Little Tank For My Baby Boy...

[ENR]

Hey all!!
Right, i bought myself a tank off the bay at the grand sum of £45. Its an odd one to be sure, its a "Fish R Fun" 40.5L tank. Never heard of this lot but it has a little filter and a light. The bloke i bought it off had absolutely no idea what he was doing and i think he's sold it cos everything died. Emptying out the filter, i'm not surprised, to be honest. it had cotton wool, a bag of sorry looking carbon and 6 noodles in it....Some people need a slap..

Anyway, I have a pond, which i know how to keep, i have a tropical 160L that i know how to keep but....(can you see where i'm going with this!!) i have never kept a cold water indoors type tank. Its not a big tank, obviously so what would be a good inmate? I was thinking moor, as the wife thinks theyre cool looking (!)
Substrate? plants? water changes the same as the tropicals?
The light is an odd one too, its a 325mm long tube...its not 12" (mores the pity!!!) anyone come across them before?
Any ideas are more than welcome and i'm sure i'll pick it all up!
IanR.

 

[Paradise3]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I think that tank would be a bit small for any goldfish at all.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[saltynay]

Indeed a moor is a minimum 15 gallon (UK) tank fish. For a small freshwater tank these fish come to mind my mind; minnows, snakeheads, barbs, buenos aires tetras, sticklebacks, Paradise fish, pygmy sunfish, danios and a wide range of inverts (snails, shrimp, crabs).

 

[ENR]

Ah, i see. Ok, cool. No moor then! Maybe a small heater and some tropical types may be more suited to its size?

 

[saltynay]

I personally would do a paradise fish breeding project which is cold water.

 

[Paradise3]

I personally would do a paradise fish breeding project which is cold water.

I have one of these going. They are fun to watch and they aren't hard to breed. Mum and dad may argue over who looks after the nest though, but no real damage should be done.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[ENR]

Ok, Paradise fish. Talk to me...
How many in a 40L? two? My tropical tank is at capacity, so fry (!) would cause a headache!


Pump is up and running, new media, all cleaned and sand/small shingle substrate clean and in....LED striplight in and on, Might nick some media from my fluval in the tropics tank to get is moving a bit..
Airpump is noisy though. I'll get some vegetation in there and it'll look monumentally better!!

 

[saltynay]

Well as your not breeding for profit you don't have to set-up additional tanks for the fry or particularly worry about them although a plastic storage tub in the garden would do a wooden barrel or large plant pot if you want it to look attractive. .

2 in a 40L is perfect for a breeding project 1 male and 1 female. I would do it as an iwagumi style tank myself.

 

[Paradise3]

Agreed, 2 in a 40l tank is all you need. If you make sure they are similar sizes it might be easier for them to get on with each other. My 2 are different size by about 1/2" and the bicker quite a bit when there's no nest for them to look after but the only damage ever done is a fin nip or 2. They will flare at each other and are best kept without anything on the bottom, no shrimp or otto's or anything. B the way, watch your plants, I can't keep any plants with my pair because they shredded the vallis the had.
If you want I'll post pictures of my 2 to show how they can look in top condition and to show how the bicker. You can get a lot of different colour morphs, my favourite is the black paradise fish or the albino paradise fish(personally because my male from the pair is albino).

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[ENR]

I would do it as an iwagumi style tank myself.

I just googled that and spent ten minutes looking at stunning aquascapes! 1:1.16 ratios! eek!
Looks like a plan is formulating! Male and female will be on the shopping list!

 

[Paradise3]

I would do it as an iwagumi style tank myself.

I just googled that and spent ten minutes looking at stunning aquascapes! 1:1.16 ratios! eek!
Looks like a plan is formulating! Male and female will be on the shopping list!

Do you know how to tell the difference between male and female?
If not I'll tell you, Females have shorter, rounder fins than males they are also fatter. Males have extensions on their fins and are very slim bodied. Here are some pictures of my pair.
Male.

Female.

Male and Female flaring at each other.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[ENR]

Nice looking fish you have there <3.
Cheers for the sexing info, will help immensly. Gotta get the tank cycling first then sort out some inmates.
I'm assuming that your plants are plastic in there?

 

[Paradise3]

Nice looking fish you have there <3.
Cheers for the sexing info, will help immensly. Gotta get the tank cycling first then sort out some inmates.
I'm assuming that your plants are plastic in there?

Yes I have 1 plastic bluey-purpley plant, 1 plastic green carpet plant and 4 plant pots turned on their sides. I'll get a picture if you want. Warning if you get a rarer colouration, like albino, you could be paying more for it because my albino cost me £6 while the female cost me £2.50.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!