Researching Fish

[SnowLady]

OK - I've spent most of today researching fish to add to my tank when it's time.

Here's my list:
• Corys
• Danios
• Neon Tetras
• Clown Loaches
• Swordtail ???
• Platy
• Pleco??

OK, so I'm not sure on the whole Swordtail and Platy - both I found want some salt added to the water. Is this safe for the OTHER fish in the water??

And when they say breeders - is it safe to get all of one sex if I'm not ready to be a grandmother yet? )

My thoughts were to start with either the Danios or the Corys.

So new I'm like this:

Not asking you to do my research for me but more looking for flaws in what I'm attempting. Does that make sense?

 

[MAM]

swordtails and platies are great first fish. they're real hardy too. you're going to get conflicting info as far as the salt thing is concerned. i don't feel they need it, some will insist. with them, if the store you buy them from has them in salted water, then thats what they'll need, if the store doesn't, then don't. but if you use salt, taht will severely limit tank mates (like corys cant live with salt) they are livebreeders(platys, swordtail, guppies, mollies) and give birht to live babies. you'll need more females than males, or all females, as males will bully each other without enough female distraction. if they have babies and you don't want them, then don't separate them, the adults WILL eat the babies, quite often before you ever even know a fish gave birth. and if some babies make it, and you don't really have the room, most lfs will take them from you and quite often give you store credit for them.
danios for me personally, were a BAD choice for initial fish, they were pretty delicate, but others experiences may be different.
clown loaches, hope your tank if big,they get big..................... there are smaller loach varieties out there, just search around here and you'll get all sorts of suggestions but from what i know of, wait to add the loaches, some are more sensitive than others.
hope i've helped a little.

 

[Mollymomma]

Researching can really send you into a tailspin...I know it did me.

1. Please tell everyone what size tank you are planning to have. This helps us to help you
2. Once we know your tank size we will need to know if you have read anything on cycling a tank.( no now don't look at me that way lol) This is the really important part. It will take a while to do but in the long run it will save you alot of frustration, and will save your future fish from any extra stress.( just being put in a bag and the car ride home wil give them enough stress, poor babies )

A member here, Alien Anna did a very easy to understand post on the whole cycle proccess. She put alot of work into it and even I understood it lol. I believe it is pinned to the beginner's section. This is for a Fishless cycle. I didn't do that I used fish because I didn't know any better ) . It is a personal choice whichever way you go, but fishless cycle will not cause any deaths. Anna's article is Avoiding & treating new tank syndrome at the very top of this beginner's section

As Molly said if you don't want babies get all females or just don't seperate them

Danios are the fish I started with along with a few molly's. My experience with danios has been very good. I have had my danio's for umm 8 months and enjoy them alot. zippy little buggers

The clown loaches ( great fish) are better off waiting for about 6 months or longer before adding them to a new tank. They tend to be more sensitive to water changes so I don't recommend them for a beginner. Also if the LFS( local fish store) is like mine they will not garentee clowns and I pay about $6-7 US for them. I personally don't know about the other types of loaches I'm still learning too.

Neons do great AFTER the tank is completely cycled for a while. ( love them too)

Pleco's can get quite large so you'll have to have A) a bigger tank to begin with or B) plans to buy larger as this fish grows out. There are some smaller types of pleco's...I think that the rubber lipped stays pretty small. My dealings have only been with the common ones.

Have you seen in you research Black Skirt tetra's? These guys have been a blessing in my experience. Even my stupidity did not kill them )

Please keep us posted how everything turns out or if you have any more questions. The member's of this site are very imformative and a friendly bunch to boot! Hope this helped you some

P.S. Sorry that this turned into a book lol )

 

[Morrgan]

I assume you'd put these into the 30 gal you mention in your sig? In that case, don't get clown loaches. I recently visited the National Aquarium of New Zealand and saw specimens that were almost 20 cm long. A 30 gal is way too small for them. The same goes for most plecs.

One thing to keep in mind about platies and swordtails is that if both species are kept in the same tank they can interbreed. Also, cories don't like salt in their water.

What kind of danios are you thinking of? Some kinds get pretty big and want a lot of space to swim around in.

Good luck with your tank.

 

[SnowLady]

Whew! Who knew I'd spend this much time researching fish? Well, all of you, of course! lol

Thanks for the feedback!

My tank is 30 gallon.
And I'm trying to do the fishless cycle - although I need some bacteria. That's my current project. Found the ammonia (Thank goodness my hubby is a pharmacist!)

I'm gonna take a spin past the LFS on my way home from work tomorrow and see what kind of species they have on my "wish" list and then do some more research.

Can't wait to figure this out... watching the water in my tank is fun but not as fun as building a relationship with my fish.

 

[smb]

This is just the beginning, SnowLady!

The more you learn=The more you want to know=The more fish you want to keep=The more tanks you'll end up getting....

Or something like that.

It's an addiction for sure.

 

[SnowLady]

More research - New List and New Questions! lol

30 Gallon Tank
Fishless Cycle

• Zebra Danios (Danio Rerio) - Group of 3 or 5
• Platy (xiphophorus maculatus) 2 or 3
• Black Widow Tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) 6
• Panda Corys (Corydoras Panda) - 5 or 6
• Swordtail (xiphophorus helleri) 1 or 3
• Dwarf Sucking Catfish (Otocinclus) 1

Now, I really liked the look of the Harlequin Rasbora and the Dwarf Gourami. But, it doesn't look like I can put them in that tank with that grouping.

That is the order of how I would like to introduce them. Advice? Ideas?

 

[Alien Anna]

Hi,

• Zebra Danios (Danio Rerio) - Group of 3 or 5

Zebras are schooling fish and should be in a group of 6 minimum IMHO, if you can fit them in.

• Platy (xiphophorus maculatus) 2 or 3

A pair or one male and 2 females.

• Black Widow Tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) 6
• Panda Corys (Corydoras Panda) - 5 or 6

Great.

• Swordtail (xiphophorus helleri) 1 or 3

Again, 1 m 2 f, a pair or a singleton.

• Dwarf Sucking Catfish (Otocinclus) 1

Ottos are schooling fish and you should have 6-8 ideally, definitely not just one.

Now, I really liked the look of the Harlequin Rasbora and the Dwarf Gourami. But, it doesn't look like I can put them in that tank with that grouping.

A dwarf gourami would be fine with that grouping - they are fine on their own. Harlequin rasboras are schooling fish and given that you have 4 schools of fish that would be a bit much.

For a 30 gallon you don't really want more than 3 schools of fish - two schools of dither fish, plus one school of bottom feeders. Personally, I'd have ottos or corys, not both. With this set up you've got danios in the top level, tetras in the middle and ottos and corys in the bottom.

That is the order of how I would like to introduce them. Advice? Ideas?

If the tank is properly cycled using fishless techniques you don't want to add too few fish to start, as that will not produce enough ammonia to "feed" the large amount of beneficial bacteria you've grown. So you actually need to add quite a few fish to start with, and then go more slowly for the rest (to ensure the bacteria can catch up). The bottom feeders are the most sensitive to nitrite spikes so start with a school of danios, the tetras, the gourami (if you get it) and the platties. You can then add the corys or ottos and the swordtail a few weeks later.

 

[Lateral Line]

It has been said already, but Platys and Swords like some salt in the water - cory's definitely do not.

 

[SnowLady]

Anna - you are amazing! TY SO much for your advice! I feel kinda like I'm going to go live in a foreign land for which I don't know the language. So I'm feeling around reading and absorbing. But it's people like me that need people like you to help us make it! You're great for your help! (I've read other threads!)

TY TY!!!

 

[cassandra]

yah i know alot of people who have them and they didn't put salt in there tank, and there happy as can be