New Aquarium

prospect

Hi Folks,

Happy New Year to all....


I was lucky enough to receive a gift of a Juwel Aquarium for christmas. I kept fish in the distance past and am now trying to re-educate myself before deciding what livestock to go for.
I will most probably opt for 3 or 4 small shoals (6-8 fish) of small colourful community fish.

I would like to use some real plants in the tank, but am a bit wary of it being too much work.

So, in short I am lookingon advice for the following:

1. Is it alot of work keeping live plants?
2. Where is the best place to but aquarium equipment, (I tried a garden centre in Celbridge, but it seemed rather expensive).
3. Where is the best place to source livestock, e.g. Where the staff actually know what they are talking about, and can give real information & tips.
4. Anyone got and hints & tips based on experience.

Cheers in advance.
P

LuckyStar

prospect wrote: »

Hi Folks,

Happy New Year to all....


I was lucky enough to receive a gift of a Juwel Aquarium for christmas. I kept fish in the distance past and am now trying to re-educate myself before deciding what livestock to go for.
I will most probably opt for 3 or 4 small shoals (6-8 fish) of small colourful community fish.

I would like to use some real plants in the tank, but am a bit wary of it being too much work.

So, in short I am lookingon advice for the following:

1. Is it alot of work keeping live plants?
2. Where is the best place to but aquarium equipment, (I tried a garden centre in Celbridge, but it seemed rather expensive).
3. Where is the best place to source livestock, e.g. Where the staff actually know what they are talking about, and can give real information & tips.
4. Anyone got and hints & tips based on experience.

Cheers in advance.
P

Hi,
Lucky you, what a fab Xmas present!

1. I have been keeping fish for years and have never kept one live plant. They always seemed like too much work so i always got the plastic or fabric plants, I can switch them around in my tank whenever I like and I don't have to worry about them dying and leaking god knows what into the water.

2. Newlands Garden Centre on the Newlands Cross, or Aquatic Village (stores in Brittas beside Tallaght, another in Tallaght) are the best, the latter being cheaper, but both are great.

3. See above

4. Hints I would give- it's all about the water quality. Get yourself a good kit that tests for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and PH. Also make sure your fish are compatible.

What fish are you thinking of keeping? Make sure to find out how big they will get, you don't want a "tankbuster"- e.g. an Oscar, which will get huge.
I am a complete sucker for colour so my tank is a mix of neon tetras, cardinal tetras, dwarf gouramis, rosy barbs, gold barbs, panda corys (get some of these) and glass catfish.

Corys are great, they stay small, are available in lots of patterns, will clean your tank, never cause any aggro and they love to shoal together.

spongbob

hey LuckeyStar, I dont mean to steal somone elses thread but i just have a quick question for you, You say get a good kit that tests for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and PH, Are theses cheap and can they be got in many shops'?

The reason I ask is cause i too got a nice Juwel Aquarium about 12 months ago and i just kept goldfish, Eventualy they all died one by one and im not sure why... Im thinking it might have somthing to do with the water that we have at the house, You see I moved into a recently built housing estate and somtimes when i pour myself a pint glass of water from the tap i notice it can look a bit cloudy untill it settles!! So now i buy bottled water from the supermarket.

Could this be a reason why i am having bno luck with the fish!? A friend of mine lives about 2 miles away and he keeps goldfish and all are 100%. He lives in a different estate tho.. but im nearly sure its the same water mains but im only guessing..

Someone said i should get myself a heater like they use for tropical fish and have it on just enough to keep the water luke warm and it would help. They say they have Tropical fish & goldfish living together in a warm thank for years now with no issues..


What do ya think

Duzzie

prospect wrote: »

I was lucky enough to receive a gift of a Juwel Aquarium for christmas. I kept fish in the distance past and am now trying to re-educate myself before deciding what livestock to go for.
I will most probably opt for 3 or 4 small shoals (6-8 fish) of small colourful community fish.

Congrats on the prezzie. The Juwel tanks are very good and easy to maintain. Just make sure that the tank is properly cycled before adding fish, to establish a colony of notrifying bacteria within the filter. Failure to do so will result in high amonia levels within the tank which will seriously harmand probably kill your fish. Do a search on google for "New Tank Syndrome". Ammonia will burn a fishes gills in a similar way to chlorine burning yours eyes in a pool. Also do a search for "Fishless Cycling" for the best way to cycle a tank without fish.

prospect wrote: »

1. Is it alot of work keeping live plants?

It very much depends on the plants and what effort you put in. Some plants such as Java Ferns and Anubia do fine in a standard tank. A lot of plants require higher levels of light than you would get with a standard tank. For these plants you would need to upgrade your lighting and inject CO2 into the tank. I would not reccomend this course of action as a beginner. Generally the plants you get in a fish shop would be ok, they should be able to advise you. There is no getting away from it, live plants are harder to keep than plastic or silk. Modern fake plants do mahe a good alternative to real plants. Also if you do have live plants, check whether the fish you get are plant eaters. My mother has a fish that strips any new plants within hours.

prospect wrote: »

2. Where is the best place to but aquarium equipment, (I tried a garden centre in Celbridge, but it seemed rather expensive).

I tend to get most of my dry goods such as filters, food, lights etc off the internet from the UK. You can make huge savings by buying online. I know the argument about supporting local shops, but when the prices are 50% higher than buying online there is a huge saving to be made by shopping online.

prospect wrote: »

3. Where is the best place to source livestock, e.g. Where the staff actually know what they are talking about, and can give real information & tips.

For fish and plants, I tend to use the Aquatic Village in Brittas, off the N81 just outside Brittas. Have a word with Drew in there, he is a top bloke and will give you good honest advice. As an alternative, I sometimes use FinTastic on St Patrick St in Dun Laoghaire, another good shop with good staff and good selections of fish and plants. Personally i try to avoid the garden centres that dabble in fish, I prefer to use dedicated fish shops or pet shops.

prospect wrote: »

4. Anyone got and hints & tips based on experience.

Do a lot of reasearch before buying your fish. You need to make sure that the fish are compatable with each other and your water. Dublin water tends to be very soft and therefore unsuitable for species such as Chiclids without the use of additives for example. My personal advice to you is to go talk to Drew at Aquatic Village, he will be able to give you good advice.
In terms of maintenance of the tank, just make sure you keep on top of the maintenance, mabe 10-20% partial water changes every 2 weeks. Once a tank starts going wrong, it is harder to pull it back. It is much easier to maintain a tank wit little but often maintenance. It also provides a more stable environment for your fish.

Hope the above help. If i can help any further, just ask.

Good luck and enjoy your tank. I find watching my fish very relaxing.

Duzzie

LuckyStar

spongbob wrote: »

hey LuckeyStar, I dont mean to steal somone elses thread but i just have a quick question for you, You say get a good kit that tests for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and PH, Are theses cheap and can they be got in many shops'?

Yeah they are cheap and any pet shop that sells fish will have them.

spongbob wrote: »

The reason I ask is cause i too got a nice Juwel Aquarium about 12 months ago and i just kept goldfish, Eventualy they all died one by one and im not sure why... Im thinking it might have somthing to do with the water that we have at the house, You see I moved into a recently built housing estate and somtimes when i pour myself a pint glass of water from the tap i notice it can look a bit cloudy untill it settles!! So now i buy bottled water from the supermarket.

Could this be a reason why i am having bno luck with the fish!? A friend of mine lives about 2 miles away and he keeps goldfish and all are 100%. He lives in a different estate tho.. but im nearly sure its the same water mains but im only guessing..

If your water is loudy then there could be chemicals in it that are harming your fish, any tap water is harmful as it has chlorine and chloramine in it, which is bad news for fish, you need to add in some Stress Coat, it neutralises all harmful chemicals in your water.

spongbob wrote: »

Someone said i should get myself a heater like they use for tropical fish and have it on just enough to keep the water luke warm and it would help. They say they have Tropical fish & goldfish living together in a warm thank for years now with no issues..

A heater would certainly not be a bad idea, it will keep the temperature even as they switch themselves on automatically when the temperature drops. I have a goldfish, I have had him 8 or 9 years and he has just been moved into my new tank with the tropicals, he is getting on fine, the temperature is 23'C which isn't too far from room temperature but it is a constant temperature. With fish, the temperature changing a lot can be just as bad for them as being kept at the wrong temperature in the first place, a fish's body cannot heat itself like ours can, it depends completely on the temperature of the fish's surroundings and if that changes a lot the fish's body gets stressed.

prospect

Hi guys,

Thanks for the help. (Apologies for the dely responding, I was a bit ill for the last few days.

Can anyone post links of preferred websits they use for buying stuff like decorations & water test kits etc.

Also, am I looking in the wrong places or are the structured/textured backgrounds horifically expensive!

Cheers,
P.

jameshayes

I've never bought fish supplies from them but www.pet-bliss.com sell bits and bobs

Duzzie

prospect wrote: »

Hi guys,

Thanks for the help. (Apologies for the dely responding, I was a bit ill for the last few days.

Can anyone post links of preferred websits they use for buying stuff like decorations & water test kits etc.

Also, am I looking in the wrong places or are the structured/textured backgrounds horifically expensive!

Cheers,
P.

I tend to use www.aquatics-online.co.uk
Otherwise you could try www.zooplus.ie

Have used both recently and not had any problems

Duzzie

LuckyStar

Those backgrounds are dear alright, the cheapest I've seen them is in Aquatic Village in Brittas (near Tallaght), they are cheap for plaastic plants etc too.

duanea

spongbob wrote: »

I too got a nice Juwel Aquarium about 12 months ago and i just kept goldfish, Eventualy they all died one by one and im not sure why... Im thinking it might have somthing to do with the water that we have at the house, You see I moved into a recently built housing estate and somtimes when i pour myself a pint glass of water from the tap i notice it can look a bit cloudy untill it settles!! So now i buy bottled water from the supermarket.

Could this be a reason why i am having bno luck with the fish!? A friend of mine lives about 2 miles away and he keeps goldfish and all are 100%. He lives in a different estate tho.. but im nearly sure its the same water mains but im only guessing..

My water is also cloudy sometimes, I too have moved into a new housing estate and we dont drink the tap water either. Ive just set up my Juwel Aquarium to let it cycle and Im going to get my fish tomorrow but Im worried about the water as it still looks a bit cloudy in the tank!

I used the TetraAqua 'AquaSafe' treatment for goldfish in the water when I set it up as the sales assistant said that it is the same stuff so it doesnt matter whether its for goldfish or tropical fish, is this true? Its quite confusing because there seemed to be lots of different treatments available!

Will the fish be alright or should I buy a testing kit first and then get the fish??

Thanks!

Duzzie

I dont trust my tap water either. I can taste the copper from the pipes so never drink water from the tap. As a result i dont trust it for my tanks either. I bought myself a reverse osmosis water filter. Works a treat and my water tastes great. The RO unit removes 99% of all metals, salts, nasties etc. Only problem is it removes at the hardness and benificial salts too, so I have to at RO rite to get the water right for the tanks. My tanks seem to be much healthier than when i was using tap water. If you have chiclids/ hard water fish, you will need to add a buffer to make sure that the water is hard enough.

You can get RO units here, but as with everything else, you pay top dollar for it. I got mine from www.ro-man.co.uk, but there are quire a few places that do them. If you have sensitive fish like marines or discus, I highly reccomend getting one. Much healthier for yoy to drink too.

Cloudy water is usualy the result of a bacteria bloom. It is normal in newly set up tanks. You should not see it in a cycled tank. If it is cloudy in an esrtablished tank, you need to find what is causing it. You could tank a sample of the water to your local shop and ask them to test it if you dont have test kits. If your tank has been set up for longer than 6 weeks or so, and you have cloudy water, something aint right.

Jimkel

You should go to Petmania Santry/Ballymun exit was up there today and the Fish and reptile guy really knows his stuff, I was impressed with his Water Chemistry expertise and his advice is bang on and the fish are for nothing, seriously compare their prices to wackers or Kinsealy its like half of what they charge!

The Artist

I used tap water for my tank and regular water tests and found the water terrible mind that we also drink it!So what i did i tested the water outside (rainwater) it was perfect so i got a huge container to collect the rain water as now the weather was bad and gave plenty.For the last whloe year i have been using the rainwater warmed up by adding boiled kettles and never had trouble with it 100% all the time and water is crystal clear!

Lauragoesmad

The Boardwalk Pet Shop in town on the quays is brilliant!!
I got my first tank from them 2 and 1/2 years ago and they helped me set the whole thing up. The guy in there even tests your water before he will sell you fish. Which I think is very cool because most places don't care where the fish are going once they get your cash.

duanea

Hi,

I have a new tank just got fish for it last week, I started out with 10 neon tetras and 2 small angelfish then about 3 days later I bought a black molly, 2 platys, 6 harlequin rasboras and 3 fish (which I think are serpae tetras!) and about 2 days later I noticed 1 of my neon tetras is missing! I cant find it anywhere in the tank so it must be buried under some stones. Ive also noticed that lots of the neon tetras are missing chunks of their tails! I think it might be the 3 serpae tetras because they seem to try and split up the group of neons - One of my neons is currently cowering in the corner separated from the group!

does this sound normal for serpae tetras? should I removee them? Any help would be much appreciated!!

dark_jedi_ire

Neons dieing is usually the First sign of a tank problem, but also neons are (if Im not mistaken ) natural prey for angels in the amazon, of Course depending on the size of your Angels,
Im no expert but in my experience neons are quiet fragile and in past experience a dead neon and checking all the tank PH and nitrite and nitrate levels etc etc,. usually one or More show up as a problem

So could be either,

duanea

Ok think it was the serpaes coz i took them out and after a day the tetras have come out of hiding! My angels are really small and never nip or chase any of the fish, they keep to themselves and avoid other fish whenever possible so dont think they're a problem!

I was on another forum about keeping aquariums and it scared the crap out of me! people said I should bring all my fish back because the tank hasnt been cycled properly and they will all die! I dont know who to believe because everywhere I look people have different advice! I think ill keep doing 10% water changes every second day for the next couple of weeks and hope for the best!

LuckyStar

duanea wrote: »

Ok think it was the serpaes coz i took them out and after a day the tetras have come out of hiding! My angels are really small and never nip or chase any of the fish, they keep to themselves and avoid other fish whenever possible so dont think they're a problem!

I was on another forum about keeping aquariums and it scared the crap out of me! people said I should bring all my fish back because the tank hasnt been cycled properly and they will all die! I dont know who to believe because everywhere I look people have different advice! I think ill keep doing 10% water changes every second day for the next couple of weeks and hope for the best!

You have WAY too many fish in your tank. You're only supposed to start with a few hardy fish and then add a few more every week or so. I hate to say it but you will probably have several more dead fish and as for the water changes, I hope you're taking the chlorine out of the water.

Fishyfreak

Your tank is overstocked at the moment and it sounds like it has not been cycled properly.

I would do 10% water changes every day or two and get rid of most of your stock.

What size is the tank in litres and in feet?
Have you a test kit, What are your Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate parameters?
How long is it set up?
How did you cycle it? And for how long before adding fish?
What are you treating your water with (to remove Chlorine/Chloramine)

As for the deaths, Serpae Teras are very nippy and the Neons could have been eaten by the Angelfish but it is doubtful (depending on the size of the Angel fish and the size of the tank).

Stress due to bad water parameters is more likely the reason for the deaths, the deaths will continue unless you reduce the stock and keep up water changes.

If you need any help let me know, I will be more than happy to help.

prospect

Hi,

I am still sitting on the fence with regards to stock.

I visited Aquatic Village in Brittas, but the shop was very busy, so I couldn;t have a good chat with the guys there. However, I bought myself a nice lump of Bog Oak (or similar) and have had been boiling it and steeping it in water for a week now.

I also got a bag of brown gravel, (do I need to wash that?).

I think I will try some real plants. I will get advice on which ones are easy to maintain. I hope to pop over to Brittas today and hopefully it will be quieter, and draw up some kind of plan over what to get, and the steps to developing the tank....



Here is a possibly silly question. Has anyone ever heard of a tank leaking, or bursting? Seems like an incredible amount of weight for some glass stuck with silicone to hold!

Lauragoesmad

Yeah, you have to rinse the gravel.
Have not ever heard of a tank leaking but ya never know.

Arcadian

We've only ever had one tank "burst", seeing 300 litres of water hitting the livingroom floor in 10 seconds is a bit of a shock I think you're more likely to suffer a leak from inadvertantly cracking the tank against a wall or door when positioning it or by dodgy rock aquascaping than from the silicon giving out. I think black silicon is stronger than clear if it's something you're concerned about.

And, yes, wash the gravel really well. It can seem to take forever but you'll get it clean eventually:)

Alkers

duanea wrote: »

Hi,

I have a new tank just got fish for it last week, I started out with 10 neon tetras and 2 small angelfish then about 3 days later I bought a black molly, 2 platys, 6 harlequin rasboras and 3 fish (which I think are serpae tetras!) and about 2 days later I noticed 1 of my neon tetras is missing! I cant find it anywhere in the tank so it must be buried under some stones. Ive also noticed that lots of the neon tetras are missing chunks of their tails! I think it might be the 3 serpae tetras because they seem to try and split up the group of neons - One of my neons is currently cowering in the corner separated from the group!

does this sound normal for serpae tetras? should I removee them? Any help would be much appreciated!!

You can't just add that many fish in one go! The tank hasn't been cycled and you're only hope in keeping those fish alive is daily water changes of >50%. Do you have a test kit?