[J]

White Clouds are very hardy fish. You can get a school of 6 of them to cycle your tank and still have room for more fish later on. I also suggest Eco-Complete if you can get it. It already comes with the bacteria required for an aquarium and for plants should you decide to add any later on.

Personally, I would have started her off with a 2.5 gallon tank with gravel, driftwood, and a betta (fighting fish). You can use a Red Sea filter for a small aquarium.

Here's what I did: (Googie is long gone, died back in 2006 in an accident)
Red Sea Filter
Aquarium Sand
Driftwood
Java Fern

[patriotsguy]

psu21 Wrote:

patriotsguy Wrote:There are many ways to start your tank up.....the most effective way is to cycle your tank first then add the fish. The key is going to be to keep testing your water on a reg basis (every 3-4 days).

When your tank cycle you will start off with an amonia spike. Now when all your beneficial bacteria starts to form your nitrite levels will increase while your amonia decreases.

next your nitrate levels will increase while your nitrite levels decrease. The end result is when your nitrate levels decrease to a safe level.

Once you go through all that your tank is cycled. Cloudy water is normal going through this process and NO chemiclas should be used to correct that.

Zebra Danios are a very hardy fish but can be nippy with other fish with colorful longer wavy fins. Neon tetras are a pretty popular fish.

if you have other Q's feel free to PM me.

Listen to everything he said. Also, I wouldn't mix goldfish with other tropical fish. I know that people do it, but some people also have problems with it. Goldfish prefer colder temps. than the other fish you will have, they produce way more waste, will hog all of the food, and depending on the tankmates can actually kill other fish due to the waste that they put off. I've known people that had danios and tetras with goldfish and the goldfish slime would get caught in their gills and kill them.

I don't think the3 other poster was suggesting mixing goldfish with community fish, but just to use them to cycle the tank since the cost relatively cheap.

White Clouds are good and hardy also but also illegal in some states.

Another good rule to stick with is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. But look at that rule for the max size of your fish. Once you have some fish in there for awhile and your water is tested and all is good you can add some catfish and an algae eater (plecostomus).

[premmy32]

patriotsguy Wrote:

psu21 Wrote:

patriotsguy Wrote:There are many ways to start your tank up.....the most effective way is to cycle your tank first then add the fish. The key is going to be to keep testing your water on a reg basis (every 3-4 days).

When your tank cycle you will start off with an amonia spike. Now when all your beneficial bacteria starts to form your nitrite levels will increase while your amonia decreases.

next your nitrate levels will increase while your nitrite levels decrease. The end result is when your nitrate levels decrease to a safe level.

Once you go through all that your tank is cycled. Cloudy water is normal going through this process and NO chemiclas should be used to correct that.

Zebra Danios are a very hardy fish but can be nippy with other fish with colorful longer wavy fins. Neon tetras are a pretty popular fish.

if you have other Q's feel free to PM me.

Listen to everything he said. Also, I wouldn't mix goldfish with other tropical fish. I know that people do it, but some people also have problems with it. Goldfish prefer colder temps. than the other fish you will have, they produce way more waste, will hog all of the food, and depending on the tankmates can actually kill other fish due to the waste that they put off. I've known people that had danios and tetras with goldfish and the goldfish slime would get caught in their gills and kill them.

I don't think the3 other poster was suggesting mixing goldfish with community fish, but just to use them to cycle the tank since the cost relatively cheap.

White Clouds are good and hardy also but also illegal in some states.

Another good rule to stick with is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. But look at that rule for the max size of your fish. Once you have some fish in there for awhile and your water is tested and all is good you can add some catfish and an algae eater (plecostomus).

definately dont forget the pleco.

[patriotsguy]

premmy32 Wrote:

patriotsguy Wrote:

psu21 Wrote:

patriotsguy Wrote:There are many ways to start your tank up.....the most effective way is to cycle your tank first then add the fish. The key is going to be to keep testing your water on a reg basis (every 3-4 days).

When your tank cycle you will start off with an amonia spike. Now when all your beneficial bacteria starts to form your nitrite levels will increase while your amonia decreases.

next your nitrate levels will increase while your nitrite levels decrease. The end result is when your nitrate levels decrease to a safe level.

Once you go through all that your tank is cycled. Cloudy water is normal going through this process and NO chemiclas should be used to correct that.

Zebra Danios are a very hardy fish but can be nippy with other fish with colorful longer wavy fins. Neon tetras are a pretty popular fish.

if you have other Q's feel free to PM me.

Listen to everything he said. Also, I wouldn't mix goldfish with other tropical fish. I know that people do it, but some people also have problems with it. Goldfish prefer colder temps. than the other fish you will have, they produce way more waste, will hog all of the food, and depending on the tankmates can actually kill other fish due to the waste that they put off. I've known people that had danios and tetras with goldfish and the goldfish slime would get caught in their gills and kill them.

I don't think the3 other poster was suggesting mixing goldfish with community fish, but just to use them to cycle the tank since the cost relatively cheap.

White Clouds are good and hardy also but also illegal in some states.

Another good rule to stick with is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. But look at that rule for the max size of your fish. Once you have some fish in there for awhile and your water is tested and all is good you can add some catfish and an algae eater (plecostomus).

definately dont forget the pleco.

most definately....a nice bristlenose or a gold nugget

[J]

Plecos are messy and get the water dirty real fast.
And why are White Clouds illegal in some states? They are the easiest fish to take care of and easy to breed if kept in a species tank.

[patriotsguy]

J Wrote:Plecos are messy and get the water dirty real fast.
And why are White Clouds illegal in some states? They are the easiest fish to take care of and easy to breed if kept in a species tank.

Not sure I know here in MA and in RI they are illegal for shops to have them. I would assume maybe they are wild in htese states? Other than that have no idea.

Plecos are still beneficial and as far as their mess, as long as you have a good maintenance procedure in place there will be no issues

[dbird5]

Thanks again to all who responded.

Here is our new tank.
My little girl is going to be so happy watching the fish.




Once the water is cycled properly,
I would like to have 3-4 Buenos Aires Tetras, 3 blood fin Tetras, 3 zebra danios. Is that a nice mix? Will they do well together?

[bbrocato]

As far as plecos go, just make sure you get the right kind of pleco. Given the opportunity, the regular variety that you can get for $1.99 or whatever will get absolutely huge and outgrow a smaller tank. My brother's got one in a 29-gallon tank that grew to about a foot and a half and keeps the water a murky light brown color. I've got a rubber-lipped pleco in my 10-gallon, and since those only get about 4-5 inches, (and mine's barely two inches after almost two years) he's done just fine, and my only problem is that he started snacking on my plants a while back.

[patriotsguy]

Nice setup, looks great! Those fish should do fine together. The Buenos Aries can be nippy sometimes but shouldn't be an issue with the others you have

[gamebreaker]

bbrocato Wrote:As far as plecos go, just make sure you get the right kind of pleco. Given the opportunity, the regular variety that you can get for $1.99 or whatever will get absolutely huge and outgrow a smaller tank. My brother's got one in a 29-gallon tank that grew to about a foot and a half and keeps the water a murky light brown color. I've got a rubber-lipped pleco in my 10-gallon, and since those only get about 4-5 inches, (and mine's barely two inches after almost two years) he's done just fine, and my only problem is that he started snacking on my plants a while back.

Can't argue on those guys, they take care of the algae.