I just got a starter 10-gallon aquarium. I want to put tropical fish in, but how do I get started?

Question

There were no directions included. I have the heater, thermometer, filter, etc. This is my first one, so please be patient.,

Answer 1

Hi and welcome to the hobby! I'm glad you played it smart and asked before you just went out and bought a tank full of fish that would have died in a few days. The basics you need to know would take quite a while to type and since they are already on a great website, I would like to give you the link. Read through this page plus the few that follow it ( links at the bottom of the first) and you'll know everything you need to know to get started. After reading that if something doesn't make sense or you have any additional questions, feel free to drop me an email and I'll be happy to help all that I can.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/

Hope that helps!

MM

Answer 2

In addition to all that you need to have Water Conditioner and Sand or Gravel

The 1st step is place the tank where you want it, and make sure it has access to power and is away from AC vents and windows.

The 2nd step would be to wash the sand or gravel very very thoroughly. Tehn place it in the tank.

Wash the heater and stick in the middle of the tank, make sure it is well below the surface so it will always be submerged.

Rinse the carbon filter out, rinse the filters casing and everything. Attatch to the side of the tank.

Stick Thermometer on the side of the tank towards the bottom of the glass in the middle of the panel.

Fill with water, add conditioner, turn everything on. Go buy a guppy and let the tank cycle for several weeks before adding the fish you want into it.
Remember that in that tank you can have about 10 small 1" inch. Add them in slowly never more than 4 fish at a time. I recomend keeping it a species tank with all the same type of small fish.

If you have any additional questions feel free to email me or send IM

Answer 3

It's good that you're doing research before just dumping in some fish! Your fish will thank you.

First thing is to rinse down everything with water to remove dust particles and other stuff. Add your decorations and gravel (rinse everything first). You didn't say what kind of filter you have...if it's an undergravel filter, put it in before adding gravel, if it's a power filter (hang on back) you can wait. After you have your decorations in, put the heater in and the filter on the tank and fill the tank with water that has been treated with a dechlorinator. I recommend Prime. Put the filter media (cartridge with carbon and floss) into the filter. Turn on the heater and the filter (may need to fill the filter with water to get it started).

Here's the hard part, but if you can be patient and do a fishless cycle you will experience much less fish loss and have healthier fish. Fishless cycling:http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php

It can be hard to wait, but it's worth it. While you're waiting you can come up with a stocking plan. A good rule of thumb for beginners is 1" of adult body length per gallon for slim bodied fish.

Some good beginner stocking plans for a 10 gallon:
1.) 5 white/black skirt tetras
2.) 5 harlequin rasboras and 1 dwarf gourami
3.) 5 white cloud mountain minnows and 1 betta (or dwarf gourami
4.) 3 platies and a betta
5.) 5 cherry barbs and a dwarf gourami
6.) 8 guppies
There are many other combinations, but try to buy schooling fish in groups of 5+ (don't mix and match species)

Some fish to absolutely avoid:
any cichlids (especially oscars and africans)
any sharks
clown loaches
catfish except for cories
pacus
any gourami except dwarfs (ok gourami are dwarf, honey, flame, powder blue, and pygmy/sparkling)
silver dollars

Some fish not great for beginners:
neon and cardinal tetras (very sensitive to water conditions)
cories

Hope that helps. Here's a website with tons of good info and helpful people: www.aquahobby.com

Answer 4

My first was a 10 gallon tank. I unfortunately did not read any books or ask questions so I am glad you did. I suggest you follow the link below to a site which has good information for getting started.

Here is a brief rundown on what you should do. First, set up your tank with conditioned water and all the decor. Wait a day and then cycle your tank with either one of two options.

With fish: Buy 1 or 2 hardy fish like Zebra Danios and place them in your tank. Get some kind of kits for testing water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. Test regularly and when the ammonia goes up, do up to 25% water changes to keep the ammonia down. Once it is down and stays down the nitrites will rise. Keep doing water changes to lower the nitrites. Once that is staying down you will see nitrates rise. This means your tank is cycled. You should keep doing regular water changes to keep the nitrates minimal but at this point your tank is ready to hold the fish you desire to keep.

Fishless: Buy a special kit from a local pet store for cycling a tank without fish. You can ask an employee help you find one. Since you have no fish you will not need water changes just follow the directions on the kit that you bought. Cycling a tank fishless or with fish usually takes 6 to 8 weeks.

Answer 5

I've had a 10, 25, and 58 gallon aquarium, and so maybe I can help you here. You have to decide what kind of fish you want in the tank so you can set up the temperature and ph factor of the water accordingly. In starting up the aquarium, what you're doing is starting an environmental cycle. Initially, as crazy as this may sound, your aquarium will be too clean. You need to buy some inexpensive "starter fish" so they can feed and poop, etc., in your aquarium and have your filters and your ph factor in the water, establish an "ecological cycle" for them. I learned this the hard way by having waaayyyy too clean of tanks, so, a little poop is good here, but not too much. Again, what type of fish you want in your tank determines a lot, and you may want fish that also happen to be good "starter fish", and then you'd be really lucky. Where you buy your fish is important because the pet shop people may be able to help you determine which fish you select, and how many to get (one inch of fish per gallon of water, so if the fish you want happen to be one and a half inches long, well, a little math will tell you that 6 to 7 of them is the upper limit of the number of fish you can have in your 10 gallon tank. Some fish you get may be bigger and some smaller, so you just need to consider that formula of one inch of fish per gallon of water.) I think your request of us to be patient in answering you is also a big thing for you as you start up your tank. Approach it intelligently, and with some outside support, such as at your pet store if they have any knowledgeable staff, and you'll be very satisfied with a very easy type pet to have. I could never give a long enough answer to cover all the issues, try as I might, so check your resources at the pet stores, read as you can, and "go for it". Best wishes, and God Bless you.

Answer 6

Hi,
First make sure the aquarium will hold water..You may want to test it for leaks before you begin. Make sure you place it on a strong, level surface that will support all the weight. 10 gallons of water will weigh 75 pounds, plus the weight of the gravel (1.5 ls. per gallon = 15 lbs, plus decor (rocks, etc.) So, in the end, your little tank will weigh close to 100 lbs.!! Anyway, Fill 'er up and let it sit overnite to make sure there are no leaks. I was just thinking how involved this is by typing..This would be alot simpler by phone.. So if you want to call, I'd be glad to walk you through it ..By the way, I've been in the Tropical fish/aquarium business for over 30 years, so I know my stuff .. My # here in Miami is 786-259-7282. TOM Talk 2 u soon.

Answer 7

well there are tons of fish you could possibly put in a 75 gallon tank i would put in some african or south american cichlids in there. their hardy enough to cycle a tank and are really colorful. although they arent community fish( would have to be just them with a pleco) you could do about 12 of them depending on the size (1 inch of fish per gallon of water)

Answer 8

Great answers so far, not really much I can add. One word of advice, if your petstore is a chain, like Petsmart or Petco, do not rely on their advice. The privately owned petstores are usually better, they truly know the hobby and will help you out a lot.

Good luck, and enjoy your new hobby! You'll probably have a lot more tanks before you know it.
=]

Answer 9

fish gravel colored, guppies, mollies,cat fish,angles do not do good with the small fish but they are pretty, plants cheese cloth to put over air pipes so baby's will not enter a hanging net small for babies,a net to catch fish with fish food staple a back ground and a air toy if wanted, real pretty set up.

Answer 10

That is extremely small for a salt water tank. Go to a high end pet store (not Walmart) and ask for a good book on the process. It is a long hard process that takes constant work. Be prepared most people fail the first time or so.