An unexpected new tank...

Why not just start with the 20L? A tank takes about the same amount of time to cycle if its a 3 gallon or a 200 gallon tank,

That's where I'm headed. As I said, the 6 gallon was an unexpected surprise. The only good thing is it re-kindled my desire to have a tank again. Now if I can keep these guys alive till the 20L is up and running.......

John
 
Once you get bitten by the fish bug again, its hard to shake. You should just skip the 20L and get something a little bigger (55+ gallon), it will save you from upgrading again in a month when that 20L is looking smaller and smaller! :lipssealedsmilie:
 
Once you get bitten by the fish bug again, its hard to shake. You should just skip the 20L and get something a little bigger (55+ gallon), it will save you from upgrading again in a month when that 20L is looking smaller and smaller! :lipssealedsmilie:

Tell me about it! LOL My other hobbies are amateur astronomy and photography....though when compared to a $12K computerized GOT equatorial telescope mount, an aquarium set up looks darned cheap!!:grinyes:

John
 
I would have to disagree with this. I really hate how pet stores keep 20-30 DG's (dwarf gouramis) in a single tank. This leads people to think that they enjoy the company of eachother. In reality, these are juvie DGs that do fine with each other, but once they get a little more mature, they can get pretty agressive with thier own species. I made this mistake when i first got into the hobby. I bought 4 DG's and put them into a 29 gallon (rookie mistake). These guys did nothing but kick the poopie out of eachother all day, staking out thier corners of the tank. I had to do some creative rearanging and move every DG to his own tank where they were happy as a pig in poopie. I currently have 2 DGs in a planted 125 gallon. They are great fish, and do well with all the other inhabitants (danios, cories, barbs, etc), but these two guys will manage to find eachother and have a little tustle before one backs down. Morale of this long drawn out rambling adventure is please dont add any more gouramis into your 6 gallon. One is just fine, and he will be happy with just about any different small, somewhat calm fish you decide to add with him. Good luck! And remember to keep up on your water changes until you get your cycle complete!!!

i said CORY not GOURAMI

jglover:

you are in good hands here. looking into a bigger tank is a start to a potential addiction though :) (hehehehehehehe). if you are going to get a bigger tank, there is no reason you should not be able to get some more cories. in a group they are active and funny. you dont have to worry about getting more of the same type, just more in general. you can mix and match a few and they will still shoal together.

im so sorry your parents, well meaning though they may be, got suckered by a bunch of profit minded at worst or ignorant at best vendors. however, it seems like now that you are stuck with the responsibility you are doing a good job looking into what to do next. its a really good thing to come here and ask questions and when you feel a little more ready, do some independent research. :)
 
i said CORY not GOURAMI

OH, im SORRY, i SHOULD have looked CLOSER


im so sorry your parents, well meaning though they may be, got suckered by a bunch of profit minded at worst or ignorant at best vendors. however, it seems like now that you are stuck with the responsibility you are doing a good job looking into what to do next. :)

Man, it sounds like your parents got suckered into buying a tank. I'm sure they thought they were being kind giving your son a great gift like a fish tank. Darn that corperate machine! :headshake2:
 
sokay. if i hadnt actually read your response past the part where you disagreed i would have yelled at you about abusing cories. its easy to miss the details :)
 
im so sorry your parents, well meaning though they may be, got suckered by a bunch of profit minded at worst or ignorant at best vendors. however, it seems like now that you are stuck with the responsibility you are doing a good job looking into what to do next. its a really good thing to come here and ask questions and when you feel a little more ready, do some independent research. :)

Well, it happens, same with telescope. One of the worst things in the world is your basic department store, Discovery channel store telescope. We call them trash scopes on the astro forums i frequent. You see the same tactics used to sell those scopes and they do more to turn one off to astronomy than help bolster a growing interest....but I digress......

Yeah, I've been doing quite a lot of reading on multiple forums and I definitely want to get into cories. I remember the one, sad lonley cory we had years ago. At that time, it was standard practice for the vendors to maintain you needed ONE cory and ONE algae eater to keep your tank clean. Our cory was your basic gray version and he was a survivor. I remember one time when my dad changed the tank water and had it too cold...somewhere around 55 degrees I think. All the guppies and mollies in the tank were dead in minutes it seemed but the old cory just lay on the bottom. He didn't move for a couple of days, then he came around and lived for another two or three years.....he was a survivor!

As I said things have definitely changed in keeping fish but for the better. There's quite a lot to absorb and it will take some time but I definitely want to get there. First things first though it to get thru the next couple of weeks or so with my son's tank and move onward and upwards.

John
 
Can you stand just one more suggestion? LOL! A 29 gallon has the same dimensions as a 20 long (with the exception of the height). The stand you would have to purchase would fit either a 20 long or a 29. Any canopy and lighting system would fit both also. I had a 20 long and upgraded to a 29, and was able to use the same cabinet stand. With a 29 you can keep taller plants too. Just a suggestion. Good Luck and keep us posted!
 
I agree. If you are in the market for a bigger tank, I always tell people to get the biggest tank they can reasonably afford and maintain. This saves you the time and expense of upgrading in a very short amount of time when you realize the tank you thought was going to be big enough for everything you want is somehow no longer adequate. Just get the size you think will work for you in the long run and go from there. Keep in mind the bigger the tank is the more forgiving it will be of newbie mistakes we all make. This is because the more volume of water you have the more the mistake will be diluted.

Good luck on the new set up and enjoy the adventure.

Marinemom
 
since youre still new to this, yeah, i guess try to buy stuff new. once youve done this for a while, if you want more tanks/equipment/fish, try checking out craigslist and the vendors here. you can get really good deals sometimes. so far, ive gotten a 60 gallon tank for $40 off of the want ads on forums. were looking into picking up another setup the same way
 
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