New tank help

jmelissa82

Hi everyone. This is my first time on this site, and my first time setting up a tank. I have never owned a tank before so know nothing about it. I need some pointers, well alot of pointers on how to make this a success. I know I have to cycle the tank and that has happened. But I am unsure about adding chemicals to the water? I understand that all the water levels have to be right?? I am also wandering what is a good starter fish? All I have right now is a rubber pleco (which I love by the way, he is hella cute!) I also have a gold fish because I was told they help with cycling of the tank. I really would like to get some live plants in the tank at some point, any suggestions would be much appreciated...

Dave66

Melissa,
Since you are brand new in the hobby and thus starting from scratch, the first thing you should do is start building a good aquarium library. Its very difficult to advise a new keeper on the ins and outs of fishkeeping because explaining how aquariums work; setting up the tank, cycling the tank, stocking the tank; the list goes on and on. I could easily write you a book on what to do and how to do it, but that's beyond the scope of this forum.
However, I do have a book list available in a text file I can give you, so you can make an educated decision on which books to buy to accomplish your aims in aquarium keeping.
The list contains books on general freshwater, planted tanks, culturing live foods, marine tanks and reef tanks. I've done thumbnail sketches on each of the contents and value of the books.
The difference between books and the internet is the latter can give you a thousand different answers for a question, and being new as you are, knowing which if any are correct would be difficult. Books, by the very nature of them being published, are far more reliable.
If you wish a copy of the list, please PM me with a email address I can send it to.

Dave

beetlebz

Wow, thats pretty awesome of you Dave :)

The only real advice I can give you melissa is to continually research what you are seeing and what you want to do. If you want to add a specific fish, research the heck out of that fish to get a good idea of whats involved. All too often people take some 16 year old kids advice from petsmart and put a 300 ton blue whale in a 2.5 gallon betta tank. Just research research research. You will find the folks here on the forum to be a fantastic resource.. and thanks to dave for proving my point lol

how big is your tank?

Flashygrrl

ok, first things first:

Goldfish will not mix well with your other tank occupants because they are coldwater fish and pretty much everything else you can get belongs in a tropical (78 degree) environment. Goldfish will also reach a very large size if given the space (like, two of them needing a 55 gallon) and poop a LOT so I would rehome it after your done. For future reference, danios do well to help cycle too.

You didn't say how big your tank is. We need to know this to help you pick out some easy fish and how many.

The only chemicals a new person to the hobby should be adding to the tank are medications for a sick fish :) Otherwise things usually end up going out control.

Nople

Hi there, Im a bit of a newb too but I have a 47 gallon tall and its doing wondefully so maybe I can help you out from a beginners perspective.

About chemicals: The only things I added to my tank was some aqua-safe (which is just a chemical to remove harful stuff from tap-water) and some Algea-destroyer for water clarity and algea control.

As for the aquarium library...that is such a great idea..I have about a dozen books I bought when I started which were fantastic help.

Water levels: The best thing you can do in my opinion is get a good water test kit (mine was about 40$ but was well worth it) Do regular checks (mine about once a week) and regular water changes (treat the water first if you are using tap)

And as for the Goldfish....I can't say I agree completely with Flashy....I have a Goldfish that had to be moved because he got aggressive with my moors in the other tank (and yes I checked the compatability and yes they should be ok). He's in my 47 gallon with a shoal of tiger barbs and some balas ect. ect. (water temps a constant 78 and he is doing fabulous. Yes he's growing like a weed and yes he's a pooper but with regular water changes and a future Koi pond as his home there should be no problem. It only becomes a problem when you neglect your tank.

But as a newb I say welcome to the world of aqualife and enjoy it.

P.S. Tiger barbs a great, tough fish that typically when kept in lare groups (8 or more) make a nice addition to a beginner tank by adding color and movement.

jmelissa82

Wow, thanx so much for the hrlp so far . I have noticed how messy the Goldfish are so I have removed them, I just added some live plants, which should flourish very nicely. And they have already brightened up my (empty) tank, the green is an amazing color. I am hoping now to get some reds and blues in there. I don't know anything about fish, most of the fish ypu guys mention I have to look up just to make sure of what you are talking about,lol. So with that said I need some hardy fish, that will put up with me!! I really want to get a nice "fish city" going. You know, top, middle and bottom swimmers. I have a 20 gallon tall tank, and right now there is just a Rubber Pleco in there, so any advice???

Flashygrrl

Guppies, rasboras, danios, platies, stuff like that. Cories for the bottom. Maybe some cherry shrimp?

Haha, I forgot that water conditioner is something everyone should be using. Durrrr....

bruce53176

Melissa here is a good site to research fish for your tank. It has virtually every fish you can imagine and gives all the information you would need to know like where in the tank they swim (top,middle,bottom) what they eat, how big they get, who they're compatible with, etc.
It also gives you information on live plants as well.

Good luck and keep us posted

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/fresh.htm#Eels

jmelissa82

This is an amazing site...I am going to do more research and will get back to you guys. Thank you so much for all the help!!

Holly

Take your time and really enjoy what your doing and learning. After all...the goal is to enjoy it! If someone says something you don't understand, just ask. I haven't seen anyone on here have a problem being asked a question. Welcome to the forum!!