Page 1 of Anyone Here Own Tropical Fish?? (Advice Needed)

I`m thinking about setting up a tropical fish tank but before I do could anyone who owns one give me some advice like, what tank, filter, heater to get and how long per week is spent maintaining the tank?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

A few years since I had a tank, 20 odd (Very odd :) years at least.

Anyway from memory all I can suggest is that you make sure the tank is not going to be in direct sunlight for too long and not too close to heat sources like radiators.
Get the biggest and best filter you can possibly afford.
Set up the tank with plants, rocks etc for at least a week prior to stocking with fish.
Before stocking ensure breeds are compatable.

Ignore everything I have posted and get advice from a local group, your library may help you there.

Choagy FFCUK The SPL :)

get yerself a bi orb m8 ive had tropical marine colwater fish all my life but do to limitations at the moment i have a 30 litre biorb with light heater pump filter and have tropical freshwater in it neons tigers danios water in it stays crystal clear and if your just starting in this hobby its ideal i remove filter and clean it once a fortnight have a gander m8
http://www.reef-one.com/

Thanks for the advice,

I already have a biorb with some coldwater fish in, I was thinking about putting a heater in it but I have got a bit of space and I have wanted a big tank for a while.

Jewel do kits of various sizes where you get the tank, filter, heater, light and pump all in. Many come with cabinets too designed to support the full tank (they are very heavy don`t forget).

You`ll also need a couple of buckets, a gravel cleaner (like one of those swedish penis enlargers), water conditioner and an electric timer (for the light). Various test kits are available to check the water pH, Nitrite, Nitrate and Ammonia levels. Might be worth investing there too, although they wont need checking every week once your tank settles down.

I spend about 30-60 mins a week cleaning mine out, they are pretty low maintenance.

Any idea what sort of fish you want to keep ? I`d suggest picking up a book or two and chatting to your local dealer, they are usually very helpful. Also look on the net - http://www.fishprofiles.com/ is a pretty good site.

Basically you will find the bigger the tank the easier it is to keep. With a greater volume of water you can often rectify any issues before they become critical. Also, make sure you can set the tank up out of direct sunlight or the algae will take over and the temperature will be hard to control.

I have a Jewel Rio180 set up with 2 fancy goldfish, a couple of weather loaches and a bunch of danios. Even though that`s understocked the internal filter can`t really keep up with the mess and I`ll be getting an external filter soon. If you keep tropicals rather than goldfish the filter will have less load on it.

Maintainance is about an hour a week for filter cleaning and water changes so not too much effort at all.

Spend time reading up on the fish you wish to keep, make sure that they will not grow out of the tank you are buying! Talk to the people in the local fish store and don`t be afraid to ask lots of questions. Make sure the fish you keep will be happy with each other, there`s nothing like high stress to wipe out all the fish in you tank.

A good place to browse/ask questions is AquariaCentral.com.

Above all enjoy the fish, they are always entertaining and well worth the effort,
Nick

i have three tanks, and a coldwater pond... all the advise given has been good, i would also suggest speaking to your local dealers, try a few and go with the one that you get the best gut feeling about, remember they are there to make money.

Alos buy a copy of Practical Fish keeping, they give some very good advice, also listed will be retailers in your area, many of whom have been visited and reported on by PFK.

Experience has told me always buy a spare heater, as when they breakdown it is likely to be at the worst time possible to get a resolve it, also my personal choice with regards to filters is to have an internal cannister like a Fluval, as this gives good water movement, i run this alongside and my undergravel set ups, and have had no major problems in over 5 years (touch wood)...

Also if noise is an issue go for any of the Rena Air Pumps, they are virtually silent... i have these on all my set ups, again have had no issues with them in over 5 years... remember all pumps sound quiet during the day, but at night an noisey pump can be really irritating...

goodluck, mark.

`I plan to live forever, or die trying` ;)

Just to add to all the above good advice, get your fish from a dealer who quarantines all his new stock or at least gets them from a wholesaler who does. We managed to wipe out a total of 18 cardinal tetras in a very short time by adding some more that had the dreaded neon tetra disease and hadn`t been quarantined.

JohnF

Didn`t think Cardinals could get Neon Tetra disease??! Learn something new every day.

I started keeping tropicals again about a year ago, after a 20 year break. All the advice above has been good - I`d say aim for a 36" x 15" (high) x 12-15" deep tank. External filters are great - I use a Eheim Ecco (there have been stories about the priming mechanism being easy to break if you don`t know how to use it properly, but I`ve had no probs with it). www.fishcrazy.co.uk is a nice friendly forum for further advice.

Also your local fishkeeping shop (LFS) may well make tanks themselves, which are often cheaper than the Renas etc - particularly if you`re handy and can make a cabinet (that will support the weight!!). Some good online suppliers of stuff around, and also some good suppliers of plants - I bought enough plants to stock my 4` aquarium for around £15 delivered.

Make sure you have a stock of basic disease treatments ready - just in case.

My one recommendation to add is get a thermometer and check it regularly. I too returned to tropical fish after a long absence and couldn`t believe how well my new tank settled down, I had baby platies born and growing up in it two weeks after setting it up. Then the thermostat on the heater malfunctioned and by the time I realised it the temperature in the tank was nearly 40 degrees centigrade and I had no fish left....

Dave