Thank you for voting for my tank in this month’s Tank of the Month, I feel honored to have been nominated and chosen!
I am a 24-year-old registered nurse who works most of the time. I’m also going to school. I find fishkeeping to be a very fun interesting and rewarding hobby.
I got my first aquatic pets at around the age of 8 or 9 – one female betta fish and an African dwarf frog – given to me in a small pet carrier. I loved them and cared for them as much as I could with the limited knowledge that I had. Once I began high school, I attempted to keep fish as pets with no luck and a lack of knowledge. Let’s just say I hit a learning curve.
I have been interested in aquatic pets ever since then. I did not have a fish tank for a few years until living on my own recently, where I decided to begin again. Although I still consider myself to currently have a small tank, I have evolved quite a bit and learned so much about the aquarium hobby and started up my tank in February of this year. With the help guidance and kindness of you all, I have been able to learn and understand more than I have ever known about the aquarium hobby!
Setup:
My current setup is a 10 gallon with 2 filters – one HOB and one internal filter. This fish tank is the product of my boyfriend and I, who decided to grow a small aquatic community together.
We bought a 10-gallon starter kit from the local fish store and began setting it up with one small Top Fin air pump, a Top Fin HOB filter, and an Aqueon QuietFlow internal 10g filter. There are a few live plants – anubias nanas and a marimo moss ball.
Live stock includes:
3 male platys
1 male guppy
1 ADF
3 ghost shrimp
We had a floating log to attribute to the hiding places in the tank and eventually removed it for aesthetic purposes, and the fish appear very happy and healthy in their habitat.
This very simple beginner-style tank is only the mere beginning of our new adventure in the fishkeeping hobby.
Maintenance:
The tank is cycled with weekly maintenance that includes 25% water changes will a gravel vacuum and occasional algae removal from surfaces with an algae scrubber. New tank water is treated with Prime. Temperature is set at 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
The light is set on a timer from 8am to 4pm. The fish are fed a variety of flake food daily along with occasional frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp treats. The African dwarf frog is individually fed 3 times a week with frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp with a turkey baster.
Water testing is done before each water change with an API Fresh Water Master Test kit to monitor pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. The anubias nanas receive a root tab fertilizer each month along with regular pruning.
Conclusion:
I plan on upgrading to a larger tank someday soon and expanding my fish keeping experience and knowledge over the years. This is only the beginning of a wonderful hobby, and I am proud to be nominated and voted for in September 2017’s TOTM!
Ashley