setting up a fishtank for tropical fish?

[shelley72]

well after a couple of months without fish after our fantail died, we have been thinking of buying a heater and converting our tank (only 60l) to a tropical tank.

i went to our local aquatic centre this morning to ask advice about how best to do this, how to cycle the tank and what type of fish (and how many) would be suitable. i didnt believe their answers so will ask here!

firstly i was told that all i need to do was put water, tapsafe, switch everything on and leave the tank for a week before buying fish. apparently we can have about 15 fish (guppies/platys/neons) in there. that seems a lot to me.

so how can we cycle the tank - i want to leave it as long as possible before introducing any fish. my friend does also have a tropical tank but she lives miles away and so i dont think i would be able to have any of her filter material. what else could i use to get it going?

and what type of fish would you suggest starting with? something small and pretty would be nice and we would be happy with just a couple as long as they were happy. i think 15 in a 60l tank is too many. are there any particular types that dont get on?

as i say i am still in the researching stage - nothing has been bought yet!
thank you

What is the surface area of your tank? Number of fish depends on oxygen levels which depends on surface area, as well as volume of water. A tall, narrow tank can't hold as many fish as a shallower, longer tank of the same volume.

Bear in mind that guppies and platys are livebearers which means that if your tank conditions are good, you might get lots of babies! Guppies have also been bred to produce better tails (the males) and are not as hardy as they once were.

Harlequin rasboras are quite a nice starter fish. Have you got soft or hard water?

Hi, i have a 60ltr tank, no way i could fit 15 guppies in it though, at the moment i have 7 guppies and a bristle nose plec and it looks full (could probably fit a couple more guppies in at a push). I would say 8 -10 guppies (max) or tetra's. Plecs are not ideal for a small tank (ours poo's a lot and he's only small).

I find tropical fish much easier than goldfish, we have had a few deaths but they are quite easy to look after as long as you do regular water changes, they dont make as much waste as goldfish do. Please make sure you cycle the tank propaly though or you will loose your first fish withing a couple weeks (we did this after poor advice from a aquatic shop). Guppies are quite easy to look after as our tetras. I would go for male gupies unless you want to end up with babbies and lots of tanks all over the house to hold them in (like me).

Thanks for the replies, its a biorb (not ideal I've heard) so bit unsure of the exact surface area. The heater is on its way, I feel I need to get the cycling right. I just didn't believe the fish shop saying I can plug in leave a week and start adding fish.

So three or four guppies, couple of tetras would be ok do you think? Which do I introduce first and how many? Have had problems with goldfish this year (after 5 years with no issues) so I want to set it up carefully. and will try and get males, though my friends 'males' had babies

Add the guppies first, tetras like a more mature tank so i would leave it a week or 2 after adding the guppies. Biorbs are not great due to the surface area so it might be an idea to get a pump to blow bubbles/oxygen into the water (if it hasn't got one, i'm not sure what the set up is like for a Biorb), i have a pump for my tank that i just put on for a little bit each day to get extra oxygen into the tank. Female guupies have a traingular small bottom fin (not sure of the tech term) and the males have longer thiner bottom fins, also the males are usually a lot more colourful. My females have grey plain boddies and fins and smaller slightly colourful tails.

thank you - yes there is a pump that is on constantly blowing bubbles into the water so that may help a bit. so will go for a couple of pretty guppies to start. do you think 4 weeks once the heater has been added is long enough to cycle the tank?

Buy yourself a testing kit (or some pet/fish shops will test the water for you), i'm not an expert on cycling, have put my fish in early with all my tanks and have had a few deaths alony the way. It will probably take at least 4 weeks.

I find guppies notoriously hard to keep - dunno why - everything else I've kept has thrived. Platys (IME) are a lot more hardy and come in pretty varieties. But male guppies are stunning sometimes, aren't they?

Or you could get a fighter fish (betta), they need to live on there own but are very pretty.

I have had mixed expereances with guppies, have bought some that dies not long after i get them home and then i have a couple that i have had from the start (have been moved to several different (not quite cycled) tanks and have survived. I find i have to keep the tank very clean, if i miss a weekly water change then i loose fish.

We bought three platys and now have 15. Just sayin.

Bettas are ok with Corys - Corys are the perfect fish, they just get on with their business and leave everyone alone - in return, everyone seems to leave them alone!

Corys need a sandy substrate though - the rough stuff in a biorb would not suit them.

We have Mollys and Guramis and beautiful tetras and we only have a 60l tank.