Fish tank for Christmas

[Cheveyolucca]

We want to give our toddler a fish tank for Christmas. He loves watching fish so much!
We bought a 10 gallon tank, heater, air pump, filter, gravel, decorations etc.
I want to know if it's possible to buy some fish ahead of time - like December 23rd, and maybe keep them in a temporary tank so we can set up the big fish tank on Christmas eve and have it be a surprise for Christmas morning.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[Beej1254]

Depending on the store you may be able to purchase the fish you want and have them hold onto them for a later pickup. My LFS does this for people all the time.

Aside from that..sense the fish store probably won't be open Christmas Eve you can definitely buy appropriate fish for a 10 gal and setup a temporary tank. As long as you meet their needs it's totally possible. And the tank being a 10 gallon it's easy to move with someone else. Just drain most of the water into a 5 gal bucket or 2 and then setup in its new spot when ready and put the water back in if its still ok.

Have you looked into cycling the tank? And which fish you had in mind?

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[sinibotia]

So, unfortunately setting up a fish tank overnight like that is a tricky proposition. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? And do you have experience with fish tanks?

Oh, and welcome to AA! My wife and I have a two year old who LOVES all of our tanks, they're a great combination of teaching tool and entertainment

 

[Cheveyolucca]

I'm a newb

I've never owned more than a goldfish bowl - so I'm really new! I googled the nitrogen cycle - it seems really involved.... I'm getting a little scared.

 

[Beej1254]

The nitrogen cycle is one of the most important aspects of the hobby to understand as a beginner...although it's hardly mentioned unless you ask about it at most fish stores.

Your fish tank is an ecosystem that you maintain and everything you do to it effects it in some way. While you can have a fish 'live' in a bowl a lot more goes into actually having a good healthy tank.

The unfortunate news is that to properly setup a fish tank you couldn't get through the nitrogen cycle before Christmas. And it may not be the best to introduce fish to the tank until it's completed but you can do it...you just shouldn't.




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[sinibotia]

Ok, so let me explain it!

Fish produce waste in the form of ammonia- basically "peeing" in the water. When leftover bits of food and fish poop break down they also produce ammonia. This is super toxic and will kill your fish! It's why goldfish seem to live such short lives- the ammonia builds up and kills them (The actual average lifespan of a goldfish is around 20 years!)

The remedy for this is that there are special bacteria that will convert ammonia into nitrite, which is also toxic, and then another kind of bacteria will convert nitrite into nitrate, which is only toxic in high amounts. Just change some of the water ever week and you'll remove the nitrate and have a healthy fish tank!

The trouble is that this bacteria takes some time to grow. You need to have the tank's filter set up and running and a source of ammonia for the bacteria to "eat" in order to grow this bacteria.

The two main ways of doing this are "fish-in", which is where you add a few hardy fish at a time and slowly allow the bacteria to grow. This method is very work-intensive; you need to do daily water changes of around 50% for the first month or so. The other way is called fishless cycling where you use a non-living source of ammonia, such as a bottle of ammonia from a dollar store sold for cleaning, or a cocktail shrimp in panthose hanging in the tank decomposing. This method is almost effortless, but it also means you'll have an empty fish tank for about a month and then you can add all of your fish at once.

Either way, the trouble is it takes about a month on average to cycle a tank and the only good way to speed up the process is to get filter media from an established tank. Hence the tricky part of setting up a tank overnight like that.

Here's guides to both kinds of cycling:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/the-almost-complete-guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling/
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/fish-in-cycling-step-over-into-the-dark-side-176446.html

Some more questions: What kind of fish do you plan on getting? As a heads-up, goldfish actually get way too big for a 10 gallon. There are lots of beautiful tropical fish you can get though, and they're actually EASIER than goldfish to care for!

No matter what you do, make sure you have a heater, a good filter, and an API freshwater master test kit. Those are the 3 most important pieces of aquarium equipment.

I know this stuff can be overwhelming! But don't be discouraged- it's actually a lot easier than it might seem. Feel free to ask tons of questions!

 

[Cheveyolucca]

What about safestart?

http://www.tetra-fish.com/Products/...er-remove-ammonia-from-aquarium-bacteria.aspx

What about this?

 

[Cheveyolucca]

What about safe start?

Could I use that then start with just a couple of fish after 24 hours?

 

[Autumnsky]

Dr. Tim's has a better reputation for getting the cycle started, though it is also not a magic fix. It is not necessary but wouldn't hurt.

You would be doing essentially the same thing with either item as a fish in cycle. If you ignore advice about the cycle process you will likely kill fish. Ammonia and Nitrite will kill fish.

The question possed about what kind of fish you want to keep is important. As well as the size of tank. We can help you be a successful fish keeper better with the basic info...tank size, filter, fish you might be interested in keeping.

The cycle process is work but not doing it is stress and more work - when your fish are going belly up and they have disease and fins are rotting off it is not a fun time. Having a cycled tank is much easier.

Get a large bottle of Prime water conditioner it will "neutralize" ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates as well as make the tap water safe for fish.

Fish in cycle is fine just start slow and also get a liquid test kit like API because the bottle plastic strip tests are mostly inaccurate in the parts that are most important and can kill your fish.





If

 

[sinibotia]

What about safe start?

Could I use that then start with just a couple of fish after 24 hours?

You can, but all cycle in a bottle products are a gamble. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't (and some brands don't work at all). You can give it a shot but be prepared for it not to work.

Save start and Dr Tim's are the two brands that are reputable.

I've personally had some success with Safestart in an emergency.

 

[Caliban07]

Hi welcome to the forum!

How did your little one come to love watching fish?


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[Laeris]

Check with your local stores to see if they have bacteria for starting new tanks available. The one a few miles away from me only charges a dollar per gallon. I don't mean big box shop, the privately owned ones.

 

[Mebbid]

Check this link.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/fishin-cycling-step-dark-side/

Theres absolutely nothing wrong with doing a fish in cycle and its definitely not hard to do. Its even quite safe if done properly!

As to setting up a temp tank, i would suggest that you buy a tote or plastic garbage can to keep the fish in temporarily. The larger the container the less work its gonna be.

Run the filter and heater on the tote and treat it just like an easily hidden fish tank. Feed the fish once every 2 to 3 days and it will slow the ammonia buildup. I also wouldnt do more than 3 fish appropriately sized to a 10g tank.

 

[MattHunt]

Hi,

You could ask a fish shop if they can spare you some filter media that has been used and hence loaded with bacteria. This will seed your filter.

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