evalmore
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2013
- Messages
- 51
Hello everyone,
Alright! Let's get right down to business! I am a complete newbie when it comes to aquariums and owning fish and I'm hoping to start a 10 or 15 gallon freshwater tropical tank soon. I've never had a tropical tank and even though I've been doing research on it there are still a couple aspects I'm a bit confused about. First of all I hear people talking about water changes and I see that they only replace 1/3 or 1/4 of the water at a time. When I clean my coldwater tank I usually empty it completely. How does the 1/3 or 1/4 water change work? And should I be doing this with my coldwater tank as well? Also, when I start my freshwater tropical tank, how do I go about cycling it?
Another thing I had questions about is the types of fish I should include in my tropical freshwater tank. I need fish that are fairly hardy since I'm pretty much a first time tank owner. I also would like a really diverse community in my tank, but I don't want to overpopulate it. I'm interested in guppies, corydora catfish, ghost shrimp (or some other type of shrimp), and possibly platys and some other oddballs like a dwarf African clawed frog, but I am open to any suggestions on what type of fish I should get. (I'm new and don't really know what I'm talking about so I also need to know if the fish I choose will even coexist in the tank and not kill each other.) I understand that I won't be able to fit all of these into one tank, I was just wondering what this lovely community suggested.
Also, I understand that some fish have different dietary needs (?). How can I make sure that all of the different types of fish get enough food? Also, if I get shrimp and/or a frog for my tank do I need to buy them special food?
I can't think of any other questions I have at the moment and I've already asked so many questions! Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to read this and weigh in!
Alright! Let's get right down to business! I am a complete newbie when it comes to aquariums and owning fish and I'm hoping to start a 10 or 15 gallon freshwater tropical tank soon. I've never had a tropical tank and even though I've been doing research on it there are still a couple aspects I'm a bit confused about. First of all I hear people talking about water changes and I see that they only replace 1/3 or 1/4 of the water at a time. When I clean my coldwater tank I usually empty it completely. How does the 1/3 or 1/4 water change work? And should I be doing this with my coldwater tank as well? Also, when I start my freshwater tropical tank, how do I go about cycling it?
Another thing I had questions about is the types of fish I should include in my tropical freshwater tank. I need fish that are fairly hardy since I'm pretty much a first time tank owner. I also would like a really diverse community in my tank, but I don't want to overpopulate it. I'm interested in guppies, corydora catfish, ghost shrimp (or some other type of shrimp), and possibly platys and some other oddballs like a dwarf African clawed frog, but I am open to any suggestions on what type of fish I should get. (I'm new and don't really know what I'm talking about so I also need to know if the fish I choose will even coexist in the tank and not kill each other.) I understand that I won't be able to fit all of these into one tank, I was just wondering what this lovely community suggested.
Also, I understand that some fish have different dietary needs (?). How can I make sure that all of the different types of fish get enough food? Also, if I get shrimp and/or a frog for my tank do I need to buy them special food?
I can't think of any other questions I have at the moment and I've already asked so many questions! Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to read this and weigh in!