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Hey Guys,

I've never had fish before.

I just bought a 10gal aquarium kit and set it up lastnight. There are no fish or plants in it.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b30/kristeniscool83/tank.jpg

The whole inspiration for me getting a tank was this:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background.php

Do you guys thing that would be healthy for the fish?


Also, Im looking to get fish on friday. Any suggestions

I know people who do that kind of background, it safe and looks good.... I read through that and it informative but you may want to look at other instructions/plans as will, to get a more complete ideal what you can do and what you can hide in the backround.

Just make sure all materials used are non-toxic.... they will cost more but you can find them.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Since this is your first tank you might want to steer away from that type of background. I think they're great backgrounds but as your tank is really small you don't want to lose any more space due to a background!

With that type of background the only fish I'd suggest would be a few multis. Although while I was still living in the states, I found them rather difficult to find and never got a chance to keep them myself.

Like I mentioned earlier, 10's are really small. Best thing to do is take a walk around your LFS, write down what you like the looks of and come back here, we can offer you much better, and more correct advice than your LFS is likely to be able to.

congrats on the tank, and welcome to FP!

^_^

I personally would run a mile from that type of back ground especially in any small tank.
As Babelfish suggest have a good look at your LFS and at the moment dont take much notice of any sales talk as you can easily be lead astray.
There are some good articles here I also suggest you copy them and print them out then do as much research as you can.
When you have done all this and have a better understanding of small tanks ask as many questions as you want to.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

read some good cycleing articles and also if you dont want to do fishless cycleing purchase some zebra danios. i have six in my dad's 10g and they do great (they are longfins).

also look into easier to care for fish, a browse through the profiles on here and www.badmanstropicalfish.com will help you gt an understanding of the tye f fish you want, and we are always open to answer any questiosn you may have...

GOOD LUCK!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Awesome! Thanks guys.

Im really excited to get a couple fish tonight. I think I will look for the zebra danios.

Do you guys think some living plants would be a good idea in my 10 gal tank?

Also, the heater broke, is it something a tank really needs?

Thanks again

Yes too. all your questions. the plants and the heater, buy a good new one before the fish. If you live in a cold climate or run you AC the tank will be effected by the room temp. You want to try and keep the temp of the tank water constant, stressing your fish or down right freezing them out.

Now I have a question for you, have you read up on cycling your tank?

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Yes, I've actually read quite a bit.

I need to get something to test the water. I will look at the petshop tonight.

Best thing to do is buy a master test kit.

Dip strips are cheap and very VERY inaccurate.

Buying the dropper tests separate ends up being more expensive.

Get the master kit

^_^

also with your lighting make sure you have compact flourecsent bulbs (the spiraly screw in ones) instead of incandescents. i am not sure about your fixture, but if you have a standard screw in bulb outlet thig you should go to your home store and buy some daylight about 5500K-6500K rating. and also stick to lower wattage ones as your tank is pretty small. also make sure you have all of your water additives in for at least a week prior to fish addition. i might suggest using a product similar to Cycle. or that product it self to help seed the aquarium with beneficial bacteria. also make sure you have dechlorinator, conditioner, and ferts (if you are getting plants).

also if you only have incandecesnt of improper lighting i may also sugest you stick with lower light needs plants. or if you buy high wattage CFs that you only get high light plants.

research everything prior to purchase!!!

and get a master kit (something i have been negligent to get, but i am lucky to not have had to need it for super sensitive fish.

also get a gravel vac to clean your grave of waste after livestock addition.

GOOD LUCK!!!



\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Hey, welcome to FishProfiles!

brandeeno, if you look at his tank pic you will see he has the standard fluoresent light. It probably puts out 15W if it's like mine. Unfortunately CFs would require a new hood as well.

In respect to plants, there are a few that should live with the lighting presently on this tank. Java moss, java fern, and Anubias are some rock-solid plants you can start out with; the important thing to note is that all of these plants grow best when attached to objects rather than planted in gravel, or if they are planted in the gravel should have their rhizomes exposed in the case of the latter two.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Hi and welcome to FP! its a great place to learn.

So plants for a ten gallon? I can give you a bit of a list that will work.

easy to care for:

Java Moss, Java Fern, Anubias (Stick with either Nanna or Nanna Petite) These should be tied to rocks or drift wood. Horn wort (Floated) Red Ludwigia, Anachris, Echinodorus Tennelus, (these three are planted regularly)

Medium to care for:

If you go with a lightly planted tank then one Amazon Sword would do nicely combined with an Anubias.

Hard to care for:

Not in a ten.

Regardless of what plants you go with I recommend getting a good liquid fert. The stuff made by Jungle labs has given me good results across the board. If you have rooted plants I would add in the Seachem Flourish tablet Ferts as well.

Enjoy and keep us informed.

mts.gif" border="0"> I vote do you?
My Tanks at Photobucket

Thanks for all of the information, you guys rock.

I ended up not getting plants yet. I think I will wait till I clean the tank out. So I can place them without disturbing the fish.

On Friday I ended up going to the local pet store and getting 6 Guppies. Sunday I added 6 zebra danio's, they seem to be getting along fine.The danio's swim a lot faster than the guppies and seem a lot more active.

Here are some pictures, sorry about the quallity (took them with my cellphone)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b30/kristeniscool83/02-24-08_1847.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b30/kristeniscool83/02-24-08_1848-1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b30/kristeniscool83/02-24-08_2101.jpg

I am really enjoying my new pets!

Oh yeah! At the pet store I saw a snail I really wanted to get. The woman there told me to wait till i have algae growing in my tank because that's what they eat. So, I will wait. Do you guys think the snail will get along with my guppies and danio's?

Am I correct by looking at your previous post that you have set up and added fish within 3-4 days.
Have you had the water tested to see if it is fully cycled if it is how did you do it so fast for a beginner.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

What a sad day. I lost two female guppies last night.

The two female guppies were very pregnant and I thought they would be popping soon. I got a fish bowl and filled it with some rocks and water from the tank. I fished out the two pregger fish and put them in the bowl.

Everything seemed fine but when I came back to check on them an hour later, I didn't see them in the bowl. I sat there for a moment wondering what happened, then it hit me.. I looked down and they were laying on the carpet. They turned EMO and jumped out of the bowl... I didn't know they could do that.

By removing them from the tank you changed their surroundings. Basically from one not ideal situation to a bad one. A bowl that has no water movement, is worse off than a still cycling tank. At least IMHO. Plus with it being uncovered, there is nothing to stop fish from jumping out.

I am really sorry to hear that this happened. How are the rest of you fish doing?

mts.gif" border="0"> I vote do you?
My Tanks at Photobucket

The rest of my fish are living it up. They seem to be happy and fine.

Hey guys i found my camera, check this out!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DwUVmi2n3s

Hi,
Very nice. If that is truly a piece of coral, the water
pH will climb into the 8's which is too alkaline for those
fish. Coral is a carbonate and any carbonate will shift
the pH upwards.
Frank


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It isn't real coarl, just a decoration.