Tropical Fish Help...

[tinkerbell23]

Im toying with getting a 60l tank for tropical fish..

I would love some fish with beautiful colours! So relaxing to watch & gorgeous!

I have no idea where to start, or what can live with what!

Obviously ill ask in the shops im going to look in- big pet store and one aquatic shop!!

Any tips or suggestions?

[tamborine]

Hiya Tinx, mine is kinda tropical with gold fish that seem happy; theyve lived with me 4y. The strip lights in the tank are best. All free off Freecycle. Will post a link when I work out how from iphone.

Hope ur well x

[beejay1124]

tinker-have you ever kept fish before-if not why not go for a cold water tank-you can put ordinary goldfish in it-I have 2 tanks( one coldwater and one tropical_ - the coldwater one has blue gravel in it and very colourful with the orange fish in it , it gets more remarks than my trop tank

[tinkerbell23]

Ive kept loads of goldfish over the years! Theyre lovely, feeling like i want to branch out though and go for a tropical tank xx

[beejay1124]

ok-either go for groups of small fish (prob best)(eg neons,mollies,guppies,platys) or large fish only
don't let the shop salesman talk you into buying a host of chemicals to put into tank-I just use tonic salts-cheap n does a job
also keep the tank away fro direct sunlight--makes the tank 'green'

[boxtops]

Hi Tinks, there are loads of Related Threads about tropical fish keeping at the bottom of this page - have a scroll through!

[B00]

Read, read and then read a helluva lot more. Tropical fish keeping is a lot more stressful than you'd think!

Just a quick question to Tambo, how have your fish survived 4 years? Tropical fish with coldwater (Goldfish) together in one tank?

[sherrardk]

My daughter got a tank a month ago and everything keeps breeding - the mollies had babies (which we stupidly 'saved' and none of them died). A snail got in there from somewhere and now there are loads if them. Bought an assassin snail to kill them off and it's a coward. Something has laid eggs and the plants are growing their own babies. Thinking of opening an aquatic shop!

[friedgreentomato]

True tropical fish are very difficult and costly to keep.

Why not start with cold water and see if you get on with them before upgrading, there are some wonderfull coldwater fish out there - bubble head, blackmoor's with googly eyes.

[friedgreentomato]

Boo my father managed to keep tropical and coldwater together, the house we lived in was a coal fired and the tank was near the fire, so the water slowly heated up and the cold water fish adapted - so father was able to add the tropical to it - he started with the easier tropical fish and moved up!

[B00]

Fair 'nuff, but most tanks aren't situated like that FGT x

Also, most goldfish I've seen, including my own, will quite happily chow down on any fish even slightly smaller than them.

[friedgreentomato]

I believe thought the concept is the same though raise the temp of the water to include tropical.

As for your fish - I believe they are piranahs sweety and you should stop using the child to bait them!!!

[Chipchopper]

I'm no expert on aquarium fish but I have dabbled with both cold-water and tropical fish in the past.
Like others have suggested, start off with something that is relatively easy to keep and maintain, then maybe progress from there, as you learn more and get into this hobby.
I'm sure they will have an expert on hand at your local pet store, to help you select the best species to start with.

Good Luck- Chip

[B00]

No please, don't rely on your local fish shop for advice, they'll just sell you owt and give you any old gumph in order to make a sale. Do your research before you go.

Also read into cycling the tank before you add fish to it.

[ummmm]

In short...don't do it. It is expensive, time consuming and a little bit confusing.

[divegirl]

First... listen to Boo... do not take advice from a 'big pet store' they are there to sell stuff... not make sure you have the right fish.

Tropical are not harder to keep than cold water it is exactly the same, you just add a thermostated heater to the tropical tank. If anything coldwater is harder as people tend to just whack a goldfish or tree in and they are massive waste producers so need a powerful filter and constant water changes.

60l is kind of small, either go smaller and keep a single Siamese Fighting fish or aim for 100l and have a much wider choice.

Do not get neons, they need a well established tank and will barely survive in a new tank. Mollies Platties and Guppies are good starter fish but don't save any young fry as you will soon be over run.

No well run tropical tank needs salt of any kind... 'tonic or otherwise.

Think I covered all the points above lol...

This is an excellent forum for biginners and experts alike... go and have a good read on there.

http://www.fishforums.net/

Lisa x

ps....goldfish need ponds not tanks... they should grow to at least 12'' and won't do that in a tank :0/

[tamborine]

How about an equestrian seahorses tank. Males incubate 50+ baby-foals quartely to sell on.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/sw/seahorseaquarium.php

[tinkerbell23]

What would i do with any young fry! Eek!

Haha thanks guys for the answers... Id just like a few nicely coloured fish who get along well in a nice tank in my living room!

Ill take a look at the coldwater kind aswell thanks that arent goldfish- as much as i like pretty goldfish....

Ive always liked the look of the parrot chiclids (sp) in the shop how are they to keep? X

[sherrardk]

You're supposed to leave the fry in the tank, they act as a snack!

[tinkerbell23]

Oh god! Lol! I didnt know this im glad i asked!

Im reading up on a few kinds of fish i like and will take it from
There- i believe that tanks must be set up for weeks before introducing fish? Even weeks to months?

I seem to remember divegirl being an expert :0)
Thanks for the help! And the eyeopeners haha!!

I do love those parrot fishes!

I do love clownfish and before you say it i have never seen all of finding nemo and thats not why LOL. X

[divegirl]

Eeeek no! No parrot fish!!!! A lot of these are such a pretty colour as they have been injected with dye to make them look like that! It is a barbaric practice with something like 75% of the fish dying before they reach the shop. I believe it's either banned now or in the process of being banned.

How about something like a pair of dwarf gourami? They can be very pretty and easy to care for...

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=dwarf+gourami&client=firefox-a&hs=bJY&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&;sa=X&ei=p6puUpfLJ-aW0AXemYGQDg&sqi=2&;ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1046&bih=467

http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-a-Dwarf-Gourami

Google 'tank mates' and 'tank size' for what ever fish you like the look of and you can start planning from there. I believe a pair of gourami need around a 70l tank.

Yes, it is also true that the tank needs to be set up well before hand, it needs to be 'cycled' [have a look on the forum link I posted above for that].

Do you know anyone who has an established aquarium? You can forego 'cycling' if you do. [I'll explain how to do that if you do know someone]

I really am no expert but feel free to ask any questions you want :0)

Lisa x