Kind neighbour given me a 75 litre fish tank...

[ButWhyIsTheGinGone]

I can't not use it as she rescued it from a house clearance, knowing how much I like fish!
Problems:
It's old. It's a Clear Seal hexagon thing, capacity 75/80 litres. The lid is a horrid flimsy plastic, and due to modifications by previous owners, there don't appear to be any light fixtures.

So, what would you lot suggest I do with it? I have seen odd, submersible LED lights on Ebay...would these be sufficient to light it? And what interesting fish can I keep in it? Would you even use it? I know I've got plenty of time to wonder about fish, as ages of cycling to get through first, but I don't want to cycle it then decide it's not really usuable...

Thanks!

If it holds water and hasn't been used to store chemicals then it should be fine! You could give it a good scrub and use a weak bleach solution to clean it if you want to be sure (rinse it loads!)

You can get lights that clip on to the side of the glass. Does it have a condensation cover? If it's a clearseal then you should be able to find spare parts for it.

Thanks! It looks as though it's held fish as there are a few bits of pink gravel at the bottom. Is the condensation cover the clear plastic ridgey thing? If so, then yes. I will have a look tomorrow fo clip on light things but worried the awkward shape will make it difficult. Each side is only about 25cm in length.

Ooh how exciting!

I rigged up my own "moonlight" for a small hexagonal tank using a little cold cathode tube from Maplins. If you have a soldering iron and like DIY that's a fun, cheap project. I found that a miniature Ferraro Rocher box made a good 'case' and sealed it with normal sealant as my condensation tray was also DIY and not a perfect fit.

As long as you're not planning a mega planted tank you only need enough light to see the fishes with so mini LED lights should be fine. Submersible ones look great if you have an airstone running as they light up the bubbles. A clip on one would be cheaper and it would just be a case of fitting it between tray and hood IYSWIM.

I think clearseal sell hoods separately if yours has been chopped up, but always strike me as quite pricey for what they are!

Something else you might want to bear in min with a hex tank is that they are "tall" with a lower surface area so you may want to understock slightly and make sure you don't have all surface feeding fish.

Thanks Grumpala! A lot of advice and ideas there, though DIY is definitly not my forte. I think I will see what my local petshop does in the way of submersible, air-blowing light things. The lit up bubble sound lovely.

What kind of unusual tropical fish could I keep in a tank like this? I 'm intending to have one live plant and a couple of ornaments but nothing kore really. I have community tanks which I love, but I'd love to keep a pair of something really interesting...

As an aside (for anyone who is remotely interested!) my cute peppered cory is laying eggs 2 feet from my head! I;ve never, ever seen any of my fish give birth before! It's so weird, the male and female keep pinning eachother down - I REALLY wish I'd realised she was due so I could have separated them. I doubt any will survive - not with that bloody gourami in there...

Depends on water parameters but size-wise it would be suitable for a pair of peacock gobies.

Ooooh congratulations ButWhy!

Can't you hoick them out and stick them in another tank? I love Corys

By the way OP I've ordered from these guys before Rocket Aquatics and they have both clip on and submersible lights

Eau - they are GORGEOUS! I have never kept gobys but will have a read-up.
Grumpala - thanks for the link, will have a good look tomorrow morning.
The Cory is literally spewing eggs, it's so interesting to watch. She kind of pins the male down for a few seconds then when she lets him go loads of eggs fall out of her! They are everywhere.
I do feel fairly awful leaving them there...I do have a spare tank, but no spare heater. Would it need to be heated? Honestly, she must have laid hundreds now, where has she been keeping them all???

Oh f* (sorry!) I think I'm going to have to write off this poor batch. Just noticed Mr Blue Platy hoovering them up at a rate of knots!

It's a bit chilly not to be heated

Er... What else is in the tank? Could you float a perforated Tupperware in there with a spawning mop?!? Or you could isolate the gourami if that's the most likely eggnapper?

Perhaps someone else with more experience of breeding has some bright ideas?

Oh bums.

Still, if they've bred once you might get another chance???

I think I will have to get a small breeding tank - I've never done the whole breeding thing before. I noticed she was getting big, especially round the chest area, weirdly, and I did a massive clean and 60% or so water change on Saturday. Wonder if that helped. I am actually going to kill the platy - it keeps looking at me defiantly and plucking egg after egg off the gravel..grrr! :-)
Right, I must go to bed - I can see this hobby getting more expensive by the day! I started out exactly one year ago with a 27 litre crappy Pets at Home "starter tank!" Haha...

Sounds like you're hooked

I've raised fish before in one of those little breeding nets but they are only really practical if you've got a handful- if you've got a whole batch of eggs then you'll need a separate tank. Before you go raising tons of baby fish though make sure you've got someone to take them off your hands- you won't get any money for them (unless you're raising zebra loaches) but it's interesting and baby fish are very cute.

Morning!
Had a good look around the tank this morning and sadly most of them seem to have disappeared. I shall be prepared next time!
Weirdly, I was having my coffee about an hour ago and noticed my black moors having some kind of frenzy in one of the plants in my other tank! I looked over and there were a load of eggs all over the plant - I didn't see who laid them - but I assume the albino corys. Sadly they are all gone as well. This tank could easily fit a breeder trap thing in it - as soon as I get a bloody car I will get down the aquatics shop!

Your's right - I am hooked. Oh dear! Incidentally - why do people pay for Zebra loaches and not other fish? Are they particularly hard to breed? I would LOVE for my weather loaches to breed but apparently it's nigh on impossible...

Doh, I meant zebra plecs, not zebra loaches. It's because they're pretty and unlike most plecs they stay tiny. They used to sell for about £300 each but I think they've come down in price a fair bit since hobby fishkeepers started breeding them.

Anyway, your eggs this morning- I think they are likely to be goldfish eggs if they are scattered everywhere. Corys tend to stick their eggs in little bundles, often on the glass or underneath a leaf, whereas goldfish just 'explode' and they go everywhere.

Yep, never heard of weather loaches breeding in an aquarium setting. If you wanted to breed them then you might have more luck with an indoor pond. If you can figure out a way to persuade your DH that it's a good idea, let me know

Goldfish eggs - hmm, that makes sense actually as since the caviar frenzy they are behaving really oddly: The seem to be chasing the (ahem) rear end of one of them like in some kind of convoy! They have uprooted the bloody plant.

No DH to persuade on the pond front, but I have a solicitor landlady who would be less than impressed. As soon as I own my own home, I can see that being a living room necessity! :-)

Just googled the Zebra Plec - they are brilliant - never seen them before.

Oh I would so love an indoor pond.

One of those ones with the windows on the side would look particularly good in my non-existent conservatory orangery. I think I'd still run it as a tropical tank though! With loads of planting round the sides to make it even more jungly. And possibly a hydroponic filter system with the plants and all, I've always fancied having a go with one of those

I'm feeling very deprived at the moment, only got my goldies and minnows hoping to set up a new tropical tank as soon as I've had this baby and saved some money. My dad's already built me a gorgeous stand for it in my lounge! Although DH may currently be labouring under the misapprehension that it is merely a strangely reinforced shelf

Ah yes, arse biting is definitely goldfish foreplay. They do get quite boisterous, I had to treat mine for injuries a couple of times

Grumpla, your indoor pond idea is the same as mine. I've got it all planned. I just need to win the lottery first, or I will have to just stick to putting a houseplant on top of my 12 gallon tank. Something like <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=open+top+aquarium&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1675&bih=866&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=mhT0C7rGbaa4fM:&imgrefurl=www.tuncalik.com/2010/01/indoor-plants-for-water-purification-in-aquariums/&docid=5hp8AlLO1oEfVM&imgurl=www.tuncalik.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/IMG_1268_w800m.jpg&w=800&h=627&ei=9YE6T_CCE4iw8QP19-X6Cg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=282&sig=115937490078985707217&page=2&tbnh=153&tbnw=189&start=28&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:28&tx=40&ty=114" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this would be quite cool.

Oooooooooooh! That looks cool .

You know what it needs though? A cliff and a waterfall.

And the cliff and the waterfall could be in a separate tank and you could have FROGS in it!!!!!

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=paludarium&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1675&bih=866&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=VPJiAH6OfQ00cM:&imgrefurl=www.paludariums.net/pictures.php&docid=y_oBls4hdbNw_M&imgurl=www.paludariums.net/img/paludarium2.jpg&w=850&h=347&ei=sU6T-4F8fW8gPJ5bz9Cg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=487&sig=115937490078985707217&page=1&tbnh=86&tbnw=211&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=77&ty=32" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ooh, look. And <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=riparium&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1675&bih=866&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=rwWZk1UxRLQmEM:&imgrefurl=www.aquascapingworld.com/forum/aquascaping-showcase/5999-riparium-mother-nature.html&docid=ISS8cjE6TzPiXM&imgurl=www.aquascapingworld.com/forum/members/-serok--albums-riparium-mother-nature-picture879-totale.jpg&w=600&h=371&ei=u8U6T_6aOpKV8gOk07XmCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=217&sig=115937490078985707217&page=3&tbnh=162&tbnw=234&start=61&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:30,s:61&tx=12&ty=115" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this. I'm going to be googling all night now.