you for the advice! I’m surprised to hear that Guppies and Neon Tetra can’t live together as I’ve read many things that have said it should be fine! But of course I will always put the needs of the fish first so I will not mix them.

I’m in the process of finding out the ph,kh and gh levels in the water, I’ve ordered a test kit that hasn’t yet arrived so unfortunately I can’t answer that just yet but I have also been reading up on natural ways to adjust the levels if needed.

I have read up on cycling the tank and am going to do it for 6 weeks as recommended before adding any fish. Thanks for the link I will read through the article incase there is any new info in there!

Ok, sounds good!

Yes, information on the web can sometimes be misleading, that’s why it’s best to double check.

Just note: Cycling does not always take 6 weeks or a month or whatever they are saying these days. My cycle took 4 weeks, while other people’s sometimes take 6 weeks, it just varies from tank to tank.

Have you bought a test kit yet? A test kit is necessary for a healthy tank. This kit will allow you to test for pH, nitrate, nitrite, Ammonia, and high range pH. The API Liquid Master Freshwater Test Kit is one of the best liquid test kit as of right now. I suggest you get one, if you do not already have one. Liquid test kits are more accurate than test strips, so it’s best to get a liquid one.

This kit usually sells for around $30, which seems expensive, but is well worth it in the long run.

 

[ClownLurch]

Welcome.
In London you’ve almost certainly got hard-very hard water. Check your postcode on your water providers website to find the figures as words alone aren’t accurate enough.
This lot on here are the planets premier fish people. I’m not. I just repeat parrot like the stuff the brains on here ask newcomers in order to give them a bit of breathing space in between newbies.
So get your water providers figures ASAP and the clever helpful types will be along soon to guide you through it.
Have fun, have fins, stay safe.

 

[Essjay]

Hard water is good for guppies but not soft water fish like neon tetras.

Something a lot of people don't understand is that we should aim to keep fish which come from roughly the same hardness as our tap water. If we keep soft water fish in hard water, they are not used to so much calcium in the water and they get calcium deposits in their kidneys. Hard water fish, which are used to a lot of calcium, suffer deficiency in soft water. Most of the fish we buy have been bred in fish farms, but it takes a long time to change a fish's DNA so we need to look at the water in the place where they originally came from.



As members have said in your other thread, very small tanks are harder to keep than larger ones. Rather than look for something 18 to 20 litres, I would look into tanks of around 60 litres. This size is a good size for guppies, and other small hard water fish.

 

[AilyNC]

Welcome! Lots of nice fish out there but best to start with water hardness & ph. Then check www.seriouslyfish.com to make sure fish you like are compatible with your water and tank size. While you cycle the tank you'll have plenty of time to research the stock. It's lovely looking at all the different fish and finding ones you like.

Enjoy and you'll always find good advice here

 

[Geemance]

Thanks for all the replies and information! I have been researching more and I have very hard water so I am looking into getting a betta in a 24litre tank, still researching more into this at the moment though !!

 

[Retired Viking]

Welcome to the forum. I have moderately hard water but I like tetras so I keep a 55 gallon soft water tank using RO water to soften my hard water. I have a skoal of neon, ember and glow light tetras. I have several hard water tanks that I keep guppies and platys in. Fish will be healthier and live longer if kept in the correct water. This is a picture of my soft water tetra tank, I also keep some cory in the tank.