Finally got our first fish!!!!!

For now, I'm going to leave the snail alone as the kids think he's cool to watch sliding around the glass. If we end up with a bunch, though, it'll be bye bye snails. I don't think I'll have live plants for a while, if ever, so I'm not too concerned about that right now.

The fish didn't seem to eat much when I fed them yesterday. I read that if they are stressed out that they won't eat for a while. The flakes seem kind of big for these little guys. Should I crunch up the food to make it smaller? Also, should I leave the light on while they are eating?

This morning the fish seem to be swimming around the tank more and not in such a tight school. They seem to be happy and healthy.

We'll get our cories next weekend and will also buy some food for them.
 
If the flakes are too big, of course you can break it up. I wouldn't make it too small though... I like to avoid the "raining flakes" image :p

Leave the light on too - if the light isn't on, the fish have a tough time seeing the food. Without my light on, the fish don't even respond.
 
If I were you I would go out and buy a wall timer. That will let you set the tank lights to come on and go off by themsleves. It is important to try and keep a schedual for the fish of day and night. Plus I like to come home to the lights already on. If you are not growing live plants then just have it come on in the late afternoon and turn off before bed. The timers are cheap at walmart, 5-6 dollars or so.

They do sell smaller flakes for smaller fish as well. But crushing them up a bit is just as easy. I like to have 2 kinds of food on the go at a time so the fish get a variety.
 
What we've done with the lights is put them on when it starts getting dark. Around here, that's around 5 pm or so. We also get home around then during the week. I've been leaving the lights on until we go to bed.

So it sounds as if we're doing the right thing. I intend to get a timer, but haven't gotten around to it yet. My life has been complete chaos for the last week or two, fish notwithstanding.

Tonight, I'll crush up the flakes a little and see what happens. My husband also put in this clamshell which bubbles up and I think scares the bejeebers out of the fish. I turned it off and the fish seem to be calmer and are swimming around the whole aquarium now. I'd be scared of that big thing too, if I was that tiny. The fish are about 3/4 of an inch long right now, both rasboras and tetras. Cute little guys for sure.
 
OOOOHHH! A timer is the best thing for you lights! You never have to worry about it again esp if you go on vacation. I have mine come on about 8:30 & go off at 11:30. I love it!

As for the snails, I got them on my live plants and they got out of control after a few months. Snails are asexual so it takes just one! Anyway, I ended up with clown loaches. They are great on the snails, and if they get too big I can trade them in to the LFS. There are other fish posted on this forum that don't get a big as clowns do (other Botia) and are good snail eaters too.
 
Not all snails are hermaphrodites. Apple snails have distinct sexes. There must be a daddy and a mommy apple snail for there to be baby apple snails. Although it may be possible that the one Anne has now is pregnant.
 
I can't even find the snail today, so I'm not going to worry about him unless I have to.

I have a question about lighting. I have the tank set at 75 degrees, but with the lights on for a while, the temperature starts to creep up to around 78 degrees or so. They are the standard incandescent bulbs; there are 2 of them, not sure of the wattage.

What can I do about this; the increase can't be good for the fish, I'm sure.
 
A couple of degrees for most fish isn't a problem. I wouldn't worry about it.

An option is to go and buy some of those spiral screw in flourescent bulbs. I use them in my tank. Better light quality (in case you do want live plants) and they use much less power (13-15 watts) so they produce much less heat. I use them in a 10 that satys at a constant 70F.
 
TKOS, do you mean the kind that work in a regular light socket? Never thought of that. I think they would fit and would likely be cost effective over the long run.

I'll have to check that out on the weekend as I don't have time this week.

Thanks!
 
Forgot to say that I tried crushing up the food flakes for them last night and it worked much better.

Little guys were eating really well.

It's cool to see them in the morning when we first get up. They stay in one corner of the tank by the heater, and you can tell they're sleeping or whatever it is fish do to sleep. Then when we put the kitchen lights on, out they come slowly and start swimming around.
 
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