I'm a beginner to fish and a 250/300L tank I'm thinking of tropical fish please read

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

Puffers can be annoying, especially for beginners. I woudn't reccomend them. Make sure that your tank has been cycled. Do you know what cycling is, and do you have any other tanks set up at the moment?

[ChoclateBetta]

Celestrial Pearl Danios.

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

CPD prefer cooler water I believe, which limits your options.

[LittleBettaFish]

Also they are a fairly sensitive species so I would not recommend them to a newcomer to the hobby. They can also be rather shy and I have found a lot of fish get a bit more skittish when kept at or near ground-level so I would want a bolder sort of species so you can actually see them.

If I was the OP, I would definitely google fishless cycling and do a lot of thorough research before stocking or even filling your tank. Do not listen to fish or pet store employees. They usually know nothing no matter how knowledgeable they come across. I wasted hundreds of dollars when I was younger due to the poor advice of a particular fish store. So nowadays I take everything they say with a grain of salt and prefer to do my own research online before even setting foot in a store.

Much as fish and pet store employees will tell you otherwise, running a tank empty for a week is not cycling, and pH is not the most important thing you should be testing for. Realistically it is quite low on your list of priorities. The things that will kill your fish however, are ammonia and nitrite. These are what you should be testing regularly for in the early stages of set-up as they can kill all your stock at levels as low as .5-1ppm.

As this is your first tank I would personally go for a very hardy species that is going to be able to cope with the inevitable beginner's mistakes. Depending on the tank dimensions, danios might be a qood option. They are hardy, cheap and entertaining to watch. Plus there are quite a few different species available to you, so you can have some options as to colour and size.

[fishy314]

Maybe this would do better in "Other Fish?"


Personally I reccomend Corydoras Catfish.

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

Originally Posted by LittleBettaFish

Also they are a fairly sensitive species so I would not recommend them to a newcomer to the hobby. They can also be rather shy and I have found a lot of fish get a bit more skittish when kept at or near ground-level so I would want a bolder sort of species so you can actually see them.

If I was the OP, I would definitely google fishless cycling and do a lot of thorough research before stocking or even filling your tank. Do not listen to fish or pet store employees. They usually know nothing no matter how knowledgeable they come across. I wasted hundreds of dollars when I was younger due to the poor advice of a particular fish store. So nowadays I take everything they say with a grain of salt and prefer to do my own research online before even setting foot in a store.

Much as fish and pet store employees will tell you otherwise, running a tank empty for a week is not cycling, and pH is not the most important thing you should be testing for. Realistically it is quite low on your list of priorities. The things that will kill your fish however, are ammonia and nitrite. These are what you should be testing regularly for in the early stages of set-up as they can kill all your stock at levels as low as .5-1ppm.

As this is your first tank I would personally go for a very hardy species that is going to be able to cope with the inevitable beginner's mistakes. Depending on the tank dimensions, danios might be a qood option. They are hardy, cheap and entertaining to watch. Plus there are quite a few different species available to you, so you can have some options as to colour and size.

LBF has given some really good info here. I have made MANY beginner mistakes, such as believing that a tank is cycled in 24 hours. I forgot about danios! They are very entertaining, and petsmart in canada has zebra danios on for 99 cents a peice. They make good top swimmers. :)

[ChoclateBetta]

Actually CPDs are tropical, Hardwater, fish that are great for beginers.

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

Yes, you are right in saying they are tropical. I have to disagree in saying that they are a good choice for beginners. They are very tiny (0.8-1"), so should be kept in a species-only tank, and were only discovered in 2006. Because of over-catching they are now almost extinct in the wild. For that reason, I wouldn't purchase them without intentions of breeding. They are so beautiful, it's such a shame.

[buko]

Thanks for the replys. .......
I'm kinda getting confused with all the replys haha..I've researched cycleing ...but more info from you guys n girls would be better ... I want to have tropical shoaling fish community but it will be low to the ground will this affect the diff lvl swimming fish? I'm going to get a water testing kit any suggested ones ? Also is having one or two larger fish with a few small shoals of small fish work?? Thanks you all ....mike

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

Originally Posted by buko

Thanks for the replys. .......
I'm kinda getting confused with all the replys haha..I've researched cycleing ...but more info from you guys n girls would be better ... I want to have tropical shoaling fish community but it will be low to the ground will this affect the diff lvl swimming fish? I'm going to get a water testing kit any suggested ones ? Also is having one or two larger fish with a few small shoals of small fish work?? Thanks you all ....mike

I know, it can be pretty confusing. lol Basically, for fishless cycling I believe you must add pure ammonia to kickstart it, and then do water changes over the course of about a month, while monitering the water parameters... I believe there is an ammonia spike followed by a nitrate spike. I have never cycled an aquarium before, so don't count me on it. All of my tanks were set up before I had ever heard of it.

No, the tank being low to the ground shouldn't affect it at all. The only negative of having tanks very low to the ground is when you are doing water changes (cleaning) and you are using is gravel vaccume. It can be a real pain in the but getting it going, without sucking on the end which fortunately I have never had to do. For the water testing kit, make sure you get a liquid one, and not the test strips as the strips are much less accurate. The test kit I have seen is in purple packaging and I think it is hagen brand. That is what my local pet store uses...

It really depends on the larger fish. Goldfish wouldn't work as they would think of anything smaller than them as a tasty snack. Many large fish are aggressive and will also nom on your little schoolers. Such as the common Oscar, they are a species of Cichlid. Cichlids are a group of aggressive fish that come from the Great Lakes in Africa and some from the Amazon River Basin (I believe) in South America. They should really only be kept in cichlid only tanks. But, since most cichlids are a really nice looking fish a lot of people throw them into a community only for them to tear it up to shreds. The only large fish that I can think of working is possibly one of the smaller species of gourami like the honey gourami. I wouldn't go for a drawf, however beautiful they are, because they are known to carry a disease that is only really prevelant in their species, called the dwarf gourami iridovirous (I think I spelt that wrong haha). It is also a pain in the but. Honey gourami are much more peaceful and the males are pretty nice looking too.