Are smaller tanks harder to keep?

[shuvit]

I love guppies, they don't love me, Nuff said :-( lol its all a learning game. My mistake was buying from several different shops and not keeping them in quarantine for few weeks.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I love guppies, they don't love me, Nuff said :-( lol its all a learning game. My mistake was buying from several different shops and not keeping them in quarantine for few weeks.

That's a great point. I lost fish that I had for 8+ years because I didn't quarantine new additions. It wasn't anything to do with my tank, water, filtration or anything else. Just bought fish in that were sick, it spread.. and bam, all gone. So glad I have a little quarantine. Sometimes the real problem starts the moment you pay for a fish.

 

[Tomaso]

Try not to get disheartened it is a great hobby when you get a tank up and running properly and can see your fish happy and growing. Been doing it for 45 years now and loved every minute. I only have a 46 litre Fluval Edge at the moment following a leaking tank soaking the lounge carpet and my wife trying to stop me keeping fish. This only lasted 3 weeks before she saw how it was affecting me. Carry on more water than fish, more water changes and don't worry providing your fish are happy and thriving you'll get a great enjoyment. Don't worry there's always more advise that you can use and always at opposite ends of the spectrum as you have already found out.

Tom

 

[callisto9]

Thank you both for the advice about quarantine. I haven't been doing that, as I don't have a spare tank. How big should a quarantine tank be? And obviously that tank has to be cycled too, right? I barely have space for one tank, I don't know how I'll find room for another. I guess I could always put it in the basement (which gets tons colder) with a heater...

You know, after reading this, I really don't think I'm ready for this hobby:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/quarantining-marine-fish-made-simple

I know I sound like such a bummer, but this is way more work and heartache than it's worth. When I think about the time and money invested so far, the payoff has been frustrating. I fully admit that I just don't have the patience for this. I've read and read and read and read for weeks straight now and between the medications, the tanks, the quarantine, the cycling, the checking of the water parameters and the 20 other things you have to watch out for, for me, this isn't worth it. I just wanted a little simple tank with some plants and fish, but so far, the only thing that's working are the plants. And the snail.

 

[callisto9]

Try not to get disheartened it is a great hobby when you get a tank up and running properly and can see your fish happy and growing. Been doing it for 45 years now and loved every minute. I only have a 46 litre Fluval Edge at the moment following a leaking tank soaking the lounge carpet and my wife trying to stop me keeping fish. This only lasted 3 weeks before she saw how it was affecting me. Carry on more water than fish, more water changes and don't worry providing your fish are happy and thriving you'll get a great enjoyment. Don't worry there's always more advise that you can use and always at opposite ends of the spectrum as you have already found out.

Tom

Thanks Tom, but I'm about ready to throw in the towel. It's been two months now and it's been more frustrating than anything else. I might try different fish from a different place, but what are the chances that my water is contaminated from all the sick guppies I've had in there?

I can see where this hobby would be great, if you could get it right, but based on all the reading I've done, I just don't think I'm a good fit for being a fish owner.

 

[Tomaso]

The fact that some of your guppies died in the tank won't make any difference to the health of any new ones you buy just do a large water change and that will sort it out for you and your ready to go. Good luck and don't give up we all have problems when we start up but we get over it and thoroughly enjoy it. Just keep an eye on any new fish you get in the first few days and I'm sure you'll be ok.

 

[callisto9]

The fact that some of your guppies died in the tank won't make any difference to the health of any new ones you buy just do a large water change and that will sort it out for you and your ready to go. Good luck and don't give up we all have problems when we start up but we get over it and thoroughly enjoy it. Just keep an eye on any new fish you get in the first few days and I'm sure you'll be ok.

Thanks. I'll see how it goes...

 

[Mrc8858]

The fact that some of your guppies died in the tank won't make any difference to the health of any new ones you buy just do a large water change and that will sort it out for you and your ready to go. Good luck and don't give up we all have problems when we start up but we get over it and thoroughly enjoy it. Just keep an eye on any new fish you get in the first few days and I'm sure you'll be ok.

+1 almost every aquarists first tank is a disaster including mine lol this is mainly due to bad or misleading information given to you by the stores which at first you wouldn't think twice about them giving you bad advice but once you get everything situated and figured out keeping fish is very easy and satisfying to watch them grow/breed knowing you've provided adequate care. I say give it one more shot atleast and run everything by AA step by step before you do it and you should end up with a beautiful little tank, goodluck

 

[CorallineAlgae]

About going to a different store.. that may be a good idea. In the past I bought fish from a large chain pet store and every time I did the fish would die, even when quarantined. I went to a small LFS and never lost a fish. Still, I was careful. The first time I went they had the fish I was interested in but they looked bad. I asked one of the workers about them and he straight up told me they weren't worth buying. When I returned a few weeks later the fish were in great health (a new batch). This was in the best shop for 100 miles or more.

Point is, even a great shop can get in just the right fish in just the wrong condition. Be observant before you make a purchase and ask questions. When you buy fish feed them less then half what you think they need, at least in the first week or two to allow your tank and filter time to adjust. The first few months are the most challenging. You should begin to see some success as long as the fish you add are healthy before you get them. Be picky about it. Success will come. You've already learned a lot.

 

[callisto9]

About going to a different store.. that may be a good idea. In the past I bought fish from a large chain pet store and every time I did the fish would die, even when quarantined. I went to a small LFS and never lost a fish. Still, I was careful. The first time I went they had the fish I was interested in but they looked bad. I asked one of the workers about them and he straight up told me they weren't worth buying. When I returned a few weeks later the fish were in great health (a new batch). This was in the best shop for 100 miles or more.

Point is, even a great shop can get in just the right fish in just the wrong condition. Be observant before you make a purchase and ask questions. When you buy fish feed them less then half what you think they need, at least in the first week or two to allow your tank and filter time to adjust. The first few months are the most challenging. You should begin to see some success as long as the fish you add are healthy before you get them. Be picky about it. Success will come. You've already learned a lot.

Thank you so much for your words. I'm giving this another shot. I bought a 20G tank with stand today and I'm going to take my time. I hope to buy my fish from one of the LFS in the next month or so after the tank is cycled.

I noticed a handful of dead/sick fish at the LFS today - is that a bad sign, or to be expected when a place houses 1000 fish?

 

[ilovefish2]

Hey...I just started keeping fish too and I was in the same boat. I had gotten my fish at petco and have had 2 die on me within the first week...I wanted to give up too, but my friend gave me 3 mollie fry from her preggers mollie and they are all healthy and growing. Had them about a month and a half now. I read that if you go to a store and you see dead fish in the tank of fish you are looking at, its a good idea not to get any from that tank. They (some big chain stores) don't pay as much attention..maybe not even care..they just want to make money. So listen to your gut when purchasing fish, and maybe try what others have said about going to a different lfs. good luck. ( let me know how your new tank goes...I'm thinking about upgrading too.)

 

[ilovefish2]

I'm new at posting things...hopefully the pic loads but here's 2 of my babies!!!

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Thank you so much for your words. I'm giving this another shot. I bought a 20G tank with stand today and I'm going to take my time. I hope to buy my fish from one of the LFS in the next month or so after the tank is cycled.

I noticed a handful of dead/sick fish at the LFS today - is that a bad sign, or to be expected when a place houses 1000 fish?

You're very welcome and I'm glad to hear you're giving it another go.

It's normal to see dead or sick fish in any shop. The problem with most chain stores starts with one BIG issue that's sometimes overlooked, central filtration. They almost always have whole banks of tanks all feeding into one or two large central filtration sumps. That means most or even all of their tanks share the same water. If fish come in with parasites or some other illness it can be transferred to every fish in the system. Even healthy newly arrived fish can be contaminated.

Most small mom and pop pet stores have separate filters for their tanks or at least fewer tanks per system. That doesn't mean their fish are automatically better. In the town where I shop there are two mom and pop stores. One has a reputation for having the sickest fish in town and the other the healthiest. One store has much larger tanks for the fish with way better filters and I wouldn't buy anything there because everything is sick. The other store uses 10 gallon tanks and only sponge filters for nearly every freshwater tank and their fish are remarkable. Difference is they work their buts off and honestly care. Point is, it's hard to find a shop you can count on. Even given all that, the last thing I bought was a 5.5 gallon quarantine tank just to be safe. The good shop still has some sick and dying fish. They can't control what arrives when they make an order. That's why a quarantine tank is such a good option.

 

[callisto9]

Thank you for your input! I'm always a little taken aback when I see dead fish in a tank, esp with four people working a small(er) store. A couple appeared to be going through their death rattle as I was *in* the store.

I'm excited to try this again. Also excited that my current tank is doing well. My two remaining guppies are seemingly OK and the snails (I put the freeloaders back in this tank) are doing what snails do. I am getting some ramsorns from eBay since I can't post in the for sale section of this site until I've been here 15 days.

I ordered a nice piece of manzanita from eBay, too. And my substrate is on the way. I need to start a tank build thread...

 

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

Great choice on the manzanita!

 

[callisto9]

Great choice on the manzanita!

I love that stuff, but it seems so expensive. Admittedly, I don't know where it comes from or how hard it is to get. But if I find a bunch of manzanita trees down the road from me, I'm going to be peeved. Kidding, of course.