New To Fishkeeping

Hi Charlotte 


Unfortunately, shops are not the best for advice. Too many of them just see the ££££ and don't care.

To be honest, a 35 litre tank is not really big enough for platies. They need a tank at least 60cm (2 feet) long. I know the profiles on here say 45 cm is the minimum but that is really on the small side.

The best thing you can do is to take the platies back to the shop, and also buy a test kit while you are there. With fish in your tank for 2 weeks, the ammonia level will probably be quite high by now - another thing the shop won't have told you about.


Shops rarely explain about cycling. I'll explain the process briefly.
Fish make ammonia; it is their equivalent of urine. The problem is that it burns their skin and gills, making it hard for them to breathe. In a cycled aquarium, there are bacteria in the filter and the surfaces inside the tank which 'eat' this ammonia and turn it into nitrite. Unfortunately nitrite is also toxic. It binds to the fish's blood so it can't absorb oxygen - it does to fish what carbon monoxide does to us. But in a cycled tank, there is another species of bacteria which 'eats' nitrite and turns it into nitrate. This is only toxic at high levels and with a cycled tank we do water changes to remove it. This process of ammonia to nitrite to nitrate is called the nitrogen cycle, and we use the term 'cycling a tank' to mean the process of growing the necessary bacteria. These are slow growing bacteria and take several weeks to grow enough of them to convert all the ammonia made by the fish into nitrate. Until then, we have to do the job by doing water changes - every day if necessary. The good bit is that with 35 litres it won't take long.
This goes into more detail.



You need to get a test kit as soon as you can. Don't bother with strips that you dip into the water as they don't test for ammonia and you need that. The kind with bottles of reagent and test tubes are better and work out cheaper. Until you get the testers, can I suggest you change at least half the water every day to stop ammonia build up. Once you have the testers you can see how high ammonia and nitrite are and know exactly how much and how often to change.
You need to refill the tank with warm water that has been dechlorinated. If you have a combi boiler you can use hot tap water to warm the water to the same temperature as the tank; if you have a hot water cylinder you'll need to boil a kettle to warm it.


With a bit of work on your part, you can keep your fish alive until the tank cycles; then things will get easier.




With a 35 litre tank I would just get half a dozen harlequins and nothing else. Smaller tanks are harder to keep stable, and having a slightly under stocked tank makes it easier.

And don't listen to shops. Research before buying anything.

The quality of staff in an aquarium shop is a bit hit and miss unfortunately. If you explain that you think there must have been a misunderstanding and with the welfare of the fish your priority, they should take them back.

Good luck and don't be put off. 

Glad you have found a test kit that works for you. The API test kit ordinarily gets a good reputation among fish forum people although I haven't used it myself. I actually use a combination of test strips (JBL, Tetra) and liquid based kits (JBL, Waterlife, etc) and find advantages of having both to doublecheck against one another and against the water company's results. Liquid-based nitrate tests tend to be particularly difficult to get accurate readings on and need shaken vigorously.

Like you, I was staggered by differing advice when I first got involved in tropical fishkeeping and started looking and asking questions online - it was as though the advice online was more specific about certain aspects and the shops were helpful/friendly and more relaxed about the certain aspects such as fishless cycling, how many fish could be in a tank, minimum tank sizes for a particular species of fish, etc. However, I've been reading some interesting information recently about animal welfare around fish and possibly a reason why LFSs are more relaxed around these issues is because it's actually the fishkeeper's rather than the shop's responsibility to ensure that the fish are kept appropriately in the UK, in contrast to Germany and Switzerland and possibly other countries, where LFSs are also responsible and so tanks under 54L can't be sold for housing fish and there are much more stringent criteria around minimum shoal numbers, minimum tank sizes for specific fish and other aspects. Therefore, the information available on Thinkfish, such as in the fish profiles and community creator which are based on solid academic sources, are actually enshrined in legislation in other countries.

Appreciate that it probably feels like information overload but feel free to come back and bounce ideas off us as/when you like - and enjoy the gormless staring at the fish... I find them constantly fascinating. So, is the bigger tank instead of or in addition to the existing one? Perhaps this time next year, you'll find you have multiple tanks. 

... the advice here, consistent, sensible and scientifically and ethically based. The thing is here, nobody is trying to sell you anything and its a pooling of years of experience.

This is so true. Nobody here has a vested interest and our only concern is for the welfare of the fish.

I'd advise anyone to choose a different LFS as soon as they've been given poor advice. You have no reason to be loyal to a LFS, if they're only interested in your money then you're right to choose one that has the welfare of the livestock at heart too.

The next tank we get will be to replace this one (not had this one a month yet !). The problem I have with the api kit was the test water stayed the same colour as the test liquid, suggesting that nothing was happening which seems to be the case.
Thanks again.