Why are fish so hard to take care of??? Advice for a new owner??

Question

I just rescued 2 BABY tetras from my brother's place. He hadn't cleaned the tank or the water in ages. We replaced half the water w/ new treated water and put in plants and a decoration from petco. We have a ten-gallon tank and a filter. Anything else? I'm considering getting a snail or algea-eater or something....

The tank isn't new, he has had the mother in the same tank for a few months, and she gave birht to 18 baby tetras, he left for the summer and left the poor fishies to fend for themselves. (awful, i know) and the next time i saw them, there were only 2 babies. They grow incerdibly slowly! Each one is still only 1/2 long!!!

We don't want to buy a heater unless its completely necessary. We live in South Florida and don't use the air conditioning too much. Right now the thermometer in the tank says its about 78 degrees.

Answer 1

Actually fish aren't that hard to take care of as long as you know what your doing. The key to success with fish, like anything else, is knowledge and being prepared. I would suggest you get a good basic fish book to read through and also spend some time surfing the web for info on the basics. Just a little info and planning will turn what seems so difficult into a quite easy job for you.

MM

Answer 2

Tetras are very delicate fish compared to many other species. They're highly sensative to sudden changes in ph. They will also not do as well if there are only a couple of them. They do well in minimum school sizes of 6 fish. If they don't have buddies, they will be nervous & stressed all the time.

Avoid common plecos sold as algae eaters. They get way too big for 10 gallon tanks. Ideal algae cleaner fish for your size tank are rubber lip pleco, and ottocinclus (aka midget suckermouth catfish). You don't really need anything that eats algae unless your lights are bright / left on too long, and especially if your tank is brand new.

Be sure you have a heater. 76-78 is ideal for tetras.

Expect most plants to die. There are only a few species good for small tanks without a million watts of light on them. Java fern, java moss, and wisteria are the best plants for lower light. You will be best off with plastic plants since there will be no decaying plant matter to foul the tank..

Snails are great cleaners. They will suck up a ton of garbage from the tank. Just try to find a variety of snails that will not breed like crazy.

To help biological stability in small tanks like a 10g, I often add a sponge filter to the air pump or as a pre-filter to the main filter. They're like $6 and can help bacteria colonize / stabalize tank conditions.

Answer 3

First of all get the heater, tetras are tropical fish and need their water between 70 and 80 degrees, however, i would disagree with the 1 person's response, DO NOT change 25% of the water every week, you will kill the fish. the white cloud you may get (new tank syndrome that she is describing,) is actually a bacteria plume. Don't worry, you need the bacteria in the tank to clean out the waste. if you change 25% of the water every week, you will be restarting the "cycle" all over and will continuously have new tank syndrome. Only change 10% once a month. DO NOT PUT THE FISH IN THE TANK UNTIL THE CLOUD HAS CLEARED. all of the bacteria in the water creates amonia and will kill the fish. i would not get any other fish until everything has cycled though and you have had your water tested. once the tank is balanced out (roughly after 48-72 hrs) you may add the 2 tetras. i would wait a couple week before adding more fish though. the tank needs to create bacteria to adjust to the waste made from the fish. Once all this is done, a plecco will be a good investment, it will help control the algea and waste and they are compatable with most all fish. I definately think you should get some literature on the subject. It will only help.

Answer 4

tetras are schooling fish they might like some more company so you can either A) get more tetras of different species or the same or B) wait again until the mom has more babies, I live in Naples, FL and i keep the flourescent light on my 10 gal in my bedroom and the temperature stays about 78 - 80 degrees, i dont think you need a heater, i have one but never ever used it (waste of money)


oh. get plants, rearrange the aquarium, snail's reproduce like mad. and plecos (algae eaters) outgrow there tanks, if you must, get a bristlenose pleco or a dwarf pleco, cory catfish are good pets too, and guppies as well, but guppies tend to have LOTS of babies ALL the time. just have fun with it. seems like your doing good now.

i cannot stress research more than this RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!!!!

www.aquariumfish.net will be like your best friend.

GOOD LUCK

Answer 5

We have a 29 gallon fresh water tank with about 15 fish in it. The best thing to do to keep it clean is to buy 1 or 2 algae eaters and get a strong filter. Algae eaters clean more algae off the tank (we've had both.) Another good investment is a magnetic cleaner. You can get them at petsmart for about $5. They are very easy to use.

Answer 6

If that is all you have in the tank I would suggest only feeding them at most a tiny pinch of flake food a day. Too much food will decay in the tank and kill the fish. If the pleco is in the tank you might want to try sinking vegi pellets for him. 1waffer every other day (if it disapears) is good. If you want to put more fish in there I woudl suggest guppies and other small tetras. You should only add a few (2-3) small fish at a time and you should not have any more than 8 small fish in a 10 gal. Good luck!

Answer 7

well youre gonna have to get a heater and keep the tank around 72oF. you will also need to to a 25% water change each week, now since this is a new set up tank you're gonna have to test the water each week and make sure to do a 25% water change if the ammonia goes to high, or if the nitrites go to high. and also make sure the pH is lowe, 6.8 is probably good for tetras since they like lower pH. snails are great tank mates, i would say a pleco but the tank is so small. you should never clean the entire tank all at once, this messes up the water chemistry, and a half water change may be a little drastic. rememember quality not clarity. if your tank decides to get cloudy white this is called new tank syndrome, just leave it be and it will clear itself up in a week or two. algae isn't too bad of a problem in a tank, it looks nasty tho. you can reduce algae bloom by moving the tank away from sunlight, getting rid of real plants, and only keeping the light strip on the tank for 8 hours a day.

Answer 8

Fish are easy to take care of. Tetras generally do well in soft slightly acid water with a PH about 6.0 or alittle lower. An algae eater is good if you have algae. Be careful about picking one out..Be sure it is one that requires the soft Acid water conditions and the same general temp. 76-80 degrees.
investigate what is truly compatible. most fish stores just sell fish they don't know much about water types and conditions. fish compatability aggressive, passive. will they get large and if so will they eat the smaller fish. There are some that do not eat smaller fish. got to find a reputable dealer or at least find some one in town with the experience of keeping fish.

Answer 9

Do you have a heater and pump for air,air stones I have both an algae eater (small) not a pleco they grow and could take over your tank snails are good but keep in mind that they multiply but you can always get rid of the ones you don't want.
Good luck

Answer 10

some species of fish are easier to take care of than others. Tetras should be pretty easy, an algae eater would be a good addition, plecostymus are very hardy and difficult to kill. A snail is good too, if you get two snails they will make thousands of snails.