Newbie

[Linlin]

Hi I’m a fish newbie lol bought myself a 25 litre tank set it up and went to buy some fish, I won’t name the store but being a newbie I was looking for advice instead I got told you can only have those (danios) they are fun to watch I have 4 but I was hoping for a variety and possibly one that uses all my tank ?, any advice on what I can put in with my 4 new friends will be much appreciated

 

[Aiken Drum]

Welcome to the community.

A 25 litre tank isnt really big enough danios. 40 litres would be the minimum i would say danios can successfully live in and 60 litres would be better.

The only fish i would recommend to live in a 25 litre tank would be a single betta, along with a small snail if you wanted to look at something different in there too. A betta would need a heater. You would probably be able to get away with 3 guppies at a push.

If you really want to keep a small group of social fish like the danios, then i would get a 40 to 60 litre tank and look at keeping 6 to 8 fish together so they are living in a comfortable group. If you are looking at keeping a "community tank" and want a bit of variety to look at, and different species interacting, 60 to 100 litre are good sized tanks to look at.

As you are a new fishkeeper a couple of questions.

What do you understand about the nitrogen cycle?

Do you know how to cycle a tank? If so could you let us know what you did/ are doing. Fish stores are notorious for not giving good information on cycling tanks.

 

[Linlin]

Hi I’m a fish newbie lol bought myself a 25 litre tank set it up and went to buy some fish, I won’t name the store but being a newbie I was looking for advice instead I got told you can only have those (danios) they are fun to watch I have 4 but I was hoping for a variety and possibly one that uses all my tank ?, any advice on what I can put in with my 4 new friends will be much appreciated

I got no advice in the shop all I was told is you can have 4 of those however today I bought a 100 litre tank so I’m reading all I can

 

[Aiken Drum]

Link to a thread containing some useful articles for new fishkeepers.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/foru...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

If you have any specific questions then please ask.

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. We are glad you found us here at AA.

 

[Colin_T]

I got no advice in the shop all I was told is you can have 4 of those however today I bought a 100 litre tank so I’m reading all I can

LOL, you have MTS (multiple tank syndrome) already and you've only been keeping fish for a short time. You're in trouble


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What sort of filter do you have on the tank?

Undergravel filters should be gravel cleaned every week with a basic model gravel cleaner.

Power filters and air operated sponge filters should be cleaned at least once a month. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it unless the water flow is really slow. After 6 weeks, the filter bacteria should have established and you can clean it once a month. To clean these types of filter, wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn.

If you have a filter with pads/ cartridges in and the manufacturer suggests replacing these every month, do not replace them until they start to fall apart. Replacing filter pads is a sales gimmick and causes you to lose the beneficial bacteria living in the filter.

If you have filter pads/ cartridges, buy a foam filter for another brand of filter, and use a pair of scissors to cut the foam so it fit sin your filter. Add the piece of sponge to the filter and leave it to run for 6-8 weeks before cleaning it. Sponges are cleaned as described above (by squeezing them in a bucket of tank water and re-using the sponge). Sponges last for years and only need replacing if they start to fall apart.


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If the tank is newly set up (less than 6 weeks old), keep feeding down to a minimum (2-3 times per week) and do big (50-75%) regular water changes (using dechlorinated water).