Fish aquariums

[zain611]

Thought I might make a topic for any of us fish keepers. So I have a aqua one aqua start 320. This holds 28 litres of water. I used to have tropical fish but they would last mainly a few months however I have 2 shrimps in at the moment. One has lived for about 6 years around the same time as the tank. I think this size tank isn't suitable for fish which may be why the fish mostly die in a few months. 

Would be cool if there's other fish keepers here. Hopefully might upgrade to a 130 litre tank in the summer. 

[alexp999]

Here's my 200L (plants have grown a lot since I took this picture):

I've got Zebra Danios, Dwarf Neon Rainbows, Cherrys Barbs, Sterbai Corys and a Honey Gourami. Also some Amano Shrimp and horned (bumblebee) Nerites.

 

Also got a 120L cycling in my bedroom to move the Danios in to, so I can increase the group numbers in the 200L:

[Jethro_Tull]

I do like fish, but I have a Bengal cat.  She'd be treating it like a menu.

[zain611]

1 hour ago, Jethro_Tull said:

I do like fish, but I have a Bengal cat.  She'd be treating it like a menu.

Bengal cat or Bengal catfish . Can't remember now if there's such thing as a Bengal catfish or I'm mistaking for a Bengal loach. 

[zain611]

1 hour ago, alexp999 said:

Here's my 200L (plants have grown a lot since I took this picture):

I've got Zebra Danios, Dwarf Neon Rainbows, Cherrys Barbs, Sterbai Corys and a Honey Gourami. Also some Amano Shrimp and horned (bumblebee) Nerites.

 

Also got a 120L cycling in my bedroom to move the Danios in to, so I can increase the group numbers in the 200L:

Can I ask but how would you prepare a tank for plants? I have a moss ball which is easy to keep but may get plants with low CO2 injection and require low tech in the aquarium. This would be hopefully when I get my next tank. I have 2 amano shrimps and thinking tomorrow of getting a different kind. I used to have a rock shrimp which would stand in front of the filter outlet and use its fans to catch microscopic particles and eat it. Sadly it died after 2 months. I don't know if I might get another one but use finely crushed algae wafers as a source or addition of food for it. Might see if there is any cherry shrimp. I have a pets at home local to me but there also is a fish shop which have a lot more fish including marine fish. They also have pirahnas which are £25 each. Ive started to like discus fish but need to see if they are suitable for my next tank and see how much they are. 

Thinking of getting this tank next. Only thing I've been hearing is that a wider tank is better than a tall one

[alexp999]

53 minutes ago, zain611 said:

Can I ask but how would you prepare a tank for plants? I have a moss ball which is easy to keep but may get plants with low CO2 injection and require low tech in the aquarium. This would be hopefully when I get my next tank. I have 2 amano shrimps and thinking tomorrow of getting a different kind. I used to have a rock shrimp which would stand in front of the filter outlet and use its fans to catch microscopic particles and eat it. Sadly it died after 2 months. I don't know if I might get another one but use finely crushed algae wafers as a source or addition of food for it. Might see if there is any cherry shrimp. I have a pets at home local to me but there also is a fish shop which have a lot more fish including marine fish. They also have pirahnas which are £25 each. Ive started to like discus fish but need to see if they are suitable for my next tank and see how much they are. 

Thinking of getting this tank next. Only thing I've been hearing is that a wider tank is better than a tall one

 

I've got "easy" plants in my 200L, I also only got plants that attach to wood/stone to keep the sand clear for the corys. I actually got plants because I already have moderate nitrate levels in my tap water, so they help stop it escalating out of control. The 120L will be upgraded to real plants in time too. I don't do anything with the plants other than remove dead leaves, they get their CO2 from the fish and bacteria and feed on the nitrates.

Tropical freshwater fish are the easiest to look after. If you don't have any previous experience, I'd stay away from marine and cichlids (like discus). It can be really difficult maintaining a good marine environment, and cichlids require very soft water. Most UK tap water is hard.

I've been doing it for about a year and my best bit of advice is to research, plan and discuss with people who have experience. This site is great, I've posted a little in the forums there, always stuff to learn:

https://www.fishlore.com/

With regards the tank, yes, deep tanks with a small horizontal cross section aren't great. Surface area at the top of the tank is your only source of oxygen and CO2 exchange. Air bubbles only help to disturb the surface, they provide negligible gas exchange travelling through the water. You also have to consider the type of fish you would want. Active fish like to swim lengthways, not up and down, so even if the volume of water is there, they'll get stressed from not being able to get a good run through the water.

One last thing, I don't know how much you already know, but the saying goes something like, you don't keep fish, you keep water. Water quality and the right parameters for the species are the most important thing. Many experienced fish keeps use no medication and simply rely on high water quality to help sick fish. Adding fish before the tank is cycled (nitrogen cycle), or adding too many at once (which causes it to re-cycle) is the number one cause of fish death.

[jace1969]

There great and so relaxing,i had one a nice few years ago.

I had i think it was a  Red tailed shark and only small and he was mad.

Also angle fish and neon fish,the names might be a bit out but i was well into them many years ago.

Them sucker fish was good to keep the tank clean.

[Dennis the meance]

got aqua smart 90l here looking at 190l jewel triango corner tank next month no real plants only fake here got some neon,mollies guppies and a pleco  

[jace1969]

1 hour ago, Dennis the meance said:

got aqua smart 90l here looking at 190l jewel triango corner tank next month no real plants only fake here got some neon,mollies guppies and a pleco  

I had mollies and guppies,glad you said that as a blast from the past,them neons was like a little LED light.

[zain611]

5 hours ago, alexp999 said:

I've got "easy" plants in my 200L, I also only got plants that attach to wood/stone to keep the sand clear for the corys. I actually got plants because I already have moderate nitrate levels in my tap water, so they help stop it escalating out of control. The 120L will be upgraded to real plants in time too. I don't do anything with the plants other than remove dead leaves, they get their CO2 from the fish and bacteria and feed on the nitrates.

Tropical freshwater fish are the easiest to look after. If you don't have any previous experience, I'd stay away from marine and cichlids (like discus). It can be really difficult maintaining a good marine environment, and cichlids require very soft water. Most UK tap water is hard.

I've been doing it for about a year and my best bit of advice is to research, plan and discuss with people who have experience. This site is great, I've posted a little in the forums there, always stuff to learn:

https://www.fishlore.com/

With regards the tank, yes, deep tanks with a small horizontal cross section aren't great. Surface area at the top of the tank is your only source of oxygen and CO2 exchange. Air bubbles only help to disturb the surface, they provide negligible gas exchange travelling through the water. You also have to consider the type of fish you would want. Active fish like to swim lengthways, not up and down, so even if the volume of water is there, they'll get stressed from not being able to get a good run through the water.

One last thing, I don't know how much you already know, but the saying goes something like, you don't keep fish, you keep water. Water quality and the right parameters for the species are the most important thing. Many experienced fish keeps use no medication and simply rely on high water quality to help sick fish. Adding fish before the tank is cycled (nitrogen cycle), or adding too many at once (which causes it to re-cycle) is the number one cause of fish death.

Thanks Alex, my tank has been set up for 6 years so don't have to worry about the cycling process. 👍 I did a water change a few days ago and checked the water parameters a few hours after. Ammonia and nitrite levels were 0ppm and nitrates were around 25-40ppm. The tank I'm planning on getting is a lot wider, deeper, higher and is 100 litres more than the one I have so hopefully is a big improvement if I get it. Hopefully aswell it's suited for fish. I might seed the new tank by cutting a fifth of the filter sponge from the current tank and  put it in the new tank to jump start the cycle. There's a add on eBay which is selling a few of these tanks for £220 and that's including the cabinet. 

[zain611]

So hopefully might go today to get some shrimps. Will take some pictures when I'm there to show everyone the beautiful fish you can get. 

[zain611]

So went to the fish shop but sadly when I got there it looks as though they closed down 😭 so went pets at home and they had some wood shrimp so bought one. That fish shop was really good and had a lot more verity of fish compared to pets at home. There's another place I found around 4 miles away so could go there. 

[iantt]

I used to keep fish many years ago, was quite a large tank and was easy to maintain. Had real plants in that thrived in there. Had to keep cutting the oxygenating plants back quite often.

Been thinking of getting another tank recently.

[zain611]

It's a nice hobby. At the moment I just want shrimp as I don't think my size tank is perfect for fish and uni is just making me busy so don't want fish which require constant attention. The little guys in now getting his food from the filter current. I found another place which sell fish and are just half a mile away from the original place I went to. 

[zain611]

Went to the other fish shop today. Luckily was a nice easy drive. Looked really nice and was quiet making it better for me. They had some nice fish including piranhas and discus fish. In the end I bought some cherry shrimp and a blue velvet shrimp. They also had the fish tank I'm planning on getting and it's cheaper there. 

[alexp999]

Lovely looking fish those discus. Wish my water wasn't so hard.

[zain611]

37 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Lovely looking fish those discus. Wish my water wasn't so hard.

They were around £65 each. Don't think I'll pay that much for a fish for it to die an unexpected death. 

[alexp999]

5 minutes ago, zain611 said:

They were around £65 each. Don't think I'll pay that much for a fish for it to die an unexpected death. 

Wow, maybe not. Not knowing who sometimes they just keel over without warning. Prefer my cheap fish, haha.

[zain611]

7 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Wow, maybe not. Not knowing who sometimes they just keel over without warning. Prefer my cheap fish, haha.

Lol same here. I wanted to get a pair of each shrimp but there was only one velvet blue shrimp so the guy gave an offer from the cherry shrimp (3 cherries for £15) as part of the velvet shrimp. 

[AlexBartlam]

we had fish when i was about 10 years old ish, we had two small shark like fish and a small catfish type, and loads of small neon fish i think they are, and a feww other types of fish the two sharks had babies but the cat fish ate them all and the small fish aswell after he got big enough, we never had anymore after the last of them died off,

id like to have my own tank now iv got my own home we went to a fish pet shop last sunday they had a huge amount of fish, but i would love a outdoor pond with common carp or koi carp. 

[zain611]

41 minutes ago, AlexBartlam said:

we had fish when i was about 10 years old ish, we had two small shark like fish and a small catfish type, and loads of small neon fish i think they are, and a feww other types of fish the two sharks had babies but the cat fish ate them all and the small fish aswell after he got big enough, we never had anymore after the last of them died off,

id like to have my own tank now iv got my own home we went to a fish pet shop last sunday they had a huge amount of fish, but i would love a outdoor pond with common carp or koi carp. 

Koi and goldfish are great pond fish. I used to have a goldfish when I was 7. A few years after my aunty did a party in a restaurant for my cousin's first birthday and she bought many goldfishes in bowls. I got about 4 of them. A few years later I gave them to my grandparents as they have a pond and I noticed when I got the tank I have now that they were constantly at the top of the water and they soon had black burn marks from the ammonia and nitrites. They grew really fast in the pond. I heard that a pelican came and ate them 😢. The oldest goldfish was about 10 years old. They are hardy fish but you need a very big tank for a few of them. 

[iantt]

got pond fish, there the easiest to keep, but you dont see them in the winter. then in the summer you have to protect them from herons. 

 

[TomsFocus]

Anyone got any free/cheap tips to keeping a pond clear?

My Nan's seems to go green within days after cleaning it out each spring.  We've tried barley wheat, barley liquid, running a fountain constantly etc but nothing seems to make a difference.  There's about 30 gold fish in there and they're happy enough it's just that we cant see them most of the year lol.

[alexp999]

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

Anyone got any free/cheap tips to keeping a pond clear?

My Nan's seems to go green within days after cleaning it out each spring.  We've tried barley wheat, barley liquid, running a fountain constantly etc but nothing seems to make a difference.  There's about 30 gold fish in there and they're happy enough it's just that we cant see them most of the year lol.

Green water is algae, means there is an overabundance of nutrients and light.

How often is a water change carried out? Check the local water supply chemistry (they usually publish it on the suppliers website for your postcode) to see how much nitrate is present.

Are there any plants in the pond? These help use up the excess nutrients to "starve" the algae.

Is there any way of shading the pond from direct sunlight at least for part of the day?

[TomsFocus]

Water change is usually once a year now.  Average nitrate is 12 mg/l.

There's an iris, a lily and some weird yellow flower in there.  The only shade comes from the plants but the lily leaves cover a large area.  I have thought about adding some more plants but not sure what's cheap and effective?

Due to my Nan's lack of mobility, she wouldn't be able to add any partial shade during the day unfortunately.