Lets Help Newcomers!

[james_fish]

Don't buy Common Pleco's.

James.

don't buy any plecos
DO NOT sniff dead snail shells.
DO NOT sniff dead fish
DO NOT sniff dead blue crayfish
NEVER EVER BUY BLUE LOBSTERS UNLESS YOU WANT A TANK THAT IS FISHLESS AND PLANTLESS
cats get addicted to jumping on your tank.

Why don't buy any Pleco's?

James.

 

[TiffanyJayne]

Let's not assume newbies are idiots.
No don't smell anything but thats common sence
Buy a blue lobster/crayfish, when youve looked enough up about them and either have it's own tank or a very very large one.
Plecs are fine to buy, try to stay away from commons until you no more about what your doing though.
And again common sense, don't leave the lid of your tank so animals, dust, the draft from the purfume you just sprayed/air freshner/plug in can get in.

don't buy any plecos
DO NOT sniff dead snail shells.
DO NOT sniff dead fish
DO NOT sniff dead blue crayfish
NEVER EVER BUY BLUE LOBSTERS UNLESS YOU WANT A TANK THAT IS FISHLESS AND PLANTLESS
cats get addicted to jumping on your tank.

 

[james_fish]

Plecs are fine to buy, try to stay away from commons until you no more about what your doing though.

Common Pleco's are fine, they are not hard to keep. Its just the fact they need a 5/6 foot tank, which probably 1 in 10000 beginners have.

James.

 

[TiffanyJayne]

Plecs are fine to buy, try to stay away from commons until you no more about what your doing though.

Common Pleco's are fine, they are not hard to keep. Its just the fact they need a 5/6 foot tank, which probably 1 in 10000 beginners have.

James.

My point exactly, what i should of said was don't buy any fish until you know it's full adult size, water needs and feeding prefrences. Maybe then people would stop buying fish like plecs and puffers for there 2 foot community tanks.

 

[JoshuaA]

When siphoning from a bucket back into the tank to fill it up, NEVER EVER make a cup of tea in that time, the hose can easily fall out and reverse the flow and empty the tank on your floor.

 

[Piltdownpaul]

So everyone, I was thinking- I've made so many mistakes in my fish keeping career, and I wish someone had helped me with them. So I think we should tell everyone what our major fish keeping mistakes have been: I'll start.

Zophie's fish-keeping mistakes (not in order)

-Wash gravel before putting it in a tank.
-Learn actually what a "fishless cycle" is- don't beleive what you think it is.
-Don't overstock, however tempting.
-Don't just throw in any fish- think about size, pH, aggresion, and much more!
-Tetra's chase each other- don't worry when they start the bodychecking!
-Bottom Feeders stay on the bottom- they arn't sick.
-DON'T PUT A BETTA IN UNHEATED WATER, BELOW 25 DEGREES!
- Don't ever mix up F. and C. You'll fry or freeze your fish.
-Fish are not ornaments- get that into your head.
-Don't put 5 female bettas ina 2 gallon tank.
- Don't use Neon gravle- you'll get a head-ache.
-The rule "1 inch per gallon" does NOT work.
- Oscars and Neon Tetras are a no-no.
-Don't just skip a water change. You'll pay for it.
-Its not about the tank size, its about the water quality.


AND MUCH, MUCH, MORE...

Help the Newbies! Wright down your mistakes too, and you'll help lots of people.

Zophie

Tank size is equally as important as water quality and the 1 inch per gallon fish rule does work for small shoaling types but not all and it is only a guide anyway. "Oscars and neon tetras are a no no", there is a grammar problem here- you need to say- oscars do not mix with neon tetras,the way it is written could be understood by a beginner as to mean dont have oscars and dont have neon tetras. Definition needs to be better in this thread as beginners are going to get misleading information.

 

[james_fish]

Plecs are fine to buy, try to stay away from commons until you no more about what your doing though.

Common Pleco's are fine, they are not hard to keep. Its just the fact they need a 5/6 foot tank, which probably 1 in 10000 beginners have.

James.

My point exactly, what i should of said was don't buy any fish until you know it's full adult size, water needs and feeding prefrences. Maybe then people would stop buying fish like plecs and puffers for there 2 foot community tanks.

James.

 

[schmee]

If you have sand, float something in your tank as you fill it back up after pwc so that you don't pour the water directly onto the sand. Unless you like a white tank.


i thought the tone of this thread was just a bit of fun to be honest, people who actually need help are going to ask their own qs so i don't see why the need for the criticism of every little over-generalisation. i would also give newbies (like me) a little credit at being able to research and ask qs for themselves.

 

[waterdrop]

When siphoning from a bucket back into the tank to fill it up, NEVER EVER make a cup of tea in that time, the hose can easily fall out and reverse the flow and empty the tank on your floor.

HaHa, Yes! I've learned that any time water is going IN to my tanks, its time to pay close attention and not stray far or let my attention have the chance to wander in any way. Luckily for me its just been near scares, not spills, but its real!

In a similar disaster vein though, I learned early on to always pay attention to the leveling and surface that my tanks are situated on. A small pinch-up point somewhere along the base, even of a floating-base style tank, can cause enough twist in the bottom glass to crack it.

Case in point, we had a tank with matching base from PetSmart and the surface board for supporting the tank was particle board. I didn't particularly like this idea but decided it didn't matter that much. One corner of this top board had a metal support attached by a bold countersunk through the particleboard top surface. A couple drops of water got into the exposed particleboard countersunk area and cause the particleboard to swell up, causing a little high point under the tank at one point. The tank cracked and began dumping water in to the room (a definate setback to my fishless cycle )

Now, I protect said particleboard with heavy mil plastic, cut to a size that doesn't show and I am also vigilant about every drop of water around the sides of the tank when doing maintenance. Naturally, a good metal, solid wood, stone or other better surface to support your tank is superior!

Another beginner mistake I made and learned my lesson from was introducing new plants to a tank that had no nutrients other than tap water. A fishless cycle means there is no fish waste to help feed new plants, so if it don't provide a bit of plant nutrition, you are introducing plants to too sterile an environment. Its an easy mistake for beginners who are focused on the fish but want live plants.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[zophie]

So everyone, I was thinking- I've made so many mistakes in my fish keeping career, and I wish someone had helped me with them. So I think we should tell everyone what our major fish keeping mistakes have been: I'll start.

Zophie's fish-keeping mistakes (not in order)
-DON'T PUT A BETTA IN UNHEATED WATER, BELOW 25 DEGREES!

A betta can 'survive/thrive' at 22 Degrees C.

Great ones! Here's some more:

-Barbs are not peacful fish
-Plastic plants arn't good- don't get sucked up into that trap. Live is best
-Don't put hands in fish tanks
-A crown-tail betta does not have a severe case of fin-rot

Cherry Barbs are peacful actually. I think you might be refering Tiger Barbs, which are peaceful to an extent when kept in a large group of 6 or more.

Depending on what fish you have, plastic plants are perfectly fine. Although live plants are an advantage to aid filtration.

How would you clean the tank, if you couldnt put your hand in the tank?

And, its a well known fact that a Crowntails fins can easily get problems.

Dont leave zucchini for your Pleco to eat in the tank over night.

- always feed your plants or they will rot and die!

I know some plants that dont need any added lighting or ferts... Java fern for example.




Need i go on, Im not aiming this directly at anyone. But an awful lot of this information is extremely misleading. And most of it isnt even backed up as to why.

Just my personal view on this thread, not directly aimed at anyone.

I understand your point, now that I look back on my work alot of it is misleading.
Remember, everyone, that all opinions have many sides- for instince I don't think bettas should live in water under 25 degress c- I know that they can, but I think they do much better in warm water. Everyone has different opinions, and supports different sides.

If you have sand, float something in your tank as you fill it back up after pwc so that you don't pour the water directly onto the sand. Unless you like a white tank.


i thought the tone of this thread was just a bit of fun to be honest, people who actually need help are going to ask their own qs so i don't see why the need for the criticism of every little over-generalisation. i would also give newbies (like me) a little credit at being able to research and ask qs for themselves.

I agree with you, schmee. Lets not try and make this thread into a huge argument- the reason I started it was just to see evryones mistakes, and to have something fun to look at when I'm bored.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

i thought of another one - don't touch your fish
i love plecs but they are just too big for me and have always died in my tank

 

[zophie]

i thought of another one - don't touch your fish
i love plecs but they are just too big for me and have always died in my tank

Yeah- Not only does it remove slime-coats, but some fish will bite! (Like bettas )

 

[AstonN24vantage]

my fish tickle when they bite. except for once i got bit by a rusty cichlid and my finger bled everywhere and got infected. you can imagine how long it took for him to go back to the fish store.

 

[the biffster]

only use tried a tested information













but most of all wear sunscreen

 

[JoshuaA]

but most of all wear sunscreen

Is this a dig at Steve Irwin saying that suncream protects from harmful rays?

Just make sure you read ahead however myself and many others have been pushed into the deep end by a store and left in open water without proper advice.