New Tank Owner: Some questions..

Another good choice might be a pair of kribensis. They don't have much for finnage... but I think their interesting behavior makes up for it.


Kribs-n-Fry.jpg
(pic taken from google search)

You could even have a breeding pair in there if you wanted.



I will say that at the petshop, my kribs looked rather dull; now both have extremely vibrant colors.
 
Black paradise fish--tons of fin, tons of personality. Will limit the other fish--they tend not to share well with other mid-top water fish. But, pretty fish!
 
I don't really like betta's, but then I've only really seen them in the stupid tiny bowls everyone seems to keep them in... If I can see them in a nice tank setup I might change my mind.

The Kribs look interesting, I like the coloring of them in PumaWard's picture. And they're about the right size to have a nice pair of them.

I like the Paradise fish as well, they seem to have some nice color.

I really like the looks of the 'Barb' family of fish (Tiger Barbs in particulare) but they seems to be somewhat agressive and everyone suggests they be kept in larger schools then I have room for.

I like that looks of most of the fish in the Cyprinids family, the Harlequin Rasbora in particulare. Any issues with this fish? It's quite a bit smaller then the other's we've been discusing so a small group of 4 along with say 6 black neon tetras and a couple corys would make a nice little setup...
 
Those are all nice fish. I agree, the bettas never do look good in the stores because they're in those small bowls right next to one another, so they're also tired from flaring at one another. I have actually carried one around the store while looking for tankmates before. When I got to the counter, he was looking much better. Just suggested them cause you wanted some finnage....& man, do they have it.
 
hehe, if you're looking for finnage...and kind of like the betta idea...and have some cash to spare...hop on over to www.topbettas.com. Now THERE are some fins.

Harlequin rasboras are incredibly peaceful fish. They would get on wonderfully with some cories/black neons.

Have you seen celebes rainbowfish or threadfin rainbowfish? Amazing fins. They are very delicate little guys though - so water parameters must be very well taken care of.
 
I would suggest a plain black or blue background, preferably black imo. If you get a printed one, you'll probably end up replacing it later, trust me;) lol. I think they're made of vinyl - is that how you spell that? It is looking very odd to me atm. Hmmm...

There are also 3D backgrounds...but they run really $$.

For a natural look, you could use cork bark on the inside of the tank...though they usually get siliconed in before the water is in the tank. I have heard of pushing them up against the back and holding them in place with gravel though. You can also use cork BOARD squares *make sure its the untreated kind*.
 
I love black backgrounds too, but a color no one ever mentions, that looks awesome IMO, is dark green. Black shows off the colors of the plants and fish, while green looks the most natural...alot more so than blue. Blue always looked 'swimming poolish' to me. At least in freshwater tanks anyway.
 
I popped into the pet store after work today and picked out the items I needed to get to the tank up and running so I can start cycling.

I decided to go with gravel as it seemed as a more newbie friendly substrate. I found a nice, glossy, black gravel and mixed in a small bag of nice white gravel (5lb white to 15lbs of black) and overall I think I have a quite nice bottom layer for my tank.

I also got a few silk plants and once in the water they look quite realistic. I think I'll get a few more however as it's looking rather sparse. As decoration I found a neat little sunken ship and some stacked stones with swim thru's.

Now onto my latest issues. I tested the pH and GH of my water with the following results:

ph: 7.6 or 8.0 (not 100%, the color for 8.0 is quite similare to what would be between 7.5 and 7.8.. my wife said it was 8.0 I thought it was around 7.6)

GH: around 143 ppm GH

Is this high of a pH going to effect my current fish choices?

I took a good long look at the fish in the store today and after seeing live gouramis up close I like them alot more and may go with a couple of platinums...

I was also quite amazed by how much the info at the store on the tags differs from what I've seen online. Granted, I was at PetSmart (a 'big box' style pet store) so a straght up Aquarium/Fish Store will be better I'm sure :D

I've got water in my tank now...I'm so excited :D
 
Hey there,

Gouramis will do fine in that hardish water. Just make sure that they get acclimated very slowly. Also, find out what the water params are in the fish store. That will help you decide as well. If they keep their tetras in the low 70's then you should be able to acclimate them to your water quality. If they adjust their water to 6.5 or so then it will be more difficult. I do keep a group of silver tip tetras in the high 70's and they have been doing great for almost 2 years now. Just keep it stable is the most important thing.

Don't try and adjust your water at this satge. Try and find fish that work well with the situation you have. Fish like guppies, swordtails, platies and mollies all work wonderfully with harder water and make great pets.

The AC descriptions of fish on thr main page are very helpful and give a pH range.

I know you don't really want live plants but the next time you are in the store look for Java Fern. It is a super hardy plant that is very forgiving and is generally a slow grower. You can just stick it in the gravel and walk away. It makes nice full fern leaves and you get the added benifit of it using some of the nitrogen from the water to keep the water quality better.
 
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