nother newbie

[nightlife20]

hey all

first off all nice lookin forum
2nd im totaly lost
and 3rd

i got my first tropical fish tank today!


ok my details *cough* im dawn hi, im 22 an female, iv been interested in gettin tropical for a while now, and with my new company change i thought what the heck go for it girl u know u can...... then i got the thing home an it was a case of oh no girl u cant

iv been told u have to leave the tank for a month before u put ur fish into it... is this true? if so.... what else do i have to do?

also i need to know wich fish go with what... iv been told not to get the red finned/tailed shark.... this is fine cause i dont like them... but what else wont go with what?

looking for colourfull ones , an can someone plz either a) point me to the ph what ever section that gives me all the info or at least B) try an explain in simplton terms what the heck ur on about lol...

and whats this testin kit and how much does is cost

so lost


should have stuck to the cats......



Dawn xx

 

[mike777]

Okay, you got your new fish tank today How big is it?? I have a 20 gallon started out with 3 zebra danios. They are good fish for cycling and they zip around all over the place it's pretty funny to watch them . someone else will explain cycling to you because I can't in simple terms. Yes you do have to wait 1 month (or longer) after you put your water and plants in. (I know it stinks but it is for the safety of the fish.) Hope This Helps

 

[Lithril]

Welcome to the forum Dawn, must admit its good to see someone starting out with the research first and not rushing in (like I did )

There are some really good articles to read in the Beginners section (Pinned articles at the top). Once you've read them you're going to need to decide how you're going to cycle your tank (with fish or fishless). Cycling is basically the cultivating of beneficial bacteria in the tank, this bacteria will convert the fish waste (ammonia) ultimately into a more tolerable substance called Nitrate. Just leaving the tank for a month won't build up the bacteria. Personally I've just set up a tank using the fishless method and worked very well...takes a LOT less time, theres a link to cycling this way in the post called New Tank Syndrome (Beginners Section).

As for deciding on the type of fish, what sort of tank do you want, peaceful community, or something "a bit different ", have been to your local fish shop (LFS) and seen any that you like?

Test kits are absolutely essential in keeping a tank the most important kits being tests for Ammonia and Nitrites, Nitrates is fairly important too. They allow you to measure the levels in tank and find out toxic the water is to the fish, can also give you and indication as to how the bacteria in the tank is. Another product which is also a must is a good dechlorinator.

Fishkeeping is as easy as a lot of LFS make out but also shouldn't be seen as daunting , so with a bit of care and attention its a hobby that the results are well worth it.

Hope that helps a bit, have a read of the pinned section and ask away, really good bunch of people on this forum so enjoy ??

 

[nightlife20]

ok ummm i dont know it by gallons... all i know is its 2x1...... uh?

so do u mean to leave no fish in for a month or just have 1 or 2 in for a month? i have this stuff they told me to put in bactozym and aqua safe

brief description of each


bactozym: decomposes harmfull waste, speeds up filter development, helps prevent new tank syndrome, easy an quick to use



aquasafe: makes tap water safe, neutralises chlorine and heavy metals wich are harmfull to fish, protects against wounds, abrassions and infection reduces stress...




any of them gonna help? )

 

[Lithril]

Aquasafe is your dechlorinator and bactozym should help but some bacteria in the tank but without and source of food the bacteria won't multiply and will just die, this is were the cycling comes in.

 

[nightlife20]

oh man its confusing think i should have stuck with the cats lmao, i realy dont know what to do, i cant get ammonia around here (think thats how u spell it) the store where i brought my tank from said it was a good idea but sadly he didnt know anyone who stocked it... he suggested adding 3-4 fish... like someone else has suggested... but i dont want my fishies to die


as for how i want it to be... well i want it active an colorfull i need it mostly for relaxation as i work in a care home an come home realy stressed after goin my aunts one night an watchin her goldfish i was realy relaxed....

so the test kists come sepritly then?

 

[Lithril]

You can buy packs with all the test kits in or just buy them seperately

Where abouts are you (which country) may be able to help you in finding ammonia. If you really can't get ammonia you could always use fish food, this will decompose in the tank to form ammonia, just takes a little bit longer but there are people on here that do that. If you really want to go down the fish route it is an option, people have been doing it for years and will continue to do so just make sure that you do plenty of water changes and check the ammonia and nitrite levels regularly.

 

[mollie]

Welcome Dawn

Just a wee newbie myself, but after a lot of reading you pick it up pretty quickly, i got a couple of magazines, nothing to do with fish just something to do rather than watching bubbles in a cycling tank only joking they were fish mags. I printed some of the pinned stuff or was it on the website that lead to this fab forum? Anyway, within a couple of days you'll be quoting nitrites and gallons and fishless cycling to anybody that is stupid enough to stand still long enough!!
So chat in here instead!
My choice of fish was easy"ooohhh, they're pretty!" Man at shop told me off, then gave me some good advice, yours should do the same - er - not tell you off - just give you the good advice!!

Love Mollie x x x

 

[nightlife20]

ok ermmm can i ask sonthin... what gallon tank is mine then with it bein 2x1?



im from the uk, stoke on trent to be exact

im the same ohhhhhhhhh pretty so yeah ill prolly be shouted at lmao ,i want two of them kissin fishies i know that lmao, and i want one that sucks all the ummm crap (can i say that?) up....


magazines sound like a good idea lmao....

im realy itchin to try the fish cycle.... but i realy dont want em dyin... the food one sounds good....no fish die....

 

[Lithril]

Okies in the UK is good I'll try and hook the post out at some point but apparently Boots sell ammonia (you want the cheapest stuff you can get with no perfume of additives, shake the bottle if it foams or bubbles its the wrong stuff ).

For sucker fish I usually recommend the same -Bristlenose Pleco (ancistrus) and Cories, the ancistrus will keep tank almost totally algae free and cories make a fantastic clean up crewe (and they're cute as hell ). The kissing fish you're after is Kissing Gouramis, you'll have to ask other for advice on these as I've never kept them.

 

[nightlife20]

see newbies questions section cause im sure im breakin a rule here......

 

[Lithril]

Hang on I'll try and get this posting moved to the beginners section

 

[Inchworm]

Hi nightlife20 and welcome to the forum

I see you are already off to a good start here. I'll look for your posts and try to help you, too, if I can.