# Newbie



## 06GTPONY

Hey everyone...
I'm new to the whole Fish/Aquarium scene.
Just bought a 10-gallon starters kit from PetSmart.
Came with everything I need to get a small freshwater aquarium up and running.

Haven't purchased any fish yet...still weighing my options.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx,
-Mark


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## Pablo

Welcome!!

A few tips to start:

1)never go to petsmart again as they are the bottom of the barrel

2)the filter and especially heater that came with said 'kit' are going to be woefully inefficient if past experience serves me correctly

3)same goes for the light if you want plants

4)learn about the nitrogen cycle, and use established media from someone elses tank to kickstart your biofilter

5)make friends with other fish people, go to their houses to see their setups, have them come to yours to help set yours up, go with people to buy fish, etc so you get the right stuff and high quality

6)buy from a breeder whenever humanly possible

7)avoid buying fish from a big box store whenever humanly possible as they are poor quality, health, and maltreated as well as overpriced. Stores in the GTA that generally maintain their stock well and are independant are The Menagerie, Aquatic Designs, AquaTropics, North American Fish Breeders, Finatics. However, you will get higher quality healthier selection from breeders, theres just no way around that- 

however- being as that you only have a ten gallon, theres not much stuff people breed around here thats going to be that small, so my advice to you is to go through menagerie and talk to Harold who IMO is the most knowledgeable person at a fish store in Toronto bar none.

Also, just my two cents, but dont do the run of the mill lame colorful I have 20 fish guppies mollies platys swordtails ten gallon everyone does its just really been milked to death at this point..

get some cool stuff like some killifish and shrimp and stuff. We'll direct you.

Cheers


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## Pablo

This is an example of a cool setup you could try in a tank that size

spiketail paradise 
http://www.calypso.org.uk/Photolibr...er Species/images\Macropodus cupanus dayi.jpg

a small schooling species such as pristella tetra
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...istella_tetra1.jpg/800px-Pristella_tetra1.jpg

or neons
http://www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/articles/neon-fish.jpg

or maybe some nice whiteclouds
http://www.aquababies.com/images/fish3.jpg

and some amano shrimp
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/photos/crustaceans/shrimp/amano4.jpg

and some dwarf corys
http://www.azgardens.com/images/corydorus_hastatus.gif

pretty cool tank no?

Youd want to plant that moderately with that stuff


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## MacFish

Pablo has some very good advice. Understanding the Nitrogen cycle is key to getting your tank going properly. Check this link..

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm

There are tons of others out there that may be better. This is just the first one I found. It does a decent job of explaining it.

I will disagree with Pablo on the guppies and swordtails. If you are just starting out, they are perfect fish to get things going.

Best advice is take your time and add very slowly.

Water changes are a must. Depending on how many fish you add, you will want to change between 20% - 40% of the water weekly or biweekly if very lightly stocked. A good water conditioner (like Prime) is needed to remove chlorine and other harmful things found in your water.

It is great that you came here to learn first. Most people don't


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## svtranger

hey Mark, welcome to GTA aquaria.


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## 06GTPONY

Pablo said:


> and some amano shrimp


Do these shrimp enjoy being submerged under water all time?
Do they not require some sort of dry land at all?
They look kinda cool.


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## 06GTPONY

svtranger said:


> hey Mark, welcome to GTA aquaria.


Hey...I think I know you.


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## Pablo

06GTPONY said:


> Do these shrimp enjoy being submerged under water all time?
> Do they not require some sort of dry land at all?
> They look kinda cool.


Only if youre trying to kill them 

Actually a very very very very (emphasis on the very) easy, cool, and forgiving not to mention cheap starter tank would be say 15 amano shrimp (get them from menagerie youll get a better deal) and 12 white cloud minnows.

Set your heater to about 76 or 77 for this setup.

Do atleast a weekly water change. Every 3 days is better honestly. 25% is more than enough.

Can you tell us what kind of lighting you have? Then we can get at fish, getting biomedia, substrate, food, etc etc


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## 06GTPONY

I'm not exactly sure what kind of light it is to be honest...came with the starters kit. All I know is that it's a fluorescent tube, and I think it's made by Light-Glo (along with the lid). The only other thing I've purchased aside from the kit was some blue/green gravel, and treasure-chest thingy as decoration. LOL. I've had the tank running for about a week now with the filter going. I've also added the chlorine treatment that came with it. Not sure what the next step is aside from throwing in a couple fishies. If it helps, I took a photo of my tank (below):


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## Katalyst

Looking good! Good on you that you are waiting until your tank is cycled before adding fish. Welcome to the forums!


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## svtranger

hey Mark, did that tank come with a spoiler, or some carbon fiber stickers, lol, you should have used Uncle Bens rice for gravel....

(its ok, I can harass Mark, we are friends)

Hey Mark, I posted a pic of my setup in the planted tank section, check it out!


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## 06GTPONY

I'm so torn between the many options for fish to populate my tank. 
Would someone PLEASE make a decision for me. LOL


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## dr_sudz

First things first, when you are getting fish (especially new to you) do research on how large a fish gets what the requirements are and what the temperment is of these fish. That way you can make informed desisions when purchaseing fish.
Also get a good grasp of the basics as pablo has stated earlier.
What do you have in mind so far? List the fish and we can help you out! You could always go with small puffer for the tank! But they can be tempermental and nip fins of other fish in the tank and alot need brakish conditions as they get older but don't let that scare you.


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## 06GTPONY

dr_sudz said:


> You could always go with small puffer for the tank! But they can be tempermental and nip fins of other fish in the tank and alot need brakish conditions as they get older but don't let that scare you.


I was just reading up the Puffer Fish....but can't seem to figure out if these are freshwater or saltwater fish. Any insights?? If they will enjoy being in a 10-gallon freshwater tank, I will go out this weekend and find some. They look funny. LOL


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## Pablo

That filter is pretty inadequate for that size tank. As I would expect from Petsmart.. buggers.

You have a heater right? And a thermometer? Set it to about 78 to 80 degrees ferenheit.

A couple of pieces of advise I hope you will take:

1) Buy a better filter and heater. You'll be glad you did. Get an Aquaclear 50 and a JAGER 100 or 150 watt heater. A digital thermometer wouldn't hurt either and they are under 15 bucks. Run both filters on your tank.

You don't really need to be using ammonia remover and carbon in your filters. You're better served filling them with the sponge or 'foam' inserts. Filter maintenance we will discuss later cuzz my hands hurt from typing.

2) Get cycled media or gravel or something from someone to kickstart your tank, THEN get fish. An uncycled tank+fish = mystery disease soufflet


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## Pablo

will go out this weekend and find some. They look funny. LOL

NO YOU WONT. That's highly irresponsible. Your tank isn't cycled yet. These fish are fragile, need a well established tank tailored to their environmental needs, and in most cases a decent understanding of salinity, specific gravity pH gH kH and so forth. Not a beginner fish.


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## dr_sudz

Figure 8's and green spotted puffers can work if you get 1 for a tank, but you do need a cycled tank before you put one in. They are fresh water puffers that need salt as they get older, but mainly brackish when older. They would do fine in a 10 for life but it would be a one fish tank only.
Pablo I like you already! You are very much my style, learn everything about the fish then move on to the next stage.
As a perfect beginner fish actually would be a Betta fish. You could have some shrimps and a couple of danio's as well. I think he would do alright with a green spot puffer, after the tank was cycled. Just with the understanding that we could hold his hand along the way.


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## Pablo

... Dude no...

Puffers are not easy fish. I also don't think he wants his first fish to be a picky eater that needs to eat lots of frozen foods, snails, etc and have its diet closely monitored.

Would you want to be on top of a hydrometer and 4 test kits as a noob? I wouldn't.

I think this guy is after a personable fish that will be his friend. Puffers are not the way to go for your first wet pet (which is what we call fish which are easily tamed and accustomed to people)

Why not start out with something a bit more manageable if that's what you want like a medium central american cichlid.

Alternatively you can try the afforementioned setup with the paradise fish, and maybe some tetras or something.

Check out Convict Cichlids. Might be just right for you.


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## dr_sudz

Alright I will bow to you on this one, I do understand that they are a little more to handle, and I suppose you don't want to deal with something that is more risky to disease and such.. I guess I am going more on something I would find cool for a 10 gallon and putting that on him.


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## 06GTPONY

Just an updated photo of my tank. No fish yet, but added some more artificial plants and a background.


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## Ciddian

Aweee thats a cute tank! I am more of a natualist but i think that is very nice


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## svtranger

hey Mark, that looks pretty cool. It looks much more put together with the background and additional plants.


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## 06GTPONY

Okay, so just a brief update since the last time I posted.
My tank completed its break-in period a few weeks ago. 
I bought 2 Goldfish (black & orange) and they've been doing well.
Today I bought a red & black Oranda and put him in the tank with the goldfish and it seems as though the new one is getting his @$$ kicked by the goldfish. My question is: Do these two types of fish not play well together??...or is this some sort of "mark my territory" type process?
Need help asap before somebody gets murdered.


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## Ciddian

for a ten gallon? I wouldnt even have two of them in there. You'll prolly do okay for now since you got the smaller goldfish prolly.

Usually you'd want 1 goldie in a ten, even 20 would be better and an additional 10 gallons for each extra goldfish.

So you are definatly strapped on the room.

i would have gotten some of the fish mentioned before if you want to have a few of them  Much better for the size of tank you have. If you really want to have goldfish, its time for an upgrade


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## 06GTPONY

Any idea why the older fish were attacking the new one though??
Ps. I have since moved the new Oranda to a new tank by himself.


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## 06GTPONY

Finally....a pic of my fishies...


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## Ciddian

Holy crap those are some nice goldies where did you get them from? :3


Ohhh and somtimes its a mix, like male male female... so the girl coulda been getting hurrased.. Sometimes it just space issues... That was thier space and they know it was too cramped with one more.. LOL


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## 06GTPONY

Ciddian said:


> Holy crap those are some nice goldies where did you get them from? :3


PJ's pet store in Sherway Gardens. LOL

As far as my third fish goes, is there any way to tell the gender of a fish just by looking at it?? Since the incident last week, I still have the 3rd one in a small 2-gallon tank trying to decide what to do with him/her. I don't want to return it, and putting it back into my 10-gallon may lead to someone getting murdered....I don't know what to do.

Here's a pic of the little fella/lady. See if he resembles anyone you know (LOL)...


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## ozi

i understand how you feel about your goldfish, and not wanting to return him, but i'm afraid you're only torturing him in a 2G tank  
if you really do care about him, you'd take him back, and you'd ask maybe for an exchange with a betta male (that would be more happy in your 2G tank, compared to the glass he has to sit in at the shop  )
dumping the new goldfish in the already too crowded 10G tank would only make things worst for all your fish.
in the end, you decide what you'll do, i only hope its the right choice


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## Katalyst

A 2 gallon is waayyy to small for that fish, goldfish are extremely messy fish and need a lot of filtration as well as space to grow. What you can do in the meantime until you are able to upgrade is:

-Return the fish to the store
-Put the fish in a rubbermaid of at least 10 but preferrably 15 gallons with a cycled hang on the back filter

I breed fancy golds and give them 25 gallons per fish, allthough the fish looks small now I have some that are the size of dinner plates. I'm also going to reccomend you quarentine all new fish for at least a month before adding to your established tank. 

You fish isn't sexable from the angle of the photograph.


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## 06GTPONY

...so I bought a new fish tank yesterday. LOL!

Grabbed a 25-gallon tank from PetSmart last night (they seemed to have the best price around for that kit). Going to fill it up over the weekend and begin the initial break-in cycle over the next few weeks. I'm hoping that once it's ready I'll be able to drop in my 2 black/orange goldfish along with the Oranda I just picked up recently (still alone in my smaller tank).

Anyone know where to get *nice* gravel for cheap.
I went to PJ's last night also, and saw a really nice blue gravel in their display tanks, but when I went to the shelf all I saw was a crappy pale version of blue. When I asked the dude in the store, he said the stuff they use is a commercial gravel that they don't sell. Any suggestions??


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## svtranger

if you put some of the filter media from the old tank into the new tank, you wont have to wait as long to cycle.


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## 06GTPONY

svtranger said:


> if you put some of the filter media from the old tank into the new tank, you wont have to wait as long to cycle.


I thought about putting my current filter in the new tank while it cycles, but then my 10-gallon (currently home to my 2 goldies) would be without a filter?


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## JamesG

06GTPONY said:


> I thought about putting my current filter in the new tank while it cycles, but then my 10-gallon (currently home to my 2 goldies) would be without a filter?


You only need to put a bit in there to help boost the cycling process. The whole idea is just to get a slightly larger starter population of nitrification bacteria in there.

If you only start with 1 bacteria (a gross under exaggeration I know), it will divide to 2, then 4, then 8.... which will take a while to reach levels that will sustain fish.


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## 06GTPONY

JamesG said:


> You only need to put a bit in there to help boost the cycling process. The whole idea is just to get a slightly larger starter population of nitrification bacteria in there.


Awesome thanx!
Would it be a stupid idea to maybe even take a bit of water from my existing tank and put it in the new one?


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## JamesG

06GTPONY said:


> Awesome thanx!
> Would it be a stupid idea to maybe even take a bit of water from my existing tank and put it in the new one?


I have never thought of any good reason not to, aside from parasite transfer, but you would probably notice some infected fish. I often do this, I am not sure what biological reason prompts me to do so but it seems reasonable, especially if relocating sensitive critters like shrimp into a new tank.


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## 06GTPONY

Took a pic of my new 25-gallon tank...


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