Tropical Aquarium Advice

nag

im considering setting up an aquarium but ive never done anything like this before and need help

i was hoping someone could point me in the right direction with regards setting up a proper aquarium with topical fish. id be looking for info on things like, where to buy a good tank, what i need to setup the tank and how to look after it. how long before i could start putting fish in the tank (settling period?). are there different classes of fish that i would have to stick to? etc etc. basically, ANY information you might have on aquariums no matter how small or irrelevant you might feel it is, i want to hear it!


also, are there any pet shops around the dublin area or the adjoining countryside that are good for selling topical fish? i remember going to a place with a friend of mine (who owned an aquarium) years ago that was way out in the countryside (cant remember where anymore) which had oodles and oodles of tropical fish. i reckon they must have been supplying the pet shops in the area or something. anyone know of a place like that?


Tnx

newrossman

Hi,

The pet store you talk about i guess is in Brittas about 10 mins by car from tallaght, it has HUGH collection of fish. Also sell tanks and staff do know what they are talking about, but the can be busy so speak up or prepare to wait .

Web is http://www.aquatic-village.com/home.asp

I'd go small maybe 2-3ft tank to start and expect to spend around 200 all in. The tank is the costly bit, but u can get good 2nd hand one's here or buy and sell.

Best of luck

Tropheus

Take a look at www.thetropicaltank.co.uk for advice re setup and stocking.

what_car

nag wrote:

im considering setting up an aquarium but ive never done anything like this before and need help

i was hoping someone could point me in the right direction with regards setting up a proper aquarium with topical fish. id be looking for info on things like, where to buy a good tank, what i need to setup the tank and how to look after it. how long before i could start putting fish in the tank (settling period?). are there different classes of fish that i would have to stick to? etc etc. basically, ANY information you might have on aquariums no matter how small or irrelevant you might feel it is, i want to hear it!


also, are there any pet shops around the dublin area or the adjoining countryside that are good for selling topical fish? i remember going to a place with a friend of mine (who owned an aquarium) years ago that was way out in the countryside (cant remember where anymore) which had oodles and oodles of tropical fish. i reckon they must have been supplying the pet shops in the area or something. anyone know of a place like that?


Tnx

hi i just invested in a new aquarium. i got a juwel vision 180. its nice and big, filled it up with water today, added the 2 bottles of stress zyme to the tank,
left it for an hour or so and added 10 goldfish.

they seem quite happy, i plan to add tropical fish in a week or 2, to the tank, my question being, can i mix goldfish with tropical fish?


also the tank temp is set at approx 27c according to the petshop chap that sold me the tank.. he said goldfish would be ok with this temp...


also, how do i do a regular check for water temp / quality.....and .. where can i buy a suitable thermometer to measure accurately tank temp..?

any tips / suggestions welcome, thanks a lot,

Nala

Gldish do better in cold water. They also need more room than tropical fish and they need different food.

fishboy

:eek: Look out all the fish keepers of Ireland. Finally a new and exciting fish shop "Aquarium Solutions" is opening in Ashbourne in Co.Meath. It will have a broad rande on livestock and dry goods. Specializing in Marine fish, Inverts and tropical fish! With friendly and professenal advice you cant go wrong. Opening the end of May! Keep your eyes open!

Flynn

what_car wrote:

hi i just invested in a new aquarium. i got a juwel vision 180. its nice and big, filled it up with water today, added the 2 bottles of stress zyme to the tank,
left it for an hour or so and added 10 goldfish.

they seem quite happy, i plan to add tropical fish in a week or 2, to the tank, my question being, can i mix goldfish with tropical fish?


also the tank temp is set at approx 27c according to the petshop chap that sold me the tank.. he said goldfish would be ok with this temp...


also, how do i do a regular check for water temp / quality.....and .. where can i buy a suitable thermometer to measure accurately tank temp..?

any tips / suggestions welcome, thanks a lot,

believe it or not you have too many goldfish in there.. they need more room/oxygen than tropical fish.. Once they have grown you will need to half the fish for the size tank you have.

Altho it's probably too late (since u have 10 goldfish) i'd suggest just going with tropical fish... The temp u have is a tropical temperature. Goldfish can survive in anything from 78f - just below freezing... So your heater is wasted on them.. Right now you have it at 80f... so obviously the guy who sold you them isnt an expert.. You shouldnt mix them either..

I'd suggest bringing back the goldies and gettin some community tropicals.. for the size tank you have it would look amazing..

-flynn

Ian38HR

fishboy wrote:

:eek: Look out all the fish keepers of Ireland. Finally a new and exciting fish shop "Aquarium Solutions" is opening in Ashbourne in Co.Meath. It will have a broad rande on livestock and dry goods. Specializing in Marine fish, Inverts and tropical fish! With friendly and professenal advice you cant go wrong. Opening the end of May! Keep your eyes open!

Any news on this new shop?

scorphonic

what_car wrote:

hi i just invested in a new aquarium. i got a juwel vision 180. its nice and big, filled it up with water today, added the 2 bottles of stress zyme to the tank,
left it for an hour or so and added 10 goldfish.

they seem quite happy, i plan to add tropical fish in a week or 2, to the tank, my question being, can i mix goldfish with tropical fish?


also the tank temp is set at approx 27c according to the petshop chap that sold me the tank.. he said goldfish would be ok with this temp...


also, how do i do a regular check for water temp / quality.....and .. where can i buy a suitable thermometer to measure accurately tank temp..?

any tips / suggestions welcome, thanks a lot,

My god thats too many goldfish for a 180L tank...do your research before buying fish. Did you cycle the filter before adding the fish?

You say you add in Stress Zyme...do you not dechlorinate the water before adding it into the tank. Chlorine kills fish and kills the good bacteria that grow in your filter. You NEED to buy something like AquaPlus which you have to add to water BEFORE it goes into your tank when you do your weekly 25% water change.

You do know what cycling is I presume? If not...its where you supply ammonia to the tank for bacteria to grow in your filter. These bacteria will consume the ammonia to form NitrItes and other bacteria will develop which will consume the NitrItes to form NitrAtes. Water changes are essential then to keep the nitrates at a stable level of around 20 to 40ppm.

You have to buy a Master Water Test Kit, I would suggest the API test kit. If you test your water and find ANY ammonia or NitrItes then your tank is not cycled and is not ready for more fish.

By putting in 10 fish into the tank at the same time, especially goldfish at a high temperature, you will have a very fast production of ammonia and soon your fish will become poisoned by the high level of ammonia,and some if not all will die.

You should only have added one goldfish (if your doing a coldwater tank) and allowed the tank to run with the goldfish until the cycle had finished (takes about 6 to 12 weeks). If you want to do a tropical set up then get rid of the goldfish (bring them back to the pet store and tell them that you dont appreciate them lying to you!!!!) and buy yourself some Tiger Barbs or another fish that is Hardy (this means that they can survive the high levels of ammonia and nitrItes while the tank cycles)

You can alternatively add in ammonia artificially (no fish in tank needed). This of course will not harm the fish coz you wont have any!! and it tends to be much faster than cycling with fish...plus if you do it this way and constantly keep a high level of ammonia in the tank then when it is done your filter will be able to support a full tank full of fish the first day it is finished. Your tank, which so happens to be the same as mine, can hold about 20 fish which are 1 to 1.5 inches in length.

In the future you should buy the TetraTec EX700 external filter, your tank will shine with it...the internal Juwel filter gets dirty and its not all that good!!

I apologise if I come across as being a bit rough or harsh but it really is important to research before setting up a fish tank. Remember that it is your responsibility to care for the fish and to do that you need to provide them with a healthy home. Its easy to look after fish...only when the water conditions are kept in perfect condition.

If you have any question, just PM me and I'll be more than happy to help. I've been caring for fish for about 4 months...only had one death out of about 40 fish...my water conditions are always spot on and my fish are breeding like there's no tomorrow!!