Good freshwater fish for a beginner fosh tank?
Only start with a few fish since your tank hasn't cycled yet, too many fish all at once will cause a huge amonia spike and you may lose a few. A good starter fish for beginner's that are hardy are zebra danios. These schooling fish are active swimmers, easy to care for and very hardy. Other good comunity fish are pearl gouramis, drawf gouramis, platies, swordtails, mollies, rasboras, and tetras
What is the best fish tank for beginners and fish freshwater?
First check your rental agreement, it may limit how large of a tank you can own. A 5 gallon would be okay for a betta, or a small group of guppies or white clouds, but not much else. I would suggest that you get the largest you can afford or is practical for your living space. I suggest at least a 20 gallon, this will give you more flexibility with what you can keep. The weight would be about 200 pounds once you factor in the water, gravel, decorations, and the tank itself. If you can, a 20 gallon, or a 55 gallon is even better. Your floor should be able to support that much weight, it would be about the same as a sofa with 3 grown men sitting on it. And it helps to spread the weight out by using a stand that's solid, not 1 where all the weight rests on just 4 legs. All things you can bring up with your landlord if they question the tank size. You'll need the following for the tank. ~ tank ~ gravel [1 pound per gallon of water] ~ filter ~ thermometer ~ hood and lights [will let you see, keeps fish in the tank, reduces evaporation] ~ possibly a heater [will depend on the type of fish you keep] ~ water conditioner to remove chlorine/chloramine ~ any decorations you like [plants, rock, driftwood, castles, sunken ships, etc.] ~ a waer testing kit that includes tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH ~ gravel vacuum [for doing water changes] ~ 5 gallon bucket [for doing water changes] ~ fish ~ fish food A good reference on fishkeeping is always good for figuring out what you want to keep, and what can be kept in the same tank. Some websites that will help get you started. http://www.fishlore.com/ http://www.firsttankguide.net/sitemap.ph... http://www.fishprofiles.com/ http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?c=16 It's good to get information from ore than 1 source if you can.
Are there any FRESHWATER fish that i can add to help clean the substrate??
you could add malaysian trumpet snails ... they are small snails that burrow in the sand and keep the sand aerated ... they do breed but i find fish in my tanks eat them which keeps the population under control ... i usually end of having to add more ... amano shrimp are also great for cleaning up the substrate ... they are quite hardy (look like ghost shrimp by hardier) and do not breed in freshwater so again, will not take over your tank ... they are not afraid of the fish like some of the dwarf species so they are always about and easy to see ... no fish or creature eats waste though ... but i think you said you have a planted tank, the plants make use of fish waste ... snails and shrimp will clean up uneaten food, algae ... i had a bristlenose catfish in one tank with sand but it stirred up the sand daily, he had to be re-homed :O(
What is the easiest fresh water fish for beginner?
if you have a aquarium with proper filtration and a heater and air pump, and a good light. a few live plants, some planted in the gravel, some floating….you can have guppies, or other live bearers like platys, swordtails, mollys, a aneus catfish or two. once you are able to keep these alive and your aquarium clean you can advance to other species, such as tetra’s, perhaps angelfish if you have a aquarium 30 gallons or larger….if you want cichlids such as convicts, golden eyes, severums, and many other kinds, plan on setting these up in a minimum size tank of 30 gallons or larger, do not mix your smaller fish with them, as they will be eaten. If you want Barbs, they are best by themselves with other species of barbs as they tend to nip fins.
Beginner Fish Help!?
Hey guys! I would greatly appreciate your help and knowledge. Short Question: How do I take care of fish so they are happy and healthy? Long Multi-Question: My roommate came home last night with a small common fish (about 1 inch) in a bag but she didn't have a tank or anything for it. I guess she just wanted a fish but wasn't really thinking about anything else. I felt bad and knew that the fish needed a home asap so I went to the store and got a 1 gallon tank with an airstone filter along with some pebbles and a few small fake plants. I decided I might as well get myself some fish too so I got two other small common fish, one about one inch and the other more like 1.5 inches. I now understand that fish need a lot bigger tank so I'm in the process of trying to find a bigger tank asap (poor college student moving back home for the summer soon). I was thinking of getting a 20 gallon tank with a large surface area but will that size be sufficient? I don't plan on getting any more fish. I've also just learned about the nitrogen cycle and feel horrible that I've been so unprepared and uneducated about everything. How do I go through this first cycle and keep my fish alive and well? Will having three fish living in a one gallon tank exacerbate the ammonia and nitrite levels? What can I do to make the one gallon tank situation work while I try to find another tank? One last question(s). I've noticed a couple of the fish have long, white, stringy poop. How do I change that?
When starting a tank for tropical freshwater fish, could I get water from pet store fish tanks to speed up my tank cycling?
3 Notes on speeding up tank cycling:If you wish to speed up your tank cycling process you could ask a friend or the store for some bio media from a mature tank this is where the bacteria mostly colonizes. The store generally won't offer it. I've had luck with smaller store owners who share some from an old foam filter. Live Bio balls from Evolution aqua Pure can also be added to help your filter.Using pet store tank water will not help you cycle your tank as there isn't much valuable in the water column. Put some fish food in your tank to get started. Bonus tip: never add water from the fish transport bags to your tanks. Net the fish out then transfer to your tank.Lastly don't be in a hurry to cycle your tank. Be patient, do it the right way the first time and stock slowly after the cycle is complete rather than dumping a huge bio-load on your new ecosystem. Bonus tip: after the first set of fish are added remember to quarantine later additions for 3 weeks before adding to main tank.Thanks for the A2A!
What's a good freshwater fish for a beginner to have a high density aquarium?
My first aquarium book was given to my by my grandfather, and he had used it before me. It had some suggestions for community tank stocking. I've copied three below, and taken the liberty of adding some vernacular names, also. In the 1970s and 80s I used these suggestions and was very pleased with the results. Although "old fashioned" in nature, I think you would be pleased with the results using any of these as starting points.10-gallons: normal temperature; 31 small fishes4 Scalares (body size of half dollar) [Angel Fish]2 Rasbora or White Clouds4 Brachydanio rerio [Zebrafish]2 Brachydanio albolineatus [Pearl Danio]4 Neon Tetras4 Hemigrammus ocellijer [Beacon Tetra]2 small Corydoras [Cory Catfish]1 Male Betta2 Pristella riddlei [X-ray Tetra]4 Guppies2 Bloodfins10-gallon: normal temperature; 15 fishes a little larger average size4 Scalares (body size of a dollar) [Angel Fish]2 Platys2 B. [now Pethia] conchonius or cummingi [Rosy Barb or Two-spot Barb]1 Male Betta2 medium-sized Corydoras [Cory Catfish]2 Brachydanio albolineatus [Pearl Danio]2 X. hellerii [Green Swordtail]2 Trichogaster leeri (2½-inch size) [Pearl gourami]15- to 20-gallon: liable to become cool (about 60 degrees): 48 mixed-sized fishes10 Bloodfins or White Clouds4 Medakas [Japanese Killifish or Japanese Rice Fish]1 3-inch Paradise [Paradise Gourami]2 2½-inch Corydoras paleatus [Peppered, Blue Leopard, or Mottled Cories]6 Platy variatus [Variable Platy]4 Mollienisia [now Poecilia] sphenops (plain, spotted, or orange-tail) [Mollies]6 Brachydanio rerio [Zebrafish]2 Ctenobrycon spilurus [Silver Tetra]2 Australian Rainbow Fish2 Fundulus chrysotus [Golden Topminnow]1 Weatherfish 3- to 4-inch size [also, Weather Loach]4 2-inch Chanchitos [Chiclids, probably Cichlasoma facetum]4 B. [now Puntius] semifasciolatus [Gold Barb]These suggestions comes from the 18th edition of William T Innes' Exotic Aquarium Fishes, printed 1947. (The "Community Tank Combinations" section which lists these, is not in my "new" edition bought in the 1970s.) It assumes that the aquarium is well planted, but does not have aeration—"which would allow more fishes in the aquarium."Innes also gave stocking recommendations for 40-gallon tanks at normal temperature. One has 78 fishes, mostly medium sizes; the other has 65 mostly large fishes.
How do I keep fish tank as I am a beginner?
I take it you’re doing a freshwater tank and not a saltwater tank. This is for freshwater tanks:My first recommendation: Get a larger aquarium. They are a lot more forgiving in many aspects, including:temperature fluctuationwaste production/build up, which leads towater change schedules (including missing some)parameter fluctuationMinimum I would say is like a 20 gallon. Longs tend to be more accommodating for more fish.Get an adequate filter.My favorites are Aquaclears. Theyre a bit more expensive than others, but they work. Take out the carbon because you wont need it, and put either an extra sponge for more mechanical filtration or extra filter media for more biological filtration (I’d personally go for more filter media)Get a heater. It’s very very likely you won’t be able to house any coldwater fish. A goldfish (and I’m not talking about the 10¢ goldfish, I’m talking about the fancy varieties) will probably not be best in a 20g long. They get rather large, and I’d rather see them in like a 29gal or even a 40gallon breeder. Having a heater will let you keep fish that are more fitting for smaller tanks. (I guess you could do Buenos Aires tetras or white clouds as cold water).Get a decent light. LEDs are more cost-effectiveThen, once you have these things. Setup your tank. Make sure you have the most vital chemical product (dechlorinator. I like prime. Some people use AmQuel, etc). You’ll need it if you’re using tap water. I still use dechlorinators with my RODI to ensure nothing bad is getting into my tank.Once you have the tank running, wait. It will go through a cycle- the nitrogen cycle. You’ll either need to bring your water to a LFS or test it at home with a liquid test kit. you’ll wait I wanna say 5+ weeks (I’d say a month is general cycle time) until you start adding (more sensitive) fish. You’ll likely want to start doing water changes (first a 5%, then a 10%, then a 20% WEEKLY, not daily) and doing some “phantom feedings” (where you sprinkle food in the tank lightly) around week 4 of waiting. This will get you used to the schedule you intend to follow when you have fish.Mmm thats all I can think of for setting up a new tank, so good luck. Make sure you research which fish are compatible with the tank size you will be getting. And if you want fish, dont go under 10 gallons. 10 gallons is really small for an aquarium.
What are good freshwater aquarium fish?
Your question is so broad, that might be why you don’t have any answers. A few things to think about would be:What size tank are you talking about? In any size tank, you could go the direction of more small fish or fewer larger fish. Larger tank means you could get schooling fish, smaller tank maybe not…10 gal could house a shoal of a dozen 3/4 inch fish (Chili Rasbora if you want to look them up) but they might not be great for a new tank or a new to fishkeeping person; OR a single Betta and 6–8 Dwarf Corydoras Catfish; OR a great beginner fish, Endler’s you could have 8 -10 males.55 gallon could house a school of 4–6 inch fish (sorry can’t think of an example as mine are all nano tanks) OR you could go the route of a ton of small fish like 40 Emerald Eye Rasboras (they’re about an inch or so and they school fabulously).Is this your first tank? Go for an easy simple fish like the Endler’s that take a wide range of water pH and temp and have a low bioload. The fish people gravitate towards for beginners like Mollies, Platys, and Guppies, tend to have a higher bioload, i.e., messier fish (produce more fish waste).What can you afford (after purchase of all aquarium ..heater, filter, test kit, lid, light, etc.)? Fish that need RO water for example mean more money.It’s easier to get fish that match your water pH, so get a Master Test kit which you will need anyway and once you know your pH, look for fish that do well at that pH; it can get complicated buying peat, or other things to lower pH and then you’d have to be careful of pH swings.The most important thing to remember is to cycle the tank first. Good luck.