What Fish Suit 60X30X42Cm Tank?

[clown_loach]

Being new to this forum, I'm in awe of the amount of advice available and especially interested in getting the right fish for the size of tank I have so that they will be happy. Being a novice, this looks like a great forum to learn from

I've also been reading the posts about getting the conditions of the water right. So far my new tank has been up and running for just over a week and only contains gravel - no plants or fish yet.

The aquatic shop I bought my tank from asked me to take a sample of water into them for testing - what is this to measure?

Would appreciate some ideas on fish that will be suitable for my new tank please

 

[Noahs ark6]

guppys, a betta, maybe some tetras (not that good for beginners)

 

[cynic]

I'm hardly a master fish keeper myself but you are a LOOOOOONG way from fish at the mo.

Look at the beginers section on water testing or google 'fishless ammonia cycle' and get your own (I got the api master kit) test kit.

The one real piece of advice, treat EVERYTHING that the LFS tells you as at best heavily biased info.

The fact that this one asked you for a water sample when there is nothing in your tank is not a good sign.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Hello there. It is good to see that your local fish store is interested on what your water test results would be, but they may do what ALOT of stores do and advise you to add fish after only a few days, with alot of these cases resulting in toxic water and a short life span and/or death to your fish.

What you need to do is read and research the begginers section on here and get clued up on the 'fishless' cycle.. which, very basically, is growing 2 types of 'beneficial bacteria' in your filter, once these are present in your filter (we prove this by doing water test for Ammonia, NitrIte and NitrAte) then it is time to think about what fish you could keep.

If you choose to do a 'fishless' cycle, then by posting your results on here will get you the answers to a healthy tank that you are looking for.
All the very best with it.
Terry.

 

[clown_loach]

I'm hardly a master fish keeper myself but you are a LOOOOOONG way from fish at the mo.

Look at the beginers section on water testing or google 'fishless ammonia cycle' and get your own (I got the api master kit) test kit.

The one real piece of advice, treat EVERYTHING that the LFS tells you as at best heavily biased info.

The fact that this one asked you for a water sample when there is nothing in your tank is not a good sign.

I've found my local fish shop quite helpful actually and have been sent away empty handed (as it were) because the tests from the water sample I took in showed that my aquarium wasn't ready for any fish to be introduced.

Having initially filled the tank with tap water, I added a dose of Tetra AquaSafe measured according to the size of my tank (Juwel Rekord 600) and have only just got the all clear to introduce my first school of fish (tetras). After 4 days they are all still alive.

I've read on this forum that it's quite easy to overfeed, so will be cutting back on feeding them although they do seem to eat eagerly when I drop a pinch of tropical fish flake food in.

My local fish shop has also advised that I leave it another 7-10 days before introducing any more fish and for another water test to be done beforehand.

 

[fidjet2]

Your tank has not been cycled yet, You are currently doing a fish in cycle.
You need to get a liquid test kit that tests ammonia nitrIte and nitrAte and prefferably PH aswell and read up on the fish in cycle in the begginers section

 

[clown_loach]

Your tank has not been cycled yet, You are currently doing a fish in cycle.
You need to get a liquid test kit that tests ammonia nitrIte and nitrAte and prefferably PH aswell and read up on the fish in cycle in the begginers section

Thanks for this advice. These are some of the tests that were done for me as I asked what they were all for. The tank has been up and running since September and I only put my first school of fish in this week.

I've seen mention of reading the beginners section but have yet to come across it - sounds stupid probably and may be blatantly clear where this section is, perhaps a URL link can help me navigate in that direction?

 

[Jay1983]

Your tank has not been cycled yet, You are currently doing a fish in cycle.
You need to get a liquid test kit that tests ammonia nitrIte and nitrAte and prefferably PH aswell and read up on the fish in cycle in the begginers section

Thanks for this advice. These are some of the tests that were done for me as I asked what they were all for. The tank has been up and running since September and I only put my first school of fish in this week.

I've seen mention of reading the beginners section but have yet to come across it - sounds stupid probably and may be blatantly clear where this section is, perhaps a URL link can help me navigate in that direction?

here you go mate http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

 

[mike455555]

reminds me of when i first started ....

there testing for ammonia and nitrates

fish poo contains NH3 (ammonia-this is harmful to fish)- bacteria in your filter turn NH3 into NO3 (nitrates) which is a little less harmfull to your fish but still damaging - another set of bacteria turn NO3 into NO2 (i think...) nitrites- theses are plant food,they are still harmfull to fish but not as much as ammonia or nitrates

so you need bacteria in your filter the shops testing for the harmful substances when your on 0ppm on both you can add fish... personally i love neons, but a great starter fish is a guppie betta or a plattys (guppies and betta's dont mix)


(i might of got nitrates and nitrites mixed up- someone clarify this?)

 

[CrazyAirborne]

the cycle goes . bacteria eat > Ammonia turning it into > Nitrite, which the second type of bacteria eat, which turns into > Nitrates, the only way to remove them is by weekly water changes.

the fish in cycle article in the beginners section is what u need to read, and follow.

 

[mike455555]

dam i got it the wrong way.
water changes arint the only way to remove nitrates, plants. heavily planted tank's will absorbs some of it.

http/theaquariumwiki.com/Walstad_method#Soil_types.
although water changes are needed to remove other things in the water (like hormones)

 

[cynic]

I've found my local fish shop quite helpful actually and have been sent away empty handed (as it were) because the tests from the water sample I took in showed that my aquarium wasn't ready for any fish to be introduced.

The shop i use (i went through 3 before finding one i'm happy(est) with) asked for a water sample, a good one as they will need a bit to rince their equipment.

On arriving at said shop asking for the fish i had decided on he said, "Fine do you have a water sample and what are the fish going into?"

My response, "A 5foot tank with sand base and slate decor, got a mature tec 1200 running with just a goldie keeping it ticking over but i can't mess about as he's moved out so i could heat the tank up for the tropicals, PH is 7 Am and Ni are 0 with NA at roughly 20ppm."

At that he put the test kit away, "not testing it?", "Nope, more use scaring away people who don't know what there doing".

 

[mike455555]

im likening this fish shop, they sound like a gooden.
my LFS is a good one =D knows alot of stuff

 

[laura120381]

hi there,

welcome to the forum. as you probably know by now, you are carrying out a fish-IN cycle. although this is not recommended it is possible and all the info you need can be found in the beginners section. please don't go too much by what you are told at your lfs. although they might seem like they know what they are talking about, i promise you this isn't always the case. to illustrate my point, you set up your tank with your filter and gravel and no plants and let the filter run for a while. they then wanted to test your tank water. your water parameters would be 'perfect' as you had basically given them a sample of de-chlorinated tap water!!! there has been nothing in the tank yet to produce any harmful chemicals (eg ammonia) and the bacteria needed to break this down will not just appear by having your filter running. please don't waste your money on so called filter-starting bottled bacteria. this stuff is worse than useless!! anyway, as i said, you are now undertaking a fishless cycle and if you have a read at the thread in the beginners section, i am sure you will get on fine.

i used to have the rekord 600...nice tank. i reckon a pleco would grow too large for your tank (also wouldn't help too much with algae as they meely graze and still need wafers or pellets as a staple diet). i would definitely recommend corys though! they are very entertaining and fun to watch. remember to keep them in groups though. i wouldn't consider keeping a betta with your tetras. with regards to feeding...fish are a bit thick and would probably eat until they exploded! try to remember their stomachs are only about the size of their eyes so don't feed too much. left over food can cause ammonia levels to rise.

good luck with your cycle. remember to do regular water changes (as per info in beginners section) and test your water often (i recommend either API master or Nutrafin Mini Master test kits). it is good to hear you are excited about starting your new tank and i can tell that you are serious about caring for your fish. again, welcome to fish addicts anonymous!!

Good Luck!
L

 

[clown_loach]

hi there,

welcome to the forum. as you probably know by now, you are carrying out a fish-IN cycle. although this is not recommended it is possible and all the info you need can be found in the beginners section. please don't go too much by what you are told at your lfs. although they might seem like they know what they are talking about, i promise you this isn't always the case. to illustrate my point, you set up your tank with your filter and gravel and no plants and let the filter run for a while. they then wanted to test your tank water. your water parameters would be 'perfect' as you had basically given them a sample of de-chlorinated tap water!!! there has been nothing in the tank yet to produce any harmful chemicals (eg ammonia) and the bacteria needed to break this down will not just appear by having your filter running. please don't waste your money on so called filter-starting bottled bacteria. this stuff is worse than useless!! anyway, as i said, you are now undertaking a fishless cycle and if you have a read at the thread in the beginners section, i am sure you will get on fine.

i used to have the rekord 600...nice tank. i reckon a pleco would grow too large for your tank (also wouldn't help too much with algae as they meely graze and still need wafers or pellets as a staple diet). i would definitely recommend corys though! they are very entertaining and fun to watch. remember to keep them in groups though. i wouldn't consider keeping a betta with your tetras. with regards to feeding...fish are a bit thick and would probably eat until they exploded! try to remember their stomachs are only about the size of their eyes so don't feed too much. left over food can cause ammonia levels to rise.

good luck with your cycle. remember to do regular water changes (as per info in beginners section) and test your water often (i recommend either API master or Nutrafin Mini Master test kits). it is good to hear you are excited about starting your new tank and i can tell that you are serious about caring for your fish. again, welcome to fish addicts anonymous!!

Good Luck!
L

Thanks for all the useful tips here. I'm feeling pretty much daunted by all the feedback if I was perfectly honest. Some posts say feed 2-3 times a day to the complete other side of the scale and feed every 4 days. I only have 6 little tetras at the moment and have decided to give only a very, very, very small pinch of fish flakes and avidly watch them to make sure all 6 are eating (one is a little smaller than the rest) but is doing OK and is eating OK.

It seems I'm learning the hard way by some of the comments and am doing a fish in cycle. This is all a new language to me and I would not wish to harm my 6 little charges in any way. I've been looking through the beginner's section, so thanks for the direct link above.

I'd also like some advice on the use of the lighting. The tank itself is sitting in quite a bright part of the room and I prefer the natural light rather than artificial. It's not in direct sunlight. What are the benefits of having the light on? How long should it be on?