I need some fish suggestions

[DaJe]

I know that quite a bit of people here have aquariums and keep fish. Well, I recieved my own aquarium a sone of my gifts. The people here are actually why I wanted to get one. But now I need some fish. I'm going out tomorrow to get some, but I'm not sure what kind I want. Any suggestions?







http://codeinsurrection.com/pics/christmas2007/DSC_0547.JPG

[Ironcat]

My first suggestion would be to set up your aquarium, run it for a day or so, test your water, do some research, etc... THEN go buy some fish.

That being said, it looks like no bigger than a 10 gallon tank so you need to decide if you want a "lot" of fish (that term is subjective in a tank that size) or a showstopper.

If it's the former, I would go for a school of 6 to 8 neon tetras, and maybe a dozen "fancy" guppies. It's really the best way to get a lot of bang for your buck with a small tank. You'll get movement, flash, color, and they'll get along fine. Plus the guppies breed like mad so you'll have cute baby fish in no time.... and free food too.

If it's the latter, spend the money and get yourself a nice lion headed oranda, or a calico fantail of some sort... you'll find it actually has a personality and will learn to eat from your hand, plus they are beautiful.

[SgtM]

My first suggestion would be to set up your aquarium, run it for a day or so, test your water, do some research, etc... THEN go buy some fish.

That being said, it looks like no bigger than a 10 gallon tank so you need to decide if you want a "lot" of fish (that term is subjective in a tank that size) or a showstopper.

If it's the former, I would go for a school of 6 to 8 neon tetras, and maybe a dozen "fancy" guppies. It's really the best way to get a lot of bang for your buck with a small tank. You'll get movement, flash, color, and they'll get along fine. Plus the guppies breed like mad so you'll have cute baby fish in no time.... and free food too.

If it's the latter, spend the money and get yourself a nice lion headed oranda, or a calico fantail of some sort... you'll find it actually has a personality and will learn to eat from your hand, plus they are beautiful.

It's been a VERY long time since I've had fish, but that's good advice there. +rep

[Spawn-Inc]

i second iron's comments and would say get some neons or goldfish for a tank that size.


i was going to say some black ghost knives or bala/tri colour/ silver sharks but your tank is way to small, so is mine but its longer and 22 gallons.

[jdbnsn]

neon tetras don't seem to last very well, but they are quite inexpensive and I think they are some of the nicer looking fresh water fish so I would also agree with Ironcat.

[DaJe]

I have it all setup now. I would've doen it yesterday but I ended up sleeping for 14 hours. The instruction manual tells me everything I need to do before adding fish, and also tells me not to add too many at once and gives me a chart showing how I should add them. I have it all put together, all of the ceramic rocks cleaned and placed in there, the filter is secured, the air pump is plugged in and working, water is in it, and I added the two treatment packets that it came with. Now It's time for the waiting game. It's a 9 gallon tank by the way.

[Tabspace]

thats correct.

you have to add the fish slowly to let the tank "cycle". basically let your tank get enough bacteria to break down amonia and nitrites. by adding the fish slowly you will make sure that your bacteria colonies grow with your needs and not get an amonia spike killing you fish. you will have to do reguler water changes to take out the nitrates that are made from breaking down the nitrites.

something else to consider. as a rule of thumb you don't want more than 1 inch of fish per gallon. i.e. you have a 9 gallon tank, theoretically all your fish shouldn't add up to be more then 9 inches ( 9 - 1 inch, 18 - 1/2 inch. etc).


hope this helps

[danthegeek]

I would stay away from goldfish, they are messy fish. Do some research and figure out which rout e you want to go as stated above. You have to decide if you want to go "cold water" or "tropical" as well. For example, goldfish are cold water fish and can survive in temperatures as low as 68 degrees. With tropical fish you will need a heater because they like temps between 74 an 78 degrees.

I personally like tropical and to start with, I would go with 3-4 small hardy fish. Then in a few weeks, maybe months, you can add some exotic fish. I started with a betta and I am glad I did. They are hardy and easy to take care of as long as you keep-up with your weekly 10% water change. They have great personalities when you have them in larger tanks like this but you can run into problems with introducing other fish with them. My betta killed a chinese algae eater I had a few months ago. PM me if you have any questions on some fish you are interested in.

-dan

[DaJe]

I have returned, with 2 fish. Both are capable of growing up to 6 inches. I also got a nice plant to make things look nice. I couldn't get a good shot or a clear picture because they were moving too fast.



http://codeinsurrection.com/pics/DSC_0628.JPG


http://codeinsurrection.com/pics/DSC_0616.JPG




The black one will have like bugging out eyes when it gets bigger.

[Ironcat]

Okay, the good and the bad...

1. The good... You made awesome fish choices, especially the Black Moor, they are beautiful fish and they make great pets.

2. The bad... If you're going with more than 1 fish, you made poor fish choices, especially the Black Moor. 2 fish of those types in that size tank will be poisoning each other unless you are literally doing weekly water changes.
* Goldfish in general can live 10 to 20 to even 30 years, Moors have been noted in excess of 22 years, so plan long term. FYI the longest lived goldfish ever was like 43 or something...
* Although fish are generally kept to manageable sizes by their environment, someone lied to you. Moors do not get the commonly stated 4-6 inches. Moors easily surpass 8 inches and can get larger than a foot. Keeping them in a small container will NOT keep them from growing, it will stunt them and kill lead to a shorter life, 2 very different things.

Hate to sound so negative, but y'all may remember from other threads that I am a bit of a nut about my aquaria. Good luck with your fishies!

[Spawn-Inc]

ya i will forever stay away from gold fish. i'm not sure why they are considered easy as they have alot of diseases to get infected with and then die. like i said before i have a black ghost knife and bala shark and they have been hassle free (aside from the regular stuff, water changes, feeding, etc.)

[si-skyline]

with tropical fish dont you need to add some salt to the water? i know my mum ust to do it every time she changed the water...

also my mum is good friends with the fella who we normally goto and he gives us free ph tests to make sure the water is oki.. might be something you could look into or if its worth while..

im not the biggest fish fan but i do like em :) my favs are silver sharks and the suckers (dunno the name) the ones what stick to the glass and grow very big.. o and a nice looking sianese fighter, but they have the same prob as the other fish you got. if you have two of them they get all male and start fighting xD

[Tabspace]

i second Ironcat.

I wouldn't worry to much about salt unless you have some rift lake cichlids and then you really don't need it.

I am pretty sure you need a neutral ph for goldfish. you can get a simple tester at any pet store.
it's a good idea to get a small tester kit (ph,amonia,nitrite,nitrate) until you get the tank cycled and you get familiar to it.

Si-skyline they are called plecos for short. i've got one well over a foot in my tank.

[Spawn-Inc]

with tropical fish dont you need to add some salt to the water? i know my mum ust to do it every time she changed the water...
some tropical fish are fresh water fish but there are salt water tropical fish. most of the time you need a heater for either.
also my mum is good friends with the fella who we normally goto and he gives us free ph tests to make sure the water is oki.. might be something you could look into or if its worth while..
i got a kit for ph and ammonia but you can take a sample of your water to a local pet shop and they will, here anyway, do a free test.
im not the biggest fish fan but i do like em :) my favs are silver sharks and the suckers (dunno the name) the ones what stick to the glass and grow very big.. o and a nice looking sianese fighter, but they have the same prob as the other fish you got. if you have two of them they get all male and start fighting xD
like my bala shark :):):)

[danthegeek]

Good luck with your new fish and tank. With goldfish you will probably need to do a 1 gallon water change every week because they are a messy fish. You also may want to invest in a gravel vacuum (Like this one (http://www.petco.com/product/5913/Lee-s-Self-Start-Ultra-Gravel-Vacs.aspx)) to clean up the bottom ever so often and you do your water change at the same time. Have fun

-dan

[DaJe]

Well, if it reqquires a weekly water change, then that's what I'll do. Don't worry, I'll take good care of them. Mainly it was my dad who wanted the spotted one. I went for the black one. I'll probably eventually have a bigger tank too.


I have a quesiton though. It's getting dark outside now. When I turn on the light in the aquarium, the black one stays near the bottom. When I turn it off though, he moves up and starts being more energetic. Think I should leave it off for now?

[Spawn-Inc]

i have my light on a timer around 8am the light turns on and around 10pm the light shuts off.

it creates a fake morning and night time for them.

[Ironcat]

Goldfish in general, and moors in particular prefer cooler water... 68 to 72 F is perfect for them. remember they were once upon a time Chinese carp, in mountain streams...
In a tank as small as yours, depending on your bulb, the light may actually be warming the water surface to the point where to moor is uncomfortable.
They sell suction cup thermometers in any pet shop, put one in your tank about an inch under the water line and see what happens with lights off and then again with lights on for a few hours, then move the thermo to the bottom and repeat your tests, you may find your moor just prefers cooler water.
You can also look into cooler bulbs that provide more spectrum lighting without the heat.

p.s. Vary your fishies diet, they get as bored with flake as you would.

[Spawn-Inc]

BLOOD WORMS!!!!! thats all i feed my fish now. anything else i should feed them ironcat?

[DaJe]

Here are some better pictures of them, though they're still not as sharp as I would like.






http://codeinsurrection.com/pics/moor.jpg

http://codeinsurrection.com/pics/spotty.jpg

[Ironcat]

Spawn, for you I'd go bloodworms, blackworms, tubifex, and small live guppies.