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Starting up a freshwater tank and need advice

Nicola Main said:
:(
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I know. I just gave my tank of Lemon Tetra to a local fish store. I had 8 or 9 of these for several years, and I happened to move them into their own tank, a 29g (30-inch/75 cm) tank, which had my 8 Farlowella vitatta fry growing up. There were a couple thick bushes of Java Fern attached to chunks of wood, and of course floating plants (Water Sprite) covered the surface. I knew the fish were spawning, but like all characins they are good egg eaters. But a few eggs obviously got down and escaped predation, and before long I had a couple very small fry swimming around. The mature fish paid no attention to these, so they continued to grow. More fry appeared, and after a few months the tank was full of 50+ Lemon Tetra. That was when they went to the local store last October. I left the tank running as it had the plants. Three weeks ago, I spotted two very small fry; obviously eggs had been left behind when I removed the fish.
 
Are you cycling the tank? (i.e. adding ammonia per our fishless cycle directions?)
 
essjay said:
You do not have to keep the lid open for air to get in. Most tanks have a small gap for cables etc to go through and this is enough. Oxygen will diffuse through this gap into the tank and carbon dioxide out of the gap. If you leave the lid open it defeats the object of having a lid at all. You may as well have an open topped tank with all its risks of things such as dust getting into the tank and fish jumping out.
In the 20+ years I have kept fish I have only left the tank lid open once and that was during very hot weather when I had Salvinia as a floating plant because condensation was dripping on it and damaging the leaves. Apart from those few days of heatwave in one year, I have always kept the lid closed.



But Lajos does have a point about black neons and cories both being monochrome in colour!
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Sorry, I shouldn't use the word "lid".
Actually, I'm referring to the small openings on the lid where you open it when you want to feed the fish. See my attached photo.
I'm afraid that the small gaps for the cable is not sufficient for oxygen exchange through the water.
Also, it will help to clear the bad smell from the tank though there shouldn't be bad smell if your tank water is clean and properly cycled.

You may need an airstone to create air bubble for gases exchange through the surface of the water.

But if you can position your internal filter "water outlet"(water returning after going through the filter) slightly above the water to create "rain" like or "waterfall" effect, then you don't need an airstone.

A few important requirements for healthy fish:
1)Water quality, temperature, parameter.
2)Oxygen level in the water. (which often being overlooked)
3)Food quality/diet
 

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Byron said:
I know. I just gave my tank of Lemon Tetra to a local fish store. I had 8 or 9 of these for several years, and I happened to move them into their own tank, a 29g (30-inch/75 cm) tank, which had my 8 Farlowella vitatta fry growing up. There were a couple thick bushes of Java Fern attached to chunks of wood, and of course floating plants (Water Sprite) covered the surface. I knew the fish were spawning, but like all characins they are good egg eaters. But a few eggs obviously got down and escaped predation, and before long I had a couple very small fry swimming around. The mature fish paid no attention to these, so they continued to grow. More fry appeared, and after a few months the tank was full of 50+ Lemon Tetra. That was when they went to the local store last October. I left the tank running as it had the plants. Three weeks ago, I spotted two very small fry; obviously eggs had been left behind when I removed the fish.
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Perhaps you can send some of your fish to Nicola. LOL :D

I've the privilege of having a fish shop that is within 5-10 mins walk from my house.
Whenever I've unwanted fish, I can always give it to the shop.
[ Note: Some fish shops may not accept fish given to them even though we give them free].
A few times some of my new fish turned out to be too aggressive and I'd to give them to the fish shop.
And there are times I'd to give my fish to my to my friends who have bigger tanks when my fish had grown too large.
 
Nicola Main said:
This is another thing I'm worried about - breeding. What do I do with lots of little baby fish if I don't want them?
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Bryon is right. Usually you won't have any problem unless you keep both males and females Guppies or Mollies (livebearer).
If you keep only all males, you also won't have any problem.

I post a link here for different species of fish. This website is from Qianhu, a fish breeder in Singapore.

http://www.qianhufish.com/fish-catalogue/characins

http://www.qianhufish.com/fish-catalogue/cichlids

http://www.qianhufish.com/fish-catalogue/cyprinids

http://www.qianhufish.com/fish-catalogue/invertebrates

http://www.qianhufish.com/fish-catalogue/catfishes

http://www.qianhufish.com/fish-catalogue/anabantids

You can explore the website and see the many different categories and species of fish.

The categories of fish/water creatures are like Characin(Tetras are under this category), Anabantid, Brackish, Catfish, Cichlids, Cyprinid, Invertebrates, etc.

I think Cichlid is one of the best fish as anyone tank's centrepiece.(for community tank).
Look for the South American Cichlid.
African Cichlids will be too aggressive and they require hard water.
The Cory is under the Catfish category.
 
If you have problem finding the particular Cory that you want, you may want to consider Panda Cory which might be more easily available.
Panda Cory have pinkish body which is also quite attractive. I think most girls like pink..:D (sweet colour)

Here are some videos, info on Panda Cory



https://www.thesprucepets.com/panda-cory-1380838

Other Corydoras:

By the way, among the many catfish that I'd seen and kept, I think Synodontis Petricola is the cutest among all(when they are small).
But they will grow to be quite large and not suitable for your tank unless you can give them away when they grow larger.
 
eaglesaquarium said:
Are you cycling the tank? (i.e. adding ammonia per our fishless cycle directions?)
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Yes I'm cycling the tank it will be a few weeks before I get fish. I added ammonia last night and I'm waiting for my test stuff to arrive. Will look into airstones. I've also been looking at moss balls. Panda Corys are delightful! I will wait for a while then message the store again r.e. Pygmy Cories.
 
Pgymy Cories are cute but they are very small.
There was once I almost killed a Pgymy when changing my fish tank water as I didn't notice it as they can easily camouflaged by the plants and woods.
But anyway, this is personal choice.

Can you show the outlet bar(for water returning to the tank) of the internal filter?
 
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