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Pets MEGA Cats VS Dogs - POLL!

The Big Question - Cat v's Dog

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I used to have a hundred gallon tank full of all sorts of local freshwater fish I caught. My dad ended up selling it because it took up too much space or something. It took a lot of work to take care of (and a lot of LARGE filters), but it was cool to see giant dace, perch, catfish, bass, and pike swimming around in the living room. It's actually easier to maintain a healthy environment in large tanks because they tend to support a self-balancing homeostasis better than smaller tanks. Once you get it going, the ecosystem tends to balance itself, and you only have to change about a quarter of the water every two weeks.

I'll try to find pictures next time I'm home.
 
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First time aquarium

So, i have always wanted a fish tank. They are so relaxing to look at and just be at peace with myself, and i was wondering if there is anybody out there who owns one and could give some good advice on how to properly maintain my fish.

Thank you.
Harley.
 
Hi Harley :)

Funnily enough, I was thinking the very same thing the other day.

Let's just hope some kind soul comes by to help us, eh?!!! :D
 
really all depends on what fish your thinking of trying to keep. u can get a beta fish that only needs a bowl with water and food. or u can get ones that r more exotic and take a lot more time and money to take care of. it can get quite pricy if u r trying to get a nice set up going. the tank and filter system will probly end up running ya couple hundred on there own let alone i you get a nice expensive fish. there is tons of shit out there on fish. just dont go out and buy the first thing u think is cool at the pet store cuz they will take ya for all ur worth, i have seen it happen.
 
I'm also wondering what type of fish can survive together? I dun want them eating each other lol

Im going for fresh water fish first because they are a easy to maintain aren't they?
 
Currently I have a 55 gallon fresh water tank with african chiclids. But my first tank was all fresh water community fish.

They were simple enough to take care of. Just make sure you get a bubble machine as it keeps more oxygen in the tank for them to breathe, otherwise you'll find them floating towards the top of the tank trying to breathe. Also, twice a month you'll need to 'vacuum' out atleast 1/3 of the tank water to keep new water going in. You can get a vacuum from any fish store, it's just a simple cyphon. Don't over feed them, that's when they poop too much and your tank gets really dirty really fast.

Now I have a tank with african chiclids. They are very agressive fish and can only go in the tank with like fish. If there are two of the same fish and same color, one will turn its colors very bright and the other's wil get very dull. Eventually the colorful one will kill the dull one. They are very interesting fish. But with them you always have to maintain a certain salt level and very very very high pH. They are a lot more work then regular fresh water fish.

Also when you set up your tank, make sure you let it filter atleast 24 hours before you put your fish in. Don't want to shock them from bad water.

Before you put them in, add a conditioning solution to help prevent sickness. Once one fish gets sick, it spreads so fast. You can also buy a testing kit from any fish store, and weekly to daily you need to test the water. If the pH is too low they can't breathe. The ammonia needs to be just right. The testing kits are very easy. All instructions included.

Most fish stores have an entire section of community fish that can all go together. Just gotta pick which ones you like.

Good luck!! And take pictures once you get it set up.
 
purepremium said:
Currently I have a 55 gallon fresh water tank with african chiclids. But my first tank was all fresh water community fish.

They were simple enough to take care of. Just make sure you get a bubble machine as it keeps more oxygen in the tank for them to breathe, otherwise you'll find them floating towards the top of the tank trying to breathe. Also, twice a month you'll need to 'vacuum' out atleast 1/3 of the tank water to keep new water going in. You can get a vacuum from any fish store, it's just a simple cyphon. Don't over feed them, that's when they poop too much and your tank gets really dirty really fast.

Now I have a tank with african chiclids. They are very agressive fish and can only go in the tank with like fish. If there are two of the same fish and same color, one will turn its colors very bright and the other's wil get very dull. Eventually the colorful one will kill the dull one. They are very interesting fish. But with them you always have to maintain a certain salt level and very very very high pH. They are a lot more work then regular fresh water fish.

Also when you set up your tank, make sure you let it filter atleast 24 hours before you put your fish in. Don't want to shock them from bad water.

Before you put them in, add a conditioning solution to help prevent sickness. Once one fish gets sick, it spreads so fast. You can also buy a testing kit from any fish store, and weekly to daily you need to test the water. If the pH is too low they can't breathe. The ammonia needs to be just right. The testing kits are very easy. All instructions included.

Most fish stores have an entire section of community fish that can all go together. Just gotta pick which ones you like.

Good luck!! And take pictures once you get it set up.
Click to expand...

Thank you PP :D

This is my tank:

CameraRoll259.jpg


Any idea what gallon it is? i was given it by my uncle you see. Its very cloudy at the moment because of the gravel i used before filling up. I am goin to buy filter aid to try and clear the water. I am going for fresh water fish. Any more advice or critism is welcome, thank you.
 
It looks like a 20 gallon. You really don't need filter aids. If you have the time, take out the gravel, and rinse it before you put it back in. You always need to rinse the things you buy before you put them in.

If your tank is still dirty, you can buy a chemical that will make your water clear. It's these little pink tablets that you drop in the tank and they disolve and clear it up. But once you start using those, you will keep having to use them to keep your tank clean. It's best to not start using them at all.

This is my tank:

tank.jpg


I need to add more water, and clean the coral but the rest is clean atleast =D
 
Awwww that looks beautiful, i absolutely love fish. They calm me, they are soooo graceful and serene i could stare and watch them all day. Any fish you would recommend for a first timer?
 
^^something basic I'm gathering..
I almost bougt a tank the other night. a tropical aquarium has always been my number 1 priority If I were to set up an aquarium, but I need to check it out and learn a little more first.
The last thing I want to do is buy expensive fish which will die or get sick due to my poor set up.
 
Got 5 fish today :D shall try and take photographs later on, i will have to look up what they are later. stupid buying without research but i was too excited, its been agggges since i have wanted one. I have an air pump and a filter anything else you could recommend to help the tank? Thanks for the replies guys.
 
Sometimes when you go to the fish store and you tell them which ones you have, they will tell you oh well those will not go in with these fish. But I have proved them wrong before. It just depends on your environment of how your fish live will they get along. In my old community tank I always had

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dwarf gourami's (they are so beautiful, you can get them in amazing colors)

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neon tetra's (they are tiny but their colors are amazing, even if you get a black light for your tank they will glow! it's really awesome, but if you put it with an oscar or something a little bigger and even slightly more agressive, if you bought 15 you'll end up with maybe 8. but they are so nice) They also come in really neon colors like pink orange and green, they look cool too.

moly.jpg


Molly's (they are so nice too, I used to have ones there are all neon orange with black tails. They need a little bit of salt and a little bit higher pH, but if you just throw them in there they will adjust. also they are always pregnanntttt! plus this is the one fish that they 'tattoo' little pictures on the side of, it's really cool if you find a fish store that does it. I had mollies with little hearts tattooed on it!)

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discus (they are amazing. but extremly hard to take care of. it's like the pure breed of fishes. they are always getting sick and you spend $200 a fish and they die within months unless you take complete and uttle care of them. but they sure are pretty)

platy.jpg


platy (they look like mollies a little bit. but they get pregnant soooooo easily. i swear everytime i turned around they were getting pregnant. and they look funny when they are because they are tiny and it looks like their bellies are gunna pop :) )

bala.jpg


bala sharks (these were my favorite. all the sharks in my tank were amazing. I loved them and they all swam so fast right across the tank, they were the ones that kept my tank 'alive' so to speak. One time one of my sharks thought it was tiny and it could swim through this little hole in the boat, well it got stuck. Really bad and it couldnt get out. My husband litterally picked up the boat, grabbed him by the face and pushed him out of the boat. he was bleeding and had the whole top of his head shredded and a huge scar left over, but he lived the longest out of them all <3 )

gupy.jpg


guppy's (don't believe what everyone tells you. these guys can be agressive. i've seen them kill plenty of fish by raming their noses into another fish's gills and he eventually dies. They are beautiful but really not friendly.)

STAY AWAY FROM ANGEL FISH! whoever tells you that angel fish are a community fish is lieing to you!! i decided to test this. I put 2 angel fish in a fish bowl with a mollie. fish the 2 angel fish attacked the mollie and killed it in less then 12 hours. then the 2 angel fish fought until one was dead and that took about 24 hours. they are evil! do not put them in your community tank!

Those are pretty much the fish I started out with. and they really all look very nice together. they all get along and are very relaxing to watch. sorry for the long post, but these are really awesome fish :)
 
In fact thank you for the long post Funny enough i was looking at neon tetra today i love them, the vibrancy is wicked. I thought that they were tropical fish tho? aand you cant keep em in coldwater?
Anyway here is some of mine, any other types you recommend? How many more do you think would live comfortably in there to?

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Hey peeps :)

Bought myself a tank today - tropical setup I'm going for. Got it all plugged in and filled up - need to wait a few days before I go get some fish. Any recommendations on what I should get and how many?

The tank is 52l or 14gallons. I want the neon tetras but I don't really want them to be eaten! What goes well with them....any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Can't wait til it's all finished!
 
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