Talk to me about your freshwater fish tank

life'sgreat

Sun, May 30 2010, 2:32 am

Do any of you keep cichlids? Are they harder to care for than freshwater fish? Their colors are just so vibrant.

life'sgreat

Sun, May 30 2010, 2:38 am

Ooops, I know they're both considered freshwater. But I think YKWIM.

I see that cichlids are rather aggressive and very territorial. Not recommended for a first tank?

chanahlady

Sun, May 30 2010, 11:14 am

life'sgreat wrote:

Other than that, what's a must and what do I have no need for?

45 gallon salt water tank with custom cabinet, hood and sub tank. Also included is a 3/4 full bucket of salt, 2- 36" vho bulbs installed in hood, all the coral, uv sterilizer, protein skimmer, separate pump to run the subtank, a sweeper powerhead, tap water purifier with 2 new filters, a python syphon system, and everything else I have for it.

You don't need the salt, coral, uv sterilizer, protein skimmer, or honestly the tap water purifier. I would skip this setup, frankly. There's too much stuff you won't use with a freshwater system. Get something else.

You'll want a long tank, rather than a tall tank. The reason is because fish like to swim at a certain level. Some swim mid-tank, some stay at the bottom, others at the top. And you'll give them more room at their level, so it will be nicer for them and for you watching them.

So my advice would be to get a long tank, an external filter that hangs outside the aquarium (the more powerful, the better), a vacuum siphon, gravel, LIVE PLANTS (most important for the fish and a healthy ecosystem in the tank -- living in a plantless tank is sort of like someone living in a antiseptic hospital room -- doable but unpleasant), lights with UV rays for the plants, and something to treat the tap water before you use it (tap water has an additive that kills fish, so the chemical you would add gets rid of the harmful stuff).]

When you clean the tank, use the vacuum siphon to remove about 1/3 of the water, and basically use it to vacuum up the stuff hiding in the gravel. Don't remove more water than that, because the water at that point will be seasoned and have beneficial bacteria in it, which is crucial for maintaining the system's ecosystem.

Have a variety of fish in it -- some algae eaters are great, because they spend their time doing what their name implies -- sucking up algae from the glass and gravel. If you have cichlids, plan on having no other fish -- most of them are quite aggressive. I think there are a few nonaggressive ones, though. some of the most beautiful are the ram cichlids, which I used to have and which are beautiful and nonaggressive. I made the mistake of having some skittish tetras in the tank, which really messed up the tank because they were so fast and skittish that it spooked all the other fish. When I traded them in, the tank became very peaceful. So make sure everyone gets along. I also had a freshwater puffer fish that was a joy to watch.

It's been some years since I had a tank, but this is what I can remember about choosing a tank at this point...

life'sgreat

Sun, May 30 2010, 7:25 pm

Thank you.

It's a pity I can't just get that tank without the stuff, as it's a beautiful piece of furniture to boot. I'd love to have my tank in the dining room. Oh well.

Levtov

Sun, May 30 2010, 8:48 pm

When you shop for the fish, they will tell you which ones get along well. You can't have agressive and passive together. Another good tip is to get 1 or 2 fish called "algea eaters" bc they eat the green algea and keep the tank clean. Start out with only a few fish and then add as you become familiar. Your son will love it and so will each and every visitor to your home. Remember it takes time to care for it. Enjoy!!

mominlkwd

Sun, May 30 2010, 8:57 pm

we have cichlids, they are really pretty but I think even with those you can only put certaint types together. We have one fish that is a meat eater and we feed it leftover drops of meat (my kids think it's sooo cool LOL

) and the others are fine but the second time my DH went to the store they told him they really shouldn't have sold it to him with our more mellow cichlids - so they really don't know what they are talking about. Also my DH bought a $150 filter after constantly having our 50 gallon tank turn green but we are probably upgrading to a 150 gal. tank so it's worth it since we are probably in it for the long haul.

life'sgreat

Wed, Jun 02 2010, 7:56 pm

Regarding placing the tank, is it a problem if it's in indirect sunlight? I would LOVE to place it not far from the windows and the sun never shines on that wall but along the wall adjacent. So it's a sunny'ish area, but not in the direct path of sunrays. If I put a UV sterilizer and place it there, would it be an issue?

I can post a photo of what it looks like during the hours the sun shines, if that will help.

Thanks for all your help and advice.