Infant got me started

SeaHog

Hello all, my 6 month old daughter fell in love with the fish at her aunts house, so here I am trying to school myself so that at 28 years of age my first ever freshwater tank doesn't go belly up. My goal is to master the art of saltwater tanks because the fish are absolutly amazing to watch.

I just finished filling up my 55 Gal'er and hooked up an Emperor 400. I live on wellwater, but i'm gonna wait a while to see if I really need to purchase extra charcoal to put in as a filter media. The water does have a yellow tint to it, so i'm not really sure which route I will have to choose to be successful.

In 48 hours I will introduce my first set of starter fish to start building bacteria, and a few weeks after hopefully start adding the beauties.

Just so you know that i'm just as human as the next guy, I probably spent a good 3 days solid doing my research online before I actually went to the store to get some firsthand advice. Well I spent less money than I originally anticipated, but I bought an Emperor 400 for $80 and i've seen them online for $45. How did I not remember???

When I got home I felt like such a jackass after seeing the price online because i'd already modified the one from the store to fit my tank properly. The one thing that makes me feel a little better is that the guy from the store probably could've gotten me for a lot more money, but he came accross as very sincere and honest about the type of equipment I actually NEEDED to get started, and he did not pressure me one bit.

So because he was honest and willing to talk to me about what I was trying to accomplish now and where I wanted to end up in the future, i'll let the $35 ripoff pass.

Well, hopefully I'll be able to learn a lot from everyone, and rip a few jokes at the same time. Wish me luck!

Lupin

Welcome to Fishforum.com, SeaHog.

Glad you made a lot of research. That's a good start.:) If you have questions, please don't hesitate to post around.

Good luck.:)

bettababy

Hi SeaHog, welcome aboard!
We'll do everything we can to help you! What kind of fish are you planning to start with? Knowing you have well water, and knowing it has a yellow tint to it, you should maybe have an analysis done to make sure it's safe. Most cities will offer this somewhere with the water dept in that city/village/town you live in.
Good Luck and keep us posted!

SeaHog

Thanks bettababy! My local store, Trident Pets, has offered to test my water for free. In a couple of days I will start adding some Spiketail Paradise fish as I have read that they are hardy enough to start a new aquarium.

I will work on getting some pics up that follow my progression. See ya.

bettababy

Sounds great, but in case nobody warned you... the paradise fish are quite aggressive.
Just a quick suggestion: Make a list of the various fish you'd like to keep and make sure everything is compatible before purchasing any of them. I've noticed that a lot of LFS's don't warn people that not all fish can go together. I'd hate to see you end up with mismatched fish that only eat each other, that can be pretty distressing.

SeaHog

Yes Dawn, in doing more research, I have found out that I might not want to start with paradise fish. Back to the drawing board. I remember using a software program online that offered you a chance to choose a certain fish, submit it, then a list of possible compatible fish would be listed for you. I'll have to find that again.

What about you? Your s/n suggests that you keep betta fish. How many, what size tank, any other fish kept with them? I have read that betta's are aggressive also. What do you think?

bettababy

After keeping, raising, breeding bettas for many yrs I will say that as awesome as they are, they are not a community fish. Bettas do best when kept by themselves in a small (2 - 10 gallons) tank or large bowl where the water is shallow and very still, lots of surface area and lots of hiding places.
If you are looking for suggestions for starter fish, try getting a feel for what you want to keep for "other fish" once cycling is complete, and if you post a list maybe we can give you some suggestions for something sturdy that will mix well with your other choices.