Thinking 'bout Little Fishies..

[Angel47]

Well it looks like real fern to me but it doesnt specify on the packet. Its just that I dont see how it can be real if it just in a packet. There are no roots or anthing, neither is it vacuum packed. However, it is described as 'fern' in a way that implies it is and the pack has a sort of condensation inside it. It just doesn't look like the usual fake plant stuff. I guess it would be easier to just ask someone at the shop than to expect you to use some sort of telepathic sense to know what I'm talking about!!

I would certainly be willing to give the Cabomba a go, as long as I can't kill anything if I fail miserably.

Is there a couple of bigger fish I could have in with my provisional fish selection?

Maz

 

[vinylman]

Angel, if you want to know how easy it can be to grow some live plants, buy several bunches of Elodea and just shove them in the gravel. You'll be trimming them at every water change; just cut the top third off and replant them.

 

[ZoddyZod]

Oh pants. So near and yet so far . Oh well, I can wait a couple of weeks. You've already seen how patient I am...
Cheers Maz

I've only had my tank for a week and it was very difficult to resist the urge to add fish. Read about fish-in cycling and used Nutrafin Cycle which said I could add fish after just two days, so I added them after 4. After reading more and more on this site though I am continuously worried that I've added them too soon .

My (incredibly novice) advice would be to hold off for as long as you can. I was exactly the same though......had a huge list of possibilites in my mind, but once you start learning about the temp/PH/hardness requirements (not to mention current, substrate plants/ornaments to name a few more) to keep each type happy you'll soon be able to make a short list of fish to buy.

There are good lists on the net if you search for 'hardy aquarium fish'. These fish that are not too fussy about conditions and can help with your tank cycling (hence why I have zebra danios).

good luck!

 

[Angel47]

Angel, if you want to know how easy it can be to grow some live plants, buy several bunches of Elodea and just shove them in the gravel. You'll be trimming them at every water change; just cut the top third off and replant them.

Sounds very simple but don't live plants change all the chemical balance of the water or something? Will it rot or go brown or anything? I have no luck at all with house plants and manage to kill them all!

My (incredibly novice) advice would be to hold off for as long as you can. I was exactly the same though......had a huge list of possibilites in my mind, but once you start learning about the temp/PH/hardness requirements (not to mention current, substrate plants/ornaments to name a few more) to keep each type happy you'll soon be able to make a short list of fish to buy.

I'm being very good ZoddyZod. I'm trying to look on my tank cycling as a completely separate thing, a kind of scientific adventure, instead of looking at it as getting in the way of me having fish. That doesn't mean to say I'm not frustrated by it though and I'm only on day 8 I'm sure I will have some lovely fish eventually. It may not be the ones I initially wanted but thats to be expected. Looking at my lfs is like going to a sweetie shop! All the fish are so beautiful, funny, interesting etc. You just want the whole lot!

Maz

 

[Curiosity101]

If they begin to go brown an rot then remove them...simple.

When you add new plants then expect some die back from leaves, simply remove the dead leaves and allow the plant to recover.

Eventually once they adjust to your water then they will grow happily.

As for altering your water, all they do is use ammonia and/or nitrates as they grow. Which is quite useful.

 

[Angel47]

Thank you Curiosity101

You really do help me with your advice. I may just give it a go. I guess I should wait until my tank is cycled before I put them in? Having bit of a confusing time with my cycling at the moment, but thats another thread....

Maz

 

[Curiosity101]

I'm pretty sure I've read in a few places that plants tend to 'melt' during the cycling process.

But as soon as you're done just send me a PM and I'll send you some Cabomba. I replanted around 30 or so stems yesterday so I think I should have some spare! Hehe.

 

[Angel47]

My goodness, you'll have a Cabomba forest!!

Thank you, I will definitely give you a shout and venture into the unfamiliar world of live plants Whether they'll stay live for very long is another matter!!

 

[Curiosity101]

If you manage to kill Cabomba then I'll give you a tenner*! Trust me, live plants aren't scary. Just start with the easy stuff and work your way along.


*the tenner will be in the form of monopoly money

 

[Angel47]

I've never won at Monopoly in my life so don't think I would win it from you either! My brother used to thrash the pants off of me everytime we played. I come out in a rash and get a twitch now everytime someone mentions the M word. I think I need therapy

 

[goldlasie]

I am fairly new to tropical fish. I was given my tank along with some advice on cycling the tank and wot to add to tank to treat the chlorine, amonia etc. I was abit scared of stocking it and getting it wrong. My son is autistic and this is the reason i got the tank. As it is very visually stimulating for him. I wanted him to be involved in stocking the tank. So we went for community fish and I let him choose all the fish. Whilst checking with the stockist if they are suitable for mixing.

The first fish we added were:

An albino rainbow shark
A red sword tail
A red wag plattie
A red onion snail

These did really well over the first week, I did a water change after a week and discovered one of the fish had had a baby. I then had to make a basket to sit in the top of the tank to seperate the baby from the other fish, and I am now coming to the conclusion the it was the plattie that had the baby.

After 2 weeks i added;

An albino catfish
A black Molly
A blue neon tetra

These all mixed well and the other fish appeared to be happier once there were other fish in the tank. The Albino rainbow shark and the albino catfish get on very well, and the Molly and sword tail also get on very well and are always swimming around togeather. They look lovely to watch.

After 10days i added;

A yellow neon
An orange glow neon

All the fish are doing well. The only one that causes any problems is the rainbow shark. He gets slightly aggressive at feeding time. He doesn't seem to eat when i put the food in. He just chases the other fish away from the food. I also wanted to name my fish hence the reason for getting the different coloured neon tetra's. xxx

 

[goldlasie]

Also i have read that red onion snails will not over run your tank as they do not bread in home aquariums. Apparantly they will lay white eggs but the eggs need specialist care so will not hatch. I only have one in my tank at the moment but plan on getting another 1 or 2.

 

[vinylman]

goldlasie, what advice were you given on cycling and what size is the tank?.

 

[Curiosity101]

It's a 10gal and she wasn't given huge amounts of advice. I sent her an e-mail as I didn't want to hi-jack this thread. PM me if you want to see what I sent.

 

[vinylman]

Ah, no prob, C. I suspected it may be the shop's own 'special' kind of advice.