***Introduction
I used to hate fish. They seemed boring. You couldn't play with them or interact with them. I thought all they did was eat, sleep and swim around. So for the longest time, I yearned to have a dog or cat or even a leopard gecko at one point. Finally, after repeated rejections by my parents, they allowed me to keep an aquarium and a few fish.
*above: My 29 G tank as of March 1, 2011.
The thought was not immediately satisfying. My mom suggested I keep a little goldfish in a bowl. I hated the thought. Not only did it sound ultimately boring, it seemed unfair to the little guy. So I did a little bit of research. I visited all the pet stores in my neighborhood, and pretty soon, I became immensely intrigued by the diversity of available fish. I fell in love with freshwater tropical fish. They were so colorful and lively! I knew I still hated goldfish because they are extremely messy and were kept in tiny little tanks that were dirty, overcrowded, and filled with dead bodies.
I began my research. I spent endless hours hunting through fish forums and websites as well as scanning all the books I could get a hold of. I found myself faced with countless different viewpoints. Some people would say add aquarium salt in freshwater tanks, others claimed that salt would kill my fish. Some people insisted that I should keep 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, others said it depended on the species of fish and the dimensions of the tank...
The amount of information on the web was overwhelming. I wasn't sure WHAT to believe. I finally followed an important piece of advice: do what sounds logically reasonable. So I figured, it doesn't sound logical to put salt in a tank filled with freshwater fish. I also figured it didn't seem reasonable to put 10 one inch fish in a 10 gallon tank, even if some people said it would be okay. (They need swimming space too, right?) I mean, I'm not stupid. So I trust my common sense. For the most part.
(To be honest, my first experiences with fish the previous year had not gone well: I bought a pink betta fish with ZERO KNOWLEDGE of how to take care of it. Needless to say, I made a newbie mistake that cost him his life. =( )
But this is how I approached this exciting new hobby of fish keeping (the 2nd time around):
Step 1: Purchasing a Tank
The smartest thing I did was to buy a used tank that was already fully cycled. This ensured the health of the fish!!
Step 2: The Setup
I washed the tank with just water (can't use soap or detergents!!), filled it up with declorinated water, added the tank inhabitants + plants, and then it was just plug and play! Usually you should ensure that all equipment is submerged before plugging them in. Also, keep a drip loop so leaking water won't fry your outlets. Make sure all the equipment parts are assembled properly! Tropical fish like temperatures between 75-80F or 24-27C. Filter must be able to cycle the entire tank's water several times per hour, and should be the appropriate size or a little bit bigger than the tank size.
Step 3: First Feeding
I fed the Betta (who I decided to name "Neptune" because of his long, bright blue flowing fins) a few tiny pellets. I tried feeding the frogs too, but they weren't too bright. Apparently they hunt at night and by sense of smell, not sight. So obviously, the greedy little betta fish stole all the yummy bloodworms intended for my adfs (african dwarf frogs). Neptune's belly got so big I thought he was about to explode. I got quite worried because I'd read that overfeeding is the number one cause of fish deaths...
Step 4: Cleaning the Tank
A couple days passed. I learned to watch everybody closely to make sure they were healthy and energetic. My chubby Betta instantly grew attached to the sight of my fingers trailing just above the water...haha, the first time I heard him chomp down on the pellets, I got frightened until I realized that Bettas have teeth!
After 1 week, I anxiously decided to thoroughly clean the tank. I rinsed and scrubbed the filter, intake tubes, sponges, filter cartridges, tank glass...and realized I was missing a very important piece of equipment: a gravel vacuum! These cheap looking pieces of plastic are ESSENTIAL to tank maintenance! So I hurriedly went out and bought myself a small, self-starting gravel vacuum.
Needless to say, as a newcomer, I struggled with the seemingly easy device. It operated on some unfathomable physics principles....I learned how to use it efficiently after about two or three tries....the first few times weren't pretty: I spilled dirty water ALL OVER MY FLOOR! It wasn't frustrated though, thank goodness. It was disgusting how much waste was hidden in the gravel...
Later on, I also decided to add a plastic background so the back of the tank didn't look so weird.
Step 5: Choosing Tank Mates
Like most people, I thought my Betta was too lonely reigning over a 10G all my himself. So I ventured to the nearest pet store and bought him some neon tetra friends. Before anyone smirks at my decision, I would like to say that it wasn't a TERRIBLE decision. My Betta flared at the little tetras for about 10 minutes, but then proceeded to ignore them. Yay! However, I did make one newbie mistake: I bought 3 neon tetras without knowing a thing about them.
Classic mistakes: Buying 3 SCHOOLING fish you know nothing about.
By the time I got around to reading all about neon tetras, I was convinced that one of the paler looking ones had Neon Tetra Disease: a dreaded, incurable plague that could infect the entire tank. I returned the little guy...but turns out it was just due to natural color variations and probably stress (which turns them paler sometimes). Over the next few weeks, I added more neon tetras until I had a total of 6. They loved to chase each other around, and got along super well with my Betta. There were a few nipped fins here and there, but they all healed naturally.
Sadly, one day, tragedy struck. My previously innocuous ADF (female) decided to eat one...and then two of my neon tetras. Appalled by this uncommon behavior, I separated the neon tetras into my other 29G tank. The 4 of them seemed out of place and scared with my other fish so I had to give them away.....
When choosing tank mates, you must consider adult size and compatibility as well as water conditions. You should not mix fish that require vastly different water conditions (i.e. soft vs. hard water, warm vs. cold water), as half of them will be unhappy. Also, consider aggression and territoriality. Some fish are pretty bossy and don't like others getting in their face...other fish love schooling/shoaling together and need the company. If you add small fish to an aggressive tank, most likely, they'll get eaten. Tasty snack for the big guys. Not so great for the little guys.
You should also consider things like swimming level, need for hiding places, color, food requirements, ease of keeping and reproductive tendencies.
Step 6: Adding More Fish, Multi-Tank Syndrome
Given the endless varieties of fish to choose from, was it any wonder that I decided to buy more? I decided to start up my own tank from scratch. So I bought a 29G tank. Just the tank. Nothing else. Silly idea?
I then bought a cheap Whisper filter. Bad idea. It was super noisy! You get what you pay for folks! I went and had to buy ANOTHER FILTER. This time I bought an Aqueon 20 filter. It was (thankfully) very quiet and cycled water very efficiently. It also oxygenated the tank - bonus!
I bought a nice heater, and then some tacky blue gravel. I thought I could cycle the tank with some "mature gravel" from my 10G tank. WRONG! Fastest way to cycle: obtain a used filter cartridge from an established tank.
The gravel didn't do a thing, but the groggy green filter pad I took from the 10G did the trick. Test the water (with a testkit) often during the cycling process to see your progress. At first, I was reluctant to buy a test kit, but these little bottles of chemicals are your friends!
Side note on Test Kits
- You should have tests for: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH at the very least.
- Some other people will test for KH and GH (hardness of water)
- Still others will go as far as to test stuff like Copper, Calcium, Phosphate...for planted tanks.
- Test kits cost around $50, and have little bottles of reagents, a dropper, test tubes and instruction booklets. You take a water sample from your tank with the dropper, add the indicated amount of drops of reagent, shake it around and match the color of the water in the test tube to a color chart on the instruction booklet. Sometimes you have to wait a few minutes.
Anyways. Where was I? Oh yeah. I then added more tacky decorations: a weathered looking castle and a weathered stone bridge. It seemed decent at the time, but very childish and amateur looking. I scrubbed everything thoroughly and must've washed the gravel a million times. It still made my water cloudy for a day or two. It does that.
Some people suggest quarantining new fish. In my opinion, if you don't have a proper quarantine tank, healthy fish might even get sick in a "quarantine tank" without a filter or heater! So I didn't quarantine my new fish, and didn't find any problems (so far!)
First I bought 4 lively zebra danios. Their movements gave me mini-seizures! (Just kidding) Danios are infamous for their restlessness. Their always so busy chasing each other around. To be honest, I didn't really like those Danios. They were mean looking with their glaring eyes and upturned mouths. Plus, they were constantly "fighting". I bought them for their hardiness, and thought I could cycle the tank with them.
Next, I bought 4 fancy guppies. I bought them for their gorgeous colors: I have 2 "blonde" guppies, 1 red tuxedo guppy and 1 yellow leopard tail guppy. They are very vibrant and active, and will peck at my fingers for food whenever I clean the tank!
Next, I bought 2 Sunburst Mickey Mouse Platys. The fish store guy told me they were both males, but one morning I woke and realized one was a Mama! (More on breeding later)
Finally, I added 2 Oto catfish and 4 Spotted Corydora Catfish. (Sadly, one of the new Oto cats died this morning probably due to stress)
***Please note that I added all these fish gradually over a period of 2 months.
It is important not to add too many fish at once because this over-stresses the filter. The beneficial bacteria can't cope with a sudden "flooding" of waste, resulting in ammonia or nitrite poisoning. Usually it's a good idea to add 2-3 fishes every 1.5-2 weeks.
To Be Continued (in about 5 minutes in the next post)
No comments:
Post a Comment