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westward13

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
75
Location
columbus oh
I'm so excited! After all of the research and preparation, I bought my first fish last night! Actually, it was my first 12 fish... I was almost late for work because I didn't want to leave this morning! I was too busy checking out the aquarium and making sure everyone was eating. :)
Thank you to everyone that's given me advice thus far (and will probably end up giving plenty more)!

I started out with:

3 Opaline Gouramis
3 Giant Danios
3 Red Velvet Swordtails
3 Tiger Barbs

The swordtails and Barbs were a last minute decision (in place of the Mollies that the LFS rep said weren't nearly as hearty), but they're probably my favorite of the bunch! They all seem to be eating (and pooping up a storm) but the Gouramis have been pretty shy thus far... all 3 of them have been hanging out in the top back corners of the tank although one of them was a little more curious this morning. I can't believe how voracious an eater the Danios are... the 3 of them start swimming around so fast when the food starts falling that the other fish have to get the food in other parts of the tank (or else they might not get any). That's about it for now. Time to get to work...
 
Good Luck

Yeah, the first fish are always exciting! It's a testament too to see how well your tank chemistry and setup is. How big is your tank, and how long did you cycle it before you added your fish?

I'd monitor your Amonia levels the next few days, as 12 fish at once may produce an unexpected spike, especially with falling flakes...that will add to the Amonia levels to if its not all eaten.

I have one Danio that is crazy when its feeding time. More like a bully. He swims and swims around the perimter of the tank as fast as he can near the bottom, not allowing the other Danios to feed unless they go to the top. I think he thinks that all the falling debri is his. Little does he know he missing out on the freeze dried blood worm I supplement the flakes with. LOL.
 
That's pretty funny...

I started with 12 fish only because I've got a 75 gallon tank. It's only been 3 days that I've had the tank up and running. I'm using zeolite as my secondary filter media in my Pengiun 330 in the hopes of helping with the ammonia levels. I'm also running a Fluval 304 so I've got a decent amount of filtration going, too. If there seems to be an inordinate amount of waste at the bottom of the tank(especially for such a short time with minimal feeding on my part thus far), should I clean the tank out right away?
 
Yes..if you can control any extra sources of pollution, you can control the cycle process better. All the filters will do nothing until your first bacteria set up housekeeping .

Good luck..have fun!
 
Oh! Giant Danios! They are fun, fun fish! I have six! Mine have gotten so huge since moving them to my 75 gal! I love them.

Good luck with all your new fish!
 
I added a pic of the aquarium in my gallery. Let me know what you think! I plan to get a few fake plants within the next couple of days to use until I can possibly add some real ones in there.
 
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