First "real" fish tank

[JnJ040310]

Hello,
I bought a 25 gallon tank today and set it up like I was told, my only thing left to do now is actually decide on what fish to get and how many I can have in there.. I really want an algae eater too.. I've only ever had goldfish in small 5 gallon tanks just bought my 4 year old son two.. Now it's my turn. Any suggestions?

 

[tulip55555]

You should read about the nitrogen cycle before you add anything else. Here's a link....
Cycling Your Aquarium, Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle: Start Cycling Aquarium Guide

Not sure about what to keep with goldfish though...

 

[JnJ040310]

My son has a small tank with two goldfish in it.. Thats good enough for him I know we cant add any other fish with them and it's only a 5.5 gal tank which is fine for a four year old
I'm just trying to think of ideas for mine, I have a couple days before I can get fish I just don't know exactly what kind to get and how many is okay, what kind get along that kinda thing.

 

[jcolon]

to AA

Sorry to mention this .... but 5 Gallon tanks are way too small for Goldfish .. despite what many of us grew up thinking. They have large bio-loads (lots of poop) and very quickly pollute their water.

The rule you'll head from members is 20 gallons for the first (fancy) goldfish, 10 gal for every additional. To keep them healthy in a small tank takes a lot of filtration and PWC's. Common Goldfish / Comets require ponds.

One of our member Mr. Limpet keeps some fancy goldfish ... hopefully he'll see this and give you better options.

 

[JnJ040310]

I just kinda bought a tank for him spur of the moment he won it at a fair and now he has two.

 

[jcolon]

Oh ... in that case be wary of fair goldfish .. some are in notoriously bad shape. Been sitting in those plastic bags for hours on end ... all the while pumping out ammonia. Not to mention any diseases it may have.

For now read the links below about cycling with and without fish. IMO the better option for now would be to rehome the Goldfish into the 20gal. The larger water volume will be more forgiving ... in this hobby, larger tanks are generally better than smaller in maintaining. In the 5 Gal you could put a Betta.

The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!

This link is about the types of fish poisoning so you'll know what to look for, again goldfish are very messy.
Fish Poop and You: A Primer - Aquarium Forum

You'll also need the following if you don't already to best cycle and care for your fish.

API test master Kit ... forget strips ... they're inaccurate
Seachem Prime ... dechlorinator
Ace Hardware Janitorial Grade Ammonia for fish-less cycling.

 

[JnJ040310]

I know fair fish don't last very long actually just found out my dad replaced the goldfish and cleaned the tank while I was at work and my son was at his dads I didn't even notice he got the same size ones and everything.
The only thing I have to get now for the 25 gal. Would be the tester and the ammonia I have the decholorinater (can't spell) maybe I shouldn't always listen to petsmart they told me to fill it hook up the filter and everything let it go for at least four days then I can put fish in, never told me about cycling ugh.. I'm so excited to get fish

 

[Carrol8]

New aquarium owner help!!!

I am SO glad to find this site! My mom always had tropical fish aquariums for me when I was a little girl (It was our hobby together). I love fish and really want to start a large tank in the future. For now, Ive decided to start small... I got a 2 1/2 gallon glow in the dark set up from Walmart made especially for Glo Fish (which I found after reading about them is really zebrafish). My first round of fish a few days ago resulted in all dying except one and the large algae eater still alive. (I do have a heater and thought it might have been broken so I exchanged it). Got MORE fish from Walmart and started again. Today EVERYTHING is dead (even the algae eater). It is so sad! I foudn this site and discovered info about cycling the water (something I dont think me and mom knew about in the 70s when we had our aquariums). Can someone tell me exactly what to do with this small set up to guarantee the fish dont suffer and dont die? (and PLEASE make it in simple terms too.. some of stuff I have read is really confusing for a beginner like me! Thanks!) My husband said I could start a salt water tank in the future but I want to start small and get plenty of experience FIRST

 

[jcolon]

The only thing I have to get now for the 25 gal. Would be the tester and the ammonia I have the decholorinater (can't spell) maybe I shouldn't always listen to petsmart they told me to fill it hook up the filter and everything let it go for at least four days then I can put fish in, never told me about cycling ugh.. I'm so excited to get fish

Yep ... the typical set it up and let it run for 24hrs then put fish in petstore advice. Then people wonder why 10 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank don't make it.

It happens ... but at least you came to us and know you know what TRUE cycling is about. Cycling a tank will save you sooooo much heartache, aggravation and $$$$. A cycled tank just needs weekly PWC's w/ de-chlorinator and monthly filter maintenance. As far as the filter is concerned, with two goldfish you want a filter that can keep up. If you put them in the 25 gal, it's advisable to get a filter that can handle a 55-75gal tank. They produce a lot of poop and you want that water to get filtered constantly.
A small capacity filter will foul up the water quickly .. it just won't keep up with the bio-load demands.

You shouldn't need to add any other chemicals

Again ... if possible under the circumstances, putting the Goldfish in the larger tank is the better option. Then you can fish-less cycle the 5gal.

 

[jcolon]

I am SO glad to find this site! My mom always had tropical fish aquariums for me when I was a little girl (It was our hobby together). I love fish and really want to start a large tank in the future. For now, Ive decided to start small... I got a 2 1/2 gallon glow in the dark set up from Walmart made especially for Glo Fish (which I found after reading about them is really zebrafish). My first round of fish a few days ago resulted in all dying except one and the large algae eater still alive. (I do have a heater and thought it might have been broken so I exchanged it). Got MORE fish from Walmart and started again. Today EVERYTHING is dead (even the algae eater). It is so sad! I foudn this site and discovered info about cycling the water (something I dont think me and mom knew about in the 70s when we had our aquariums). Can someone tell me exactly what to do with this small set up to guarantee the fish dont suffer and dont die? (and PLEASE make it in simple terms too.. some of stuff I have read is really confusing for a beginner like me! Thanks!) My husband said I could start a salt water tank in the future but I want to start small and get plenty of experience FIRST

to AA.

First off I'll recommend you get a larger tank. Those desktop 2.5 gal are really only suitable for shrimp or a snail IMO. You could do a 5 Gal betta tank, but not much else.

In all honesty ... in this hobby bigger is better ... or rather easier. Smaller tanks ironically are really .. IMO .. for the more experienced ... requires much more maintenance .. PWC's etc. I'd say consider a 29 gal or a 40 gal breeder tank. Petco's having them on sale $1.00 per gallon. Once a tank is cycled ... it's all downhill ... just do the weekly PWC's and monthly filter maintenance.

 

[tulip55555]

I know fair fish don't last very long actually just found out my dad replaced the goldfish and cleaned the tank while I was at work and my son was at his dads I didn't even notice he got the same size ones and everything.
The only thing I have to get now for the 25 gal. Would be the tester and the ammonia I have the decholorinater (can't spell) maybe I shouldn't always listen to petsmart they told me to fill it hook up the filter and everything let it go for at least four days then I can put fish in, never told me about cycling ugh.. I'm so excited to get fish

Sorry. THought you were looking to add to the goldfish tank.

Sorry [again] but the guy at Petsmart doesn't know what he's talking about. Running a tank for 4 days will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. You need to get a cycle going-for that you need ammonia. A fishless cycle is WAYYYY faster than doing it with fish in the tank.

I know it's hard to wait, but any fish you buy before cycling either won't live or will just be miserable to look at. They have a hard time breathing, they lay at the bottom or gulp air at the top.


Here's a great link about fishless cycling in this forum


http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html

 

[tulip55555]

As far as what to put in it I'd go to the LFS and see what you like. Come home and do some research about what their temperament is, suitable tank mates and what water parameters they need [some fish like guppies and mollys like brackish water, some fish prefer high or low ph, etc]

You can Google any fish and just add the word "care" after it and you'll get specs with everything you need to know.

You can post here, too. Pick a fish and post a thread asking what gets along with it, what kind of food it eats...all kinds of good stuff. I'll tell ya-you can find someone here with experience keeping just about any kind of fish you can think of.

I know it seems like we all came down on you, but only because we have probably all made the mistake of getting a tank and throwing fish in right away. There's an easy way and a hard way. Add fish too soon and you'll spend the first two months worrying about the fish, checking water parameters and doing daily water changes and that kinda takes all the fun out of it.

 

[JnJ040310]

As far as what to put in it I'd go to the LFS and see what you like. Come home and do some research about what their temperament is, suitable tank mates and what water parameters they need [some fish like guppies and mollys like brackish water, some fish prefer high or low ph, etc]

You can Google any fish and just add the word "care" after it and you'll get specs with everything you need to know.

You can post here, too. Pick a fish and post a thread asking what gets along with it, what kind of food it eats...all kinds of good stuff. I'll tell ya-you can find someone here with experience keeping just about any kind of fish you can think of.

I know it seems like we all came down on you, but only because we have probably all made the mistake of getting a tank and throwing fish in right away. There's an easy way and a hard way. Add fish too soon and you'll spend the first two months worrying about the fish, checking water parameters and doing daily water changes and that kinda takes all the fun out of it.

Thank you I'm going to start cycling hopefully today. I have to go and buy the ammonia and stuff to do it I wish I knew that yesterday when I was at the store but that's okay..

I know I really want an algae eater I think they're neat I love neat looking fish.. And schools of fish are pretty to watch.

 

[rich311k]

Welcome to AA! Good luck with the tank.