FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have several questions. 1st: What is the best fish type for me as a 2nd time beginner? 2nd, my first fish were mollies and gullpies in which i was told to add aquarium salt so if another fish is suggested what should i do about the salt in the water? And third i am wanting to start adding some live plants to make my tank truly flourish look real. Is this a good idea?

I have just a few questions:

Am i right in thinking that the 55 gal has water with aquarium salt in it?
I think salt isn't necessary, if you want to get rid of it just siphon out like 30% of the water, and put straight (treated) water back in. By then it should be diluted enough that eventually after a few water changes, it will be unnoticeable (i think). I dont think the salt will harm any fish though.

About the plants:

Did you get the tank as a kit? And does it already have a hood?

If it was a kit, it probably doesn't have very good lighting. (check the wattage and divide that by 55(the # of gallons))(You could however have some mosses, anubius, anacharis, and some other low light plants.)

I you wanted to get into more plants, that require higher lighting, you would need to replace the current light (depending on the wattage) and get a new custom hood, with probably about (2-3.5) watts per gallon, depending on what you want.

Co2 will help by increasing plant growth and health. Ferts and other supplements will also help to keep your plants healthy. Co2 and Ferts are not necessary, but are helpful, you would want to research and look into those a little more before you give them a try.

Plants are a very good idea for a tank, they increase fish health and can make a tank look really nice. I would suggest it to anyone.

Hope this helps.

†Aquapickle†

Guppies and mollies don't need salt to survive. Guppies are generally kept in 100% freshwater and never given salt while mollies can survive and in the wild are found anywhere from completely freshwater to saltwater. Most all the mollies you find in stores have been bred in freshwater for many many generations and aren't used to salt at all. I've noticed no real difference in livebearers kept in water with or without salt. How well bred they are and whether they are used constantly for producing fry has a much greater impact on their lifespan than salt. Most plants also wouldn't really like salt.

For other fish gouramis are rather hardy. I'd only get 1 unless your getting some of the milder tempered species but it can be tricky to keep males of any species together without fighting. You could also add a school of cories or loaches to the bottom. Cories like a minimum group of 6 of the same species and the smaller species like even more company. Loaches usually get along fine with 4 but would still prefer 6 and if you get kuhlis I'd definitely go 6-8 since they are much bolder in larger groups. It depends on how many mollies or guppies you might have and if they are having fry as to how many other fish or whether any midlevel schooling fish might work. Rainbows are usually hardy colorful schooling fish and there are countless species of tetras you can choose from.

For plants you need to look at how much light you have, how much you want to spend, and how much work you want to put into it. Plants are always a good idea. They make the fish feel safer and act more natural and they help improve water quality. However if you don't do your research and meet their needs they will die polluting the tank and increasing the nitrates sometimes by alot. Light is the biggest factor you need to look at so without knowing what light you have or are willing to buy it's hard to come up with plants that will grow happily in your tank. Plus the more light you put on the more fertilizers needed and the better off you are with co2 or you'll grow algae instead of plants.

Thank You for the info. I am not wanting to get mollies or guppies. I am thinking of switching to the African Cichlid Blue Mbuna. Therefore no real plants. So any input on this as far as setup and layout?

Thanks

for any mbuna lots of rocks and caves are necessarry, also, like most cichlids they are messy so be sure you have a good filter and perform regular water changes.
you can actually keep plants with most mbuna, just be sure to use durable plants, amazon swords, aponogeton, or anubias work fairly well in my experience and can do well with normal aquarium lighting.
Mbuna set up and maintain territories agressively so you need to be careful about how many you put in, if you are able to provide excellent filtration, slightly over-stocking the tank helps to cut down on the agression, but you still want to make sure you make at least one cave per fish.
If you need more info on african cichlids I suggest checking out any of the numerous websites devoted to them.
also, be careful selecting tankmates since african cichlids are very aggressive. and don't try mixing south american cichlids with them, it really doesn't work.

proud father of a bunch of baby haps. http://picasaweb.google.com/Sktchy/BABIES

my experience with one cichlid taught me that they think of themselves as architects and love to restructure the rock formations they live in....... i let him have his way for a long time and he basically moved every rock on the left hand side to the right side.....

must have been fairly small or light rocks...
I use mostly broken terra cotta pots for the rock/cave structures in my african tank.

proud father of a bunch of baby haps. http://picasaweb.google.com/Sktchy/BABIES