Freshwater Aquarium Beginner?

Question

My best friends family recently gave me a 20 gallon freshwater aquarium tank with everything i would need to get started. I have always wanted my own aquarium, but i have no clue what kind of fish to get. I want some that are either unusual looking or really pretty (not simple goldfish or anything), and i want multiple kinds of fish that will live great together. Any ideas or websites i could look at to learn more. I want to know what i'm doing before i go to the petstore to buy some. Any help!?

Answer 1

welcome to the wonderful world of fishkeeping!
word of warning, you start with one tank, you'll soon have 3, then 4, then 5...haha

first things first, check the forum below, it has excellent beginners guides! particularly read the thread on fishless cycling, this will save you the pain of losing all your first fish to ammonia poisoning! a common beginner mistake. this cycling takes 2-4 weeks and gives you plenty of time to research the fish you want.

20 US gallons is a good size to start with. there are plenty of good beginner community fish. for a 20 gallon you consider some gouramis, males are territorial, but a male female pair work well. you consider a group of small tetras, black neon tetras are hardier than regular neon tetras, keep in groups of 6 or more. for the bottom of the tank you could get a group of 3-4 corydoras, bronze, albino, trilinaetus (often mis-labelled as julli) and pepper's are common, avoid pandas they're very delicate. or 6-7 pygmy or hasbrosus corydoras. i don't recommend a pleco until you've perfected ID'ing them, lest you end up with a monster common or sailfin which would grow too large!

does your tank come with filtration? internal power filters or hang-on-the-back filters are best, avoid undergravel ones, they're outdated messy and a bit rubbish!

Answer 2

You are lucky to get it all for a gift that you'll be able to enjoy for a long time. Introduce your new fish slowly. Like only buy a couple at a time. This way your tank can accumulate some good bacteria to prepare for sustaining more fish. Groups of neon tetras look great as they are a schooling fish. Get yourself a good fish book at your pet store. Will come in handy. Don't forget to set up your tank at least a week before you put many fish into it. Get a couple of Black Mollies or some Guppies(just to have something in it) until time to add more. This gives the tank time to age a bit. Also when adding more new fish or adding new water to the tank use "fresh start". It helps protect the slime coat on the fish to stave off diseases. Have fun!

Answer 3

I do have a suggestion, but probably not the one you think you want. Let your first stop on getting a nice aquarium running ba a trip to the bookstore where you can pick up a decent beginners aquarium book. It will answer all your questions, even those you haven't thought of yet. There are some wonderful websites out there that give great advice, but also some that look good and give poor advice. It can really be difficult for a beginner to know the good ones from the bad ones so start witha book. That will help you along and give you enough to tell the good sites from the bad ones. Welcome to the hobby! What a great gift from what must be a really fantastic friend.

MM

Answer 4

Do lots of research before you buy your fish. The person at the store where you purchase your fish is getting payed to sell you fish and will try to sell you as many as they can with no regard to overstocking your tank. The 1 inch per gallon rule is a descent rule for fish stocking. So one night if you can't fall asleep or have nothing to do just type in some fish species that you know and you will get tons of links.

Answer 5

http://www.aquahobby.com
will help you greatly.
They have very informative articles covering everything you will need to know.
Also take a look at the gallery page, they list many of the freshwater species. On the pages, they have the fishes specifications, owners reviews, along with great photos.
Decide for yourself which fish to get...
That's the best part!

Answer 6

i'm to undecided with regard to the hardy flowers for you, all my cichlids are plant eaters so I quite have all pretend ones. I quite have heard Java ferns are stable, and likewise amazon swords, yet you will might desire to ask somewhat extra, I in basic terms comprehend they are stable starter flowers. As for the betta, one answerer mentioned to no longer have them with the different fish, it extremely is not entirely actual. I quite have heard many situations that they are going to do high quality in an area tank, in basic terms ascertain you get fish that isn't nip at it is long fins. My propose consistently is to ask the questions first, then purchase 2d, in case you persevere with which you'll be high quality.

Answer 7

The first thing I would say is, if your tank doesn't have an undergravel-type filter, invest in one. It's the best kind. As to fish, shoot, go to the fish store and feast your eyes. There are ALL kinds of fish you could get. I personally love Neon Tetras, Cooley Loaches, sharks, Angelfish, crustaceans, barbs, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, gouramis. You're bound to find something you like. And most if not all of the above-mentioned fish can live together.

Answer 8

ok well first I would do a fishless cycle, i would recommend joining aquariacentral.com, there are a bunch of articles. Then fish...hmmmm how about osme livebearers?

Answer 9

you could either get a community tank or a aggressive tank. for community u can get tetras, guppies, mollies, ect. or u can get African cichlids, they're colorful African fish.