This all started with two goldfish. I should say first that I am a mother of two very little children (3 year old boy and 1 year old girl) and this all started because like any little kid, my boy and girl LOVE fish. My mother in law has a outdoor pond. Last September, when she informed me that they no longer had a working heater for the pond. She said it was too hard for them really to maintain it during the winter months and they had no plans to get a new heater. I asked her what she was going to do with the goldfish she had in the pond (she had bought little ones that spring because they had lost there last batch over the winter). She said she was just going to ....well you know...let them basically freeze to death. I casually said (((knowing my son would LOVE LOVE LOVE a fish))) "well maybe we could take a few and house them over the winter." I forgot I had this conversation, a month later they were down for a visit and she showed up with a 10 gallon tank( a kit you get at walmart), rock, plastic plants, a decorative rock, and an icecream pail with two 3 inch goldfish in it. Bren named them Optimus Prime(Opi) and Bumblebee (BeeBee) . I was right, both kids have LOVED having fish. But over the winter and into spring, as the fish were growing, it was fast becoming apparent that the 10 gallon was way too small for the two goldfish. Every two months I was cleaning the tank, but I now realize i should have been doing weekly small water changes(would have at least helped a bit). I finally talked to my mother inlaw about how the tank was just too small for the now 5 inch goldfish and they needed to go back to the pond. So I made a deal with my son, he could release Opi and Beebee and then we could get smaller fish for our tank. About two weeks ago, they went back to their farm/decorative MUCH much Larger living space/pond to swim in.
I should say that before i had never even heard the words cycling or really ANYTHING technical about having a fish tank. I thought it was just a matter of water in tank, put fish in, change filter every so often (like 3 months or so), feed fish daily, and that was it.
When we got back from letting the fish 'free', we cleaned the fish tank, basically took everything out, washed off with water, scrubbed the sides with a paper towel, replaced the weird cheap blue rocks with pretty 'river' rock type gravel, rinsed off plants, kept the filter (((because it didn't need changing yet))), filled with water, put chemicals in to decolorinate/help with algea, and let it sit over night.
The next day we went to a local LARGE chain pet store and went in search with some small bright easier keepers. The employee we talked to said that platys and gupys were good choices and I actually was thinking the same thing. I let my son choose and he choose the platys. I was informed that they bred pretty easily and this I was kinda turned off by. I don't want a BUNCH of baby fish (what do you do with them all- and we were trying to get rid of the not enough room problem). Plus I didn't want to watch them get eaten either. The emplyee said that having a small 'school' of males would be a good idea then. That we could only take about 4 home to cycle our tank for a month and could maybe only add 2 more. I think that was the first time I had heard the word cycle. So we picked out two bumblee Platys (Zorro and Bob), 1 wagtail (Mannie), and a panda platy (Po). They are all about 1 inch long.
I noticed right away that the fish were acting funny. The wagtail (Mannie) and one of the bumblebees (Zorro---because he looks like he has a mask on his head) were terribly aggressive with one another. Chasing, nipping, generally harassing each other and the others. Mannie is also a little piggy and eats til his stomach is ENLARGED. The panda (Po) is the one I am most concerned about. He came from a different tank than the other three at the store. I noticed right away he seemed , almost antisocial. He wouldn't go near the others. Now he hides in a decorative coral rock thing most of the time, or hides towards the back of the tank, his top fin is NEVER up, and he hasn't been eating/eating very little. He doesn't swim very fast like the others.
My husband and I both decided last week that the 10 gallon tank was small and we wanted something bigger. This way if we wanted to have more fish we would have plenty of room for it and the fish would be happier. So he found a 50 gallon on craigslist for 50$. We got more rock, some tall fake plants. I think in the future i would like to get live plants when I am more capable and knowledgeable. But I feel like we have jumped into SO much already. AFter cleaning the tank with white vinegar, rinsing it out, rinsing rocks and plants. We arranged everything and filled the tank. We put chemicals in and a lady at the store (same large store) talked me into get some biozyme (1/4 teaspoon daily for a week). We had to purchase a filter, heater, and light for the tank. My husband just got an aquatech (30-60) filter from walmart that goes on the side for a tank. We would like to at some point get an under gravel filter but we went with a cheaper option for now (this new hobby has already been pretty expensive).
So until really the other day doing some research (which let me tell you what there is a LOT of information out there and with small children it has been a challenge to sit down and sift through all of it)... I started reading up on cycling. I see its fast to cycle tanks without fish but it requires sitting for a month with an empty tank, putting ammonia in (how much--where do you get ammonia), testing (haven't a clue how or with what)..... and right now I am so worried about Po --the panda platy. i feel he is VERY stressed and needs the other 3 to move out soon to the 50. But I don't want to put the other three in jeopardy in the new 50 tank. The employee at the store ((when I got the light, gravel)) said that I could keep Po back for a while in the smaller tank and let him have a break. I was concerned about his happiness without a school since he is a schooling fish. And she said he would be fine and probably actually very happy without all the other boys to stress him out.
As far as the future. I have changed my mind about having no females to avoid babies. I feel like having a bachelor tank doesn't make for happy fish. Too much testosterone. lol And maybe they need to be kept 'busy' to be happy. So I would like to add females (2:1 ratio as suggested). If we have babies, we have babies and hopefully our tank doesn't explode in population and maybe we can find homes for those that survive to be young adults. I have heard of people selling back to pet stores??? We even now have the 10 gallon to house babies desperately if we wanted to keep them safe.
My husband has ALWAYS wanted a big tank and fish. I think they are beautiful and fun to watch. And the kids are huge fans. i feel like this is just the beginning of this. And like i said I would love to have all live plants, a happy little ecosystem of fish.
I would love some suggestions on what to do at this point. i fear we haven't been doing a whole lot of anything correctly and I do not want to cause the death of a fish due to my lack of knowledge. I am at a loss to this cycling buiness (with or without fish). Not sure how to test or what we would need to do it if we did. I have NEVER tested water ever. What is the cost? If I do move the 3 over, 3 platys is really not a school, do we need to get 2 more fish? Will the panda really be alright by itself for a little while, while he gets better? Technically the 10 gallon isn't really a cycled tank in the first place right (only been up for like 10 days)??? Should i be testing this tank as well? Also suggestions of what fish we should add and when (if we want a happy school of platys-boys and girls). What other types would go well with a school of platys? We enjoy bright colors.
Thank you so much if you have read all this and take the time to help us out. (((and if there are a lot of spelling grammar mistakes, I apologize but i wrote this here and there over a 3 hour time period and with a 1 year old in my lap most of the time. So I am not taking the time to spell check or what not. I am a busy mom with busy kiddos.)))
-Robyn
I should say that before i had never even heard the words cycling or really ANYTHING technical about having a fish tank. I thought it was just a matter of water in tank, put fish in, change filter every so often (like 3 months or so), feed fish daily, and that was it.
When we got back from letting the fish 'free', we cleaned the fish tank, basically took everything out, washed off with water, scrubbed the sides with a paper towel, replaced the weird cheap blue rocks with pretty 'river' rock type gravel, rinsed off plants, kept the filter (((because it didn't need changing yet))), filled with water, put chemicals in to decolorinate/help with algea, and let it sit over night.
The next day we went to a local LARGE chain pet store and went in search with some small bright easier keepers. The employee we talked to said that platys and gupys were good choices and I actually was thinking the same thing. I let my son choose and he choose the platys. I was informed that they bred pretty easily and this I was kinda turned off by. I don't want a BUNCH of baby fish (what do you do with them all- and we were trying to get rid of the not enough room problem). Plus I didn't want to watch them get eaten either. The emplyee said that having a small 'school' of males would be a good idea then. That we could only take about 4 home to cycle our tank for a month and could maybe only add 2 more. I think that was the first time I had heard the word cycle. So we picked out two bumblee Platys (Zorro and Bob), 1 wagtail (Mannie), and a panda platy (Po). They are all about 1 inch long.
I noticed right away that the fish were acting funny. The wagtail (Mannie) and one of the bumblebees (Zorro---because he looks like he has a mask on his head) were terribly aggressive with one another. Chasing, nipping, generally harassing each other and the others. Mannie is also a little piggy and eats til his stomach is ENLARGED. The panda (Po) is the one I am most concerned about. He came from a different tank than the other three at the store. I noticed right away he seemed , almost antisocial. He wouldn't go near the others. Now he hides in a decorative coral rock thing most of the time, or hides towards the back of the tank, his top fin is NEVER up, and he hasn't been eating/eating very little. He doesn't swim very fast like the others.
My husband and I both decided last week that the 10 gallon tank was small and we wanted something bigger. This way if we wanted to have more fish we would have plenty of room for it and the fish would be happier. So he found a 50 gallon on craigslist for 50$. We got more rock, some tall fake plants. I think in the future i would like to get live plants when I am more capable and knowledgeable. But I feel like we have jumped into SO much already. AFter cleaning the tank with white vinegar, rinsing it out, rinsing rocks and plants. We arranged everything and filled the tank. We put chemicals in and a lady at the store (same large store) talked me into get some biozyme (1/4 teaspoon daily for a week). We had to purchase a filter, heater, and light for the tank. My husband just got an aquatech (30-60) filter from walmart that goes on the side for a tank. We would like to at some point get an under gravel filter but we went with a cheaper option for now (this new hobby has already been pretty expensive).
So until really the other day doing some research (which let me tell you what there is a LOT of information out there and with small children it has been a challenge to sit down and sift through all of it)... I started reading up on cycling. I see its fast to cycle tanks without fish but it requires sitting for a month with an empty tank, putting ammonia in (how much--where do you get ammonia), testing (haven't a clue how or with what)..... and right now I am so worried about Po --the panda platy. i feel he is VERY stressed and needs the other 3 to move out soon to the 50. But I don't want to put the other three in jeopardy in the new 50 tank. The employee at the store ((when I got the light, gravel)) said that I could keep Po back for a while in the smaller tank and let him have a break. I was concerned about his happiness without a school since he is a schooling fish. And she said he would be fine and probably actually very happy without all the other boys to stress him out.
As far as the future. I have changed my mind about having no females to avoid babies. I feel like having a bachelor tank doesn't make for happy fish. Too much testosterone. lol And maybe they need to be kept 'busy' to be happy. So I would like to add females (2:1 ratio as suggested). If we have babies, we have babies and hopefully our tank doesn't explode in population and maybe we can find homes for those that survive to be young adults. I have heard of people selling back to pet stores??? We even now have the 10 gallon to house babies desperately if we wanted to keep them safe.
My husband has ALWAYS wanted a big tank and fish. I think they are beautiful and fun to watch. And the kids are huge fans. i feel like this is just the beginning of this. And like i said I would love to have all live plants, a happy little ecosystem of fish.
I would love some suggestions on what to do at this point. i fear we haven't been doing a whole lot of anything correctly and I do not want to cause the death of a fish due to my lack of knowledge. I am at a loss to this cycling buiness (with or without fish). Not sure how to test or what we would need to do it if we did. I have NEVER tested water ever. What is the cost? If I do move the 3 over, 3 platys is really not a school, do we need to get 2 more fish? Will the panda really be alright by itself for a little while, while he gets better? Technically the 10 gallon isn't really a cycled tank in the first place right (only been up for like 10 days)??? Should i be testing this tank as well? Also suggestions of what fish we should add and when (if we want a happy school of platys-boys and girls). What other types would go well with a school of platys? We enjoy bright colors.
Thank you so much if you have read all this and take the time to help us out. (((and if there are a lot of spelling grammar mistakes, I apologize but i wrote this here and there over a 3 hour time period and with a 1 year old in my lap most of the time. So I am not taking the time to spell check or what not. I am a busy mom with busy kiddos.)))
-Robyn
But not to worry, it's a good change. The bigger the tanks, the easier it is to keep fish alive; although the more work it is to change water.
