Fishies

[Cutie_Kisses]

So I've been a cam girl for three years now and there is one question that's been in the back of my mind the whole time ... What's the best way to care for my new fish? (yeah I know, lame joke) This is my first post here on ACF though, so be gentle! I'm trying to get acclimated before I officially apply for my model status.

I have had a small tank full of danios for the past five years and cared for three schools of fish during that time. When the last group passed away I decided to try a new type of fish, so I got two Platys. I was instantly amazed at how different their personalities were and realized they would need some adjustments in care. They seem to like hiding places and the coral plants much more than my danios, and there's no nice way to say it so I'll just be out with it, they poop A LOT more than my danios. A kind gentleman in my room bought me a new slightly larger tank equipped a filter and heater and it seems to be a much better fit. I plan to clean the tank once a month but am new to having a filter, how often does that need to be changed? Secondly, what bottom feeders would you recommend I buy? I was thinking maybe snails, but I know nothing about how to care for them. And lastly, do you think fish feel it's important to have realistic looking plants or they can be just as comfortable with the fake colorful blue and pink ones.

I look forward to your answers, and encourage you to show your aquariums as well!

I'd love to hear your knowledge about more than just my questions also! You never can learn too much!!

Posted are my two Platys - Sunny and Flare

 

[BasicBasic]

When you said fish, I thought you were talking about tippers. You mean the real thing though...

Headmistress of a school of fish sounds like a good show idea. I've never seen that done, and I've seen a lot.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

I always recommend real plants. They aren't hard to care for and are much better for the fishies.

I recommend a Pleco or some upside down catfish...but snails are good too.

How big is the tank? You could probably do both.

 

[Entertainer33]

Snails and any other natural creatures to help care for a tank is an excellent suggestion.

 

[LilyOhRiley]

Okay, bio-nerd and multi-year big tank fishkeeper here...so I'm sorry in advance if this answer gets big.

Platys are little poop monsters and they procreate like nobody's business, so don't be surprised if you start seeing swollen bellies and lots of little babies if you have a breeding pair. They're cute little dorks, though, and surprisingly tolerant of fishkeeping fuck-ups and changes in water chemistry.

First off, hopefully you know the basics - 25-50% water change once a month, always use de-chlorinated water and try not to over-feed (as much as they eat in 1min, once or twice a day) - and a filter isn't much more complicated. You probably have the type with the drop-in white filter, in which case you just take a peek in there every week or so and when it starts to look clogged and grubby you pull it out and rinse it off with de-chlorinated water; when it looks ratty you switch it for a new one. When you get to a bigger tank you may want a canister filter, but that's for way down the road.

As far as bottom feeders go I'd honestly recommend snails - they're incredibly low-maintenance, don't require special food and they're kinda cute to watch when they're licking the walls. Plecos get big and need aged, non-treated wood to chew on for proper digestion as well as algae tabs (and veggies, if you can) to supplement what they won't be getting in the tank. Cory catfish can be fun to have careening around the bottom of the tank, but they don't eat wall-algae and they need sinking food, so they're less helpful...and if you don't get a small breed they'll get an inch or two long and take up more space than expected. Otocinclus are great algae eaters, but they're pretty fragile and die off at a disheartening rate.

And fish generally give no fucks about what the tank looks like, but I'd recommend real plants if you can find a way to get them - they're a great sink for the nitrates in the water and they earn you some wiggle room if your filter doesn't always get changed on time. I've bought from http://www.aquabid.com/ in the past and they're kinda like ebay for fish stuff, but I'd recommend finding a local, small, fish-specialized shop (not a chain store if you can help it and not a general purpose pet store) to go to religiously and pick the brains of the employees while you're learning your way around - they can tell you what plants will work best for your setup and what you can expect at each stage.

So yeah, the response got long...but feel free to pick my brain with additional questions if needed. Aquatic bio was my thing for a couple years, so I've got info for days on this stuff.

 

[HiGirlsRHot]

For decades, I was avid aquarist at the peak of my nuttiness I had seven medium to big tanks. It is a fascinating hobby and good stress remover just zoning out and watching the fish.
Lily had some good advice and 2nd finding a dedicated fish store, or, at least, a store with a big fish section and picking the brains of the employees.
For years, I also participate in aquarium forums even before there was an easy way to post pictures online. I personally haven't spent much time with this forum http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/ but it seems really comprehensive.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

I always recommend real plants. They aren't hard to care for and are much better for the fishies.

I recommend a Pleco or some upside down catfish...but snails are good too.

How big is the tank? You could probably do both.

It's only 2.5 gallons, it's pretty small.

I read somewhere that, I think it was snails? will eat real plants.

I get so nervous when caring for a living thing, and that extends to plants too!

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

When you said fish, I thought you were talking about tippers. You mean the real thing though...

Headmistress of a school of fish sounds like a good show idea. I've never seen that done, and I've seen a lot.

LOL yeah, poor joke on my part. I wanted to make my first post on ACF non-sexual, since I'm sure I will have MANY more sexual ones to come in the future. But I think this is a great community and I'm excited to be a part of it!

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Okay, bio-nerd and multi-year big tank fishkeeper here...so I'm sorry in advance if this answer gets big.

Platys are little poop monsters and they procreate like nobody's business, so don't be surprised if you start seeing swollen bellies and lots of little babies if you have a breeding pair. They're cute little dorks, though, and surprisingly tolerant of fishkeeping fuck-ups and changes in water chemistry.

First off, hopefully you know the basics - 25-50% water change once a month, always use de-chlorinated water and try not to over-feed (as much as they eat in 1min, once or twice a day) - and a filter isn't much more complicated. You probably have the type with the drop-in white filter, in which case you just take a peek in there every week or so and when it starts to look clogged and grubby you pull it out and rinse it off with de-chlorinated water; when it looks ratty you switch it for a new one. When you get to a bigger tank you may want a canister filter, but that's for way down the road.

As far as bottom feeders go I'd honestly recommend snails - they're incredibly low-maintenance, don't require special food and they're kinda cute to watch when they're licking the walls. Plecos get big and need aged, non-treated wood to chew on for proper digestion as well as algae tabs (and veggies, if you can) to supplement what they won't be getting in the tank. Cory catfish can be fun to have careening around the bottom of the tank, but they don't eat wall-algae and they need sinking food, so they're less helpful...and if you don't get a small breed they'll get an inch or two long and take up more space than expected. Otocinclus are great algae eaters, but they're pretty fragile and die off at a disheartening rate.

And fish generally give no fucks about what the tank looks like, but I'd recommend real plants if you can find a way to get them - they're a great sink for the nitrates in the water and they earn you some wiggle room if your filter doesn't always get changed on time. I've bought from http://www.aquabid.com/ in the past and they're kinda like ebay for fish stuff, but I'd recommend finding a local, small, fish-specialized shop (not a chain store if you can help it and not a general purpose pet store) to go to religiously and pick the brains of the employees while you're learning your way around - they can tell you what plants will work best for your setup and what you can expect at each stage.

So yeah, the response got long...but feel free to pick my brain with additional questions if needed. Aquatic bio was my thing for a couple years, so I've got info for days on this stuff.

This was so helpful! I'm so going to follow you and message you as my aquarium eventually grows, hope you don't mind!

One day I'd love to have a big tank but I want to take baby steps so I provide the best care for my pets. Plus right now my fish are technically illegal residents, as my apartment doesn't allow fish tanks. But I moved in with three fish, and can't imagine ever going without an aquarium.

My local pet store actually does sell live plants, I'm just very nervous about caring for them.

As far as the snails go, how do you take care of them? Do they literally just eat off the fish waste?

And lastly, it's funny you say that. Just yesterday I was noticing my Sunburst Platy is looking rather large, I assumed she was eating more of the food. If she is pregnant, is there anything I need to do or watch for? I'm assuming I would need to upgrade the tank? I'm not sure I have this correct but I think I was told it's one fish per gallon of water?

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

For decades, I was avid aquarist at the peak of my nuttiness I had seven medium to big tanks. It is a fascinating hobby and good stress remover just zoning out and watching the fish.
Lily had some good advice and 2nd finding a dedicated fish store, or, at least, a store with a big fish section and picking the brains of the employees.
For years, I also participate in aquarium forums even before there was an easy way to post pictures online. I personally haven't spent much time with this forum http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/ but it seems really comprehensive.

You are SO right, there is nothing like zoning out and watching them swim around and play after a stressful day.

I had an aquarium game on my PS3 before I ever had a real tank for that reason, just to have a calming ambient background... I got the platinum trophy. Go me! LOL

 

[LilyOhRiley]

This was so helpful! I'm so going to follow you and message you as my aquarium eventually grows, hope you don't mind!

One day I'd love to have a big tank but I want to take baby steps so I provide the best care for my pets. Plus right now my fish are technically illegal residents, as my apartment doesn't allow fish tanks. But I moved in with three fish, and can't imagine ever going without an aquarium.

Not a problem at all! I love sharing info with others, especially since keeping fish can be so rewarding.

The funny thing about tanks is that small ones are actually harder to maintain that big ones (to a point) - a smaller volume of water will have larger swings in chemical levels from small mistakes than a big tank, so I typically recommend a 20 as a good volume for first-timers. 5 or 10 are good if you're just housing a betta or the like, though they still need good filtration.

My local pet store actually does sell live plants, I'm just very nervous about caring for them.

Oh, live plants are super easy - well, most of them are. The basic premise is that you need to root them in the gravel/sand and make sure they get a decent amount of light (6-10 hrs/day, less if they're also in sunlight)...trim them if they grow too tall and after the first year separate them (by tearing the root bundles apart) when they get too bushy. They live off the food and poo that filters down between the rocks and the nitrates in the water, so unless you get into advanced and finicky plants they're not much additional work.

As far as the snails go, how do you take care of them? Do they literally just eat off the fish waste?

Take snails, drop in tank. Don't use any meds (for ick or fungus or the like) that says it'll affect invertebrates unless you're willing to risk losing some of them, but other than that they're easy and many will reproduce on their own. They eat the food that drops to the bottom, algae on the walls and some of the dying leaves on the plants...I'm not sure on the fish waste eating - I've heard conflicting things on it - but they're still a good cleanup crew.

And lastly, it's funny you say that. Just yesterday I was noticing my Sunburst Platy is looking rather large, I assumed she was eating more of the food. If she is pregnant, is there anything I need to do or watch for? I'm assuming I would need to upgrade the tank? I'm not sure I have this correct but I think I was told it's one fish per gallon of water?

Those little buggers were made to breed, so there's not much to watch out for. Just make sure you feed her well and try to have places in the tank for the babies to hide so they don't get cannibalized - somewhere they can get in but the parents can't, like a mesh basket - if you want to keep some.

And the general rule is 1 gal per inch of fish, though it's really only a vague recommendation. It depends quite a bit on what kind of fish you're keeping, their activity levels and how much waste they produce...so I usually err on the side of under-stocking, since that also earns you more leeway when screw ups happen.

 

[Lintilla]

I haven't messed with aquariums since I was a kid (I can't afford to maintain what I would consider a large enough tank), but I know this much... Be careful with those snails. They can easily get out of control if you don't keep everything balanced. We didn't even intentionally introduce any, but it only takes one hermaphroditic snail hitchhiking in on a plant to start a population boom. Overfeeding would be the main thing to avoid to prevent a snail explosion.

 

[Bocefish]

You could always try something like this... ;-)

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

So I was thinking about you last night, I'd love to see photos of your set up! Do you have a tank right now?

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Also, if Lily, or someone could teach me how Lily quoted multiple parts of my post so nicely. I've tried to figure it out but failed. Thanks bunches!

 

[LilyOhRiley]

Also, if Lily, or someone could teach me how Lily quoted multiple parts of my post so nicely. I've tried to figure it out but failed. Thanks bunches!

Super easy, actually! See how when you hit the reply button the quote appears like [QU0TE="bunch of info"]Post wording stuff[/QUOTE]?

All you have to do is paste the [QU0TE="bunch of info"] part at the beginning of each quote and [/QUOTE] at the end. Make sure that every section has one at each end and you're good to go.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

I use to have a 20 gallon for years that ran pretty smoothly. For me I think there were a few big things that really helped.

First one was before I added fish I let the aquarium run for a week. But I added bacteria supplement to get the beneficial bacteria count up fast. But in your case, since you already have yours up and running, you can still add some now.

Second was make sure you do regular water replacement. I use to replace about a third of the water volume in my tank out every month. But in your case I'd probably say maybe 10% a week might be better, so about a quart. But then also add a bit of the bacteria after each time as well. The bottle you buy should have a 'starter' amount and a lesser 'maintenance' amount to add after each water replacement. If you don't have one of those siphon gravel cleaners, I recommend them. They help get rid of the excess solids laying in the rocks which cut down on the amount the bacteria have to decompose.

Third, the filters. You mentioned it has a filter. Is that the kind with the replaceable pads filled with activated carbon? Does your aquarium also have a plastic bottom that went in first and all the rocks sit on top of it? With those the water (and poop) gets sucked through the rocks down under that plastic floor and can be sucked up the tube into the filter. Those are nice as well if you don't have one, they make a small one that would fit your aquarium. But what I would recommend is a bio wheel, if you can fit it into the top with your cover. Even if you have to cut a hole in the cover to fit it in.

Bio Wheels work by continually pouring water over the mesh in the wheel. As it spins around it's also oxygenating that mesh. That makes even more of the beneficial bacteria to help get rid of the waste. For me I found after I added that I had a lot less maintenance with the pH up and down additives. I once had to move my aquarium after it had been running about 3 years. So I decided to totally clean it out at the same time. There was maybe a half a teaspoon of solids on the bottom under that plastic bottom. I would never run an aquarium again without a bio wheel.

Feeding. Not to sound cruel to fish, but I think most people overfeed them. If you do the above, have filters and a bio wheel, and you still have too much solid waste, then cut back on the food. It's far too easy to just dump a bunch in there and walk away. Get use to what the food bottle suggests, whatever they can eat in 5 minutes, ONCE a day. If there's still food floating around after that, you gave em too much. All the extra food not only clogs the filters, but it also breaks down into toxins that are harmful to fish. Your fish will seem to be starving every time you feed them, but the reality is most fish can go days between feeding. Not that I'm suggesting you do that of course. If in doubt, underfeed.

And of course, leave the light off. In fact the darker the better unless you want to look at them for a bit. Every time you have the light on, just know that algae is growing.

Edit: usually with the bio wheel they also have the activated carbon pad filter insert as well. So you may just be able to get rid of your current filter and use that spot for a bio wheel instead.

 

[AmberCutie]

@LilyOhRiley @Cutie_Kisses
Actually, the button that is right next to reply that says "+Quote" is the proper/easy way to do this. click that on any post you want to eventually reply to, it'll add it to a queue, then when you go to reply, you can "insert quotes" (the button will be at the bottom of the post).

You'd then type your responses in between the quoted sections. Voila!

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Actually, the button that is right next to reply that says "+Quote" is the

I think what she was

proper/easy way to do this. click that on any post you want to

originally asking

eventually reply to, it'll add it to a queue, then when you go to reply, you

about was how to do this.

can "insert quotes" (the button will be at the bottom of the post).

Not just quote multiple messages.

You'd then type your responses in between the quoted sections. Voila!

But actually break up one into multiple parts.

 

[AmberCutie]

I think what she was


originally asking


about was how to do this.


Not just quote multiple messages.


But actually break up one into multiple parts.

Ah, fantastic point!

You can highlight text within a post, and a little menu will pop up asking if you'd like to +quote or reply to that specific text! So you'd +quote each portion, then follow my original instructions.

Woop!

 

[AmberCutie]

Now that we've sidetracked with How-To: forum stuff. and folks are educated on quotes, let's talk fishies!

I named all my most recent fish Bob, and unfortunately all my Bobs ended up dying. Boo that.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

The funny thing about tanks is that small ones are actually harder to maintain that big ones (to a point) - a smaller volume of water will have larger swings in chemical levels from small mistakes than a big tank, so I typically recommend a 20 as a good volume for first-timers. 5 or 10 are good if you're just housing a betta or the like, though they still need good filtration.

Totally agree with this. I had small ones as a kid, bowls, 1 gallon, and 2 gallon desktop ones. Fish always seemed to die in them. As soon as I got my 20 gallon and set it up right I rarely had a fish die. Most of them lived for years. And for the most part it was less maintenance. I never had to scrape algae off the 20 gallon and it was always crystal clear looking. The pH seemed to stabilize better, maybe had to adjust it every 5 or 6 months.

But the cost went up quite a bit to do that. With the undergravel filter, the regular filter, the bio wheel filter (later replacing the regular filter with an additional bio wheel), all the rock, plants, heater, light, and all the chemicals...it got expensive.

I remember buying just the plain empty glass 20 gallon aquarium for $20 thinking that isn't too bad at all! $280 later to set it up I was wondering what the fuck just happened?!?

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Actually, the button that is right next to reply that says "+Quote" is the proper/easy way to do this. click that on any post you want to eventually reply to, it'll add it to a queue, then when you go to reply, you can "insert quotes" (the button will be at the bottom of the post).

You'd then type your responses in between the quoted sections. Voila!

Thank you so much!

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

I think what she was


originally asking


about was how to do this.


Not just quote multiple messages.


But actually break up one into multiple parts.

That is exactly what I was asking how to do!

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Now that we've sidetracked with How-To: forum stuff. and folks are educated on quotes, let's talk fishies!

I named all my most recent fish Bob, and unfortunately all my Bobs ended up dying. Boo that.

Aw, I know a lot of people who name their fish all the same thing. I'm sorry to all the Bobs!

My most favorite fish was named Bubbles, he got his name because the tank had a bubble chamber that ran up the middle, and for a while (talking days) I couldn't find him, but he would randomly appear. One day I caught him surfing up the bubbles. Bubbles lived three years, spending most of his time swimming around under the rocks in this tiny little half inch space away from all the fish. It took me a while to get another set of fish after Bubbles passed.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Totally agree with this. I had small ones as a kid, bowls, 1 gallon, and 2 gallon desktop ones. Fish always seemed to die in them. As soon as I got my 20 gallon and set it up right I rarely had a fish die. Most of them lived for years. And for the most part it was less maintenance. I never had to scrape algae off the 20 gallon and it was always crystal clear looking. The pH seemed to stabilize better, maybe had to adjust it every 5 or 6 months.

But the cost went up quite a bit to do that. With the undergravel filter, the regular filter, the bio wheel filter (later replacing the regular filter with an additional bio wheel), all the rock, plants, heater, light, and all the chemicals...it got expensive.

I remember buying just the plain empty glass 20 gallon aquarium for $20 thinking that isn't too bad at all! $280 later to set it up I was wondering what the fuck just happened?!?

This makes me feel so much better about one day owning a huge aquarium, because I have mastered the 2.5 gallon size!

 

[LilyOhRiley]

This makes me feel so much better about one day owning a huge aquarium, because I have mastered the 2.5 gallon size!

If you can keep a 2.5 going you'll have no trouble with the bigger ones...though I've been up to a 75gal (coldwater, fancy goldfish) and I'd say the sweet spot is between 20-30 in terms of being big enough to stay balanced and small enough to be easy to maintain.

And thanks to this thread I actually decided to set up a little 10gal in my home office to keep ghost shrimp and maybe a betta in. Once I get it cycled and stocked I'll post up pictures - I'm really loving the hardscape I've got set up and I'm kinda interested in seeing what you think of it.

 

[EmelieSky]

Damn you all. Now I want an aquarium and I really don't want an aquarium. Good thing I can let my logical side win sometimes.

 

[WildFingers]

I keep ,y feeder brine shrimp in a 2.5 gal tank now. I bought it for a quarantine tank 25 years ago when I had 2 saltwater tanks going and an employee recommended that I use Copper safe to get rid of some Ick I had on a few fish. The Copper safe is not SAFE it killed all my Feather Dusters and Anemones. Moral of the story: Be careful where you get your information from.

I recently set up those tanks again after having them stored in my basement for 20+ years. I had to build a stand since the other one had seen its better day prior to the basement flooding a number of times i placed the 20 Gal tank on the new stand and it is again a salt water tank.

The tank is a 15 gallon tank that I turned into a Fresh water tank. Loaded with 20 Zebra Danios 24 Neon Tetras 5 Cardinal Tetras, 3 Sterba's corydoras (Catfish) to clean the bottom of excess food, along with a few live plants in a sand base and under gravel filter. and hang on filter rated for a 30 gallon tank. I set this tank up 2 weeks ago and purposely over inhabited the tank. I have had no casualties but I did a 5 gal water change after 5 days and will do another one after the first one (on Friday). I had an ammonia level of less than 1 part per million prior to the first water change.

I met a small business owner (Fish Store) local and have been dealing with him since January when I started up my salt water tank. I Bring a water sample in and have him test it so that the water has NO ammonia and to check the Nitrates and Nitrites. There are other tests I run on my saltwater tank but those three are common to both fresh and saltwater.

I would like to get a bigger tank like 90-150 gallon tank for Saltwater, I've been checking out Craigslist for a good deal. I would like to set up a sump system for that tank Sorry now I am getting to complicated here.

Good luck with your tank. I will keep an eye out for your progress.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

If you can keep a 2.5 going you'll have no trouble with the bigger ones...though I've been up to a 75gal (coldwater, fancy goldfish) and I'd say the sweet spot is between 20-30 in terms of being big enough to stay balanced and small enough to be easy to maintain.

And thanks to this thread I actually decided to set up a little 10gal in my home office to keep ghost shrimp and maybe a betta in. Once I get it cycled and stocked I'll post up pictures - I'm really loving the hardscape I've got set up and I'm kinda interested in seeing what you think of it.

YAY! I can't wait! So exciting!