I am putting tigether a starter kit fir a newly retired friend !!

[Camogirl28]

Am getting a friend of mine who has a 50 gal tank that she dose not really know how to take care of, she has decor and tank but need a few fish and starter chemicals , please list a full stater kit items. She loves to sit and watch her fish so easy, relaxing , and fun.

 

[Thumper828]

To make life easier for her I would suggest a fish-less cycle. It would be a lot less work than a fish-in cycle.

 

[Camogirl28]

She is very interested about fish so I want to teach her how to take care and treat her tank so her birthday is coming up and thanksgiving so I will be there helping her understand everything so is there any starter kit items I should include

 

[Thumper828]

If there is any way you can, stay away from chemicals. You can easily start an aquarium naturally. Basic essentials are filter, heater, and maybe an air pump if she wants bubbles. You can nice kits at petsmart if there is one in your area.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

You and her should give this a read. It pretty much covers everything.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...-to-Starting-a-Freshwater-Aquarium/Page1.html

 

[Camogirl28]

Oh ok thanks I think I will get her the following

1. Stress Zyme

2. Ammonia test strips

3. 5 in 1 test strips

4. A scrubber

5. Thermometer

6. Filter refills

7. Prime conditioner

8. A clarifier


FISH I PLAN ON GETTING HER :

1. Cory catfish

2. Pink tetra

3. Four guppies

4. Three platys

5. Two neon tetras

6. 1 Molly

7. A blue dwarf gourami

8. A ballon belly Molly .

Dose this sound good for her . I want to get her supples for awhile the nearest petsmart is few towns over

 

[ScumbagSaV]

I agree with thumper828. Try avoiding the starter chemicals the pet store employees try to entice you to buy. I made that mistake my first time and my fish died right away even with fish-less cycling.
I did a in-fish cycle with a betta & he is still thriving, living very happy.
If any chemicals I would personally recommend a slime coat with something that removes chlorine & chloramine. That's the only chemicals I add in my water.

 

[ScumbagSaV]

Also the master test kit is awesome! Perfect to monitor your water.
Good luck!

 

[Camogirl28]

Ok thanks I will definitely check out that test kit and avoid to many chemicals. Thank you very much for your help , I hope she loves her new starter kit .

 

[ScumbagSaV]

Please let us know what fish you decide to get. I would love to see the setup after she gets everything up & running.

 

[Mcgolg76]

Cory's and neon tetras will me much happier with more friends of the same species

 

[Camogirl28]

Okay I think that little schools of small fish will make a bigger impact on the tank . I think it will look a lot cooler. I will get a few more if the smaller fish to create schools

 

[flitabout]

First things first get the tank cycled before adding fish.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html.
If this woman is elderly she probably isn't going to want to lug 5 gallon buckets every couple of days to keep the tank clean enough for the fish. So this is going to be your best bet.
Basically all you need to get her is a bottle of pure 100% ammonia, a bottle of prime, and an API master liquid test kit to start with. The test strips are notoriously inaccurate.
If you want to speed up the cycle the only (bb)beneficial bacteria in a bottle I would buy is Seachem's Stability. This stuff is not a guarantee. Handling may have killed all of the bb. But it is the only one that I know the manufacture date. It has a 4 year shelf life so you want to get it with as much time as possible left. By the time it is close to the expiry date you are just buying a really expensive bottle of water.
This isn't a perfect guide but it is a great place to start when picking your stock and stocking levels. AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor
This is one of my favorite sites. I have used it many times when trying to pick out fish. I have never bought anything from them, Shipping is just way to much for my small budget. But it has great info on the fish, like tank size and what the fish need and there aggression levels.
Freshwater Fish: Freshwater Tropical Fish Species for Tropical Fish Tanks
The only other thing I can think of is maybe a water changer to make her life easier would be a water changer like a Python Python Aquarium Gravel Cleaner: Python No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Maintenance System at Petco. All you have to do it to treat the entire tank volume with prime and then you just use the tap water.
I would personally wait until Christmas to actually stock the tank when it is already cycled

 

[Camogirl28]

Thank you !! You for all of your advice I am sure she will love it very much . I will teach her everything I know about fish keeping .

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I know everyone is quick to jump on the fishless cycle bandwagon when it comes to newbies but if you have an established tank you can lend her some used filter media and/or a bag of substrate and fish-in cycle. If you stock lightly then there are no daily water changes. Alternatively you can run her new filter on your tank for a couple of weeks to seed and fish-in cycle from there. Don't let it scare you. I've fish-in cycled 10+ tanks this way just in the last 2 years. Never lost a fish from cycling.

 

[Camogirl28]

Ok thanks ! Her tank is set up so she just needs stuff to maintain it and fish. I think I will try a fish in cycle .

 

[Camogirl28]

I ended up getting her

- stress coat

- Prime

- Start right cleanser

- Test strips

- filter replacements


FISH

- 2 red guppies

- 3 colorless female guppies

- 2 yellow guppies

- 2 blue guppies

- 2 female orange platys

- 1 male red Platy

- 1 white ballon belly Molly

- 1 black ballon belly Molly

( there were having a big sale on guppies $1.00 only )

 

[ScumbagSaV]

I ended up getting her - stress coat - Prime - Start right cleanser - Test strips - filter replacements FISH - 2 red guppies - 3 colorless female guppies - 2 yellow guppies - 2 blue guppies - 2 female orange platys - 1 male red Platy - 1 white ballon belly Molly - 1 black ballon belly Molly ( there were having a big sale on guppies $1.00 only )

I believe the fish stock is appropriate for the size of the tank, but from my personal experience lately the 5 in 1 test strips are inaccurate. Not sure which kind you purchased but the api test kit is thee best I have been able to find. Was recommended by a fellow forum user on here
Also, do not follow the suggestions the filter packaging says about changing your filter every few weeks. From what I have learned, the good bacteria you would want to have in your tank is mainly in the filter. Take it out & give it a gentle rinse if it gets cluttered / clogged but try to maintain the same filter as much as possible. The fish will appreciate it in the long run!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Oh ok thanks I think I will get her the following

1. Stress Zyme

2. Ammonia test strips

3. 5 in 1 test strips

4. A scrubber

5. Thermometer

6. Filter refills

7. Prime conditioner

8. A clarifier


FISH I PLAN ON GETTING HER :

1. Cory catfish

2. Pink tetra

3. Four guppies

4. Three platys

5. Two neon tetras

6. 1 Molly

7. A blue dwarf gourami

8. A ballon belly Molly .

Dose this sound good for her . I want to get her supples for awhile the nearest petsmart is few towns over

Take the test strips and clarifier off the list. Buy the API Master Freshwater Liquid test kit instead. Neon tetras are schooling fish, so I would do 10-15 of those. Make sure the tank is cycled before adding fish.

Out of those fish, do 10 Neon Tetras, 8 Cory Cats, 5 Platies, 6 Guppies, no mollies, and 1 Dwarf Gourami.

 

[ScumbagSaV]

I was hoping one of you masters would chime in! Haha