What fish to get for a new aquarium??

sternn

Ok, i have recently got a new aquarium....tropical....as a present.

Iv had the water filtering for 5 days now and am planning on buying fish tomorrow. Any ideas on what combination of fish would be good as starting off?

Its not a huge tank, i think its 110 litres.

dark_jedi_ire

Danios, Are great starter fish, All My tanks were Started of with a few Danios
to get the filter started and then after a Couple of weeks started getting the fish I wanted,

As to what type of fish to go for, it depends on what you want , 110 Litres I would Stay away from african chiclids unless you will only be having a Few, And they require a high PH, Also depending on you Tank setup, And PH range,

If needed let me know And I can give you a better idea.



R

The Artist

sternn wrote: »

Ok, i have recently got a new aquarium....tropical....as a present.

Iv had the water filtering for 5 days now and am planning on buying fish tomorrow. Any ideas on what combination of fish would be good as starting off?

Its not a huge tank, i think its 110 litres.

plecos are very strong fish for starting and they clean up the algae in ye tank

JazzyJ

It's probably too late since you're buying the fish today, but simply running a tank for a few days does nothing other than ensuring that the various components e.g. filters, heaters are working properly.

Idealy a fishless cycle should be done first, which will ensure that the filters have a well populated bacterial colony prior to adding fish. Proper cycling of a tank usually takes up to 4 weeks.

Have a read through the articles on the following site which should be of help:

http://www.fishlore.com/Beginners.htm

The following section would be most helpful:
http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/nov07/fishbeginnerpart3.htm

Trojan911

sternn wrote: »

Any ideas on what combination of fish would be good as starting off? Its not a huge tank, i think its 110 litres.

What are your dimensions for the tank? I think mine is a 110 litres (36" lenght x 12" wide x15" high), but if I could offer you a tip it would be this.... Don't put live plants into it if you can help it. If you do make sure & wash them well before planting them.

I got infested with snails & I'm only starting to see the last of them thanks to some advice posted here.


I put guppies, pleccies, neons & tetras in mine & replaced the live plants with plastic ones.

nag

JazzyJ wrote: »

Idealy a fishless cycle should be done first, which will ensure that the filters have a well populated bacterial colony prior to adding fish. Proper cycling of a tank usually takes up to 4 weeks.

I have to admit that I've never done it but from what I've read, it's usually between four and six weeks. I suppose it all depends on the size of the tank too.

And "ideally", fishless cycling is the best method and when I next upgrade, I'll be doing it for sure but cycling your tank with fish is definitely an option, you just have to be meticulous about testing your water as you gradually add fish. There's nothing worse than staring at an empty tank for weeks, especially if it's your first tank.

I'm assuming that you wont be doing a fishless cycle so add some hardy fish first. Then after a week or two, add a few more fish and so on. Make sure you test your water regularly after adding fish and if you see ammonia readings, do a water change (don't forget to use conditioned water). This way, your bacteria will gradually grow to cope with the ammonia produced by your fish. This is why it's important not to add too many fish at once as you will overload your bacteria and you'll end up with a build up of ammonia which will poison your fish. For the same reason, I would avoid adding a pleco as a starter fish as generally speaking, they have a heavy bio load so it's best to wait until you have established some bacteria in your tank first before you add one.

sternn

Trojan911 wrote: »

if I could offer you a tip it would be this.... Don't put live plants into it if you can help it. If you do make sure & wash them well before planting them.

I got infested with snails & I'm only starting to see the last of them thanks to some advice posted here.


I put guppies, pleccies, neons & tetras in mine & replaced the live plants with plastic ones.

ok, well i made my first few purchases...tiger barbs and neon tetras(6 of each). Good choice ?
Also, i got 2 live plants...which im a bit worried about now bout those snails, but it seemed to be fine around the roots, cleaned them nd saw no little odd specks.

LovelyTom

platies are brilliant! they're so hardy and always seem to end up having babies they're great fun

Trojan911

sternn wrote: »

ok, well i made my first few purchases...tiger barbs and neon tetras(6 of each). Good choice ?
Also, i got 2 live plants...which im a bit worried about now bout those snails, but it seemed to be fine around the roots, cleaned them nd saw no little odd specks.

Yes, good purchase, what you should be looking for is a clear jelly like blobs on the plants. Those are the eggs. Here is a possible solution should it occur. But a good wash prior to planting should suffice. Did you manage to measure up your tank?

My platies are multiplying nicely, have about thirty now.

Arcadian

There's little point having a community tank without live plants, it's all part of the set up. Plastic plants will always look just that, plastic:D Snails can be easily be picked out.

nag

Arcadian wrote: »

Snails can be easily be picked out.

or squooshed

Arcadian

That too!

Trojan911

Arcadian wrote: »

There's little point having a community tank without live plants, it's all part of the set up. Plastic plants will always look just that, plastic:D Snails can be easily be picked out.

Strangely enough that is what I was doing until I got tired of it. Squashing them was a result in itself. The fish started eating them then....

Fruityfriends

Clown fish!!

sternn

Ok my 2 types of fish....tiger barbs and neon tetras....the barbs are nibbling at the tetras (on their top fins). Is this a sign that they will not get along??

Fruityfriends

possibly.. watch them.. i'd two gold fish before.. and one was evil.. ended up eating the other one..:eek:

sternn

evil fish are bad

Fruityfriends

yup

The Artist

sternn wrote: »

Ok my 2 types of fish....tiger barbs and neon tetras....the barbs are nibbling at the tetras (on their top fins). Is this a sign that they will not get along??

tiger barbs are always nipping and quite aggresive fish they love being in packs look gangs of there own theres nothing you can do to solve the problem but they should get fed up chasing after a while DAVEY

LuckyStar

The best thing to do when your tiger barbs are being aggressive is to buy a few more! In a larger group they are more concerned with watching each other than with other fish.