Our First Aquarium Story

[OregonCoast]

If anyone wants to see our pathetic attempt at this so far, here are the pictures I've gathered.
 
http/smu.gs/14fjgM0

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Don't beat yourself up.  This sort of thing happens all the time.  The goal for us on the forum is to help folks the best we can.  The shame of it is that most LFS don't take the time to really talk to people about their tanks and educate them in proper fishkeeping.  Our job as hobbyists is to inform and help as many beginners as possible not make the mistakes so many of us made at the beginning, as well as help them sort things out once they are in trouble.
 
Honestly, your tanks look to be very well maintained.  The issue is that you selected the wrong fish.  It happens.  But, taking the proper steps now can fix all this and honestly, this is about doing what's right.  We can't change the past, but we can correct things for the future.
 
 
I enjoyed looking at your pictures.  Its easy to see how mistakes like this can be made.  You can't tell how big the fish will become when you buy a juvenile in the store.  Some fish (as I mentioned above) stay relatively tiny, while others grow into tankbusters.  Many of these fish shouldn't really be in the trade at all, as they just aren't suitable fish, except for the extreme cases where folks have a gigantic tank.  I've got a 110 Gallon tank starting up, and the biggest fish I plan to put in it is a single bristlenose pleco, which will grow to 5 inches.  All the rest of the fish will probably never top 2.5 inches, and the tank is 6 feet long.   Generally speaking, I'd rather have a large shoal of many small fish than 2 oscars swimming in that same tank.  I do appreciate the larger species, but I just don't get the same level of satisfaction in keeping them.  I do marvel at them when I visit an aquarium though.  

 

[OregonCoast]

And this also is one of our issues,  the ONLY resource we have are you guys here on the forums and the internet in general.  So we're essentially going at this with very little information.  The Store owners don't speak any english (AT ALL) so we can only point and pay.  I know we picked a horrible place to possibly get into this hobby, but it's so intriguing, with all the math and research involved in just one little eco system.  and the fish are amazing to watch.  I spend my evenings just watching the tank instead of what I was doing before.  and it's so quiet at night, we can just sit back and watch the little guys eat and swim all over the place.  I want everything to make them a good home, and I apologise for being so down, but in all reality we failed at our attempt miserably, and it's dissapointing to myself.  Bookmark that gallery and check back after the weekend.  I will post some pictures of the Pet Ally, and the Aquarium Ally, etc up there.  The stores we generally frequent are in an area called  Dongdaemun here in Seoul, South Korea.  Check it out and look for aquarium ally.  I promise all of you will be jealous that your not here, but the issue is communication and not knowing what your looking for.    There is a dedicated Betta shop over in a city called Incheon near the international air port we plan on going to in the next couple of weeks and probabaly where we will get our betta from.
 
http/www.aquamates.co.kr/shop/shopping.php
 
http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongdaemun_Market
 
When you get bored.  It's pretty neat stuff.  there's billions of aquatic stores around,  some take hours and hours to get to because of traffic and they're just a little ways away.  14.6 million people in a city that goes stright up in the air.

 

[the_lock_man]

Okay.   Rewind a bit.  So I am going to sit down with my daughter and see if I can play a psycological trick on her today and talk her into UPGRADING her goldfish and maybe giving him some special powers to turn into another looking fish or something

  ...  Sorta,  anyway, I'll figure something out.  I can see that I need to perform some serious mind trickery here and get rid of him asap.
 
The Pleco would be easy to take back without any complications, but I just feel horrible, and I can't buy a 200 gallon tank for him, despite bringing him home...  (I failed a fish.  This shouldn't feel as depressing as it does.)
 
So that would leave me with
14L
28L
115L  (Yes I am buying one)
 
2 Corys
3 Ghost Srimp
1 Red Cherry Shrimp
 
I LOVE the Corys, they are fascinating to watch.  Heating a tank doesn't bother me and I will buy another heater for the 115L if need be.  We will put a betta in the 28L (Is there anything else we can put in there so he's not all by himself? Bottom dweller, shrimp, etc.)  Already have the water at 79 F with the 50W Digital Heater.
 
Could we just pull the Cory's out of the 28L put them in a 115L with 4 more of the same species and drop a beta in in the 28L with the a cherry and 3 ghost that are there?
 
So we would need to stock a 115L tank,  I'm done trying to make any decisions myself on this due to my obvious lack of knowledge, so what would you recommend for a very active colorful tank, starting with the 6 Corydoras?
 
I will stock the cube with shrimp.  I did NOT want to do any planted tanks because we're trying to ease into this, but I'll check out planting a nano tank for the shrimp in the cube.  the others I would like to stay away from planting right this second.   we do have fake plants and logs in the 28L right now, but they are super soft and very very betta friendly.

 
In the wild, bettas are solitary fish, they don't need company, in fact I reckon they prefer being on their own. They come from very still, almost stagnant ponds and paddy fields. Those that you get in the shops (and yes, well jeal of that link you posted) are bred to emphasise the fins and colours. That being so, they need tanks which have very little flow of water, much less than you would ordinarily find. Try to make sure that your filter doesn't induce much current in the tank.
 
Going with your updated ideas
 
14l pico cube, with a group of cherry shrimp, and some java moss for plantage.
28l nano tank, with a single betta, and the ghost shrimp (some bettas are a bit iffy with shrimp - I had one that ate some cherry shrimp, but left amano shrimp alone, I have heard of others that go after any shrimp)
 
 
For the 115l, deffo get the extra 4 cories, as Eagles says, they would be perfect for a 115l with a sand substrate. The other fish that he suggested are good suggestions, however, I would also suggest either 6/7 male guppies (same colour morph) OR 6 chilli rasboras (aka mosquito rasboras) and 3/4 male guppies. You can't get much more colourful and lively than guppies.

 

[sadguppy]

I have had my fish for a little over a year now, it has taken me this long to get to a place where all fish are happy, healthy and I am satisfied with the way they look... to walk away and rehome them now would be heartbreaking! I see why you want to do this, but believe me it is not going to be easy to pack up in 14 months and leave the little critters back at the fish shop.

 

[OregonCoast]

Okay, New updates.
 
We talked my daughter out of keeping the goldfish.  I told her to pee in a cup and drink it, she said eeewwwwww.  I told her that's what her fish was doing.  and why, she understood and said we needed to take him back so someone else could put him in a GIANT tank where he'll be happier.  Score!!!  We also returned the pleco to the shop.  she put them right back into the tanks with the others.  they made themselves back at home and were good to go.
 
Now...  I had some thoughts while staring at the fishies.  I want to do something possibly a little different with the cube.   What would you say about 4 Neon Tetras and a small group of Cherry Shrimp?  I know Neons are a schooling fish as well,  but the bio footprint of that combination would be perfect for a little filter and a small led light.
 
the 28L Tank will have a Betta and 3 Ghost Shrimp in it.
 
Waiting for Payday for everything else at the moment.

 

[the_lock_man]

SHoaling fish need 6 in a group, that's the acknowledged number at which they lose count of how few they are, and therefore start to feel comfortable.
 
14l really isn't big enough for any fish, unfortunately. Except maybe 1 or 2 male endlers. Shrimp, no problem.
 
 
 
 

I told her to pee in a cup and drink it, she said eeewwwwww.

 
Can't say I blame her.......

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm not a fan of the sensitivity of male guppies these days...  But, they are VERY active and colorful!  Getting a group of males you will also see them showing off and sizing up their tankmates - flaring their fins, etc.