Just Bought a Fish Tank

[Porn Shop Clerk]

i'm sure the little guy appreciates all that extra room though

[pawsandclaws]

i'm sure the little guy appreciates all that extra room though

Yep

[Zaximus]

Me and my father had a lot of freshwater fish some time ago. Around 10 aquariums.

Starting out, the basic fish are easy. Mollies, swordtails, plattys, cory catfish (and good clean-upers), zebra tetras, guppys, etc. I always found the cory catfish to be really good and entertaining, especially when they go into their "crazy" mode and swim to the top and back down over and over. They also seem to live quite a long time compared to other fish, my dad has one that is at least 7 years old, no kidding.

We've had some oscars, and they are amazing fish, and really get attached and used to you. However, they have to be by themselves. They are basically bass in the fish world.

I have a 29 gallon tank at home I've been meaning to set up but haven't had time, and don't know where to put it as I'm not sure my fireplace mantle/cornerpiece could hold the weight. My idea was to get some really good colored cichlids and let them go crazy.

You can also buy fish online and have been shipped pretty quick to you, I've never done this though but heard it works good. This way you can get some cool looking fish that are never in the stores.

Overall it's a enjoyable hobby, but you need to clean it often or it gets really dirty. Need to put new water in when it is low, watch out and make sure you don't see ick going around on your fish, etc. Sometimes algae is an issue if your aquarium is in sunlight a lot each day.

But it's nice to chill after work and watch your fish hang out, I think studies have proven it's good for you to watch it, calms you down and soothes.

[The Saltman]

So I added 2 Silver Dollars on SUnday and they are doing pretty well, also added some Tiger barbs.

The tiger barbs all died on me. Not sure why because my water chemical levels are all pretty good, my ph is low but everything else was 0.

not sure why the barbs died, possibly my tank wasnt completely cycled.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

barbs like hard water i think, and you may have acclimated them too quickly?

[The Saltman]

ya its possible. the silver dollars were the ones acting very shy and hiding and I thought they would die. but they are doing really well.

the tiger barbs looked so happy at first schooling together and playing a lot but after a couple days that stopped.

my tank is actually pretty soft so that might be it.

what would be some better schooling fish that are pretty hardy instead of the tiger barbs?

[SCP]

zebra's and neon tetra's?

[Porn Shop Clerk]

no i'm wrong they like soft water and can tolerate a wide range

have you done an ammonia test?

[The Saltman]

ya then im not sure why they died.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

i found this on a forum:

When you say you cycled your tank for over a month, what exactly did you do in this time? Cycling a tank means growing colonies of the beneficial bacteria needed to break down the fishes' waste products (ammonia). Running the tank empty for a month doesn't mean you are cycling the tank. Cycling - fishless cycling - involves the process of growing the bacteria, which means adding a food source for the bacteria (pure ammonia or a rotting shrimp), and either waiting until the bacteria appear on their own, or you can use some media from an established tank to add bacteria. When ammonia is 0 ppm, nitrites are 0 ppm, and nitrates are around 10-20 ppm, your tank is cycled. The 0 reading for your nitrates concerns me and I wonder if your tank is truly cycled. The ammonia and nitrite reading of 0, combined with a nitrate reading of 0 may mean that the cycle hasn't even started. If you're unsure about the various stages of the cycle, do some google searches for "fishless cycling" or "aquarium cycling".

With a pleco, you should see ammonia readings from your test kit if the tank hasn't cycled. Plecos are big waste producers. If your tank isn't cycled, you'll have to do water changes anytime your ammonia reaches .25 ppm or more. You may be doing water changes every day until the good bacteria can catch up with the bioload of the fish that you have.

If your tank is cycled, you could have purchased sick tiger barbs. Did you quarantine them in a separate tank before mixing them with your older fish?

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/tiger-barbs-and-plecos-died-within-2-days-without-warning-102756.html

[Porn Shop Clerk]

sounds like your tank isn't fully cycled if you didn't see signs of disease

[The Saltman]

ya no signs of disease.

im just wondering how the silver dollars survived and the barbs didnt.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

get 3-6 corydoras catfish

[The Saltman]

how big do they get?