Newbie-ish tank questions

[Silverfire]

Hi! First, I want to say that all you people seem to be very intelligent when it comes to fish, and a lot of questions have been answered, and you've given me lots of ideas!
That being said, I gots two questions. One: I have a little one-gallon tank with a happy little guppy named Carmilla, as well as three tiny baby guppies who were birthed by the now-deceased Erzsébet. Erzsébet died, I believe, because she got sick (she looked....fuzzy and flaky or something, and she had white spots on her fins which I believed to be the DREADED ICK! Carmilla also started to develop white fin-spots. I treated the tank with a combination anti-ick and anti-fungal medication, which started clearing her up, but then she had her babies, stopped eating, and died, poor thing) and was stressed out. Carmilla, however, is a Very Happy Fish, eating all but three of Erzsébet's babies and cavorting in the bubbles from the air pump and whatnot. She spends most of her time at the top of the tank, I don't know why. I think she's just wierd. She doesn't gasp or look sick or anything. is that normal for guppies?
So, I was wondering - Carmilla and the babies are rather messy eaters, and they poop A LOT. Would it be OK to get a small bottom-feeder to tidy up all this food waste and faecal material? And if so, what sort? I think ghost shrimp are really cool, and I hear that they don't add much to the tank load. But would one do well in a small, unheated tank? I've also heard that otto catfish are good in small aquariums, and that they don't grow much...but do these two types of critters like to eat what's left behind by the other fish? I change the water frequently (it's a lot quicker with a gravel vaccuum!) but the gravel vaccuum doesn't get all the crap that accumulates at the bottom of the tank. So what can anyone suggest?
Second - I want to get a bigger tank. Something small, because I haven't a lot of space - I was thinking ten or 5.5 gallon. I can't seem to find smaller tanks anywhere that have a hood and don't cost a LOT. Why is it that a hood costs so much? it's a bit of molded plastic! I'm leaning more towards the ten-gallon, because there's more options for stocking, and because if anything goes wrong, I'll have more time to fix it. Is it cheaper to get the tank and hood separate, or as a kit? The LFS (Big Al's) has...ah, a complete Marineland 10-gallon system with biowheel filter for sixty bucks. Is that ridiculously expensive? Because I think it is. I've heard that biowheel filters are noisy, in which case, I shall not get one, as the tank would be in my bedroom. Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.
Again, thanks!

[mayreee]

Hi :) Welcome to AC! I think you should not add a fish and agree with you getting a larger tank. The one gallon tank would just be too small to keep fish happy. I suggest you get a 5 gallon from walmart. It comes with everything but the gravel and heater. Even better you could get the 10 gallon. I think you may be able to find one cheaper than the $60.00. If I were you I would get the tank (just the glass part) at your LFS and then order the rest of the stuff for it online. I did that and it saved me a bunch of money. I would order from bigals or http://that petplace.com (I don't think they have full hoods though, when I looked awhile back). I hope I have helped you a little bit. Marie

[mayreee]

Also the otto will eat the food that is left behind but not the fish "droppings." So you could just try not to over feed them and gravel vac and that is all you would need to do (besides water changes).
About the filters... I only own one penguin and it is the loudest filter I own. The other filter I have with bio-wheels is an emperor and that is quiet. You will not need an emperor though :) I am not sure if it is just my penguin that is noisy though (just waterfall noise).

[Blinky]

Scavengers won't clean up fish waste, it's best taken care of with a gravel vac. Shrimp, otos, etc. need to be target fed but do also take care of algae and uneaten food bits in the tank. That said, I wouldn't add anything to a tank that small - IMHO, it's already overloaded.

If you're getting a new tank, I'd go with a 10g - they're actually cheaper (due to supply & demand) than 5.5g tanks, and are often available as a kit. The kit you saw is a little more than a standard 10g kit because all the equipment is hidden in the hood - Eclipse tanks are meant to be esthetically pleasing, with no visible equipment. If you're happy with a standard, glass 10g and a small HOB (hang on back) filter (Aquaclear, Penguin etc.) you can get everything you need for a very reasonable price. You'll need:
- the tank
- filter
- a small heater (not only for warmth, they also keep temperature steady, reducing stress on the fish - a heater is a must IMO)
- thermometer
- light & cover glass / light hood
- bulb(s)
- gravel / sand
Some kits include everything, and some include very little, so shop around.

The reason hoods aren't cheap is because they encompass a light fixture. If you find a less expensive one that's incandescent, you can use screw-in compact fluorescent bulbs to replace the incandescent ones - voila! instant fluorescent lights. Just be sure to get 'daylight' or 'full-spectrum' bulbs - using the typical 'warm white' will give your tank a reddish glow.

I use a bio-wheel (Penguin 170) on my 10g (this is a big filter for a 10g but I'm a fan of over filtering) and it's dead quiet - it's in the bedroom, so it has to be. Every once in a while the impeller makes a very quiet vibrating sort of noise, and I just restart the filter to make it stop - old HOB's sometimes develop a little personality ;).

Sorry you lost some of your guppies, hopefully you can get a new tank and they'll do better.

[nickbuter]

I love my ottos and cories, but I dont rely on them to clean the extra food, and algae. I just make sure I dont feed the top and middle strata fish too much.

[the_dougie]

nothing in freshwater eats poop...
you have to take care of it with a vacuum or other kind of syphon.
Also for future reference, mixing meds is not a wise idea. Find out what you're dealing with, then cure it.

[Harlock]

I know our local Wal-Mart carries a ten gallon set up that includes filter, light hood, thermometer, net, heater and maybe some flake food and little extra things thrown in for $29.99 US. No idea on the filter brand or noise issue though. Personally, I used to have a ten gallon in my bedroom with one of those old airlift setups with the air pumps that made some noise and frankly, I LIKED the white noise it provided and slept better with it. YMMV

[greenday04]

Wow a 10g for $29.99 at Walmart, that sounds good to me as I have been seriously thinking of upgrading my 2 1/2g w/one male betta to a 10g as the maintenance has to be easier, let alone more room to manouver. Also could get a dwarf corie, suggested by this site, and maybe, just many some neon tetras!!

I have to agree w/Harlock as being a married women of two kids and a hubby who snores I would love to have the sound of waterfalling to drowned out the other stuff. We also have Bay Area Rapit Transit aka BART in our backyard. That is why I love camping by a river so much, White noice is great!

Also a 1gallon tank is very small for that many fish, IMHO as a newbie.
Good luck and let us know how the 10g works for you as this may very well convince me to go bigger. Also after reading I have to agree that a fishless cycle is the best!

[Silverfire]

Ah! Thanks for telling me all that stuff about the bottom-feeders. I wasn't entirely sure about the caprophagia thing - I didn't think that they'd eat poop, but I wasn't sure. I do my damndest to feed them only as much as they will eat, but alas my sister tends to overfeed them, which is rather annoying as I tell her they barely eat a pinch of flakes. But I digress.
Yes, I do want to get a larger tank for Carmilla and a few other fish.
I don't mind overmuch aquarium white noise - my air pump is almost silent, but the noise from the bubbles is curiously electic and buzzing-sounding, it's really odd. I would almost tend to prefer a small filter that can be hooked up to a airpump, ecause I rather like the bubble noise now, and of course Carmilla seems to enjoy poking around at the bubbles...of course, them things probably aren't very efficient, so something else will do, I imagine.
As for the larger tank - I really am thinking of getting a 5.5 gallon, because it would fit almost perfectly on the top of the bookshelf where Carmilla lives now. The little tiny tank I would transfer to my computer desk (once I *get* a puter desk, that is!) and I'd put something else in it...don't know exactly what as yet, but I'm sure I could find something that is small and not as butt-ugly as a betta (Gods, I'm sorry, but I think those things are hideous).
The sixty-dollar price I gave is in Canadian funds - hurrah for the Great White North! - so that may well be why it seemed to high. A bare-bones plain glass, topless 10-gallon is 14 dollars at the LFS, 5.5 gallon is just under ten, I believe...they have a sort of bundle thingwith a 5.5 gallon and hood, but I don't know how much it is - I'm looking online just now to see - and can't find it, of course. *shrugs* I can go and have a look sometime this weekend. So I will probably be getting a 5.5 because of space considerations.
Aigh, gtg as the library timer is almost done! More later. Thanks!!

[the_dougie]

bettas come in like every color, with like 30 different kinds of tails. surely you cant think they all look hideous. they might in the cups they're sold in though...

Dont get a 5.5 gallon-i have one, i hate it! there was a 5.5gallon for 60$ Canadian, and a 10gallon at 70$ Canadian, and I REAAAALLLY regret not going a lot bigger than both...ah well. If i decide to go bigger, I'll keep this one as a Q tank, or just keep my one betta in it without others.
But yeah 5.5 gallon still isnt much space. Also depending on the bookshelf, it probably wouldnt be able to support the weight of even a 5.5gallon filled with water. IMO you should go bigger, and find a different spot to place it on.

[Indigo]

Silverfire - I'd suggest to buy the tank locally, then shop online for everything else. Better selection, WAY better prices. I've gotten a heater from www.mops.ca and I'm thinking of ordering supplies from www.jlaquatics.com for my next tank. MOPS is based somewhere in southern ontario, J&L Aquatics is more SW leaning, but still has lots of FW stuff, and are based near Vancouver. Also, there's www.bigalsonline.ca but its cheaper, exchange rate and all to buy from their american site - www.bigalsonline.com

Check out classifieds in your area. Up here I've seen ads for all sorts of tanks for really good prices.

Hope this helps a little ;)

[Silverfire]

I just went and *sat down* on the bookshelf in question, and it supported my weight with not so much as a wobble. Of course, I'm not that heavy - about 110 lbs or so (yes, I'm hideously thin, that's just the way things is). I can't believe it didn't wiggle even a little, and it was so inexpensive! ($14.00 Canadian from Wal-mart, if you must know) Interesting.
Of course, that was only for a few minutes. Having a full aquarium that's bigger than the current one on the bookshelf would of course present a greater strain.
The thing about bettas is their strange little bodies - they look like truncated cigars with fins....their colours can be pretty, I admit, and they're cool on a strangeness level, but they're just not my thing I guess. Chacun son gout, I suppose :P
Damnnation, must be off again!
Anyway. Yeah...I dunno. I don't want to keep huge amounts of fish - just four or five at the most (for now, at least!). When I have my own place I'm definitely going to get something bigger and more interesting, but until then, while I live at my sister's apartment, smaller is better, from a space point of view. As for cleaning, I haven't had any trouble cleaning the little tank - just scoop Carmilla up into a glass and put her safely away while I get rid of the crap at the bottom. The babies evade the vaccuum like magic! I can't believe she still hasn't eaten them all.
Anyway, I have to go. More later, perhaps.