13 replies to this topic

[maddies]

Hi everyone,

I am so glad to have found a local forum. Last week I got an aquarium 62cm long by 32 high. How many gallons is that?
I don't have a heater yet so I got three goldfish to start building up good bacteria. They can then go out to the pond when I
decide what fish to get. I really want to breed some fish and particularly like blue fish. Has anyone got suggestions? How long
should I wait before putting new fish in? I got some plant out of my pond and put it in the tank but it keeps floating. Is it all right to tie them to rocks with elastic bands?

Hope to get to know you all in time.

Cheers
Geraldine

[shortie]

welcome to the forum
whats the width/dept of your tank? so we can work out capacity

[Sazabi]

Welcome to the forum Geraldine

You need to measure height X width X length in centimetres of your aquarium then divde by 1000 to get the volume (in litres) then multiply that by 0.26417205 to get the gallons.

1 gallon is equal to 3.7854 litres.


Hope that helps.

[Scat]

Welcome to the PCS Forums

Please post up more details so we can help you out better, like the other guys said the exact dimensions of your tank, and also maybe a better idea of what kind of fish you like so we can go from there

Cheers
Craig

[maddies]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your help and support esp when my questions are so basic.
I worked out that my tank is 35.65 litres or 9.41 gallons.
As to the fish I would like:
- need to be tough as this is the first tank I have looked after myself
- good breeders
- blue fish
- cold or warm water
- fresh water

Any suggestions?

How do you hold down your plants? Are elastic bands ok to use?

Would my tank be ok bacteria wise after two weeks with three goldfish?

Cheers
Geraldine

[fourdapostle]

7.9 gals imp if you use the imperial measurement

[STEVEGREEN]

lacky bands are no good , there just going to break down over time , use fishing line.

do you have a filter , bacteria lives in filter media not in the water

your tank is so small that there are only a few fish you can keep in there let alone breed , and none i can think of are blue .

if fish do breed in that size tank , what will you do with them? fish have quiet a few babies not just one or two ( well cichlids that is ) and if anything breeds in there except for Neolamprologus Multifaciatus , this is the only fish i know of that will breed and not kill the young in that size tank , they need sand , shells and 24-27 degree water to breed and not much else , unlike most cichlids these guys will looka fter the young , ever bro's and sis's help raise the kiddies.

you are trying to accomplish the possible by the way , and a tank of that size meens a unstable water system were the smallest mistake with water maintenance meens the whole tank can be poisend quickly , large tanks are so much easier to maintain , if you want to breed fish in that tank be prepare for a 25% water change once a week.

hope this starts you on the right path

cheers steve

[dazzabozza]

Blue Occies (Lamprologus Occelatus Blue) could be worth a shot as they're a shell-dweller and don't mind confined territories/environments. They're a Tanganyikan and considered by some to be more suited to the advanced hobbyist. AAA had some quite a while back and possibly Malaga from memory.


Dazza

[Sazabi]

In response to the bacteria bit, 2 weeks is a little too short since the weather these days a pretty cold and bacteria growth will be slower than usual unless you use a heater. I would test the water for Ammonia and Nitrite just to be safe, if you do not have test kits then I would suggest that you bring bring a sample of your water to your LFS and get them to test the water. Half a bottle would do.

Your tank is pretty small... compared to most of the members here... and as such water condition changes would be more greater than a bigger thank. So do everything nice and slowly and you will really see your efforts being paid off.

[golden_dase]

Hi Geraldine

As you've probably seen from the responses so far, most people think your tank is too so to fully enjoy proper fishkeeping. Have you considered upgrading to a larger tank? If you're on a budget, have a look in the classifieds section of the forum. There's regular sales of some good tanks, usually around the 3ft (90cm) and 4ft (120cm) sizes which will be much better for fishkeeping. You can then keep your current tank as a fry/breeding or hospital tank.

In regards to blue fish, have look at african Mpangas. I recently bought some from Aaron at Midland Pets and they have coloured up very nicely! and very BLUE!

In regards to using plants from your pond, most outdoor/pond plants are considered "temperate" (I may be wrong! ) and not tropical plants. You might want to consider using "aquarium/tropical plants" for your tank. However, using aquarium plants with african cichlids (Mpangas etc. as mentioned above) will not be advisable coz the plants will be eaten/dug up etc..


Hope the helps!

Kevin.

[Sazabi]

Nothing wrong with having a small tank, just that it limits the amount of fish you can put in it...

I have a 40 litre tank with red cherry shrimps... they are now going ballistic with breeding... soon I will have a red substrate lolz

I was told by a friend to use the shrimps as feeder to my goldfish and discus..... not that cruel....

[maddies]

[Thanks so much for everyones advice, I really appreciate you taking the time to put your two bobs worth in.
I have decided to do more research on the type of blue fish I want to breed - and no doubt will be back on
here to ask more questions.
I also decided to wait until I can get my bigger tank out of storage before I start breeding and use the smaller
tank for the nursery.
I can't wait to set it all up. Such fun

Cheers once again
Geraldine

[Sazabi]

[Thanks so much for everyones advice, I really appreciate you taking the time to put your two bobs worth in.
I have decided to do more research on the type of blue fish I want to breed - and no doubt will be back on
here to ask more questions.
I also decided to wait until I can get my bigger tank out of storage before I start breeding and use the smaller
tank for the nursery.
I can't wait to set it all up. Such fun

Cheers once again
Geraldine

Blue fish.... hmm reminds me of the time when I had a marine tank with royal tangs.... Doreen in Finding Nemo... nice blue.....

[milky]

Hi and Welcome,
what size is your bigger tank?
my suggestion would be pseudotropheus demasoni.. as long as the tank is atleast 3 foot long and 15" wide (but the wider the better obviously). they can be quite aggressive even to the point of killing each other in anything smaller than 3ft, but they are very entertaining to watch and to be safe make sure you get a decent colony of around 10+ to start with and the aggression will be spread out amongst them.
i also keep anubias in my demasoni tank without it getting eaten too much... i found the trick is to tie the anubias on a small peice of lava rock with fishing line and put it on the top of the rockpile. it grows better that way and its not tempting the fish at the bottom where they usually feed