Swordtails?

[tenohfive]

b*****d fish shops.

Thats the spirit! Welcome to my world, where fish shops lie or are wrong!

Don't take it personally mate, just spend some time on here and check out the species index for info on potential fish sizes - and when in doubt, ask on here. People will always try to help you out, and you'll quickly spot the people who give good advice consistantly.

I'd hang fire and let the tank mature. If you get stuck you can usually return fish to your LFS (local fish shop) - they might not give you a refund but if its an inexpensive fish thats not the end of the world.

The reason I mention BTS is because if you do your research you'll see fish that look spectacular - and you'll want them, but realise you need a bigger tank for them more often than not. There are some exceptions mind.

 

[justjon]

Also, my LFS has one specialist in the shop who i ALWAYS speak to, he seems very knowledgable and is very friendly, he knew all about Bettas when asking today.. some ARE good, but it's very rare, and usually only comes with someone who's been in the business a long-while.

 

[tenohfive]

One more thing while I remember - if you do buy a bigger tank, that doesn't mean your old one is a waste - its always handy to have another tank, either as a quarantine/hospital tank for when you're checking new additions don't have a disease that would otherwise wipe out your entire population. Or for keeping smaller fish that might get eaten by bigger tankmates (another loose rule of thumb - if another fish is small enough to fit into another fishes mouth, its night night little fish) but which still look great - ember tetra's or galaxy rasbora's for example.

 

[wilkesy88]

i would buy another tank, but this one is only 2 weeks old, and the girlfriend would kill me

 

[tenohfive]

Also, my LFS has one specialist in the shop who i ALWAYS speak to, he seems very knowledgable and is very friendly, he knew all about Bettas when asking today.. some ARE good, but it's very rare, and usually only comes with someone who's been in the business a long-while.

I completely agree and completely disagree. Some staff are good, and yes - they are rare. However people who've been in the industry a long time tend to stick with old methods which are at risk of becoming outdated.

The most knowledgable person I know of is someone who's dad is into fishkeeping in a big way, and currently is working in a Pets at Home - a place with a shockingly bad record for feeding out duff info. He's in his early twenties I think so can't have been in the trade long.

Another factor which I suspect (but have no proof) is whether or not they keep fish at home - if they do, its not just a job and they know theres a different between a shop system and the home aquaria. Thats a theory though and its yet to be tested.

Theres no hard and fast rule as to who to trust from an LFS, so I go by the rule of 'trust no-one.'

i would buy another tank, but this one is only 2 weeks old, and the girlfriend would kill me

I know that feeling! Heres a trick:

Setup two searches on ebay - one for "fish tank" and the other for "aquarium" and set them up so that they're within 10 miles (assuming you drive and live in a built up area), auction only, priced low to high. Keep an eye and when you see a good deal start bidding...and if you win, make sure you've budgetted £10 for a bouquet of Tesco's Finest flowers - remove the price tag and she'll turn a blind eye to your new tank. Especially when you tell her she can have her sword tails...

 

[wilkesy88]

b*****d fish shops.

Thats the spirit! Welcome to my world, where fish shops lie or are wrong!

Don't take it personally mate, just spend some time on here and check out the species index for info on potential fish sizes - and when in doubt, ask on here. People will always try to help you out, and you'll quickly spot the people who give good advice consistantly.

I'd hang fire and let the tank mature. If you get stuck you can usually return fish to your LFS (local fish shop) - they might not give you a refund but if its an inexpensive fish thats not the end of the world.

The reason I mention BTS is because if you do your research you'll see fish that look spectacular - and you'll want them, but realise you need a bigger tank for them more often than not. There are some exceptions mind.

BTS? sorry im probably being stupid again

 

[tenohfive]

Bigger tank syndrome...not you being stupid mate, my fault for forgetting you're new to all the abbreviations

 

[wilkesy88]

Bigger tank syndrome...not you being stupid mate, my fault for forgetting you're new to all the abbreviations

oh right!


i don't suppose you could help with one of my cherry barbs could you?

 

[tenohfive]

Sorry mate, its been a long day - when you say help with one of your barbs, what do you mean? As in rehome it, or you want some advice about how to keep it?

 

[wilkesy88]

Sorry mate, its been a long day - when you say help with one of your barbs, what do you mean? As in rehome it, or you want some advice about how to keep it?

sorry me too lol.

all day she has been in the corner of the tank, just under the filter intake. she seems to be a little darker than my other female to. i don't no if its stress or not, the male that originally went in with her died on the first night (stress i think) so when i got my LFS to replace him i got another female to try to make a bit of a bigger group. they both seem fine apart from on the one that has been under the filter.

she didn't come up when i put some food in either.





sorry for the long post!

 

[justjon]

What are your levels?

 

[tenohfive]

Probably a good time to ask some basic questions:

Have you got a liquid testing kit that tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?

If you do, what are the readings?

How long has the tank been setup?

What type (make and model if you know it) of filter have you got?

How often do you do water changes, and how much water do you change at water changes (either however many litres or a percentage of the overall capacity?)



If you get stuck getting a reply tonight (I'll be off here in a minute, girlfriends nearly home) put a post up in Tropical Fish Emergencies part of the forum, including your tank size, current stocking and the answers to those questions.

 

[wilkesy88]

Probably a good time to ask some basic questions:

Have you got a liquid testing kit that tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?

If you do, what are the readings?

How long has the tank been setup?

What type (make and model if you know it) of filter have you got?

How often do you do water changes, and how much water do you change at water changes (either however many litres or a percentage of the overall capacity?)



If you get stuck getting a reply tonight (I'll be off here in a minute, girlfriends nearly home) put a post up in Tropical Fish Emergencies part of the forum, including your tank size, current stocking and the answers to those questions.

The tank was left a week before i put them in,
i dont have any testing kits yet and ive not done a water change since they have been in (not had chance)

ive got a stingray elite filter ( not too sure which model number it is though)

 

[wilkesy88]

me being me didn't buy a testing kit. muppet.

 

[justjon]

eek @ not having chance?

You're sat here now arent you?

Get a testing kit ASAP and check the levels, your fish could be living in an acid tank!