The Aquarium Thread: Get him an account he's ready for sea spam

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demonR6: Sep 4, 2012; There are too many stupid people in the world. I'm not saying we should kill them all or anything. Just take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself.; Lipstick Apathy

Not sure if they will let me post eBay links but search this and you will find the exact filter.

I know you are looking for 300 GPH but this is in the ballpark.

SUNSUN HW-302 3-STAGE AQUARIUM EXTERNAL CANISTER

This one is rated to 370 and has the UV light..

SUNSUN HW-303B 4-STAGE AQUARIUM EXTERNAL CANISTER

Personally I have the HW-302, two of them in fact since they are that cheap. I run a redundant system and my water is clear as you can imagine.

# ? Sep 28, 2013 22:22

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# ? May 11, 2024 11:12

Whale Cancer: Jun 25, 2004

I've been hearing a lot of good things about the Aquatop's and the SUNSUN's. Apparently the same company owns both lines but I guess the plastics are just a little bit higher quality on the Aquatops over the SUNSUN'S. I think I'll go this route.

# ? Sep 29, 2013 00:19

Soylent Yellow: Nov 5, 2010; yospos

Kraxxukalf posted:

Question for you shrimp owners! I bought four amano shrimp a few days ago, and all of them went into hiding straight away of course. My tank has plenty of plants and other hiding spots (driftwood, etc). I realize that they need to adjust, but after two days I found them all hiding inside my water pump, all hugging the filter sponge. Is this anything I should be worried about, or will they come out after a while? I carefully released them back in the tank, but I guess they'll head straight back in there.

They've simply figured out where the best eats in your tank are. The filter sponge is an all you can eat gourmet for shrimp, as it gathers all their favourite foods into a small convenient space. My filter sponge currently has about a dozen shrimp happily grazing away on it.

# ? Sep 30, 2013 22:30

Neitherman: Sep 25, 2006; _{He will die without safety brief.}

Have any of you fine ladies and gentlemen kept pea puffers? I really want to try my hand at keeping them but I wanted to see if there was a voice of experience I could consult before diving into anything. I've done a fair amount of research and the big takeaways I got were these:

The filtration rate has to be low as pea puffers are weak swimmers and can easily get stuck to a filter intake
They will not readily/ever accept flakes or pellets, live or frozen foods only
They are highly territorial, but with enough hiding places more than one can be kept in a 10 gallon enclosure (as long as they are introduced at the same time)
The tank should not contain objects with sharp edges as they can easily injure themselves on jagged decorations

With those considerations out of the way, I present to you my plan. First, procure a 10 gallon tank with an appropriately sized HOB filter and buffer the intake somehow (may need some suggestions for this part.) Get some smooth driftwood and rocks, and dump some Seachem Flourite in after creating a tasteful arrangement. Take some plants from my 29 gallon and re-purpose them as decor for the puffer tank. Dump a thin layer of play sand (or whatever sand-like material I can add that will not inhibit plant growth) on top of all of that to keep the puffers from directly impacting the substrate and harming themselves. Fill with water, cycle, and add tiny little pufferfish! Let me know if I missed anything!

Seriously, look at these cuties.

Neitherman fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Oct 1, 2013

# ? Oct 1, 2013 00:57

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

Making a hob intake safe for poor swimmers is usually covering it with material to make a pre-filter. Either another chunk of filter sponge with a hole in it to put the intake in, covering it with pantyhose, or getting a premade prefilter.

Example kinda thing.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 01:10

Shakenbaker: Nov 14, 2005; Grimey Drawer

Neitherman posted:

Have any of you fine ladies and gentlemen kept pea puffers? I really want to try my hand at keeping them but I wanted to see if there was a voice of experience I could consult before diving into anything. I've done a fair amount of research and the big takeaways I got were these:

The filtration rate has to be low as pea puffers are weak swimmers and can easily get stuck to a filter intake

They will not readily/ever accept flakes or pellets, live or frozen foods only

They are highly territorial, but with enough hiding places more than one can be kept in a 10 gallon enclosure (as long as they are introduced at the same time)

The tank should not contain objects with sharp edges as they can easily injure themselves on jagged decorations

With those considerations out of the way, I present to you my plan. First, procure a 10 gallon tank with an appropriately sized HOB filter and buffer the intake somehow (may need some suggestions for this part.) Get some smooth driftwood and rocks, and dump some Seachem Flourite in after creating a tasteful arrangement. Take some plants from my 29 gallon and re-purpose them as decor for the puffer tank. Dump a thin layer of play sand (or whatever sand-like material I can add that will not inhibit plant growth) on top of all of that to keep the puffers from directly impacting the substrate and harming themselves. Fill with water, cycle, and add tiny little pufferfish! Let me know if I missed anything!

Seriously, look at these cuties.

These have been on my nebulous and lengthy list of fish I want to keep for a while now. Watching them in the store is awesome, lots of personality in those little buggers. Put me in mind of tiny cichlids.

Live food's pretty easy, at least, since all you need is a snail infestation and your problem is solved! Or set up a little cherry shrimp tank if you want something attractive to look at. They're supposed to be pretty voracious, so they should put on a good show at least. And for the sand, look at pool filter sand. Less than $10 for a whole lot more than you'll need, plus it cleans easy.

Good luck with your little pufferbuddies!

# ? Oct 1, 2013 01:28

Slugworth: Feb 18, 2001; If two grown men can't make a pervert happy for a few minutes in order to watch a film about zombies, then maybe we should all just move to Iran!

Neitherman posted:

First, procure a 10 gallon tank with an appropriately sized HOB filter and buffer the intake somehow (may need some suggestions for this part.)

AquaClear 20 with a Fluval Edge Pre-Filter sponge would work perfectly for you. Nice filter, reasonable price, and adjustable down to a very low current. I'm using one in a 6 gallon beta tank, and it's working beautifully. Plan to do the exact same setup for my 10 gallon shrimp tank when I get it up and running

# ? Oct 1, 2013 01:34

Neitherman: Sep 25, 2006; _{He will die without safety brief.}

Shakenbaker posted:

These have been on my nebulous and lengthy list of fish I want to keep for a while now. Watching them in the store is awesome, lots of personality in those little buggers. Put me in mind of tiny cichlids.

Live food's pretty easy, at least, since all you need is a snail infestation and your problem is solved! Or set up a little cherry shrimp tank if you want something attractive to look at. They're supposed to be pretty voracious, so they should put on a good show at least. And for the sand, look at pool filter sand. Less than $10 for a whole lot more than you'll need, plus it cleans easy.

Good luck with your little pufferbuddies!

When it comes to cultivating snail infestations, I'm set. I culled about 2 dozen on Sunday and I'm sure by the time I'm ready for fish I'll have 2 dozen more for snacking. I'll have to take a look at some pool filter sand I suppose. Is there any reason to use that over play sand? Granules are more coarse to allow for better plant growth perhaps?

# ? Oct 1, 2013 03:37

Whale Cancer: Jun 25, 2004

Neitherman posted:

Have any of you fine ladies and gentlemen kept pea puffers? I really want to try my hand at keeping them but I wanted to see if there was a voice of experience I could consult before diving into anything. I've done a fair amount of research and the big takeaways I got were these:

The filtration rate has to be low as pea puffers are weak swimmers and can easily get stuck to a filter intake

They will not readily/ever accept flakes or pellets, live or frozen foods only

They are highly territorial, but with enough hiding places more than one can be kept in a 10 gallon enclosure (as long as they are introduced at the same time)

The tank should not contain objects with sharp edges as they can easily injure themselves on jagged decorations

With those considerations out of the way, I present to you my plan. First, procure a 10 gallon tank with an appropriately sized HOB filter and buffer the intake somehow (may need some suggestions for this part.) Get some smooth driftwood and rocks, and dump some Seachem Flourite in after creating a tasteful arrangement. Take some plants from my 29 gallon and re-purpose them as decor for the puffer tank. Dump a thin layer of play sand (or whatever sand-like material I can add that will not inhibit plant growth) on top of all of that to keep the puffers from directly impacting the substrate and harming themselves. Fill with water, cycle, and add tiny little pufferfish! Let me know if I missed anything!

Seriously, look at these cuties.

I kept a set of three in a 10 gallon partially planted partially silk plant tank for 3 years before I had to get rid of them. They are my favorite fish I have ever had.

I used an AC20 filter on my 10 gallon tank. Mine at ramshorn snails and bloodworms. I bought frozen bloodworms and a little basket that looks like a strainer with a suction cup. Put the worms in the basket and hang it near the surface and the puffs will come right up and eat. You can also feed them with tweezers and eventually by hand.

You need lots of breaks in the line of site or they might fight. If you are looking for tankmates get some oto cats. I had 6 and my puffs never once even looked at them. I also kept red cherry shrimp in the tank and my puffs never messed with them. The shrimp would actually steal bloodworms from the puffs but your mileage may vary.

Puffers do not have scales so the sharp edges thing is true. Once you first get them you need to treat them with an anti internal parasite because they are all wild caught. If you find one with a bumpy belly it has internal parasites. IF you are going to use sand I suggest pool filter sand. I had ecocomplete in this tank.

Here is a photo of my puffer tank

Here is a video of me handfeeding my puffs bloodworms. They will get really attached to you and wake up when you do and say hello as you walk by the tank and beg for food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pZzkOZny7Y

# ? Oct 1, 2013 05:14

Neitherman: Sep 25, 2006; _{He will die without safety brief.}

Whale Cancer posted:

I kept a set of three in a 10 gallon partially planted partially silk plant tank for 3 years before I had to get rid of them. They are my favorite fish I have ever had.

I used an AC20 filter on my 10 gallon tank. Mine at ramshorn snails and bloodworms. I bought frozen bloodworms and a little basket that looks like a strainer with a suction cup. Put the worms in the basket and hang it near the surface and the puffs will come right up and eat. You can also feed them with tweezers and eventually by hand.

You need lots of breaks in the line of site or they might fight. If you are looking for tankmates get some oto cats. I had 6 and my puffs never once even looked at them. I also kept red cherry shrimp in the tank and my puffs never messed with them. The shrimp would actually steal bloodworms from the puffs but your mileage may vary.

Puffers do not have scales so the sharp edges thing is true. Once you first get them you need to treat them with an anti internal parasite because they are all wild caught. If you find one with a bumpy belly it has internal parasites. IF you are going to use sand I suggest pool filter sand. I had ecocomplete in this tank.

The only reason I mentioned topping the substrate with sand is because I'm paranoid about them hurting themselves on hard edges. If it's not necessary, I would rather not top the substrate as I'd likely get better plant growth without a topper. That being said, I'm super excited about this project now. I'm sorry you had to get rid of yours, it almost sounds like one can develop an emotional attachment to them!

# ? Oct 1, 2013 05:42

Whale Cancer: Jun 25, 2004

Neitherman posted:

The only reason I mentioned topping the substrate with sand is because I'm paranoid about them hurting themselves on hard edges. If it's not necessary, I would rather not top the substrate as I'd likely get better plant growth without a topper. That being said, I'm super excited about this project now. I'm sorry you had to get rid of yours, it almost sounds like one can develop an emotional attachment to them!

Don't worry about them, they don't have paper skin or anything. You mainly just want to stay away from sharp branches and sharp slate rock if anything. You do get attached to them! They're like dogs. A lot of puffers are this way: dwarfs, figure 8's, GSP's, fahaka, mbu, cross river, and a lot of SW puffs are like this too. They're just really intelligent animals. Another reason you want lots of objects in your tank is because they are intelligent and they are EXTREMELY curious. They'll get bored if they don't have new places to explore.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 06:06

Catsplosion: Aug 19, 2007; I am become Dwarf, the destroyer of cats.

My LFS has some dwarf puffers and they are really cute. They sit and stare at you when you look at them before swimming along the glass. I was intending on doing a dwarf cichlid / ram tank once I had sold my 4ft aquarium but I think I might have to do these little guys.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 09:47

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

I do love how they move like tiny little helicopters. :3:

# ? Oct 1, 2013 11:12

Extra Smooth Balls: Apr 13, 2005

SynthOrange posted:

I do love how they move like tiny little helicopters.

There were some in the shop when I was buying my minnows and was sorely tempted to get them instead. :3:

I'm currently toying with the idea of buying some corys because the bottom of my tank looks awfully empty.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 13:21

demonR6: Sep 4, 2012; There are too many stupid people in the world. I'm not saying we should kill them all or anything. Just take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself.; Lipstick Apathy

Extra Smooth Balls posted:

There were some in the shop when I was buying my minnows and was sorely tempted to get them instead.

I'm currently toying with the idea of buying some corys because the bottom of my tank looks awfully empty.

Buy a trio, hope you are lucky and they get busy right away and in a few months the bottom of your tank will look like mine. I think I counted 10 or 12 last time I checked.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 13:25

Extra Smooth Balls: Apr 13, 2005

demonR6 posted:

Buy a trio, hope you are lucky and they get busy right away and in a few months the bottom of your tank will look like mine. I think I counted 10 or 12 last time I checked.

Yeah, I think my local fish shop does a discount on multiples of social fish, which seems like a fairly good way of avoiding "lonely, stressed fish hiding at the back of the tank" syndrome.
I've been kind of toying with the idea of getting a female betta too, but realistically I'd need to crank the heat up too high for the minnows.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 13:31

Phantasium: Dec 27, 2012

When I was stuck with a little 5 gallon tank the only thing I felt comfortable putting in it was a couple pea puffers and an oto and jumped on that poo poo the second I saw them available in town. Basically everything everyone else has told you is fine, and I never really saw any fighting or anything, but even with just throwing a couple aponogeton bulbs in that small tank I couldn't find them half the time. Except when they were hungry, of course.

Also, I had regular rear end gravel in the bottom and it never seemed to be a problem.

Really nice to have little trashcans for the snails I had in my main tank at the time.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 14:43

les enfants Terrific!: Dec 12, 2008

Dwarf puffers are really awesome and I loved mine. :3:

Huge personalities in those little guys, right up there next to bettas.

I need some stocking/set-up help/suggestions!

edit: I could also submit the post before I'm ready, that's cool.

I have an empty 55 gallon that I've been wanting to stock with some sort of American cichlid. I've been pouring over information and researching constantly before and since I got the aquarium, but I want to be 100% certain I'm going in with everything I need.

I don't want a species tank, so something like a convict is probably out (I don't want to deal with pulling and homing thousands of fry besides) and I definitely don't want tank busters like an oscar where I could only maybe keep one comfortably.

So far I'm thinking the best setup for me would be something like 2-4? rams (bolivian rams look about right) and 4-6 angelfish at most, 1 or 2 bristlenose plecos, and a handful of cories and otos?

The only problem is I've been seeing mixed opinions on rams and how hard/easy they are to care for. Some people say they're near impossible to keep (??) some people say they're the easiest cichlid.

Really I want a second opinion before I make any sort of solid decision.

les enfants Terrific! fucked around with this message at 14:56 on Oct 1, 2013

# ? Oct 1, 2013 14:49

demonR6: Sep 4, 2012; There are too many stupid people in the world. I'm not saying we should kill them all or anything. Just take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself.; Lipstick Apathy

I have three German Blues in my 55.. not hard to keep at all. I feed them, they swim around. Don't know what else could be the problem. They get along the the schools of Celestial Pearl Danios and Cardinal Tetras also a pretty big school of cories, a couple of Otos, a clown loach and they don't even bother the shrimp in there. I have a few Amano and a badass ghost shrimp too.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 15:07

Slugworth: Feb 18, 2001; If two grown men can't make a pervert happy for a few minutes in order to watch a film about zombies, then maybe we should all just move to Iran!

I would suspect anyone having difficulty keeping rams is living in an area with hard water, such as myself. I have tried Bolivian and German rams, and my water is just too hard for the poor things. All other conditions being perfect, they just don't last more than a couple weeks. I tried Bolivians first, and then Germans because I was told they were hardier. No dice.

Such pretty fish, but I don't have the patience to be constantly fighting water hardness.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 16:18

les enfants Terrific!: Dec 12, 2008

Alright, awesome. I looked at my local water and it looks like it's at the softer end of moderate, so I think I'll be good to go as far as that's concerned. Thanks for the feedback.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 16:44

Extra Smooth Balls: Apr 13, 2005

Atasnaya Vaflja posted:

Alright, awesome. I looked at my local water and it looks like it's at the softer end of moderate, so I think I'll be good to go as far as that's concerned. Thanks for the feedback.

I have the opposite problem, the water round here is soft as hell. Not a huge problem for the fish I have but I really need to keep an eye on my snails.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 16:52

Nostalgia4Infinity: Feb 27, 2007; 10,000 YEARS WASN'T ENOUGH LURKING

My favorite guppy mama dropped her brood last night. Hope I get some interesting looking offspring! (The rest get sent off to my LFS)

# ? Oct 1, 2013 17:26

Chichevache: Feb 17, 2010; One of the funniest posters in GIP.

Just not intentionally.

I woke up this morning and found my lovely betta, Julian, outside of his tank. He's now a dry fish-chip in the garden. I don't know how he got out of the covered tank, but he did. Rest in peace you dumb bastard.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 22:12

dirtycajun: Aug 27, 2004; SUCKING DICKS AND SQUEEZING TITTIES

My rams are surviving fine in my acidic hard hot water, seem pretty happy too! Hard water might not be the only factor. My problem with algae has changed shape again but looks cool this time (dark green blanket on the bones has now overtaken the brown strand crap, I am fine with this)

# ? Oct 1, 2013 23:17

Nostalgia4Infinity: Feb 27, 2007; 10,000 YEARS WASN'T ENOUGH LURKING

Chichevache posted:

I woke up this morning and found my lovely betta, Julian, outside of his tank. He's now a dry fish-chip in the garden. I don't know how he got out of the covered tank, but he did. Rest in peace you dumb bastard.

I swear Bettas are like the cats of the fish world. Kinda dumb but incorrigible trouble makers.

# ? Oct 1, 2013 23:17

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

Same fate happened to one of my previous bettas. They dry up hard :smith:

# ? Oct 2, 2013 00:06

Aerofallosov: Oct 3, 2007; Friend to Fishes. Just keep swimming.

SynthOrange posted:

Same fate happened to one of my previous bettas. They dry up hard

Yeah, poor Samurai Sam. He was one of my first bettas and I swear he had a death wish. He loved to try to hop out of the tank. Sadly, one day he managed to get out through a gap between the lid and filter. My dad managed to see a very happy tabby cat bobbing out with a betta in its mouth.

# ? Oct 2, 2013 22:12

Dr. Despair: Nov 4, 2009; 39 perfect posts with each roll.

One of my tiger barbs had a death wish.

Finally jumped out of the tank through the 1" gap after 6+ months of trying. At least the cats didn't eat him I guess!

# ? Oct 2, 2013 22:52

FuriousxGeorge: Aug 8, 2007; We've been the best team all year.

They're just finding out.

Hey folks, I have some newbie questions about stocking a ten gallon if you have a minute.

First, how I got here. A while back I was at the Polish American festival here in town and they have kind of a carnival thing going on. I had a few Polish beers and a happy polka vibe in me. I saw this toss a ping pong ball to win some goldfish thing and recalled some happy memories with having goldfish for a while when I was a kid. Anyway, I have ridiculous luck at rigged carnival games so I won a couple goldfish with my $5 bucket of balls I probably could have just bought for a dollar at a fish store. I thought I would drop them in a bowl for a while and they would live their natural lives.

Well, I kind of have some serious moral standards about proper treatment of animals so as soon as I got home I researched proper goldfish care and realized I had messed up big time and was not at all prepared to give them the long term care they would require if they lived. Realizing they would outgrow it if they survived but short on funds, I haphazardly bought a ten gallon tank and some supplies but despite the best efforts I could give they died in a week. They had some black sores and stuff on them from the start so I figure they were already doomed. I'm kind of really pissed I paid money to what is a pretty abusive carnival game with no redeeming features. The festival is held at a Church so I'm gonna send a letter asking them not to host this game anymore out of respect for life, but I assume I will just come off like a PETA nut for caring about goldfish so whatever.

Anyway, since I had the tank anyway and I find the hobby interesting I've been working to research and set up the tank right and host some fish long term. I've been doing a fishless cycle for a few weeks and should be ready to put some fish in some time soon. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to put in it though, which would be good for a beginner. (And I have noted all the advice that a beginner should not start with a ten gallon, but I am stuck with what I bought so I am being very careful to try and do everything right to compensate.)

Most of the guides online I have found suggest Corys in like every configuration, but the advice I have read on them suggests they are not happy in tanks with gravel. I bought the generic colored aquarium gravel when I had the doomed goldfish and don't really want to replace it since money is tight and I can't return it at this point. Then they suggest a bunch of stuff like:

quote:

1 Male Sparkling Gourami, 2 Female Sparkling Gouramis

quote:

1 Male Honey Gourami, 1 Female Honey Gourami

But then I browse fish stores online and they never seem to separate them out to sell by gender.

So anyway, I'm looking for a basic newbie stocking suggestion here. I don't want anything complicated with fishies breeding or fighting each other. I know one male Betta or a single school of something like tetras would work good, but I am interested in a little more variety. Should I back down from that for a first attempt? Any advice would be great, thanks for reading.

# ? Oct 3, 2013 08:08

Extra Smooth Balls: Apr 13, 2005

FuriousxGeorge posted:

Hey folks, I have some newbie questions about stocking a ten gallon if you have a minute.

First, how I got here. A while back I was at the Polish American festival here in town and they have kind of a carnival thing going on. I had a few Polish beers and a happy polka vibe in me. I saw this toss a ping pong ball to win some goldfish thing and recalled some happy memories with having goldfish for a while when I was a kid. Anyway, I have ridiculous luck at rigged carnival games so I won a couple goldfish with my $5 bucket of balls I probably could have just bought for a dollar at a fish store. I thought I would drop them in a bowl for a while and they would live their natural lives.

Well, I kind of have some serious moral standards about proper treatment of animals so as soon as I got home I researched proper goldfish care and realized I had messed up big time and was not at all prepared to give them the long term care they would require if they lived. Realizing they would outgrow it if they survived but short on funds, I haphazardly bought a ten gallon tank and some supplies but despite the best efforts I could give they died in a week. They had some black sores and stuff on them from the start so I figure they were already doomed. I'm kind of really pissed I paid money to what is a pretty abusive carnival game with no redeeming features. The festival is held at a Church so I'm gonna send a letter asking them not to host this game anymore out of respect for life, but I assume I will just come off like a PETA nut for caring about goldfish so whatever.

Anyway, since I had the tank anyway and I find the hobby interesting I've been working to research and set up the tank right and host some fish long term. I've been doing a fishless cycle for a few weeks and should be ready to put some fish in some time soon. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to put in it though, which would be good for a beginner. (And I have noted all the advice that a beginner should not start with a ten gallon, but I am stuck with what I bought so I am being very careful to try and do everything right to compensate.)

Most of the guides online I have found suggest Corys in like every configuration, but the advice I have read on them suggests they are not happy in tanks with gravel. I bought the generic colored aquarium gravel when I had the doomed goldfish and don't really want to replace it since money is tight and I can't return it at this point. Then they suggest a bunch of stuff like:

But then I browse fish stores online and they never seem to separate them out to sell by gender.

So anyway, I'm looking for a basic newbie stocking suggestion here. I don't want anything complicated with fishies breeding or fighting each other. I know one male Betta or a single school of something like tetras would work good, but I am interested in a little more variety. Should I back down from that for a first attempt? Any advice would be great, thanks for reading.

Silly question but I assume you have a heater and a filter, right?

# ? Oct 3, 2013 08:17

Chichevache: Feb 17, 2010; One of the funniest posters in GIP.

Just not intentionally.

FuriousxGeorge posted:

Hey folks, I have some newbie questions about stocking a ten gallon if you have a minute.

First, how I got here. A while back I was at the Polish American festival here in town and they have kind of a carnival thing going on. I had a few Polish beers and a happy polka vibe in me. I saw this toss a ping pong ball to win some goldfish thing and recalled some happy memories with having goldfish for a while when I was a kid. Anyway, I have ridiculous luck at rigged carnival games so I won a couple goldfish with my $5 bucket of balls I probably could have just bought for a dollar at a fish store. I thought I would drop them in a bowl for a while and they would live their natural lives.

Well, I kind of have some serious moral standards about proper treatment of animals so as soon as I got home I researched proper goldfish care and realized I had messed up big time and was not at all prepared to give them the long term care they would require if they lived. Realizing they would outgrow it if they survived but short on funds, I haphazardly bought a ten gallon tank and some supplies but despite the best efforts I could give they died in a week. They had some black sores and stuff on them from the start so I figure they were already doomed. I'm kind of really pissed I paid money to what is a pretty abusive carnival game with no redeeming features. The festival is held at a Church so I'm gonna send a letter asking them not to host this game anymore out of respect for life, but I assume I will just come off like a PETA nut for caring about goldfish so whatever.

Anyway, since I had the tank anyway and I find the hobby interesting I've been working to research and set up the tank right and host some fish long term. I've been doing a fishless cycle for a few weeks and should be ready to put some fish in some time soon. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to put in it though, which would be good for a beginner. (And I have noted all the advice that a beginner should not start with a ten gallon, but I am stuck with what I bought so I am being very careful to try and do everything right to compensate.)

Most of the guides online I have found suggest Corys in like every configuration, but the advice I have read on them suggests they are not happy in tanks with gravel. I bought the generic colored aquarium gravel when I had the doomed goldfish and don't really want to replace it since money is tight and I can't return it at this point. Then they suggest a bunch of stuff like:

But then I browse fish stores online and they never seem to separate them out to sell by gender.

So anyway, I'm looking for a basic newbie stocking suggestion here. I don't want anything complicated with fishies breeding or fighting each other. I know one male Betta or a single school of something like tetras would work good, but I am interested in a little more variety. Should I back down from that for a first attempt? Any advice would be great, thanks for reading.

If you have a decent filter and heater you could try dwarf cichlids. A pair of German Rams would probably be ok if you break up the scenery a bit. There are other dwarf cichlids as well, but rams are relatively inexpensive and pretty common.

# ? Oct 3, 2013 08:34

JuffoWup: Mar 28, 2012

FuriousxGeorge posted:

Hey folks, I have some newbie questions about stocking a ten gallon if you have a minute.

First, how I got here. A while back I was at the Polish American festival here in town and they have kind of a carnival thing going on. I had a few Polish beers and a happy polka vibe in me. I saw this toss a ping pong ball to win some goldfish thing and recalled some happy memories with having goldfish for a while when I was a kid. Anyway, I have ridiculous luck at rigged carnival games so I won a couple goldfish with my $5 bucket of balls I probably could have just bought for a dollar at a fish store. I thought I would drop them in a bowl for a while and they would live their natural lives.

Well, I kind of have some serious moral standards about proper treatment of animals so as soon as I got home I researched proper goldfish care and realized I had messed up big time and was not at all prepared to give them the long term care they would require if they lived. Realizing they would outgrow it if they survived but short on funds, I haphazardly bought a ten gallon tank and some supplies but despite the best efforts I could give they died in a week. They had some black sores and stuff on them from the start so I figure they were already doomed. I'm kind of really pissed I paid money to what is a pretty abusive carnival game with no redeeming features. The festival is held at a Church so I'm gonna send a letter asking them not to host this game anymore out of respect for life, but I assume I will just come off like a PETA nut for caring about goldfish so whatever.

Anyway, since I had the tank anyway and I find the hobby interesting I've been working to research and set up the tank right and host some fish long term. I've been doing a fishless cycle for a few weeks and should be ready to put some fish in some time soon. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to put in it though, which would be good for a beginner. (And I have noted all the advice that a beginner should not start with a ten gallon, but I am stuck with what I bought so I am being very careful to try and do everything right to compensate.)

Most of the guides online I have found suggest Corys in like every configuration, but the advice I have read on them suggests they are not happy in tanks with gravel. I bought the generic colored aquarium gravel when I had the doomed goldfish and don't really want to replace it since money is tight and I can't return it at this point. Then they suggest a bunch of stuff like:

But then I browse fish stores online and they never seem to separate them out to sell by gender.

So anyway, I'm looking for a basic newbie stocking suggestion here. I don't want anything complicated with fishies breeding or fighting each other. I know one male Betta or a single school of something like tetras would work good, but I am interested in a little more variety. Should I back down from that for a first attempt? Any advice would be great, thanks for reading.

To go with what others have said, assuming a good filter and heater, cover the intake with a piece of sponge filter media or even just wrap it with a bit of nylon hosery and get shrimp. Shrimp won't be affected by the gravel and will be good as cories. They won't have as much personality as them though.

# ? Oct 3, 2013 08:42

FuriousxGeorge: Aug 8, 2007; We've been the best team all year.

They're just finding out.

Extra Smooth Balls posted:

Silly question but I assume you have a heater and a filter, right?

Yeah, got 'em and the API water test kit to track the cycling progress and water quality after I add fish.

quote:

If you have a decent filter and heater you could try dwarf cichlids. A pair of German Rams would probably be ok if you break up the scenery a bit. There are other dwarf cichlids as well, but rams are relatively inexpensive and pretty common.

I'll look into that, thanks!

# ? Oct 3, 2013 08:43

Whale Cancer: Jun 25, 2004

There are a lot of good choices for a beginner. Dwarf gourami's, zebra danios, mollies, platys, endlers livebearers, guppies, a wide variety of tetras, bettas. My advice is go look around at your local fish shops and find something you like and then go home and read about it.

# ? Oct 3, 2013 16:10

Desert Bus: May 9, 2004; Take 1 tablet by mouth daily.

Yes, my tanks are dirty. Yes, I fed just before these pics were taken. And yes, I'm not editing a single one of them.

Monster, my 11" Poly Endli:

Monster and his friend the 4-5" Syno eruptus:

4-5" Syno eruptus (Featherfin Catfish):

Four more pics of Monster (the only fish I've currently named, fucker has eaten hundreds of dollars worth of other fish, and is really interested in my fingers):

4" Albino Poly senegalus, in the 29 where Monster can't eat it:

I don't remember what this type of Gourami is called, and it's 5am, so gently caress if I care. It's pretty:

Two more Pics of the Albino Poly senegalus doing its thing:

Two pics of the Poly ansorgii, also in the 29, safe from Monster eating it. Also about 4":

Did someone say South American Bumblebee Catfish? No? Too bad. Here's the only one of three that agreed to be photographed at this time of night:

And to finish off, Monster again:

Yes, water changes are happening tomorrow, and I'm even going to upgrade the filtration in Monster's tank. I'm going to be sad when I have to sell him once he gets 3" larger, but the Poly ansorgii should turn into a new monster for me to enjoy.

# ? Oct 4, 2013 11:27

JuffoWup: Mar 28, 2012

Desert Bus posted:

I don't remember what this type of Gourami is called, and it's 5am, so gently caress if I care. It's pretty:

Dwarf Flame Gourami. I was actually dancing between a plain dwarf, flame, or powder blue. Decided on the plain myself. Pretty little fish.

As for my fish update, things are in a state of flux. The previous aquascape was causing some troubles I just couldn't correct (and looking over other materials, it would appear I was also doing some other things incorrectly). So the the tank got tore down and is rebooting currently with the driftwood now properly on their sides. As such, the poor fish that remained are hanging out in a bucket with a filter, heater, and little clip led light. So far, no problems and they've been eating without any effort which makes me happy. The filter sponges I was using were put in the bucket to help seed things which I think has helped (they naturally end up on the edges which the cpds are enjoying as a hiding spot between the bucket and the sponge).

JuffoWup fucked around with this message at 12:14 on Oct 4, 2013

# ? Oct 4, 2013 12:06

demonR6: Sep 4, 2012; There are too many stupid people in the world. I'm not saying we should kill them all or anything. Just take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself.; Lipstick Apathy

Five bucks if you film the monster going after your fingers and another five if it latches on to one (or more) and we get full video of you struggling to free yourself from it. Screaming in pain and blood may get another few dollars depending on the authenticity and level of pain.

Desert Bus posted:

Four more pics of Monster (the only fish I've currently named, fucker has eaten hundreds of dollars worth of other fish, and is really interested in my fingers):

# ? Oct 4, 2013 14:05

Desert Bus: May 9, 2004; Take 1 tablet by mouth daily.

demonR6 posted:

Five bucks if you film the monster going after your fingers and another five if it latches on to one (or more) and we get full video of you struggling to free yourself from it. Screaming in pain and blood may get another few dollars depending on the authenticity and level of pain.

The next time my friend stops by with her camera, I'll see what I can do about playing the "Gee that finger looks edible!" game, no payment necessary. Bichirs clamp down on their prey, crushing it in their jaws, and then do a crocodile style death roll. No real teeth to speak of, so I doubt we'll get much in the way of blood. A lifetime of crippling physical pain means I probably won't react with much more than surprise though, sorry.

Ask Fusillade, her Endli has a few inches on mine, which means it's quite a bit thicker, has a lot more muscle, and a larger mouth. I'll still give it a shot though, maybe even stop feeding it for a few days and rub my fingers with some fish food.

I think she said hers is significantly less interested in her fingers than mine is though.

# ? Oct 4, 2013 14:31

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# ? May 11, 2024 11:12

demonR6: Sep 4, 2012; There are too many stupid people in the world. I'm not saying we should kill them all or anything. Just take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself.; Lipstick Apathy

I used to work front desk at a resort that had a huge saltwater tank with a fake reef and all sorts of flora and fauna. The guy who used to feed the fish in the mornings left and I inherited the job. The guy who maintained the aquarium gave me a complete how-to on feeding everything and I was doing great. The tank was big, you had to climb up using 8 foot ladder to them climb over the hood and there was a catwalk you would walk over and get the food ready and do the feedings from there. In the mornings there was always a few guests who would come in and watch the feeding and ask random questions about the tank and stuff. One morning there was this really attractive young woman who was there watching me feed the fish and me being the player I was at that time was talking to her and not paying attention.

Well, there were a couple of Stars and Stripes puffers in there, one was a rather large one at that but both highly competitive for the shrimp that I would feed them. The fish guy advised me to use the stick to feed the puffers and never ever try hand feeding them. Did you know that fingers look like shrimp to a puffer? Yeah, so talking to new hotness I lost focus and left my hand too close to the water. Next thing I know the large puffer leaps out of the water latching on to my index and middle fingers. If you have seen a Stars and Stripes puffer it has large front teeth like a beak.. and these were sharp. You probably get an idea what I was experiencing but it was not nearly as bad as what happens next as described by my co-workers who were behind the front desk watching this unfold.

In pain I naturally screamed out bloody murder, actually like a girl someone said but that is besides the fact. I jumped up with puffer firmly latched on its shrimp meal and not able to get it off I did the only thing you or I would do in this situation since fish guy never briefed me on that. I bashed the fucker against the side of the hood repeatedly. I am already at a disadvantage because I am perched on this catwalk trying not to fall in, I have this fish dead set on eating my fingers, I am in a world of pain and the hot young woman is now terrorized probably after watching this unfold. After what seemed like an eternity of me smashing this poor creature against the tank hood it let go, my fingers bloody (oh yes we had small sharks there as well now circling the surface in a frenzy) and the front desk in chaos from my steady stream of curse words and all around panic. I climbed out and someone handed me a pool towel to wrap my fingers in and we went to first aid. The fish they said fell back in, blew up like a balloon and dazed from being beaten senseless floated down into a corner between some coral where it eventually un-inflated.

I ended up with a trip to a walk-in clinic and eventually needed stitches on both due to the injury and have the scars to prove it. I never saw the woman again, I think that was a sign. Workmen's comp covered the expenses ironically for the fish attack and that is how they wrote it up too.

Needless to say I will never, ever stick my hand near water where something may try to eat my fingers again.

True story, you cannot make this poo poo up, plus I have scars.

EDIT: also the FD people said all they could see was me making a commotion, screaming and heard something go thump thump against the hood with no idea what the hell was going on until they saw the blood in the water and the puffer fall back in, inflated and sinking to the bottom.

demonR6 fucked around with this message at 15:49 on Oct 4, 2013

# ? Oct 4, 2013 15:45

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