first time fish owner?

Question

what are the things to prepare the fish tank?, i know i cant just stick the fish right in the water as soon as i fill it. all im getting is a couple algae eaters and some cheep fish, its a little tank. how do i go about setting it up and what things do i need besides food?

not nthat big of tank i would say no more than a 5 gallon or six gallon tank

Answer 1

There aren't any algae eaters that will thrive in a tank that small. Your fish choices will be limited to a few neon tetras, or rasboras, or guppies, danios or a single Betta.

Here's what you will need:
tank with hood and light
thermometer
filter and media
heater
gravel
water conditioner (dechlorinator)
Test kits for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH
Fish Net
bucket
cleaning siphon


First, rinse the gravel under tap water, and then place it in the tank - about an inch deep.

Add tap water to your tank - add the dechorinator per instructions on the bottle. Put your themometer in the tank

Turn on the filter and heater - set heater to about 76 degrees.

Now you are ready to start your fishless cycle. Add a pinch of fish food every day. Keep your filter on and don't do any water changes. You will start testing the water for ammonia in about a week, tho you may not get a reading for 2 weeks.

After your Ammonia spikes to a 1 ppm, start testing for nitrites. Once you start getting a nitrite reading, the ammonia will start to go down.

After about 2 more weeks, your nitrite will start to decrease and you will begin getting a reading of nitrates.

When you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 40ppm or less of nitrates, your tank is ready for fish, as long as your pH is somewhere between 6.8-7.8.

This takes about 6 weeks to accomplish so you have to be patient patient patient. Putting your fish in too soon will cause unnecessary deaths.

When you do add fish, add just 2 per week. This will give your biological filter to catch up with the new ammonia load.

Once fish are in the tank, do a 25% water change every week and siphon out the crud that's on the bottom of the tank.

Answer 2

i'm hoping its bigger than a 10 gal. cause algae eaters need bigger than that....
but assuming that you do, you need a filter, heater, and a bubbler. they all need to be running for about a week before you get fish. i will help you thru taht process. =]
first, wash the tank out really well with hot water then cold. wash the decorations and gravel with cold water. never use soap. then fill the tank. after that set up the bubbler, heater and filter. (make sure the tank has a light!) i also assume that you have de-clouding solution and water conditioner. and a ph and acid tester. so add all that and test the water. there should be instructions on the bottles of solution. and everyday, make sure the temp is moderate. it should be atleast 78. not more than 83. just do that for about a week or so and then pick the fish. i think the best algae eaters are the rainbow sharks and cory cats. only one rainbow shark though, because if you get two they will fight. if you get corys[there are over 5 different kinds.. its so cool], get like 5. they are soo cute and don't fight. =] cheap fish would be like guppies.. they're really pretty. so lets just say you a couple corys, 3 guppies and um 2 platys. [platys are also very pretty fish, also known as moonfish.] hen you get them home, let them sit in the tank in their bags for about 20-30 minutes. then gently let them go, about two at a time 5 minutes inbetween til theyre all out. then i would suggest putting some ich treatment in the tank, directions on the back, just to be safe cause sometimes the drastic change in water could get them sick. then after that, keep monitering the water temp and feed them a bit twice- three times a day. never over feed cause you can damage their liver. and never put cold water fish such as goldfish in with tropical fish cause of the goldfishs oils.. it could kill them all. well thats almost all you need to know. in the meantime while the tank is cycling, do alot of research on the fish u want and make sure u buy all the food they need as well as live plants. well thats about it. 'kay bye.

Answer 3

Have your already decided how big your fish tank will be and how many fish you're rearing? Be sure not to overload your fish tank with too many fish and make sure your fish have ample space to swim around. Since you're a first timer, a goldfish will do just fine if you're not sure what fish to get. Ok, preparing the fish tank, fill your fish tank with tap water to around 3 quarters full and slowly introduce your fish into it together with some old water. I would recommend buying a bottle of anti-chlorine mixture from any pet shop, a few drops of that would neutralise the water and get rid of any over dose of chlorine which might cause the fish to die. If you notice your fish constantly swimming up to the surface, it might be lacking enough oxygen in the water to breathe, if that happens, I recommend you buying an oxygen pump. You should also buy a fish tank filter, so the water stays clean longer. You could also decorate your fish tank with artificial plants or corals or underwater plants and gravel, so your fish will take the tank as it's natural habitat and be more relaxed.

Answer 4

You have to be very careful about the type of fish you get for this sized tank, what ever you do do not get a pleco (a type of algae eater) they get very large but are sold as 1in babies at the stores. You need water conditioner aquasafe or something similar, rocks, filter, heater, airater, and lighting. You have to cycle your tank, just google cycling fish tank and there will be a ton of step by step guides on how to do this. Either with fish or with out. This is a VERY important step dont leave it out or your fish will suffer. Be sure to do research on the fish before you buy them. Have fun!

Answer 5

Honestly the best thing you can do for your future fish is to do some research on your own. Starting a fishtank is no simple feat. Believe me, I thought it was at first and boy did Iearn. There's a lot that goes into owning fish, and that doesn't just mean you have to feed them every morning. Some types of tanks require almost constant maintainence, and even the smallest tank requires regular cleaning. So do yourself and your future fish a favor and check out this website to get a better idea of the work that goes into owning fish.

Answer 6

If you are using tap water make sure to treat the water first with Aqua plus (takes out the cholorine and other stuff), you may want to also add some cycle to the tank (cycle helps to add vital bacteria). I would not add algea eaters to the tank unless you have algae pellets to feed to them if this is a new tank then their is no algae for them to eat. When you release the fish into the tank open the bag and place the bag and the fish in the water for the fish to adjust to the water temp.

Answer 7

I assume you are doing freshwater, (please do not attempt marine :). You will need to let it cycle, this means just let it run with the filter going, for about a week or two. I suggest you put a few live plants and decorations in it. Also I think a five gallon is a good place to start, I know it sounds huge to you now, but I was a new fish owner about a year ago and I have a five gal. In the beginning it seemed gigantic to me but now I know it really is a very small tank. If you go with the 5 gal, ottocinclus catfish are the best algae eaters for you. Also cory catfish are fun and although they will not eat algae the clean up after your other fish. Most tetras are great beginning fish, my favorites are probably black phantom tras or long finned black skirt tetras.
http://www.fishlore.com/profiles_otocinclus.htm

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Corydoras.h tm
If you do get corys, juliis are the absolute cutest!

Answer 8

A good book on it. Chlorine pills or tablets first, they remove any Chlorine in the water. also make sure the water warms up to room temp, before you drop then in. Best to just place the whole bag in the water first for awhile, and lit it warm to the temperature of the tank, then release them. Also you'll need a pump, to clean the water, and add air to it, maybe a heater to keep the water warm also. There's a lot to know about fish, get a book at your library, or buy one.

Answer 9

Well first you leave the water get to room temperature. Then you get the Oxygen tube. Its the little tube that makes air bubbles. Other than that just don't feed them too much. Scince your getting algae eaters you don't need to clean up the bowl.

Answer 10

Get a book,there's more for you to learn that you will get on a forum like this. One thing to consider would be "fish-less" cycling.