Any Aquarium Owners?

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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby Polly44 » Sat May 09, 2015 12:20 pm

Polly44 wrote:Earlier this year me and my mum decided to buy a fish tank and a couple of fish. We don't have room for anything huge, so we have a 28 Litre one. It was a nightmare to cycle. The first time we did it, we did everything correct apart from giving the tank some food to provide a bit of ammonia for it to buid up the bacteria. So it didn't work very well, but we thought it had, so we went and got 6 fish. Four Platies of varying genders (I didn't know how to tell then, so i have no idea) and we got two Swordtails. (A male and a female.....well she was supposed to be.....but, ah wasn't so very female as time went on. And i am sure they were gay, as when she was very obviously a male they swam next to each other all the time, lol.)

At fist things were okay, then the Ammonia problems started. We lost one Platy to ammonia i think. But managed to keep all the others alive, then one of the other Platies had a gimpy fin and died. So then we got two Guppies, which both died i think. So we got two more Guppies, one died, but the other lived and we got two Shrimp. We sorta solved the Ammonia, then they all got White spot and died. And the medication we tried (too late) killed the Shrimp. xD So that was a bit of a disaster, which was a huge shame, as they were all lovely fish. The two Swordtails were gorgeous, they were called Spike and Amber, but i later had to change Amber to Tyke, when she became a male.

So we emptied/cleaned and re-cycled the tank (properly this time) and got two more Platies and two more Swords (who are definately male and female) and everything was going fine until a few weeks ago, when white spot showed up again. But we spotted it quick this time and saved them all (touch wood) but we had to take all the decorations out as the medicine stains it and now one of the Platies is really clamped and sulky, cuz she was getting bullied. She came out a bit earlier though, so hopefully she is feeling better now. :) But i think i overfed them a bit, as i gave them a treat earlier, but i think it was a bit too big, as the one Platy and Sword are looking quite fat. xD Hopefully they will be okay though, the Sword seems okay, but the Platy is just hanging out at the top now, so i think he might be a little bloated. Will fast them for a couple of days, though i'm a bit worried about the other (really clamped) Platy as she hardly ate anything.

(Yes, i know now that the tank is too small for the fish, but we cannot get a bigger one as we don't have the room. The fish store told us several times that it was fine for the fish we wanted, but apparently not. So not sure what we are going to do, as the other three seem really happy.)


Sadly we lost all the fish, except for the sucker fish we bought a while ago. Who is also my favourite- we refer to him as Spider- fish and he is as mad as a box of frogs. So we bought 6 Endler fish a few months ago. Three males and three females, we lost one of the males a few weeks ago for some unknown reason. Then we had White spot (again) which we have just finished treating them for that. But we lost one of the females for an unknown reason a few days ago. So we bought two more today, male and female. Though an extra tiny female was additionally caught by accident so we have an extra teeny tiny female, who just got stuck behind the heater. Good job i spotted her and we rescued her, then lost her under the log. But she was getting bullied, so we've put her in one of those floating fish hatchery things, to keep her seperate. But we are wondering if anyone knows how long we can keep her in there for?
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby rose; » Fri Jun 19, 2015 4:20 pm

So, I need some tips on dealing with ich. It seems my fish have come down with it. I dont always keep the best eye on the tank, I mean its in my room but I don't study them every day, but today I noticed two of them were acting pretty listless. On the black Moor the spots are the most visible and there's quite a lot. I've been looking up some treatments but haven't really gotten any solid answers, and I'd like advice from someone who has treated it before. Temperature change isn't really an option for me. I don't have a heater, and my room is only about 65 degrees on a good day and our upstairs isn't much warmer, and I don't have the money for a heater.
Pretty sure this is my own fault, I got the bottom feeder little over two weeks ago and didn't go through the proper quarantine measures since I didn't want my dad to be dealing with it since I was leaving for vacation for a week.
So from what I've seen, medication is my best option atm. But how to administer it? Do I take the fish out of the tank and wash everything and treat the tank and the fish separately in a new tank? Or wash the tank and put them back in to treat? Or...?
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby Polly44 » Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:27 pm

*Revives dead thread, cuz i am so excited!*

I am going on holiday in a few days time, so we went to the fish shop today and bought some holiday food for the two Otocinclus we have in the tank. (Did have Endlers, but unfortunately lost them all.) And i saw the most beautiful Black Orchid Betta in the tank opposite the door. Fell totally and completely in love with him- i've even named him "Obsidian", so did some research online, as we haven't had a Betta before. Went back to the shop and reserved him (as we don't want to buy him now and then leave him, while we go on holiday, so we are going to get him when we get back) and we are going back in the morning to buy some live plants for our 28 litre tank, as we've read that the fake plant decs can ruin their fins. And we are going to take a water sample in as well to see if anything is up with the water. We do have our own test kits- though only for the PH and Amonia and when we have done it, we've never noticed anything badly wrong. And then we are going to get it all ready for him, ready for when we get back. I can't wait! I'm so excited!!!! I just hope he doesn't die, as i will be heartbroken.
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby Infinity » Mon Jan 18, 2016 8:46 pm

Note: The fish that I had breed were all tetra neons.

As a person who has owned over 10 fish (most of them are bred), I can say that it's very rare for your fish to live for over a year if you buy it from a pet store (atleast from where I live). Fish often breed randomly, even without you knowing some times, and when your baby fish hatch, you have to pay close attention to them because it's easy for them to die when they're young (depending on breed). When I was young, I had no idea that fish would randomly breed like that. Anyways, if you're looking to breed, don't try too hard. It'll come naturally for most breeds of common fish.
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby Silverfox12578 » Mon Feb 29, 2016 5:25 pm

Hello! :)

Soo I just recieved a 30 litre (+-10 gallon) freshwater fishtank as a gift from a friend. It came with gravel, plants, two ornaments, a air pump and air stone, a heater and a filter. I was hoping to get some advice here, as I've only kept fish a long time ago and I'm a beginner.. The fish I owned in the past were mainly guppies.

1) I would like to have a community tank but I also don't want the tank to be overcrowded. I prefer small to medium sized, brightly coloured fish and maybe one that will help keep my tank clean by eating algae. The fish also shouldn't be too large as the tank is quite small. I also don't really want any babies either, so no breeding as far as possible. The fish will also have to be warm water fish as I do have a heater. (Do you have any ideas on what fish I can get that will get along in my tank?)

2) is it better to have real plants or the fake ones?

3) is it better to have LED light, a normal florescent tube light or no light at all?

4) How often should I clean my tank and test the water?

5) How much gravel/ pebbles should I use? (I have quite alot!)

6) I read somewhere that you should let your tank settle for a few weeks before adding fish. How long should I wait?

I know the basics of keeping fish and my father is helping me set up my tank in the right way. I can't wait for the tank to be finished and to go buy my fish! ANY advice will be greatly appreciated!!
I did search this stuff but sometimes Google just decides to be mean and redirects me to some other random junk that makes no sense... :|

EDIT: I didn't think I would get replies so fast lol! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP GUYS, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT! :D
xx00xx
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Last edited by Silverfox12578 on Mon Feb 29, 2016 8:14 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby Polly44 » Mon Feb 29, 2016 6:13 pm

I am not an expert by any means, so this is only coming from my own experiences and i can only answer a few of those questions.

1) I would totally recommend Otocinculus. An algae eating "sucker" fish. We have two and they are awesome. Don't grow very big at all, are really cute and completely insane! Otherwise i would suggest Guppies/Endlers/Tetras maybe? We've had all of those bar Tetras and lost them all after a while, so.......

2) Real plants look so much better, but are a bit harder to look after. We had fake ones for ages, but since we got a Betta we changed to real plants. Currently got an alage problem, but otherwise it's going well i guess. They ain't dead yet anyways, lol. Up to you really.

3) A light i would say is better, but i've no idea what type of light. Ours is just one that came in the hood of the tank.

4) I clean ours every month or so. Did do it weekly, but we kept losing fish if we did it too often, so we don't now. Still lose all but the Otos and the Betta so far though. xD And when the tank is cycling i would check it every week, but afterwards every month or when something goes wrong.

5) Eh, depends on how much you want in there i guess. Ours is quite deep a good inch/and a half maybe.

6) Whatever you do make sure it's cycled properly. We had so many problems cycling ours and lost so many fish. :( When we finally cycled it. We waited a few weeks before getting fish i think. But i'd get more info on that, as i'm probably not the best source of advice for that one.
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby cjr09 » Mon Feb 29, 2016 7:01 pm

Silverfox12578 wrote:Hello! :)

Soo I just recieved a 30 litre (+-10 gallon) freshwater fishtank as a gift from a friend. It came with gravel, plants, two ornaments, a air pump and air stone, a heater and a filter. I was hoping to get some advice here, as I've only kept fish a long time ago and I'm a beginner.. The fish I owned in the past were mainly guppies.

1) I would like to have a community tank but I also don't want the tank to be overcrowded. I prefer small to medium sized, brightly coloured fish and maybe one that will help keep my tank clean by eating algae. The fish also shouldn't be too large as the tank is quite small. I also don't really want any babies either, so no breeding as far as possible. The fish will also have to be warm water fish as I do have a heater. (Do you have any ideas on what fish I can get that will get along in my tank?)

2) is it better to have real plants or the fake ones?

3) is it better to have LED light, a normal florescent tube light or no light at all?

4) How often should I clean my tank and test the water?

5) How much gravel/ pebbles should I use? (I have quite alot!)

6) I read somewhere that you should let your tank settle for a few weeks before adding fish. How long should I wait?

I know the basics of keeping fish and my father is helping me set up my tank in the right way. I can't wait for the tank to be finished and to go buy my fish! ANY advice will be greatly appreciated!!

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! :D
xx00xx
SilverFox12578


Ohh, lots of questions here.

1) I'd personally look into getting Mollies! They're super friendly and come in a lot of variety in colors- plus, they're practically tanks- very, very hard to kill. Though I will say I'm quite bias in that regard, since they're some of my favorite fish~ Don't discount goldfish as being good fish as well, and dainos (so long as they're not glofish) are pretty hardy and friendly community tank fish as well! My very first fish was a pleco, actually, and personally I don't think any freshwater tank is complete without their help to keep it clean~

A warning about the size of tanks, though- the general rule is, at least for freshwater fish, a gallon per inch of fish. That's a strange measurement, I know, but it's useful for giving them growing room and not overcrowding~ freshwater are more lenient towards having more in a smaller space, but I'd suggest being really careful about it, especially to start off with.

But yes, I'd suggest a pleco and some mollies for a starter tank! (I'll explain more about what to get in #6) The only problem with Mollies is that they can breed like rabbits- though most of the mollies sold are females because they're a little hardier, and you can even buy pregnant mollies (as I've done a few times). Though the babies aren't hard at all to look after, should that happen, it's pretty easy to avoid with an all female tank~

Though I would avoid tetras- neon and cardinal especially- at the start. They're pretty, but they're very very fragile, and need a very specific PH range to stay alive, nevermind happy and healthy, and they catch disease really easily, especially for being schooling fish.

2) This is kinda up in the air- plants are actually really, really hard to look after in any tank, freshwater especially in my opinion. You definitely don't want to go with real plants for your first tank- and let me tell you, when one of those suckers dies they make a mess. If you really want plants, go with marimo! They're little balls of algae that kinda do their own thing and are the hardiest plants I've come across. Fake plants are also pretty up in the air, to be honest- they can help give fish hiding places but they also attract dirt and gross like magnets. I had a betta once that ate their plastic plant and died from it- as far as hiding places go, a bunch of small log decorations or other little things are what I'd go with.

3) The one that comes with your tank is probably best- the only reason you'd want different lights is for growing plants (or coral) and with select very sensitive fish that you probably won't even see, nevermind think of getting~ Having a light it pretty needed, though, so make sure you've got the one it came with.

4) You're supposed to clean your tank every 2-4 weeks~ realistically, it can go for longer, but it's gross and icky if you wait too long and not fun for the fish to be a part of.

5) I think mine is an inch to an inch and a half deep- you want a decent layer, but not enough to take up the entire tank~ make sure you wash it out before you put it in the tank, though! Using a kitchen strainer or like a bucket works pretty well in my opinion- dirt can cling to that stuff when it's packaged and there could be chemicals you wanna watch out for in it.

6) You should indeed- leave it running fully functioning with the filter working and everything for one and a half to two weeks before you put anything in there, then get a tester fish to live in there for another two weeks before you put everything else in there. I've used plecos, goldfish, mollies, and gold gorumis (don't use gold gorumis those suckers get big and pointy) as "sacrificial fish" to make sure everything's ready and liveable~ any decent hardy fish will do tbh. It's most likely that they won't die- I've actually never had one die on me- so be prepared to look after whatever you get for the long haul, but you still need to be prepared for something like that to happen. Once the fish is in and living well, you can start adding in the others that you want in increments of two to four, then waiting a few weeks between getting new ones~ new fish can change the PH balance of a tank and too much at once can shock everything, plus it's better to be safe than sorry with fish- you never know when one's got ick until it's in the tank.

ALL the information

Of course, look up what you want and research it yourself- different things work for different people and different fish, and that's part of the fun of having a tank! Word to the wise, though- if you can help it, don't buy fish from places like Petsmart or Petco- they're all well and good for decarations, but the chances of their fish catching diseases is pretty high. I've gotten plants and fish from there that've done just fine but I've also gotten some that've died about five minutes after being placed in the tank- it's very hit-or-miss, I've learned. Still, it's all up to you, just be sure you know what you're looking for- or rather, what to look out for- when you're choosing~

I hope that helped!
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby Sneky » Mon Feb 29, 2016 7:06 pm

Hello!
Nice to see people talking about fish. I've only got one right now, an albino betta that I call Seymour that I've had for about a year. In the past I've kept crayfish, but they were such a hassle and my parents hated them. I've also kept aquatic frogs, and they were pretty fun (we had two; one lived for four years.)
I was wondering if anybody had any tips of cleaning aquarium decor (kind of a stupid question I guess.) I have this little sea anemone replica that gets really grimy, and I know you're not supposed to use soap to clean aquarium decor, but whenever I hand wash it, it takes forever to get clean. Anything I could try to get it clean quicker?
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby Polly44 » Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:01 pm

Polly44 wrote:*Revives dead thread, cuz i am so excited!*

I am going on holiday in a few days time, so we went to the fish shop today and bought some holiday food for the two Otocinclus we have in the tank. (Did have Endlers, but unfortunately lost them all.) And i saw the most beautiful Black Orchid Betta in the tank opposite the door. Fell totally and completely in love with him- i've even named him "Obsidian", so did some research online, as we haven't had a Betta before. Went back to the shop and reserved him (as we don't want to buy him now and then leave him, while we go on holiday, so we are going to get him when we get back) and we are going back in the morning to buy some live plants for our 28 litre tank, as we've read that the fake plant decs can ruin their fins. And we are going to take a water sample in as well to see if anything is up with the water. We do have our own test kits- though only for the PH and Amonia and when we have done it, we've never noticed anything badly wrong. And then we are going to get it all ready for him, ready for when we get back. I can't wait! I'm so excited!!!! I just hope he doesn't die, as i will be heartbroken.


And.....i think he might die soon. He looks terrible. He has been a bit.....off for a while and then i noticed white bits on his fins, treated him for white spot, but they didn't go and now i am treating him for other things, but i don't think it will help....i think it's too late. He won't eat, he flicks at everything, he is so clamped and it's breaking my heart. I can't stand seeing him like this after only a few months of having him. And i don't know how else to help him, or what else i can do. I can't stop crying about it- i just keep remembering him before all this- him chasing the algae wafer, him flaring at me and looking so gorgeous and i just can't deal with this. I won't get anymore fish after this, as i can't do this again. Mum offered to buy me a new one, but that's not the point. I want him, not to replace him the moment anything goes wrong, besides it keeps going wrong, so what's the point?

Part of me wants him to just let go and stop suffering, but at the same time i know losing him will break my heart. I know he is only a fish.....but he is my fish and i love him dearly.
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Re: Any Aquarium Owners?

Postby cjr09 » Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:36 pm

Polly44 wrote:
Polly44 wrote:*Revives dead thread, cuz i am so excited!*

I am going on holiday in a few days time, so we went to the fish shop today and bought some holiday food for the two Otocinclus we have in the tank. (Did have Endlers, but unfortunately lost them all.) And i saw the most beautiful Black Orchid Betta in the tank opposite the door. Fell totally and completely in love with him- i've even named him "Obsidian", so did some research online, as we haven't had a Betta before. Went back to the shop and reserved him (as we don't want to buy him now and then leave him, while we go on holiday, so we are going to get him when we get back) and we are going back in the morning to buy some live plants for our 28 litre tank, as we've read that the fake plant decs can ruin their fins. And we are going to take a water sample in as well to see if anything is up with the water. We do have our own test kits- though only for the PH and Amonia and when we have done it, we've never noticed anything badly wrong. And then we are going to get it all ready for him, ready for when we get back. I can't wait! I'm so excited!!!! I just hope he doesn't die, as i will be heartbroken.


And.....i think he might die soon. He looks terrible. He has been a bit.....off for a while and then i noticed white bits on his fins, treated him for white spot, but they didn't go and now i am treating him for other things, but i don't think it will help....i think it's too late. He won't eat, he flicks at everything, he is so clamped and it's breaking my heart. I can't stand seeing him like this after only a few months of having him. And i don't know how else to help him, or what else i can do. I can't stop crying about it- i just keep remembering him before all this- him chasing the algae wafer, him flaring at me and looking so gorgeous and i just can't deal with this. I won't get anymore fish after this, as i can't do this again. Mum offered to buy me a new one, but that's not the point. I want him, not to replace him the moment anything goes wrong, besides it keeps going wrong, so what's the point?

Part of me wants him to just let go and stop suffering, but at the same time i know losing him will break my heart. I know he is only a fish.....but he is my fish and i love him dearly.


Yikes, I know the feeling Polly :c

One of the most common diseases a fish can get is Ick (also known as Ich, or just white spot disease, as you called it)- white spots appearing on the fins and body- and the treatment is pretty easy to find, they carry it at about every pet store and even some large grocery stores with pet food and supplies sections. I find it's harder to get rid of in fish with long fins, like bettas, but don't give up on him get. If you haven't tried the Ick treatment yet, it could certainly help clear it up. I've had a few bettas get it, and I find it's most common on the head and along the fins and tail with them, though there's probably some spots on the body as well, and all fish are different. Changing the water or doing a full cleaning of the tank is a good idea too- it'll help get the sickness out of the water along with the old medicine and uneaten food.

Though be sure when you put the medicine in the tank you don't feed them that day! Eating right after a change to the tank- a cleaning, new fish added, medicine- can cause the fish stress and their bodies sometimes don't go through everything properly because of it.

If you have a heater in the tank, turning it up to heat the water to about 78-80 degrees will actually help the ick to grow and spread- which, in the case of treating it, is actually what you want. Medicine for Ick works by stopping it during one of the early cycles- keeping it from reproducing and letting time kill them off from age, which doesn't usually take more than 72 hours.

Losing a pet- including fish- is absolutely heartbreaking, and a lot of the time you can't stand to see another fish in that tank again. I always think it's worth getting another one- bettas in particular are pretty poorly treated in stores, and often bought and placed in tanks way too small for them, and it's no way for anything to live it's life- even if they die soon after you buy them, they died in more comfort and a better home than they've ever had, you know? Fish never have a guaranteed lifecycle, and if you look up the average lifespan of any fish it's probably about three years, maximum. For example, I got four zebra dainos about eight years ago, and two of them died about four years into me having them, another died about two weeks ago, and the other is going strong still. Zebra daino lifespans are low-balling two years, and I've had one for almost half of my life.

Fish can surprise you- they're stronger than they look and some of them look pretty dang strong to begin with. They'll show you back what you show them, so don't give up on him yet. Keep trying to get him back to health- and even if it doesn't work and he still passes on, you'll at least have the knowledge that you did all that you can to make sure he lived happily and keep him going.

Don't give up on him just yet. Even when they look like they're on death's door fish can still keep going for a couple of days- they're not willing to give up a good home without a fight and with medicine and time they might not have to.
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