What do I need to buy and what is a waste of money$$

[amyandlars]

So far I've noticed that just about everything the petstore recommends, someone on this board says don't use it, it's not needed. So other than test kits, a chlorine or ammonia remover what else is needed?

I noticed when I stopped in the fish aisle on a no customer time that they were feeding about 80% of the fish orange slices. And the fish were going insane over an orange slice. Some of the tanks with the larger school tiny fish devoured the whole slice in about a minute.

[plah831]

Sorry to confuse you! You have to remember that the store is in it to make your money. Plus their employees are usually there for less than 6 months, and make way too little money to care in most cases.

The fresh fruit and veggies are appreciated by many fish. They're great for regularity (e.g. relieve constipation) and provide vitamins. Goldfish especially love orange slices and even like playing with the leftover rinds :) Very cute.

Other than what you've listed, there's not much else I can think of that's necessary. The only thing I add to my water on a regular basis are Prime by Seachem (a tap water conditioner that also detoxifies ammonia). Oh, yeah, and plant fertilizers for my live plants, but tha'ts a different story.

You may find it handy to keep some salt around, in case of ich. I don't keep medications on hand because I don't use them much, and they would probably go bad before I needed them.

Another great thing to have, especially if you have a lot of tanks or larger tanks is a Python No Spill 'n' Fill. It hooks up to your sink to let you drain or refill the tank with an easy turn of a switch.

[Rain_302]

Other ideas if you want to give your fish veggies would be romane lettuce and zucchini for tropical fish. If you have goldfish you can also give them peas, just squeeze out the inside of the pea for them. The peas will aid in digestion for goldfish, if a gf ever gets...stopped up...give him peas to help flush him out.

On another note, I wouldn't leave the veggies in the tank for more than 4 hours. The veggies will get soft and go bad.

[crazie.eddie]

If you ever have issues with high ammonia, nitrItes, or very high nitrAtes, don't buy anything. Just perform a water changes/gravel cleaning. You may need to perform them often. You would be surprised of doing the most simplest, easiest, quickest thing can solve those problems.

If your water has traces of chlorine or chloramine, then I would suggest buying dechlorinator, like Prime, Amquel +, Stress Coat, etc.

You also don't really need carbon either, UNLESS you are trying to remove meds after medicating the fish, due to an illness.

DO get a small tank for quarantine/hospital purposes. If a fish becomes sick, it maybe easier to treat the single fish, instead of the whole entire tank. Also, whenever you bring new fish home, you should quarantine the fish for a few weeks. I would hate to see the new fish you bring home get all the other fish sick or even kill the rest that is in your tank.

[Rbishop]

You will always see a lot of opinions against what is being marketed. There are ways to maintain a tank healthy that do not require the vast quantity of products out there.

Some of them have their usefulness, but most are not needed for routine use or cause more problems than they solve.

The list of products that promise "instant" tank set up, "reducing" tank maintenance/water changes, pH modifiers/buffers, are just not needed.

My list of must haves...

filtration, overfiltrate is best
conditioner for chlorine/chloramine removal
test kits for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH & hardness
gravel vac tube/siphon hose
thermometer/heaters, not for coldwater

My list of must do's...

-frequent water changes
-frequent gravel vacuuming
-do not overfeed
-do not overstock
-a variety of healthy foods
-observation, watch how they are reacting noting changes that may be indications of something else, and just for the enjoyment

[rosita]

^^^^^
Bob's advice is the best you'll find. Simple and direct and absolutely accurate!!!

[amyandlars]

I love it, that means I don't have to buy anymore stuff. I never knew that I would get so addicted to this. What turned out as a simple pet for the kids is kinda getting out of hand. And the thinking behind this question is I just wasted $13 on unneeded ph increaser, I could have bought a 10gal aquarium with that. And I can save money so I can get better lighting for the Betta. Whoo hoo!

[Rbishop]

Now you did it...I diagnose you as officially impaired with MTS...Multiple Tank Syndrome. :dance2:

[amyandlars]

Now you did it...I diagnose you as officially impaired with MTS...Multiple Tank Syndrome. :dance2:

What's even worse is my husband is starting to plan his saltwater aquarium. A HUGE 500-700 gal aquarium. Of course we are years away from that. He wants a coral tank and I want seahorses. Two incompatabiles so add 2 more tanks. :duh:

[mostlycichlids]

Sorry to confuse you! You have to remember that the store is in it to make your money. Plus their employees are usually there for less than 6 months, and make way too little money to care in most cases.

The fresh fruit and veggies are appreciated by many fish. They're great for regularity (e.g. relieve constipation) and provide vitamins. Goldfish especially love orange slices and even like playing with the leftover rinds :) Very cute.

Other than what you've listed, there's not much else I can think of that's necessary. The only thing I add to my water on a regular basis are Prime by Seachem (a tap water conditioner that also detoxifies ammonia). Oh, yeah, and plant fertilizers for my live plants, but tha'ts a different story.

You may find it handy to keep some salt around, in case of ich. I don't keep medications on hand because I don't use them much, and they would probably go bad before I needed them.

Another great thing to have, especially if you have a lot of tanks or larger tanks is a Python No Spill 'n' Fill. It hooks up to your sink to let you drain or refill the tank with an easy turn of a switch.
if you are going to keep salt make sure it is not table salt you can use non iodized salt or aquarium salt. Just wanted to specify. But plah is right really no need to keep meds around.

[Rbishop]

You do not need the salt, and if you do have to tackle ich, common table salt is perfectly fine.

[crazie.eddie]

^^^^^
Bob's advice is the best you'll find. Simple and direct and absolutely accurate!!!


I agree, but I would still emphasize on a QT tank. It's easier and cheaper to treat 1 sick fish in a 10 gallon tank, than 1 sick fish out of so many healthy fish in a larger tank.

I would also like to include Potassium Permangate. It's a great disinfectant for live plants (safe for plants), which kills bugs, snails, snail eggs, etc. that may hitch a ride on them. Plus PP can be used to disinfect tanks and equipment. It's better than bleach, becuase you never really know if you used enough bleach and there's a possibilty of killing plants if using bleach on them. With PP, the more you add, the darker purple the water turns. PP can also be used as medication for external parasites on fish as well.

[Rbishop]

^^^^^
Bob's advice is the best you'll find. Simple and direct and absolutely accurate!!!


Awfully kind of you! Hope I can live up to it!

And by the way, your posts are always helpful!

[sumthin fishy]

Im going to sticky this for now. As this thread progresses, it can prove useful to many newbies who may otherwise get tricked into buying useless products :)

Perhaps when it has stopped getting a lot of replies, we can get a good solid list of needs, good to haves, dont needs, and big no-nos.

[sarcare]

To add. I think it is nice to have/need to have to have a net. So you can scoop out dead fish, floating leaves, and catch fish to move them. I use my net all the time to skimm duckweed off my 55g.

Another useful thing I have, more in the nice to have, is a turkey baster just for fish use. It is useful for getting water out for testing, and is perfect for feeding frozen foods down to bottom feeders.

Also, if you don't have a python, you need a bucket that is just for fish use. If you use your mop bucket to fill your fish's tank, the soap will kill your fishes.

[Northwest]

Hello,

My personal pick:

Not a must-have but still the best $8.99 I have spent yet. It comes with two attachments: a grabber and a cutter.

I use it to: pick plant matter off of my pump intakes, move things around on the aquarium floor, pluck dead fish (it happens), plant/trim plants, retrieve my thermometer when it floats out of reach...you get the idea. Very handy.

The Aquatic Gardener (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12755&Ntt=aquatic%20gardner&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1)

http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20060414194655/www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p_21209_28345D.jpg

[JCchichlid]

You do not need the salt, and if you do have to tackle ich, common table salt is perfectly fine.
It can't be table salt... more like ROCK salt. Such as Empson Salt. I tried table salt once and it killed my fish.

[plah831]

It can't be table salt... more like ROCK salt. Such as Empson Salt. I tried table salt once and it killed my fish.
really? I used iodized table salt in all my tanks and it hasn't killed or even hurt any of mine.

Were you doing regular water changes to prevent poor water quality? It's possible the salinity harmed your biological filter (good bacteria) and the ammonia/nitrite spikes killed the fish. Whenever I do ANY treatment, even a mild salt one for ich, I do water changes at least every other day, sometimes twice a day if needed.

[Rbishop]

It can't be table salt... more like ROCK salt. Such as Empson Salt. I tried table salt once and it killed my fish.

Yes, table salt for ich, not rock salt.

Epsom salt for constipation, but I prefer peas.

[plah831]

right. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), not salt salt which is NaCl or sodium chloride.

[1boatnut]

How do you know when a fish is constipated ?
What are the symptoms ?

[DebbyS]

At the Dollar Store (or other similar deep discount stores) I've bought measuring cups (even narrow 2-cup style), turkey basters, silicon spatulas (won't scratch acrylic and have metal handles), and terry cloth towels (to dry my hands).

[Lobo.]

a magni float is very useful makes it possible to scrub algie off the tank without getting wet...

and just my openion, but for me snails are my friends, they only show up when i over feed, and they eat any left over food, snail poop is much better than decaying fish food... and they help clean algie, and are a good indicator of if im feeding too much or not

[plah831]

How do you know when a fish is constipated ?
What are the symptoms ?
I think mostly if you don't see it poop for awhile (although some of my fish I never really see pooping, since not all of them make the long strings), and if their abdomen is swollen and they show any signs of discomfort.

[qqq]

Don't forget simple tweezerz for picking up worms to feed the fish :)

[plah831]

Don't forget simple tweezerz for picking up worms to feed the fish :)
I prefer feeding tongs designed for reptiles/fish etc. Or I also use planting tongs but just grab food with them. All my fish recognize the tongs as feeding time :)

Tweezers designed for removing hair or splinters have sharp edges that might hurt your fishies or at least cut the food before it gets in their mouths! :D