SO EXCITED!! NEWBIE and loving it.

[NoWittyName]

We were given a 130 litre tank months ago, but did not have the money to buy filter, light, heater etc to get it started up....but then I got money back from overpaying tax!!! I know!! Never heard of such a thing!

So we set it all up...waited patiently...and today we bought our first fish!
6 zebra danios and 4 tiger barbs.

Got them from a fantastic shop (won lots of awards and v knowledgeable) and am now having to wait until next week before we can add more. Loving it already and cannot wait to get some more in there!!

Just wanted to share!
xx

Having looked on a few sites and google image I think it's a trumpet snail.

If it came in with the plants then it's like to be some kind of physa- shops normally charge for trumpet snails but you might have got lucky and got a freebie

Anyway, snails are an inevitable part of keeping fish. As long as you don't overfeed your fish then they shouldn't become a problem. If you need to get rid of some then the best thing to do is stick a lettuce leaf in the tank overnight and then in the morning when it's covered in snails, take it out and chuck it in your compost bin. Don't be tempted to use any kind of chemical snail killer; lots of dead snails at once= massive ammonia spike.

As long as it's not hideously poisonous or carnivorous then I'm happy to just wait and see what happens! Possibly it's too small to match to a picture at moment, because it definitely looks more pointy than the physa pictures I can find.

Thank you so much for replying! Hope you're well.
xxx

It will get 6 feet long and devour the contents of your fridge while you're out.

Nah, most of them stay small and they are all harmless to people. Just don't eat it.

...and there I was getting out the parsley and garlic...

Plant question for anyone still out there....

Is it only fish you shouldn't buy from Pets at Home, or is it anything? Need a couple more plants and would prefer not to have to drive an hour round trip to get them if it's not necessary. Can I just get them from PaH? I'll do the trip if I need to.

Thanks
xx

Never bought plants from P@H but I know a lot of shops sell plants that aren't really aquatic, so they end up rotting and dying. You can order online, I've bought from here before and they are pretty good. I got a bargain surplus pack, you don't know what you're getting but they are so cheap.

How big is your tank again? Vallis, elodea, cryptocrynes, anubias and java fern are all very easy to grow.

130l. I have a few plants, but as they were the first thing that went in I wasn't sure what to do with them and some of them came out of their little pot things so want to replace.

They are meant to come out of their pots You plant them in the gravel/sand and then their roots spread. If you buy them in a bunch with a little weight on them then you separate them out and poke the individual stalks into the gravel, then they grow roots.

Vallis and elodea probably get a bit big for 130l, you could try twisted vallis which is a bit smaller, and amazon swords. Cryptocrynes would work too.

Have you got any plant fertiliser underneath your sand/gravel? If not then your plants might benefit from some root tablets, you just poke them into the gravel around the base of the plant to give them a bit of a boost.

Hmmm. From what I understand the potted ones that I bought stay in their pots (they're mini things) and you just bury the pots (which have open bases) in the clay gravel stuff rather than the normal gravel - I amaze myself with my technical language and knowledge! . Does that make sense? The site you sent me also seems to do the potted stuff which you can put in in the pots. Will look at twisted vallis and amazon swords.

Just been to visit hubbies grandma in care home and saw something which made me so sad. They have a two tall tanks with goldfish in. The fish in one tank were beautiful, but in the other tank there were a couple obviously suffering from something horrible. They had what looked like large ulcers in their sides. It was really horrible to see. I mentioned it to one of the staff and they said they were aware. :( :( I just wonder whether being aware means they're going to do something about it. :( :( It really was horrible.

You could keep them in the pots but they are usually packed in pretty tight so they'd outgrow them quite quickly. If you take them out and gently separate out any separate plants then they will have the space to bulk out a bit.

That's sad about the fish in the nursing home :( I wonder if they've asked anyone for help. Is there an aquatic club near you?

Perhaps when I buy more I'll try to take them out - I'm so worried about ripping the roots!

I assume the tanks must be cleaned etc. by someone or a company so I just hope they are responsible.

Thanks for your continued help - are you a full-time MN aquatics mentor or do they let you out of the fishnet cupboard every once in a while?

It's a good idea to trim roots when you plant new plants into the substrate- it encourages growth so they become established more quickly. They're also easier to plant. You can get aquarium gardening kits that have sharp scissors and long-handled tweezers for planting.

I'm just a geek Sometimes I do stray into other forums, if there isn't too much sunlight or too many people.

I helped out once with a fish tank at a nursing home- it was just being looked after by a relative of one of the residents. If there are any local aquatic clubs or fish geeks then I'm sure one of them would be willing to help.

Interesting thought - will perhaps try to research local aquatic groups.

Well I for one am very pleased you're a geek!

Hi Eau (as opposed to hi ho..sorry)

Do you have any knowledge of Red Myriophyllum or Red Bacopa. Have been looking at aquatic plants online and they look gorgeous!

I think I had some normal bacopa once but my goldfish ate it before it had a chance. They were greedy buggers. This site has a lot of profiles of different plants, you might find it helpful if you're trying to choose.

This may sound ridiculous but we seem to have fishie babies!?!? How can this be? (beyond the birds and the bees talk).

Our tank originally has a semi-closed off area at the back where I think the filter stuff was placed originally, and when I was doing a water change this evening I noticed some movement in this area. There are definitely some living beings back there. They look like v small v slim fish, and the only alternative I can think of is some kind of larvae but they really do seem like baby fish although my brain is telling me they can't be! Can they be?? Am very confused!

Number one and I did notice some mini-pearl like things on the leaves of some of the plants a while ago, but then they disappeared so I thought nothing of it. Could they have been eggs? Could I be a proud fishie mummy without knowing it??

EauRouge is indeed mumsnet's very own the fish expert geek She has helped me out a lot!

Thanks for the plant website link, will order some from there. 50 plants for £6.45 is a bargain!

EauRouge....I need you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here I am

OK, what fish do you have again? Is it still just the danios and barbs? Danios are more likely to breed than the barbs and the pearly things you saw do sound like eggs.

Can you describe the things in more detail or did you only get a glance of them?

Phew! The fishy saviour has arrived!

We also have neon rainbow fish and cardinal tetras. I can't remember when the 'pearls' were there but they were just like miniscule globs of glowing light (!) They were stuck to the fronds of one of the plants, but I can't even remember how long it was until they had gone.

What should I do with them? Should I leave them where they are until they mature a bit? I have no doubt that the tiger barbs would have a nice snack if they were put in the main part of the tank now. I feel awful leaving them back there as there is nothing there and I never put food there, but they've obviously survived this long so should I just leave it as it is? Eek!

It could have been bubbles on the plants, they release oxygen bubbles under the right conditions.

Bubbles

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=danio+eggs&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1675&bih=850&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=VVo4dvml5Fxx1M:&imgrefurl=flickriver.com/photos/tags/sonycybershotdscw55/&docid=LZ9dMv9P76thSM&imgurl=farm6.static.flickr.com/5084/5253738838_39e0700e69.jpg&w=500&h=375&ei=XBZfT5boOKiy0QWdruSaBw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=421&sig=115937490078985707217&page=1&tbnh=152&tbnw=202&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0&tx=83&ty=120Danio" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">eggs

Keep an eye out because they may or may not be baby fish- baby fish would be lovely of course, but if they are dragonfly larva or similar then you need to get rid before they get big because they will try to eat small fish.

Gosh I'm just not sure. :(

I've looked online at images of aquatic insect larvae and they don't look anything like those (definitely no legs at the moment). Will keep an eye on them so they don't start gobbling up my little lovelies.

THANKS as ever.

The only other thing I can think of is that it's a tadpole but it's a bit early in the year for that. I've heard of it happening before that someone has bought plants and they had newt eggs on them.

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=newt+eggs&start=64&num=10&hl=en&biw=1675&bih=850&tbm=isch&tbnid=TSyyPf1D9Nn3iM:&imgrefurl=www.davebentleyecology.co.uk/57.html&docid=5idv9AxJQJXEDM&imgurl=www.davebentleyecology.co.uk/images/Newt_eggs.JPG%253F475&w=379&h=293&ei=LSBfT8SlF-ao0AXgiLWoBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1381&vpy=460&dur=2969&hovh=197&hovw=255&tx=169&ty=120&sig=115937490078985707217&sqi=2&page=3&tbnh=151&tbnw=202&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:64" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Newt egg

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=newt+tadpoles&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1675&bih=850&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsfd&tbnid=SEgEvmRx7w7GiM:&imgrefurl=www.friendsofwarnhamlnr.org.uk/pondlife.html&docid=O4KjKx4001NUzM&imgurl=www.friendsofwarnhamlnr.org.uk/images/pondlife/amphibia/newt1.JPG&w=640&h=480&ei=OB5fT8-mO8aN0AXWs_j3Bg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=191&vpy=326&dur=4435&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=147&ty=63&sig=115937490078985707217&page=1&tbnh=151&tbnw=201&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Newt tadpole

They are probably danios though. If your tank has lots of plants, especially fine-leaved ones like java moss, then that will give them a good chance.

We have some lovely fine leaved plants, so here's hoping! (But they're in the back part of the tank and not with the rest of the fish). Quite like the sound of some newts hanging around!

How long do you reckon it will be before I can really tell what they are?