Just beginning, question about possible freshwater fish..
- Thread starter Paperlantern4
- Start date
If you go planted, make sure you research if the fish are good with plants or not. I LOVE planted tanks, I think they're gorgeous. I'm going planted with my 100 gallon after I sell my Geophagus Altifrons(google it - beautiful fish).
Bigger is definitely better when it comes to aquariums, a larger aquarium will be much more stable than a small one, giving you more room for error. I have been keeping fish in my 100 for years now & have only had 2? deaths, and this was from buying fish that weren't in great condition. Lesson learned.
If you do get plants for your tank you'll want to make sure you have good lighting, and research each plant species you want to get to make sure they'll be good with your amount of light. Start with low-medium lighting and if you get addicted to plants like I have, you can upgrade from there.
A 100 gallon tank will cost a fair amount to start up, but once you've got it up and running the maintenance costs are minimal. I bought my 100 gallon off of Craigslist for $300, and this included the tank, stand, canopy, filter and heater. Keep your eye out for good deals on Craigslist, they pop up quite often. I got a fantastic deal. Depending on your stockload(the amount of fish you were to keep in the tank) on a 100 you could run a filter that is anywhere from the Aqua Clear 110 (for light stockloads - about $60 online) to the Fluval FX5 (what I have since I keep a LOT of fish in my tank - runs about $250 - $300 online). My heater cost me about $40 for a good one. You can get white Pool Filter Sand or black Sand Blasting Sand to use in the bottom of the tank, both work fine for the vast majority of fish, just make sure you rinse them out VERY well to get rid of all the dust first, otherwise your tank will be very cloudy. Both are cheap, only a few bucks for a 50 pound bag. I prefer black sand as it makes the colors of the fish pop, but some people prefer white. Overall, my 100 gallon setup cost me about $700 including my expensive filter & new lights. You could do it for several hundred dollars cheaper if you keep a watch out for good deals on equipment & tanks.
Filtration is very important and isn't something you can skimp out on unless you want your fish to die on you. You need to make sure you have adequate filtration for the number of fish you have, we can help point you in the right direction for a filter after you've decided on what you want to put in the tank.
For suggestions for fish, a couple things would help us decide what you might like:
Do you want peaceful fish, or aggressive fish that will eat smaller ones?
Big fish, or small fish?
EDIT: By the way, if you buy a used tank...make sure you see it filled up & holding water! Very important...some people will try to sell you a cracked or leaking tank, so if they won't let you see it filled up to the rim & holding water, don't buy it.
EDIT AGAIN: Here's my 100 gallon about 11 months ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dTLYCOV1MQ
Bigger is definitely better when it comes to aquariums, a larger aquarium will be much more stable than a small one, giving you more room for error. I have been keeping fish in my 100 for years now & have only had 2? deaths, and this was from buying fish that weren't in great condition. Lesson learned.
If you do get plants for your tank you'll want to make sure you have good lighting, and research each plant species you want to get to make sure they'll be good with your amount of light. Start with low-medium lighting and if you get addicted to plants like I have, you can upgrade from there.
A 100 gallon tank will cost a fair amount to start up, but once you've got it up and running the maintenance costs are minimal. I bought my 100 gallon off of Craigslist for $300, and this included the tank, stand, canopy, filter and heater. Keep your eye out for good deals on Craigslist, they pop up quite often. I got a fantastic deal. Depending on your stockload(the amount of fish you were to keep in the tank) on a 100 you could run a filter that is anywhere from the Aqua Clear 110 (for light stockloads - about $60 online) to the Fluval FX5 (what I have since I keep a LOT of fish in my tank - runs about $250 - $300 online). My heater cost me about $40 for a good one. You can get white Pool Filter Sand or black Sand Blasting Sand to use in the bottom of the tank, both work fine for the vast majority of fish, just make sure you rinse them out VERY well to get rid of all the dust first, otherwise your tank will be very cloudy. Both are cheap, only a few bucks for a 50 pound bag. I prefer black sand as it makes the colors of the fish pop, but some people prefer white. Overall, my 100 gallon setup cost me about $700 including my expensive filter & new lights. You could do it for several hundred dollars cheaper if you keep a watch out for good deals on equipment & tanks.
Filtration is very important and isn't something you can skimp out on unless you want your fish to die on you. You need to make sure you have adequate filtration for the number of fish you have, we can help point you in the right direction for a filter after you've decided on what you want to put in the tank.
For suggestions for fish, a couple things would help us decide what you might like:
Do you want peaceful fish, or aggressive fish that will eat smaller ones?
Big fish, or small fish?
EDIT: By the way, if you buy a used tank...make sure you see it filled up & holding water! Very important...some people will try to sell you a cracked or leaking tank, so if they won't let you see it filled up to the rim & holding water, don't buy it.
EDIT AGAIN: Here's my 100 gallon about 11 months ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dTLYCOV1MQ
By the way...there's no such thing as a stupid question. 
Nobody starts fishkeeping without having to ask questions to cover the very basics&more.
Nobody starts fishkeeping without having to ask questions to cover the very basics&more.Those do get pretty pricy fyi they are called flowerhorns some are cheap but not as nice. They are also not something you should mix with other fish.
Whats the dimensions of the tank?
Filtration.
If you are looking for something cheap look for HOB filters. good would be a couple Aquaclear 110 or emperor 400s (get two)
If you want pricer go with canisters not my thing so i cant recommend any.
For fish here is a easy combo
oscar (or Jack dempsey)
senegal bichir or delhezi
black ghost knife
some silver dollars maybe?
Do weekly water changes around 20% each or more if you want cleaner and better
I would say no to elephant nose because they are sensitive to water and really hard to feed on proper food. most only take worms and bloodworms (Bloodworms are horrible for nutrition.) Rays no also they do need big tanks and extremely dirty. Wouldn't say a beginner cant do it but it they would actually have to know what they are doing and keep up with maintenance and care.
So I've been looking at the bichir since you guys mentioned it. It is listed as semi-aggressive, does that mean it can only be put in a tank with other semi-aggressive fish? Or would it be ok with peaceful fish as well? Also, what kind of bichir would be best for a 75 - 100 gallon tank? I want it to be able to live comfortably, not just survive. They look like beautiful fish! Don't worry though, I'm planning on doing at least a few months worth of research on the species I choose before getting it. 
So I've been looking at the bichir since you guys mentioned it. It is listed as semi-aggressive, does that mean it can only be put in a tank with other semi-aggressive fish? Or would it be ok with peaceful fish as well? Also, what kind of bichir would be best for a 75 - 100 gallon tank? I want it to be able to live comfortably, not just survive. They look like beautiful fish! Don't worry though, I'm planning on doing at least a few months worth of research on the species I choose before getting it.
Both bichirs i mentioned will live comfortably in that size tank. They are aggressive in a way that they are predators so if itll fit in their mouth it will it. Otherwise they are peaceful and will mix well with semi aggressive fish and peaceful ones if they aren't small enough. Senegals grow around 8-10" on average and I believe 10-12" for del
Even fish that you think wouldn't fit in their mouth, will. Seriously. I put a full grown Platy in with a 7" Bichir, the next morning the Platy was gone and the Bichir had a HUGE lump in his belly. I don't know how he managed to get that Platy down but he looked pretty content... They won't bother fish that are much larger than them, but they won't hesitate to eat fish that they think are food. Mine eat crickets, feeder fish, pellets, whatever they think looks or smells like food. They're fascinating fish(I have two Delhezi Bichirs) but not a good choice if you want any fish that are on the smaller side.
Most people who first start out with fish keeping will buy all different types of fish. You will find out which fish get along and which fish don't. You might start to take an interest in certain fish and want to collect only those. Its how it starts you keep a bunch of different fish until you find that one or two types you really like and start to collect different type of that one species.
