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Tips on setting up a freshwater fish tank?
circa 1980 asked:
I have a 30 gallon tank I’d like to set up. In previous experience, goldfish seem to be pretty dirty. What are the best freshwater fish to buy? What’s the best set-up and care?
I have a 30 gallon tank I’d like to set up. In previous experience, goldfish seem to be pretty dirty. What are the best freshwater fish to buy? What’s the best set-up and care?
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17. April 2008 at 4:07 pm :
put fish in it
18. April 2008 at 11:10 am :
koi fish are really cool.
so are oscars.
21. April 2008 at 4:11 am :
i like goldfish and koi cause they get along well
and when you get the fish then just put the bag with the fish into the tank water
then wait for an hour then release them
if you put the fish in without adjusting temp then they’ll die
:]
21. April 2008 at 5:44 am :
platies,mollies,sword tails,guppies,other live bearers.Buying a complete set will save you a lot of time.
22. April 2008 at 10:49 am :
my choice was to add a little salt to my tank and buy fiddler crabs they are way better than fish
23. April 2008 at 10:57 pm :
ok in a 30gal tank how about like 7 tiger barbs and 1 red tail shark. pretty agressive and fun. always active fish and going all over the tank. i have tiger barbs, rosy barbs, neon tetras, cherry barbs and a rainbow shark which looks pretty much like a red tail shark except the rainbow needs at least a 55gal tank and mine is in a 75gal so that’s pretty good.
look into other fish like guppies, platies, guramies and there is tons of freshwater fish that you might like. remember that some of them need schools of 5 or 6 at least and some of them don’t. here is alist of freshwater fish that might help you.
good luck and remember to cycle your tank before putting in any fish otherwise within a few days you’ll have some dead fish if not all.
**edit**to get koi fish you really need a pond cuz they get HUGE and also goldfish. except goldfish can be kept in pretty big tanks.
27. April 2008 at 5:46 am :
Get something besides Goldfish lol, make sure you have a filter that is strong enough to clean and support 30 gallons to start, of course get an air pump too, some castles and plants and stuff like that. My personal favourite fish are Tetras. They come in all shapes and sizes and are community fish so they are friendly toward other fish for the most part, and they can school! Make sure you get at least one algae eater, and maybe a Cory Dora, or a Pleco, for your bottom feeders. Don’t get guppies because they don’t last very long although they look pretty nice. Gouramis are good fish too, they can get pretty big and have stunningly beautiful markings, and awesome looking antenna things that come out of their chests lol. Another good type of fish to get are Mollys. Sailfin Mollys are my personal favourite type of Molly. Those are good starters for a freshwater aquarium, good luck.
30. April 2008 at 1:54 pm :
Koi, would outgrow a tank that size. I would suggest:
6 Male Guppies
4 Male Swordtails
10 Neon Tetras
4 Male Platies
2 Red Cherry shrimp
Good-luck and if you need anymore information or advice, feel free to e-mail me and I will respond.
2. May 2008 at 2:15 am :
I really enjoy the livebearers. I have several tanks with varieties of molly fish, platys, and guppies. They are fun to watch and are beautifully colored. The best way to set up your tank is to get the filter, heater, and decor in and then cycle your tank. Test all the levels(ph, ammonia, nitrates) and when your tank is ready, get your fish. Only add a few to start and do a 15-20% water change weekly.
2. May 2008 at 3:46 am :
go to ehow.com and type in how to choose fresh water fish.
3. May 2008 at 12:28 am :
I like Tetra’s myself (Black Skirt, and Neon) The best set up for tetras are low acidity, plenty of hiding places, and a snail or two. Also tetras are social so if you get Black skirt get two or three. If you get Neon you should buy more like 4 to 5 (at the least). Don’t worry Black Skirt tetras are very hardy. Oh yea and try to keep the tank temp in the mid seventies. And of course buy a filter (I got a 30 gal whisper filter for about 25$.
5. May 2008 at 4:13 pm :
a good freshwater fish is guppies, mollies, platys, something more tropical community especially for the size of tank you have also you should do a tropical community fish they are much easier to put other fish with.
also let your water cycle for 24 hours before putting any fish into it
6. May 2008 at 8:31 am :
If you want to have a tropical freshwater fish, then you have unlimited choices! It depends on what kind of aquarium you want. You can have a pair of Angelfish, which are very smart, clever, and graceful with a few corydora catfish, or you could try a community aquarium with beautiful neon tetras, gourami, and maybe even a single male betta fish if none of your other fish have long fins.
My suggestion is research, research, and RESEARCH about species, and if they’re compatible, their water requirements, and so on. If you’ve kept goldfish before then you probably know about the nitrogen cycle, but just in case I’m going to add a couple of links in the sources.
A website that was very helpful to me when choosing stocking was, because they have a list of community fish that will work well together already planned. Choose a few species from one of those lists, make sure you don’t top your 1″ per gallon rule (more if it’s a really hyper fish, or if you have a bigger fish such as a raphael catfish), and good luck!
8. May 2008 at 5:18 pm :
Well, you’re right about goldfish. There are a lot of different fish you can put in there. What you need to do first is to set it up, fill it with water, and then let the water sit for at least 24 hours (preferably more). If you have chloramines in your tap water, you need to use a water conditioner as well (I’d use one just in case).
Then you need to cycle the tank. This means to balance the bacteria in the tank to process the fish’s wastes. In order to do this, I would buy a bacteria supplement (I used Stability by Seachem, but BioSpira is the best supposedly) and also one or two smallish and tough fish. For instance, if you were doing a cichlid tank, you might want to use ONE convict. Other people use danios, as for a tropical tank. It really depends on whether you’d want a whole bunch of tropical fish, New World Cichlids, African Cichlids, or other types of fish.
Monitor the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels of the tank. Do regular water changes. Never just put untreated tap water into a tank though. First the ammonia levels will get very high, then you’ll see nitrite, which will also spike. Once your ammonia and nitrite levels are 0, then you can tolerate some nitrate, but try to keep it fairly low.
I like Cichlids. They are a lot of fun, and have very interesting personalities. In a tank that size, you could probably have a pair of Firemouths (I have one, he’s a cute little guy and he’ll interact with you too) and a few swordtails or something for the top area of the tank. Cichlid-forum.com can help you with more details.
Good luck!
10. May 2008 at 9:43 pm :
Set up you aquarium first without any fish in it and let the water condition for about a week.
The first set of fish I’d get are either catfish or algae eaters to further condition the tank and control the algae. They have a pretty good bandwidth as far as pH and temperature.
Once you decide on what pH and temperature you want…or let the type of fish you want determine the pH and temperature…you can check your local pet store to decide what are good community fish for that pH and temp range.
Tiger Barbs…actually Barbs in general…are pretty aggressive and will probably attack your other fish…so avoid them. Good luck and have fun!