Tropical fish

[dannybcity]

This is an idea I've toyed with before but if I'm honest I've not got the time or will power to look after animals that require a great deal of attention. How difficult are tropical fish to keep once you've got them set up?

A couple of hours one sunday a month for a water change.
Get it setup right first and foremost, good filteration is the key, when I had mine I was a touch OTT on the filtering but my levels stayed the same.
The fish then are another, some fish are hardy where others a very tempremental, and then some get on and some dont, a little bit of research and a chat in a good shop will help you out vastly, once its set up and your fish are in its a joy watching a healthy tank.

I reckon I can stretch to a couple of hours a month, time for a bit of research I think.

 

[Danamy]

If your patient and lucky enough there's a poster on here that knows his stuff on this subject.

Blue2112 is the Oracle when it comes to Tropical + Marine fish

 

[mdmcfc]

Really fancy a marine tank but are they as dear to setup as research suggests?

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

When buying fish be careful that you only buy community fish that can live together, if in doubt, ask for advice. Steer well clear from cichclids as most are generally aggressive and bully other fish that invade their space. Also beware of barbs as they tend to be fin nippers, particularly with guppies, siamese fighters, angels and veiltails. I'd reccomend you keep your PH at 7[neutral] and at a temperature of between 76-78. Feed a good quality flake or granuals and also feed frozen bloodworm daphnia as they like a variety of foods. Plecs are algae eaters but i sometimes add the odd algae wafer that can be bought from aquarium shops. Amazon sword plants are easy to keep and resist fish trying to eat them. Also a pump will help to oxigenate water, particularly if you want to keep quite a large amount pro ratered to litrage of water and in good condition.

I recommend a 10% water change every three days. You can add aquasafe to the water but if you stand tapwater for at least 24 hours, then any chlorine,flouride or metals present in fresh tap water will disipate,so aquasafe is not needed.

I recommend the shop in Denton opposite fairfield golf club, or Petman in Ashton.

Good luck and happy fishkeeping.

I must say that although i do a 10% water change every 3 days [as i have 5 Discus along with about 15 other community fish and Discus need clean water], it is not necessary to change water this often and a weekly change will generally suffice.

 

[117 M34]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

I will try the shop in Denton, as my username suggests, that is close by to me.

Quite fancied a discus myself but found out they are really hard to look after.

 

[Blue2112]

If your patient and lucky enough there's a poster on here that knows his stuff on this subject.

Blue2112 is the Oracle when it comes to Tropical + Marine fish

Cheers Danamy, hope your well its been a while now.

Lots of good advice has already been given, your angel will get territorial and become aggressive to other fish, not bottom feeders like your loach and plec but more mid/top water feeders and like has been said fish with long fins will be nipped and could potentially get stressed causing disease or death.

As for the question regarding setting a Marine system up, it can be as expensive as you want to make it and that will dictate what you can keep, a fish only system or a reef system with inverts and corals (Soft, LPS/SPS) the latter being for the more experienced aquarist. The bigger volume of water you can afford the better. Failing that a nano reef system is a cheap and easy starter.

If you do happen to go into the Tropical Centre on Hyde Rd opposite Denton Golf Club then ask for Keith(Tues-Sat) or Ryan(Sat-Sun) and tell them Josh referred you. Don't go on a Monday as they are closed.

 

[117 M34]

One of my fish (leporinus fasciatus) is causing me real problems. It has eaten 3 of the new dish I have put in - 2 platties and a glass catfish.

I think he is going to get the toilet treatment soon!

 

[lafitz2008]

Thought I would ask on here as I'm sure that some of you must keep tropical fish.

Bought a tropical tank off someone yesterday - 120l.

It is up and running with a bout 8 fish; angel, clown loach, plec and a few others whose name I can't remember. Not an ideal setup as I didn't cycle it as I had to have somewhere to put the fish that came with it, but not a lot I can do about that now. Kept the filter as it was so there is some bacteria etc already in the tank. So basically it is as if I have done a 100% water change.

Any advice for continuing the setup?
Which fish should I buy? Also where from, went to the Abyss today and it didn't seem too good-maybe it was just the person who was serving me. I usually go to meadow view for Koi so will prob go there unless there is somewhere else better?

Hopefully I will get some decent advice amongst the fish puns.

Oasis in Salford as someones said is very good,bought a lot of fish from there.
Meadow views not really up to much in my opinion,near there Star quatics in Daisy nook garden centers better.
There's a place called pier aquatics in Wigan that's huge and probably the best I've been to overall,great selection of fish if you're prepared to travel.
With picking other fish depends a lot on what your other mystery fish are,120 litres isn't loads and if you've got a common plec they get big quite fast if well looked after .
I'd leave it a week or two before adding anything new for now anyway if it was me.

 

[80s Shorts]

If your patient and lucky enough there's a poster on here that knows his stuff on this subject.

Blue2112 is the Oracle when it comes to Tropical + Marine fish

Cheers Danamy, hope your well its been a while now.

Lots of good advice has already been given, your angel will get territorial and become aggressive to other fish, not bottom feeders like your loach and plec but more mid/top water feeders and like has been said fish with long fins will be nipped and could potentially get stressed causing disease or death.

As for the question regarding setting a Marine system up, it can be as expensive as you want to make it and that will dictate what you can keep, a fish only system or a reef system with inverts and corals (Soft, LPS/SPS) the latter being for the more experienced aquarist. The bigger volume of water you can afford the better. Failing that a nano reef system is a cheap and easy starter.

If you do happen to go into the Tropical Centre on Hyde Rd opposite Denton Golf Club then ask for Keith(Tues-Sat) or Ryan(Sat-Sun) and tell them Josh referred you. Don't go on a Monday as they are closed.

A nano "reef" system is a waste of money. It may be cheap to set up and start but the first abnormally hot, long spell of weather will see the demise of its inhabitants. Temperature stability or the lack of is the main problem with tropical marine systems. Most people cannot accomodate sufficiently large tanks (at least 100 gallons) to help with this problem. Cooling systems are effective but are prohibitively expensive and also need to be fitted correctly with vents fitted to outside walls. In short, think carefully before investing in a tropical marine system. However, if you have the time, the inclination, the finances and sufficient space then it is a rewarding hobby. DO NOT fill a reasonably large aquarium (100 gallons and above) without being 100% sure of the suitability of your floorboards and joists (GET ADVICE).<br /><br />-- Sat Jul 23, 2011 9:09 pm --<br /><br />

Thought I would ask on here as I'm sure that some of you must keep tropical fish.

Bought a tropical tank off someone yesterday - 120l.

It is up and running with a bout 8 fish; angel, clown loach, plec and a few others whose name I can't remember. Not an ideal setup as I didn't cycle it as I had to have somewhere to put the fish that came with it, but not a lot I can do about that now. Kept the filter as it was so there is some bacteria etc already in the tank. So basically it is as if I have done a 100% water change.

Any advice for continuing the setup?
Which fish should I buy? Also where from, went to the Abyss today and it didn't seem too good-maybe it was just the person who was serving me. I usually go to meadow view for Koi so will prob go there unless there is somewhere else better?

Hopefully I will get some decent advice amongst the fish puns.

Oasis in Salford as someones said is very good,bought a lot of fish from there.
Meadow views not really up to much in my opinion,near there Star quatics in Daisy nook garden centers better.
There's a place called pier aquatics in Wigan that's huge and probably the best I've been to overall,great selection of fish if you're prepared to travel.
With picking other fish depends a lot on what your other mystery fish are,120 litres isn't loads and if you've got a common plec they get big quite fast if well looked after .
I'd leave it a week or two before adding anything new for now anyway if it was me.

With the tank not having been cycled then there is every chance that the inhabitants of the aquarium will not survive the first ammonia spike. This is NOT the way to set up an aquarium and is also cruel.

 

[heywood blue]

Cascade is a good place to go for tropical fish, knowledgeable staff and not overly priced, it's next to Newbank Garden Centre on the way into Radcliffe coming in from Bury