Tropical Fish Forum
Think Fish Tropical Fish Forum => Introductions and hello's => Topic started by: tornmean9 on February 16, 2024, 09:44:35 AM
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hello all
today i start out on my aquarium adventure i have a 300l fish tank coming today and already have all the stuff needed to start cycling it and i did use to help look after a tank when i was a kid my father a big tank with albino oscars and i been researching alot to
i looked at my water company and i know my water has a Hardness German 12.65 and when testing water from the tap before starting a ph level of 7.5 and decided to shell out on a Fluval 407
luckily i know one fish i definately want to get from what i can see should do well and that is a swordtail ive always liked them since i was a kid with those nice long tails then ill look for fish to go with swordtail i know ill want a shoal fish to i hope
but overall just wanted to say hi and look foward to the ineveitable help im sure i will need
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Welcome, @tornmean9 :wave:
All sounds excellent. Hope the cycling process goes well.
You might find these species profiles helpful for your main choice of fish:
https://www.thinkfish.co.uk/fish/swordtail-female.html , https://www.thinkfish.co.uk/fish/swordtail-male.html and https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/xiphophorus-hellerii/
Keep us posted. Looking forward to hearing what choices of shoaling fish you might opt for.
Any questions, fire away! :fishy1:
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yea i been doing alot of research on them its why i also went for a rectangle tank that is 120x50x50 so it will be long enough keep swordtails enough room even when fully grown
but i am trying to find a good pleco for the tank that stays relatively small and wont outgrow my current tank and likes hard water but has a nice pattern and colours and any advice on a good pleco that suits the requirements would be appcreciated
and for shoaling fish im seriously considering Glass Bloodfin Tetra from what ive read they should be ok in hardwater and good tank mate for swordtail but stilll looking before deciding and luckily i got time to decide while tank cycles properly
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Sounds good.
Others such as @Hampalong or @Sue or @Matt might have ideas on plecs for you, but these might serve as "starters for ten" in the interim:
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/9-of-the-most-desirable-plecs-for-the-aquarium and https://www.planetcatfish.com/
Glass bloodfin tetra are indeed lovely.
Also take a look through Littlefish's early posts. She's not on here anymore unfortunately but had hard water and successfully kept a huge variety of fish - penguin tetras and bristlenose plecs were among the fish she kept (besides many more).
This list might also be useful for you: https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/new-fishkeepers/list-of-fish-suitable-for-high-ph-and-hard-water/msg27381/#msg27381
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I'm afraid I don't know much about plecs as I've never kept any. But I'm sure there are species which can tolerate your water. 12.65 dH (aka German degrees) is not terribly hard - it's too soft for some fish - but good for the fish you want.
Have you read up on cycling? Things have changed there since you were helping your father. You'll find methods in the Filtration and Cycling section.
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Sounds good.
Others such as @Hampalong or @Sue or @Matt might have ideas on plecs for you, but these might serve as "starters for ten" in the interim:
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/9-of-the-most-desirable-plecs-for-the-aquarium and https://www.planetcatfish.com/
Glass bloodfin tetra are indeed lovely.
Also take a look through Littlefish's early posts. She's not on here anymore unfortunately but had hard water and successfully kept a huge variety of fish - penguin tetras and bristlenose plecs were among the fish she kept (besides many more).
This list might also be useful for you: https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/new-fishkeepers/list-of-fish-suitable-for-high-ph-and-hard-water/msg27381/#msg27381
thanks for info looking at them seems i could indeed get the very pretty zebra pleco which would be very cool and the fish tank i got is ill be honest bigger then what i imagined it was in my head i should be able to fit a good number in there i brought the Diversa Aquarium (300 Litre (120x50x50cm)
I'm afraid I don't know much about plecs as I've never kept any. But I'm sure there are species which can tolerate your water. 12.65 dH (aka German degrees) is not terribly hard - it's too soft for some fish - but good for the fish you want.
Have you read up on cycling? Things have changed there since you were helping your father. You'll find methods in the Filtration and Cycling section.
yea i did alot of research while i was waiting on tank delivery and started the long process off cycling it
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Sounds great. :cheers:
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this is how my tank currently looks i got a bigger pieace of wood coming aswell
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Very nice indeed. :cheers:
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Lovely to see another planted tank - do you have anubias there and is it planted in the substrate? Anubias is a rhizome plant and needs to be attached to a rock or wood and not planted in the substrate or it will eventually rot. I could be spotting something that isn’t there to spot and I’m not sure from the photo but thought it worth letting you know in case that’s the case :)
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Lovely to see another planted tank - do you have anubias there and is it planted in the substrate? Anubias is a rhizome plant and needs to be attached to a rock or wood and not planted in the substrate or it will eventually rot. I could be spotting something that isn’t there to spot and I’m not sure from the photo but thought it worth letting you know in case that’s the case :)
yea my bigger wood and plant was ment to come at same time but did not so i thought it might be ok for a day or two while i wait and i just got that and a coconut shell with java moss and java fern and a small cave
ready for the eventual day i get a pleco then i think im done for now till its cycled
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well tank cycle seems to be going well s far i got nitrites showing up but in another developement my friend i live with decided to get there own 200l tank for them selfs so house alreay gone from 0 tanks to two with in couple of weeks
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my tank is finally cycled and i added my first two fish i went with two Croaking Gourami (Trichopsis vittata)
https://www.thinkfish.co.uk/fish/croaking-gourami.html
im happy to finally having fish in the tank
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Nice! Thanks for sharing :)