Newby to fish saying Hi

[spottedhaggis]

New person here.

Daughter (aged 10) decided she wanted to keep fish, so here is what we have started with.

54l fish tank (rectangular) came with snge filter, heater.
We got a few plants, decided on using sand rather than gravel (aquarium sand) and some rocks, and have a piece of driftwood to put in once its been soaked for long enought o remove the colour.

We are leaving the tank like this, powered up for a week before adding any fish, this is under advice viewed on a number of websites and books.

Set the temp to 24/25 degrees, which I believe is within the required range.

Next is to get a test kit to test the water.

Questions.

1. she plans on getting Zebra danios as the start fish, 5-6 of them (having read this is the real min you should get so the shoal)
She will probably get another shoaling fish group after this then go for pairs, possibly, with a max of 15-20 fish depending on size.
Neons are another she wants, probably the 2nd set of fish, and eventually 1 or 2 cat fish.

Does this al sound ok, any advice.

Do all of these fish mind a small bubling air rock, we are thinking of getting one that pushes very small and slow bubbles.

 

[spottedhaggis]

Wood!

We have a piece of wood purchased from the aquarium. Its all twisted with lots of cave like areas, we thought it would be perfect as a hidey hole.

What effect wil the wood have on the chemical side of things, ph etc.

Also, more important. What are the basic testing things needed, remember we are not experts, sure we will be at some point, but as a beginner we cant afford to spend alot on test gear so the bare essentials to start with.

If it goes well I think at Xmas myself and wife will get a 3 foot tank in the lounge for ourselves to enjoy

 

[spottedhaggis]

here are a couple pre-fish images

This is the etup.

 

[melosu58]

Looks pretty good. Welcome to AA.

 

[mgamer20o0]

Welcome to AA. nice set up

 

[mommytron]

welcome to AA! nice looking tank!

if you start another thread with some questions, i'm sure you will get quick answers.

 

[SeverumGuy]

Setup looks pretty good. The driftwood will lower your ph due to the tannins that it leaks out. Depending on what your normal ph is, it should be okay. I wouldn't worry about buying chemicals to raise it unless it is really low. Most fish will adjust to a lower ph and be just as happy. If you constantly fluctuate the ph by adding chemicals to raise it up when it starts going down, you could end up harming your fish. I'd say that 15-20 fish might be too many for that tank. I would go with maybe two types of schooling fish around six of each and a couple of corydoras catfish for your bottom dwellers.

 

[the_fish_man]

looks great!. Welcome to AA

 

[eric faatz]

Welcome to AA! Enjoy your stay!

 

[Aquarium1]

Setup looks pretty good. The driftwood will lower your ph due to the tannins that it leaks out. Depending on what your normal ph is, it should be okay. I wouldn't worry about buying chemicals to raise it unless it is really low. Most fish will adjust to a lower ph and be just as happy. If you constantly fluctuate the ph by adding chemicals to raise it up when it starts going down, you could end up harming your fish. I'd say that 15-20 fish might be too many for that tank. I would go with maybe two types of schooling fish around six of each and a couple of corydoras catfish for your bottom dwellers.

+1, although I'd say 1 type of schooling fish and then corydoras like to be in larger groups of 5+ so maybe a group of 5-6 of a small species of cory.