Tropical Fish Advice Needed for Newbie

[Planet13]

Hi there, Everyone:

Have a five gallon tank (I know that is small).

Wife wanted to get goldfish, but I have heard that is to small for goldfish, and that tropical fish would be better. (and I like the look of tropical fish more anyway and I hear that goldfish are mess and when they get bigger, will have to move them to a larger tank anyway).

1) What would be a good combination of tropicals to put in a 5 gallon tank for confused / lazy people? And what's a good number?

2) Are those cheapo corner filter / box filters ok?

3)How long after I put in the water and the heater and the chemicals do I have to wait before I can put in the fish (one retailer said I had to wait a MONTH for ammonia levels in the tap water to go down).

4) Is Gravel ok for a substrate? Or does it have to be sand?

5) Aside from Stress zyme and Stress coat, do I need anything else to prep the water for tropical fish?

Thanks in advance.

[Leosghost]

Until they get cancer and suffer a slow, agonizing death

Not many do..most just get slower as they get older ..the white ( albino ) ones suffer from restricted genetic pool ..you lose a lot of white rats to "hole in the heart" problems ..I had lots of rats ..

Lucy24 will be along later..no doubt .."rappin' on rats"..

I'm going to start dinner here..

I would have been sleeping in the garage for a month - which is extra bad since we don't actually have a garage...

..;-)

You begin by suggesting arachnids ..or serpents ..then you settle for rats..;-)

I'm building our garage later this summer ..if the weather is kind in Brittany late August early September ..need around 15-20 straight days of sun ..so far it does not look hopeful..and I'm getting too old to find anything to enjoy about building in the rain..

[lucy24]

Rats hardly ever get cancer. What they do get-- in fact it's one reason they are used so much in medical research-- is benign tumors. My rats' vet can remove these blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his back. (I hear he is thinking of retiring, which is calamitous. The only other vets I trust are in the next town and cost at least three times as much.) Also respiratory problems.

Oh, and if they take a fancy to your futon you will get up one day to find the floor covered in feathers. They also like low-voltage electrical cords. Fortunately they don't care for the taste of electrical tape.

So it all started with finding a tank. Hmm...

How Not to Build A Reef Tank [thekrib.com] (a classic in the fish-keeping genre).

[Planet13]

Hey everyone;

Three weeks on and my betta, which my five-year-old son calls "my fish friend," seems to be doing pretty well.

He literally wouldn't eat for the first week or so. I tried the mini pellets, soaked them in tank water for a few minutes so they expanded, and he would slowly swim to them and take a gulp, then immediately spit them out.

Note: It is a pain to get those pellets out of the tank after they have been waterlogged.

Since he was reluctant to go to the surface to eat in the first place, I tried live flies, and he seems to like them a lot. Now when I feed him (a couple of flies every other day) there is no hesitation to go to the surface to eat. Their motion attracts him right away.

I actually feel really, really bad for the flies :( I would much, much prefer to feed pellets to him.

I am going to wait a few more feedings just to make sure he will consistently come to the surface regularly to eat and I might think about adding some tetras to the tank.

When you have a beta and some tetras (or other species) how do they know which food is for which fish?

[lucy24]

When you have a betta and some tetras (or other species) how do they know which food is for which fish?

Same way you can tell the difference between your breakfast cereal and dry cat food, even if they've both been transferred to plain unlabeled containers.

If your betta gets hungry, send him to my house ;) Smokey at 16 no longer catches flies.

[tangor]

When you have a beta and some tetras (or other species) how do they know which food is for which fish?

Fish eat what they eat. If your tank is large enough add a catfish (usually a plecostomus) which will clean up whatever the betta leaves behind. Tetras will feed surface, mid, and bottom of tank. Bettas do enjoy brine shrimp (which the pellets contain). And that week of no feeding is not uncommon with change of tanks (from the store to your tank at home)... acclimation. Meanwhile, enjoy your new friend(s)!

[Planet13]

Fish eat what they eat. If your tank is large enough add a catfish (usually a plecostomus) which will clean up whatever the betta leaves behind.

thanks for the tip! I will look into getting one today.

Also, I heard that tetras and other fish like them enjoy having schools of five or more. Is having only three of them ok?

I am guessing they don't segregate the genders at the pet store and that if you get more than one, there is a chance you will have baby tetras soon.

[lucy24]

If you have baby tetras, the betta will be happy and you will never know why it's so cheerful and plump.

Three is considered the absolute minimum for schooling fish. If they can be sexed, like rosy barbs, go for one male and two females.

[Planet13]

Thanks again, lucy24

I got three silver tip tetras last Thursday, and they seemed to be a lot more shy than the betta, who is swimming all over the tank. He likes to go up to the jet stream of the filter, and then ride it all the way to the far end of the tank. Then he swims back and does it again. So much for bettas not liking water with a current...

Because the tetras weren't schooling (I only got three of them), I went and got another silver tip tetra yesterday. So I have one male betta and four silver tip tetras in an 8.5 gallon tank (I thought it was only 5 gallons originally).

I'm actually really starting to get into it and thinking about getting a "real" tank soon. I don't have a hood or light for my tank (since it is an oddball shape) and apparently you can get a 30 gallon tank with hood, filter, and light for the same price it will cost me to find a hood / light for my oddball 8.5 gallon tank.

Which reminds me: Is there any place that can beat petco's prices on an aquarium set?