New to fish

[scavenger]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and fishkeeping in general. I'm 16 years old. I just set up my tank about a month and a half ago, its small (only 3-4 gallons or so) and I have in it 6 white clouds minnows, 5 neon tetras and a zebra danio. I just added the tetras a week ago or so. So far I've had only 2 minnows die and the rest seem ok for now. I have been pretty inexperienced up till now and from what im hearing, it seems like my tank may be overstocked. I've been doing weekly water changes of around 20%. I dont have a filter so I have tried manually removing uneaten food and wastes (its takes lot of time but thats ok). Should I consider doing more water changes to compensate for the amount of fish I have? I've read that the types of fish I have are among the hardiest and easiest to keep. They're also small and dont seem to create too much wastes.

Can you give me some advice? I'm a very inexperienced newbie that just discovered fishkeeping.

 

[Kasakato]

Welcome to AC

Yes, you are overstocked. Whit those fish you want a 10g minimum. Can you try to get a 10g with a filter? Also you will need a test kit. I recommend this one: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19383;category_id=3111;pcid1=3233;pcid2=
You will also want to be doing daily 50% water changes to keep your ammonia, nitrite low. While you are waiting for the test kit, read up on cycling. Try to search the forums because there are some great things around here.

 

[scavenger]

Thanks. This place has really good info.

 

[Mako]

Yes, I think you're overstocked as well, but not by a landslide. You can upgrade the tank to a ten fairly cheaply.

You have a decent mix of compatible fish, looks like you've done a lil homework, bravo.

There is tons upon tons upon megatons of info out there for you. Here's a few philosophies that you may tatoo on your eyelids that could save you money and save fish their lives. Note that I've broken them all and, well, uh, oops.

**Buy a water test kit that contains at least pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and hardness (often called dH) and test your water every other day for the entire first month of having your tank, you will learn incredible amounts of information on how the ammonia cycle starts in a new aquarium****

1) Study the fish in books or online before buying it. Same for plants or other animals like frogs or crawfish. KNOW by memory what your tank's normal pH range is and KNOW by memory the preferred ph range of the fish you're looking to buy. Some fish are happy in most any pH, some are NOT.

2) Start slow, then slow down. Ambition is fun, but it's also a potential fish killer. Usually suspect #1.

3) If you have a sick or dead fish, 90% chance you did something wrong. Bought a sick fish, or fish in a sick tank, or have some sort of pollution problem in your tank already. Fish should die of old age, which is generally measured in years for most fish.

4) Buy from the same store or same couple of stores every time and ***build a relationship with the owner/workers****** and avoid "superstores" where employee's are hired and quit like a revolving door. Local shops cost a bit more than superstores. It's worth is by a priceless margin.

5) Err on the side of "more filtration". The only disadvantage to a bigger than needed filter (other than cost) is, well, I dunno. Just don't turn your tank into a whirlpool or some slow moving fish won't like you. Long finned fish won't like you either. But most others will!

6) Feed one dime size flake per two or three fish if you have guppy-size fish. Start with this amount, if it's gone in 60 seconds, give them another one. ****hungry fish are happy fish****. Feeding too much is a good way to kill fish and cause disease b/c it adds more fish poop and uneaten rotted food to the water.

7) Buy two or three types of fish food (ie, a variety) but ***buy small cans of it*** so you will always be feeding fresh food. I toss the food after three months, and I am often tossing out half of a tiny can, and I have probably 100 fish. I also feed a lot of frozen food, great stuff, experiment and feed lightly. Skip a day once in a while, it won't hurt the fish at all.

8) Don't pile 4 inches of gravel in your tank unless you are using an undergravel filter (which I do NOT recommend for a beginner, nor really for anyone). It just collects fish poop and becomes a sewer. Stick to one inch, it sounds thin to most folks, but very easy to keep clean.

9) Don't buy aquarium chemicals and additives to add to your aquarium unless you have studied them and asked around (like here) about them. Our hobby, unfortunately, is loaded with people that only care about getting your money, and there are a lot of chemical and additive products that are BULL HOCKEY (or worse) and not needed, but they make fantastic claims. If your local fish store recommends it, they recommended it for ONE of TWO reasons: 1- they've tried it and it works and is a good investment , OR 2-- they make a nice profit margin on this particular item or are trying to win a contest by selling the most. We have a lot of good products, but honestly, I can promise you that at least half of what I see in pet shops is "snake oil". In other words, save your money and do a lil product research first.

10) Most importantly, never ever ever buy a fish that is artificially colored. These are usually called "painted glassfish" "blueberry tetra" "Strawberry tetra" and there are many others. You'll learn them if you stick to the hobby, they are all over.

 

[greendeltatke]

Mako, that is a really nice post. You should turn it into a beginner's article. I know we already have some good starter articles, but it would be good to have one comprehensive beginner's article that we can point newbies to.

 

[Aries]

Congrats on joining a VERY addictive hobby. It is very fun and there is a plethera of information to learn.

Welcome to the forum btw!!!

I agree - you are overstocked - but it is something that you can fix fairly cheaply. See previous posts for information (a ten gallon + filter and gravel should cost no more than $50 i think). I do recommend getting a filter - an AquaClear 20 should be enough with regular water changes (I would do 20-40% when fully cylced) on the ten gallon. However, get the largest tank you can afford when you upgrade. The smaller the tank, the more apt problems will occur. This is not to deter you from getting a 10g, but you just have to be a wee bit more careful though.

1.) I also HIGHLY recommend that you get test kits mentioned above. As you hone your skills into a particular area of the hobby, you will learn different types of tests you will need (Salt, Cichlids, Plants, etc). Test kits are a way of life here. It will also help others diagnose problems in your tank when you post the parameters (like ph, kh, gh, ammonia, nitirite etc).

2. ) Research Fishless cycling for future tanks. This is how I do it but is not the only way to cycle (I personally dont like risking fish lives for this but that is me). I use pure ammonia to simulate my bioload and test daily to determine where I am at in the cycle. Others use shrimp as well to create the ammonia. Using a fishless cycle will also speed up the process so you can add more fish sooner.

3.) At first, NEVER trust your LFS. Only after you learn to trust them (verifying their recommendations, knowledge etc), you can judge if they are reputable. IME, most non-chain LFS are knowledgable. In turn, these are probably the "dirtiest" because they spend their time keeping the fish, not the store. My favorite store is a "hole in the wall" but has the most healthy and wide variety of fish with an excellent filtration system that is in plain view (middle of store). I agree with Mako above - try to buy from the same place. Get to know the employees and manager - if it is a reputable place. This relationship you build will benifit you greatly (free things such as snails, overstocked discount, etc). Visit them with no intention to buy to learn how they operate as well (at least I do this).

4.) Never buy a sick fish thinking you can nurse it back to health - this almost fails, IME. If you see dead fish in the tank, DONT BUY from that tank. It may take several trips to LFS to get what you want but it will save much hassle in the end.

5.) Filters. Overfiltration in most cases is ideal - you will learn when it is not ideal (see Mako's post). There are different types of filters. HOB | HOT | Power which are Hang On Back | Hang On Top | Power filters . These are generally your best bet for smaller tanks. These include AquaClear (my fav), Marineland filters (there are others as well). Canister filters are for your medium tanks and good brands are Rena (my fav), Eheim and Fluval (personally dont like). For large tanks, you can have serveral types to filter or use a sump - this may or may not be suitable for your large tank depending on its purpose.

6.) I like how Mako presents feeding and buying food. Well done Mako!!!!!

7.) Avoid buying fish that require differerent feeding diets. For example, dont put Cichlids in with tetras. Cichlids require a much different diet than tetras and could cause fish to possibly die if they eat the other fishes food. Find out what they need to eat as well. Try not to buy the cheapest fish food either. Check the ingredients of the food and make sure it is what the fish need. It may bee too fatty\rich for fish and may cause constipation. Check to see if the fish are carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.

8.) I dissagree with the gravel recommendation. I do not like such a small amount of gravel (to each their own) - yet I keep plants and I like to build mounds for my fish to play in. I HIGHLY recommend getting the python (comes in differnt lengths). This eliminates the need for buckets and makes cleaning a tanks a breeze - especially for multiple/large tanks. It is a great investment. Also, if you are good at building things, you can build the python - there are several DIY instructions here and on the web.

9.) DEFINATELY agree with Mako's #9 !!!!!!!!! If it sounds to good to be true - it is. Dont buy it.

10). I agree with Mako on artifically colored fish because they way they do it sounds cruel. Also, I think, there are genetically modified fish that glow - is that correct???

11.) Posting help - if you can learn to take digital pictures of your tank. Pictures are definately worth 1000 words in most cases.

Good luck in your quest in our realm of aquatics.

Just my $0.02 is all.

Aries