Fish Tank Questions?

Question

We have just purchased a 29 gallon tank. We have gotten a filter, bio balls, a heater ,and decorations and what not. We also got a water conditioner...(.just to let you all know we are at ,not starting quite from zero). We are letting our tank cycle through for 24 hours and were planning on getting a couple cheap fish tomorrow at the advice of the fish guy at the pet shop. This is all new to me so I am not sure if maybe we should wait longer. I would also like a recomendation of some hardy community fish. If anybody knows of a good web site to go to for general info that would also be great! Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Sounds like your ready to cycle your tank. I suggest getting Zebra Danios. They are the most hardy fish I can think of. Get 2 or 3 of them and then spend the next six to eight weeks cycling your tank.

You will want to get kits to measure ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. First ammonia will go up and you will need to do regular water changes to keep it down. Once it stays at 0 you will see nitrites go up and you will need to keep doing water changes to lower that. Soon that will stay at 0 and you will see nitrates rise. When you see nitrates rise and the others stay at 0 you will have completely cycled your tank. Keep doing water changes to keep the nitrates down. I do a 25% water change every week.

Answer 2

Hi...and welcome :)
First off, letting the water sit for 24 hours does not start the cycle. Cycling starts when you add a fish (or raw shrimp, fish food, or pure ammonia) to the water. The only reason to let the water sit for 24 hours is if you did not use water dechlorinator as the chlorine will dissipate in about 24 hours.
The hardiest fish for cycling are danios. I cycled my tank with the gold danios for my 29 gallon. I added 5 of them in (they are schooling fish) and all of them made it through the cycle with seemingly no ill effects.
Once the fish are added in, they put out ammonia through urine, feces, exhalations through their gills and of course, any uneaten food in the tank. During cycling, try to feed the fish sparingly. After a few days, your ammonia levels will spike. Ammonia is toxic to fish, burning their eyes, fins, and gills. This is a time for frequent water changes but do not touch your bio balls or other filter media, nor remove the decor for cleaning. At the height of the ammonia spike, a new bacteria appears to eat it: nitrite. Nitrite is also toxic to fish and interferes with the fish's ability to use oxygen, in effect, asphyxiating them. Nitrite builds slowly to a peak for about 2 or 3 weeks. At that time, another bacteria forms: nitrate. This is the good bacteria and should remain around 20 parts per million for a cycled tank.
During cycling, it is recommended to test your water once or twice a day and do water changes as necessary so a kit is advised.
Once cycled, you can add fish slowly until stocked.
A great site for community setups is www.elmersaquarium.com .
You can look up a particular fish you'd like and it will show others that are good tankmates.
It really depends what you're looking for in the tank as to which fish are good. Basically, a school of danios for schooling and speed that stay near the top, 4 or 5 corys for the clean up crew and then, your centerpiece fish. You could have angels or 1 bloodparrot or a group of dwarf gouramis or even a pair of pink kissing gouramis.
Have fun :)

Answer 3

if you are just adding a few at a time you don't have to be that concerned. you can start a 29 gallon with just about anything for a month and then add more. it is always good to research the fish you want before you buy it. i am kind of biased and like community gouramis (everyone loves my gourami tank and thinks its "exotic" when they are really hardy fish) -- you could have a couple dwarfs, pearls, or honeys do the cycling for you. maybe even a betta depending on what else you would want. don't buy fish you dont' want just to cycle -- just don't stock your tank. here are a couple of sites that are good for basic research on what kind of fish you want --

http://www.aquahobby.com/e_freshwater_tropical_aquarium_fish.php

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pcatid=830

one product you might want to get is a beneficial bacteria product like stress zyme. it will help establish the benficial bacteria and make the cycling less stressful on the fish.

also avoid buying anything that will outgrow 29 gallons -- that is virtually any fish that grows larger than about 5 inches.

Answer 4

Well, I'd be tempted just to leave it a day or two longer, just to make sure all the equipment is functioning correctly and then test the water make sure there's no surprises there, once that's done maybe a couple of platies for a week or so, cycle with them and then choose at your leisure, adding a shoal of tetra's or a couple of fish a week always testing to see that the water parameters ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are coming back into healthy levels.


I've not really come across a site that generalizes for beginners so would suggest that you either get a book from the library or buy one of them that are out there, it would probably be best to buy one as they're always useful to have at hand for the first few years of keeping fish.

AJ

Answer 5

My advise to you is to wait at 3 or 4 days before adding any fish you have to let your good bacteria build up so you dont kill your fish as soon as you get them.A good hardy fish for a community tank are Zebra Danios they do well in groups of 5 or 6(they are small) And Swordtails are good also.I personally like Red tailed Black sharks.They are bottom feeders and help keep your gravel clean as well as being a very pretty fish.Good Luck!

Answer 6

Here's a great website for people just starting a tank. It will walk you though the various steps very well.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/

I would suggest you investigate "fishless cycling" instead of buying fish tomorrow for the tank.

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php

If after reading these you have any additional questions feel free to email me.

Once your tank is cycled you will fine most of the common peaceful community fish to be equally hardy. It's the cycling process that can be so tough on them.

Welcome to the hobby and I hope this helps!

MM

Answer 7

Saltwaterfish.com is what i go on and i learn everything there. and it sounds like you have a saltwater fish tank set-up too. if you do have a saltwater fish tank some good starter cheap hardy fish would be damsels, chromises, or clown fish.
Hope it helped! Good luck~~~!

Answer 8

Get a few zebra danios. They are cheap and hardy and can ssurvive ammonia spikes. If they aren't your type trade them away or toss 'em into a canal where they have so much more space to live... seriously... or buy an oscar.>:)

Answer 9

Go here for starters:

Answer 10

Mollies, guppies, tiger barbs and most tetras.