xoedusk
Fishaholic
I may be blind, but I don't see on our forums a general all-in-one pinned post that has advice for the absolute beginner. I'd really like to stitch one together with the help of everyone here, and that means you.
I forsee this as having maybe a dozen or two very short sections, such as:
I think each section should be:
Or if you think this is a bad idea, post that too!
==**BELOW IS WHAT'S BEEN DONE SO FAR**===
Plants
contributed by n3ont3tra
Some people think plants are too hard to care for. Others think they are a blessing and no tank can be without them. Here are the pros and cons, as well as a short piece on fake plants.
Pros
Plants consume Nitrates, which is dangerous to fish
They make a tank look very attractive
Plants provide refuge for small or shy fish
Some fish like to breed or lay eggs on plant leaves
Plants help reduce algae growth
Many different 'effects' can be created (ie. foresty, carpet, river, jungle, even comical themes like golf courses)
Cons
Most plants have snails on them, which can easily take over a tank in just a few days
Decomposing plant leaves that have fallen off can produce ammonia, which is lethal to fish
Some plants are difficult to care for, or have special light requirements.
Sometimes expensive Co2 systems are needed to keep plants growing
Occasionally in large tanks, a fish can die and never be found because of the plants in the way, polluting the water
Plants that are thriving may overtake others and keep the other plants from getting the nutrients they need.
Fake Plants
Fake plants come in two varieties, silk and plastic. Silk plants generally are more realistic, although now days almost all fake plants, one submerged, could be passed off as real. Fake plants require absolutely no care, so can be kept by anyone. Most fake plants will have some sort of anchor to keep it in the gravel. I find that if the anchor takes up more than a square inch, waste and debris may collect in it. Almost all real plants also have a fake duplicate, so there isn't much limitation. Fake plants cannot absorb nitrates, however, and algae will usually grow on them.
Water Chemistry - The Basics
Contributed by Miss Wiggle
We are not fish keepers, we are water keepers, keep your water happy and your fish will be happy.
When your researching and asking questions you'll quite often see people asking for your water stats and asking how you've cycled your tank, this brief guide explains why they need to know this information, and therefore why you need to know it.
The absolute first thing you should buy when your keeping fish is a water test kit. I recommend the API Fresh Water Master Test Kit, they're readily available (in the UK), fairly cheap, easy to use and quite accurate (lots of test kits are awful!)
The main things you'll need to test for are ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. This gives you an indication of the health of your tank it's mostly related to the nitrogen cycle often refereed to as cycling.
Your fish create ammonia in their waste, this is toxic so it must be removed from the water, this is what your filter is for, there is nitrifying bacteria living in there who convert the ammonia into nitrite (also toxic) then to nitrate which is much safer, you keep this at a manageable level through doing water changes every week.
The main problem with new fishtanks is that the filter's don't come with the bacteria you need. they can't live out of water in the sponge on the shelf in the fish store, however they are all around us, and will relish the opportunity to grow and develop when they find a nice safe home (your filter) and a source of food (fishy waste). The problem starts becuase when you add fish to your tank you will have a very very small amount of bacteria, they take a while to grow and multiply to the point where they can eat all the waste from your fish, so for the first few weeks of putting fish in the tank the bacteria are growing and will struggle to keep up, so you get toxic levels of ammonia and nitrite in your tank, this can lead to death or disease.
In the past this was always countered by putting in some very hardy fish at first and hoping that they would survive the toxic levels, then when the bacteria had built up after a few weeks you could add more sensitive fish. However this really wasn't very fair on the poor fish who had to start the tank off, I dread to think how many will have died.
So in the last 3/4 years a new technique called fishless cycling has developed, this is where you add pure ammonia to the tank to grow the bacteria on until they are at a point they can handle the fishes waste, and then you add your fish when it's safe for them. this is detailed in a pinned topic here, have a read.
So that should tell you why the first thing you need is a test kit. if you don't know what level of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate you have in your tank, you don't know if you have enough bacteria to keep the tank going or if you need to do anything else.
Now I know that's a fair bit to take in but it should be your starting point. so digest all that and let us know what your water test readings are, then we'll tell you what the next step is and what fish could be suitable for your tank.
Tank Maintenance
Contributed by xoedusk
Weekly tank maintenance is vital to the health of your fish. For example, if you have read the bit on cycling, you'll know that deadly nitrates can normaly only be removed through water changes. Live plants can help some, but for the beginner, this is normally not an option. In addition, if you only top-up your tank's water due to evaporation, minerals present in your tap water slowly build up to toxic levels. Water changes are necessary no matter what your tank set up.
Maintenance usually involves scraping algae, cleaning the gravel/sand/substrate, removing and replacing about 1/4 (25%) of the water, and, if necessary, cleaning filters. You must be careful about cleaning your filters; if done improperly, your tank will have to re-cycle.
You can find a detailed guide here.
I forsee this as having maybe a dozen or two very short sections, such as:
- Reasons for keeping fish
- Types/Sizes of tanks
- Tank stands
- Filters
- Heaters
- Substrates
- Physically setting up your first tank
- Plants
- Types of fish
- Water chemistry, testing
- Water changing (supplies)
- Cycling
- Quarentining
- Disease, Medicine
- Any other ones you can think of
- Etc.
I think each section should be:
- At most 4 paragraphs. Very general here.
- Provide at least two links to articles, either here or external, that explains the topic in depth.
Or if you think this is a bad idea, post that too!
==**BELOW IS WHAT'S BEEN DONE SO FAR**===
Plants
contributed by n3ont3tra
Some people think plants are too hard to care for. Others think they are a blessing and no tank can be without them. Here are the pros and cons, as well as a short piece on fake plants.
Pros
Plants consume Nitrates, which is dangerous to fish
They make a tank look very attractive
Plants provide refuge for small or shy fish
Some fish like to breed or lay eggs on plant leaves
Plants help reduce algae growth
Many different 'effects' can be created (ie. foresty, carpet, river, jungle, even comical themes like golf courses)
Cons
Most plants have snails on them, which can easily take over a tank in just a few days
Decomposing plant leaves that have fallen off can produce ammonia, which is lethal to fish
Some plants are difficult to care for, or have special light requirements.
Sometimes expensive Co2 systems are needed to keep plants growing
Occasionally in large tanks, a fish can die and never be found because of the plants in the way, polluting the water
Plants that are thriving may overtake others and keep the other plants from getting the nutrients they need.
Fake Plants
Fake plants come in two varieties, silk and plastic. Silk plants generally are more realistic, although now days almost all fake plants, one submerged, could be passed off as real. Fake plants require absolutely no care, so can be kept by anyone. Most fake plants will have some sort of anchor to keep it in the gravel. I find that if the anchor takes up more than a square inch, waste and debris may collect in it. Almost all real plants also have a fake duplicate, so there isn't much limitation. Fake plants cannot absorb nitrates, however, and algae will usually grow on them.
Water Chemistry - The Basics
Contributed by Miss Wiggle
We are not fish keepers, we are water keepers, keep your water happy and your fish will be happy.
When your researching and asking questions you'll quite often see people asking for your water stats and asking how you've cycled your tank, this brief guide explains why they need to know this information, and therefore why you need to know it.
The absolute first thing you should buy when your keeping fish is a water test kit. I recommend the API Fresh Water Master Test Kit, they're readily available (in the UK), fairly cheap, easy to use and quite accurate (lots of test kits are awful!)
The main things you'll need to test for are ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. This gives you an indication of the health of your tank it's mostly related to the nitrogen cycle often refereed to as cycling.
Your fish create ammonia in their waste, this is toxic so it must be removed from the water, this is what your filter is for, there is nitrifying bacteria living in there who convert the ammonia into nitrite (also toxic) then to nitrate which is much safer, you keep this at a manageable level through doing water changes every week.
The main problem with new fishtanks is that the filter's don't come with the bacteria you need. they can't live out of water in the sponge on the shelf in the fish store, however they are all around us, and will relish the opportunity to grow and develop when they find a nice safe home (your filter) and a source of food (fishy waste). The problem starts becuase when you add fish to your tank you will have a very very small amount of bacteria, they take a while to grow and multiply to the point where they can eat all the waste from your fish, so for the first few weeks of putting fish in the tank the bacteria are growing and will struggle to keep up, so you get toxic levels of ammonia and nitrite in your tank, this can lead to death or disease.
In the past this was always countered by putting in some very hardy fish at first and hoping that they would survive the toxic levels, then when the bacteria had built up after a few weeks you could add more sensitive fish. However this really wasn't very fair on the poor fish who had to start the tank off, I dread to think how many will have died.
So in the last 3/4 years a new technique called fishless cycling has developed, this is where you add pure ammonia to the tank to grow the bacteria on until they are at a point they can handle the fishes waste, and then you add your fish when it's safe for them. this is detailed in a pinned topic here, have a read.
So that should tell you why the first thing you need is a test kit. if you don't know what level of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate you have in your tank, you don't know if you have enough bacteria to keep the tank going or if you need to do anything else.
Now I know that's a fair bit to take in but it should be your starting point. so digest all that and let us know what your water test readings are, then we'll tell you what the next step is and what fish could be suitable for your tank.
Tank Maintenance
Contributed by xoedusk
Weekly tank maintenance is vital to the health of your fish. For example, if you have read the bit on cycling, you'll know that deadly nitrates can normaly only be removed through water changes. Live plants can help some, but for the beginner, this is normally not an option. In addition, if you only top-up your tank's water due to evaporation, minerals present in your tap water slowly build up to toxic levels. Water changes are necessary no matter what your tank set up.
Maintenance usually involves scraping algae, cleaning the gravel/sand/substrate, removing and replacing about 1/4 (25%) of the water, and, if necessary, cleaning filters. You must be careful about cleaning your filters; if done improperly, your tank will have to re-cycle.
You can find a detailed guide here.
A shame however that im the only one who thinks so.
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=168861
