Getting a tropical fish tank.?

Question

I really want to get a tropical fish tank but I don't know much about it. What would be some good fish to start out with, I would like to get several different types that aren't too difficult to care for. Also I would like to get some terrapins to live in the tank as well, Would this be possible or would they eat the fish.

Any help is appreciated, Any other tips that you can give or websites that you would recommend for information.

Answer 1

i have a large tropical fish tank and i varity of fish.  i found that the people in the store where very helpful once i explain that i had never owned tropical fish before.  but i personally find that catfish are very easy to care for.

as for the terrapins you should not keep them in the same tank as some do eat small fish.  they also require a dry area. i suggest that you start of by getting some fish and see if you enjoy keeping them, and then move on to the terrapins.

Answer 2

I just looked a terrapin up and they had a list of things they eat and fish are one of those things.  I do not think they will be compatible in the same tank. I started my tank with platies.  They are very hardy fish.  

Answer 3

well for a tropical fish tank, you definitely need a heater, filter and a thermometer. tropical fish need to have a heater. some suggestions of fish are:

angel fish (some angel fish tend to be aggressive so try to make sure that it doesn't eat the other fish's fins like mine did)

dwarf puffer

pink kissing gourami

black mollies

comet fish

make sure to have gravel at the bottom of the tank.

Answer 4

terrapins cannot go in a tropical tank, sorry!! If you want to start a tropical tank, you can go two ways: the more aggressive tank or the less. I would go with the less agressive tank, and I would start with a 29 gallon tank as a starting tank if you've never had a tropical tank before. First, you must set-up the filter that comes with the tank, plus purchase an air pump, an airstone, and tubing to set up an aerator, (manditory for fish tanks, it oxygenates the water!!) If the tank doesn't come with a heater or a thermometer, buy both of those. (Many heaters come with a "thermostat," however, those aren't always accurate so you'll need a good quality non-digital thermometer in addition.) The standard water temp for freshwater tropical fish is between 78-79 degrees, though it sometimes depends on the fish, however we'll get to that later. Next, buy gravel, preferable a more fine gravel then a coarse gravel, although do not get sand because it is very difficult to maintain a tank with sand for your first time. Next, fill your tank with water and dechlorinate it. I find that AmQuel+ plus  is the best dechlorinater, so buy that and treat your water with it. Also, purchase StressZyme, this is ESSENTIAL for setting up new aquariums, it creates a biological filtration in the water with beneficial bacteria that fish need to survive. Treat your water as directed by the directions for new tanks. Also, buy Aquarium salt (if you are not as experienced in the hobby of fish keeping, then this may sound crazy, because it is a freshwater tank.) However, most experienced hobbyists use a little bit of Aquarium Salt in their freshwater tanks to maintain good water quality and to prevent disease and eliminate stress in fish. Put in 1 tablespoon of salt crystals per 5 gallons, so for a 29 tank put in 6 tablespoons. Salt is never removed by the chemical filtration, so never add extra salt then directed except when treating new water when adding new water to the aquarium. (Table salt CANNOT be substituted for Aquarium salt.) I forgot to mention: The tank set-up kit that you buy should come with a  power filter (a canister filter is not necessary) that has activated carbon to remove chemicals in the filter cartridge. (You'll need to change the filter cartridge every two-three weeks.) Also, (optional) by a pH test kit to test pH to make sure it is at 7.0 before adding fish. I recommend the test strip brand QuickDip, because it not only tests pH, but also Alkalinity buffering capacity, hardness, chlorine, nitrate, nitrite, and a seperate bottle contains strips that test ammonia. There will be no ammonia, nitrate or nitrite in your tank yet, because you haven't had any fish yet, but it will be helpful in the future, trust me. Next, buy NovAqua, and treat your water with it. Do not buy plants yet, there is not enough nitrates in the water yet to sustain plant life. Also buy a gravel vacuum, for cleaning the tank (though don't use it yet!!!)

Now you're all set for your tank.

Run the tank without any fish in it for two weeks. At the end the the first and second week, add some extra StressZyme. If your tank is cloudy, do not buy water clarifier, it will only mess up the chemistry of your tank. After getting fish (after two weeks of running a fishless cycle,) any cloudiness should clear up as the bacteria and mineral levels stabilize. Once two weeks have gone by, and the tank with treated water has been running with the filter and the aerator AND the heater at a temperature of 78 degrees for 2 weeks, AND you have tested your water, AND all the conditions are perfect, then......

                             .......................................

.............you are ready to buy fish!!!!!!!!

now to actually answer the question you asked: (lol) I would suggest starting out with mollies. Never buy more than 2 fish at a time when starting an aquarium, because the fish will get stressed and the water conditions may change dramatically. Later, you can buy more fish, but for now I suggest buying 2-3 mollies. Balloon mollies are not a good choice. All mollies are the same species. They are VERY hardy fish and easy to care for. They need some Aquarium salt in their water. They only get to be maximum size of two inches, which is good. They come in four different colors (black, white, dalmation, and yellowish gold) two different body shapes (balloon and normal) and a choice of a normal tail, or a lyretail. Since they are all the same species, a gold lyretail balloon molly can breed with a regular dalmation molly. Unless you are planning on breeding your mollies, buy only ALL males, because they WILL Breed otherwise and you WILL have hundreds of baby mollies to look after. For more information on how to determine the gender of a molly email me.

Your mollies should come in a plastic bag. Float the bag for 15 minutes your tank (that has been running for 2 weeks with NovAqua, StressZyme, AmQuel, and Aquarium Salt) and then gently cut open the bag and release your fish into the tank.

(YAY!)

Do not perform a water change for the next three weeks, as the mollies get used to their environment. Feed them primarily TetraMin tropical fish flakes (this is the best brand), occasionally supplementing with live or freeze-dried food (optional.) Remember to also buy spirulina flakes and feed that occasionally, as mollies need some greens in their diets. Feed twice a day. Remember to turn of the light for your aquarium at night.

NOTE: This is a good website to refer to for additional info: http://www.elmersaquarium.com/000tropfis...

After your mollies have been doing well in your tank for three weeks, you can make your first water change. If you have ever kept a betta in a bowl, then you will know cleaning and changing the water is fairly simple. As you have probably realized, keeping a tropical fish tank is not so (although don't worry, setting up a tank, especially your first one, is always hard! It just gets easier from here!) To do a water change: Remove between 20-30% of the water (no more than that, it will severely stress out your fish!!) Oh, and the thing about keeping tropical fish, is it's all about not stressing your fish. The thing about fish, is that when they get stressed, their immune systems are lowered, and when that happens, they are likely to get a disease, and disease is often deadly in fish. Trust me, never push it past 30% !!

So anyway, with your gravel vacuum, remove 30% of the water. (For more info on using gravel vacuums, email me at [e-mail]. For more info on how to make your own gravel vacuum, email me.) Dispose of dirty water. Fill a bucket with new water. Dechlorinate it with AmQuel. Salt it with Aquarium salt. Treat it with NovAqua. Then put it in your tank. Lastly, dispose of new filter cartridge, rinse and shake a new one, put it in the filter, and stir up the gravel (this will arise all the detritus and will soon be cleaned out by the filter.) Perform these water changes and filter cartridge changes exactly how I just described, every 2-3 weeks. Also, every week add StressZyme.  Every month test your water with QuickDip strips and QuickDip ammonia strips. If there is too much nitrate or ammonia in your water, then you are either not cleaning your tank frequently enough, or overfeeding your fish. Overfeeding your fish is the biggest mistake people make in fish-keeping. People think that uneaten food can't hurt, when in fact it kills. Food that is not eaten will sink to the bottom of the tank, rot, attract bacteria, and bacteria that may be harmful will flourish and thrive, and ammonia and nitrate levels will skyrocket; DONT OVERFEED. Feed only what your mollies can eat in 2-4 minutes, twice a day. Nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia can be removed by water changes, adding a tiny bit extra of AmQuel and StressZyme to your tank, and by putting ammonia remover in the tank (although I recommend not doing this unless desperately needed.) Also, after a month, your Aquarium is established enough to sustain plants, so buy plants! (They are very helpful for soaking up CO2 and Nitrate and nitrite in the water.) Mollies may nibble on the leaves of some aquatic plants, so watch out!! After a month in a half, if all the conditions are good, your mollies and plants are thriving, and everything is perfect, then CONGRATS!! you have succeeded in setting up a freshwater aquarium!!

Notes: more fish may be added, but no more than 30-40 inches of fish for a 29 gallon tank (the ratio is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, although you can go a little over that limit.) Since your mollies are about 11/2 inches each, and you have 2 of them, you have used up only three inches so you still have a lot more room.

Refer to http://www.elmersaquarium.com/000tropfis...

to learn a lot more about the compatiblity of fish. Community tanks 1-4 may be suitable for your mollies, pick one.

Please email me for any further questions you have about setting up a tank, or maintaining a tank. Also email me in a month from now because in have more advice to give, unfortunately (lol jk.) Because there are many important things to remember when maintaining a tank, like algae issues, pH issues, compatiblity issues, disease treatments, etc, (and to tell me how your tank is doing :))

Many things that I said to do may sound crazy, or un-needed, however many people (like me) first started tropical fish tanks knowing nothing, and fail miserably...You are lucky because you don't have to learn from experience, but rather you can just ask me everything lol...my advice should help you avoid many dilemmas that inexperienced fish-keepers run into...good luck!

please email me for further questions if necessary

P.S. i noticed someone else mentioned start with platies, this is also a good idea, as platies (which are closely related to mollies) are also very  

Answer 5

i would start out with some platys, zebra dianos, or maybe gold barbs. the terrapin might eat the fishes if it can fit in its mouth. when you start out a tank make sure you cycle it with or without fish. if with fish then zebra dianos, without i would just put some fish food in the tank to release  ammonia into the tank to help the bacteria grow in your tank to keep your fish healthy. if you do a fishless cycle i would add the fish maybe 2 weeks after cycling