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The 29 gallon tank is officially at college!

It's set up right now on it's stand with the gravel (rinsed throughly) in it. I have two filters and two heaters comming hopefully tomorrow.

There are no plants or decorations in the tank, is it alright to go with plastic plants or should i attempt live ones? Being at college i think i will have enough to work on with the fish alone, that is why my tendency is towards plastics for now.

What type of water testing strips/equipment will i need? What is a good de-chlorineizer to purchase in order to treat water?

I believe my first set of fish, for cycling, will be six or eight black neons as suggested by "A simple guide to Freshwater Aquariums" and his suggested tetra scheme.

Any suggestions appreciated! Thank you.

Adam

oh what kind of food is best for tetras?

Plastic plants are fine, since most fish don't need live ones to survive. Just give the plants a quick rinse before you stick them in the tank, even when they're sold in packaging they still have dusty stuff on the leaves.

You can get by without a testing kit at all, if you are confident enough in your abilities or willing to take samples to a store for testing. If you do want to buy a test kit, I'd recommend a liquid test kit like the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals one. I've never had good luck with the strip tests, and other folks on the site have problems with them as well. As for a dechlorinator, Prime is my favorite. Stress Coat works pretty well if you can't get Prime.

EDIT: I forgot about the tetras. They'll eat flake fish foods, but it is always a good idea to put some variety in their diet. Most frozen foods geared towards freshwater community fish will work, as will freeze-dried brine shrimp, blood worms, and tubifex worms.

Last edited by sirbooks at 24-Aug-2005 07:40

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

for tests strips i use Mardel brand 5 in 1 freshwater test strips, i think they're around 6-10$ for a container of 50. I've had pretty good luck with them, but thats what the local petsmart here suggested i use, its also the same ones they use. as for dechlorinator i use stress coat, its cheap and easy and doubles for a fish medication in case they do get stressed. and they sell it a walmart so its easy to find.


for first fish cycling, i always use betta's cuz i cant kill em..

but tetras are easy fish to care for too.

maybe later on, i'd check out some varieties of mollies. they have alot of beautiful color variations, and they're good hearty fish that dont require alot.

I'm a college student and i dont have alot of time as well.

i have all live plants in my tanks, they really dont require alot of time or food for that matter. they give the tank a little nicer look. but plastic will do as well..

hope that helps ya,

Chelle

*Chelle*
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I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

You don't have a flag selected but taking into account you mentioned college instead of uni I'm going to guess you're in the states....In which case look for a dechlor that handles chlorine as well as chloramine as I know many cities here in the states use both in their water. My favorite has been aquarium pharms tap water conditioner as it did both and was only a drop per gallon...unfortunatly big als isn't carrying it . One drop per gallon will make measuring and water changes easier .

As for test strips. IMO a waste of money as I've never had them read accurate. Either go without and trust your fish keeping abilities (and the LFS's in the area which I'm not sure I would ) or take along a master test kit.

Not sure I'd really suggest cycling with black neons. I'd go with zebra danios (check that you'd be able to return for a refund once cycled) or do a fishless cycle (might look a bit strange in a dorm room ). I really wouldn't suggest bettas. IMO they don't need that kind of stress, and one male is not going to produce enough ammonia to cycle that kind of tank and will possibly throw a fit over your filter.

Ditto sirbooks on the foods.

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the [link=pain]http://babelfish.qwertydigital.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

I am with Babel and sirbooks,

I would use Prime for de-chlorination and the liquid test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and if you have some spare money I would add the ph kit as well (although maybe you could get that value from the LFS).

For cycling, I also would not use Black Neons, they seem a little too fragile to me. Zebra Danios are perfect, except if the LFS doesn’t take them back and you cannot give them to someone else. Then you are stuck with them (I am) and they are VERY active.

I heard another good cycle fish is the White Cloud Mountain Minnow. I never had them and can’t validate that, but they seem to me to be a little more attractive.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Neons are probably not a good idea as they are not the hardiest of fishes, I would go with zebra danio's and if you want some variety try the long fin version (you can mix long fin and normal zebra's they dont seem to know the difference in my tank) as for plants fake are good and you could go with some "unkillable" plants. Good luck

"A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man" Simpsons

I would use Aqua Plus and Cycle, if you REALLY want a test kit, Hagen does a good kit called the "Mini master test kit" which is easy on the wallet. As far as a cycling fish white clouds are awesome for that.

Yup, I'd definitely use some water conditioner/dechlor like prime or stress kote. And I also agree about not using tetras in general for cycling. Thet're just not that hardy of a fish. Not to scare you off of them, they'll be just fine whence the tank is cycled but a hardier fish should be used for that purpose. I used harlies, the lfs guy recommended and since I was puttin them in anyways it seemed a logical idea. Still have all eight (only used six to cycle) and aside from a few rockslides the little buggers have been just fine. (OK the wife got this large 1" gravel that the lfs guy said would be fine and the fish went pokin around and one got stuck but we rescued him and he's fine).
Also, test strips are, imo, largely innaccurate. I'd go with the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals master test kit. test regularly and do proper weekly maintenance religiously, water changes, gravel vacuuming and don't forget about cleaning filters and media...
I just love the cheap, unrealistic plastic plants. tried the live plant thing (all they did is die and decay) (poor light was the culprit). aside from perhaps a sprig of hornwort I'd stick with plastic.
White clouds? hmmm how many of thost could fit in a ten gal? always liked the look of the white cloud.

Last edited by divertran at 24-Aug-2005 14:43

Last edited by divertran at 24-Aug-2005 14:47
o O (why don't I read)

Last edited by divertran at 24-Aug-2005 14:49
any volunteers for a proofreader? :88):88)

Last edited by divertran at 24-Aug-2005 14:54

Thank you for the suggestion against black neons, i was at a local fish store today and he asked me my situation and i told him, he suggested mollies i believe because they where cheaper for cycling but they also had a good supply of zebra danios so i would be able to go with them. He told me they would give me store credit on any returned fish and that they could also do water testing.

I think i would really like to go with bloodfins and black phantoms along with maybe something else small and possibly ottos or cories for the bottom, but that is all far down the road.

Thanks for all the help.

Adam

Just a note to say that you can cycle tanks chemically now, there really isnt an excuse to risk fishy lives to get the chemistry right. better not to rush the whole thing, you can purchase chemicals and bacteria if you know another aquarist locally who has nice disease free tanks you could get the filter kick started with sludge from somebody elses, and use small amounts of water from their tanks when they do water changes to feed the filter as it matures.That way you dont even have to use chemicals.Within weeks you can add plants ( which contrary to popular opinion dont require very intense lighting or co2 units as long as you choose appropriate species although fertiliser wont hurt)and in a month youll be ready to start adding fish. I have used this method with complete success in establishing over 40 aquaria.

Besides the legality of purchasing fish for cycling a tank may become soon illegal in various states, and certainly in countries like the uk and in mainland europe as the reality of the death rates is being more extensively researched. My local shops in the uk are now all under government pressure to advise against using fish to start the nitrogen cycle, just as they already were to not sell live feeder fish. After all it basically is animal abuse.

Usually only the most experienced keepers would do it with guaranteed rates of fish survival, and then to my thinking they tend to choose other methods first.