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Sylvias

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 23, 2010
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Hello all! I did not see an intro forum so I will introduce myself here!
I keep a little of everything as far as animals go and I have been deep in the herp hobby for as long as I can remember... due to my current job (petco animal specialist) I am expanding my interests a bit more and making more of an effort with fish! I have a fully planted vivarium for my crested gecko with a small little pond area that (atm) houses a guppy that i am certain is satan spawn.... it used to house 2 guppies and 2 glo fish.... the surviving guppy ate all other living things including the little floaty plants that used to be in there... i haven't bothered to try anything else lol.
anyways, working at a petstore has it's perks! All of our display tanks recently went on clearance because they have been out of the box for over a year and we are changing the set up.. so I picked up a marine land eclipse hex 5 gallon that i am going to turn into a freshwater planted tank. And another marine land instant ocean 12 gallon salt water tank. price in the store was $160 ... i got it for $30 >.>
So i am glad to be here and learning more about the critters in my world! will probably ask lots of questions as I get my tanks going!
 
Welcome gl with your tanks but I hear salt water is pretty tough and hard for a begginner so I might save that tank for after you get your 5 gallon going for a long while or just convert the 12g to fresh water...
 
:welcome: to MFK!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
 
Welcome to mfk! And if you are wanting to learn you came to the right place.
 
Thanks everyone :)
I am starting with the freshwater tank first so it will be a few months before i even look at my salt tank lol
One question I have that has been confusing me since i started working at petco is the water hardness....what exactly is that? I was told that it's like the density of the water and thats the reason they add freshwater salt to their aquariums..etc.... but if that is true (just to make it make sense to me) isn't that the same as salinity? and if so why not just call it that -_-
if thats not it someone please explain!
Thanks again, i'll post more questions as they arise
I filled my little 5 gal today, letting the bioactive substrate settle before i do anything else with it.
 
Sylvias;4313354; said:
Hello all! I did not see an intro forum so I will introduce myself here!
I keep a little of everything as far as animals go and I have been deep in the herp hobby for as long as I can remember... due to my current job (petco animal specialist) I am expanding my interests a bit more and making more of an effort with fish! I have a fully planted vivarium for my crested gecko with a small little pond area that (atm) houses a guppy that i am certain is satan spawn.... it used to house 2 guppies and 2 glo fish.... the surviving guppy ate all other living things including the little floaty plants that used to be in there... i haven't bothered to try anything else lol.
anyways, working at a petstore has it's perks! All of our display tanks recently went on clearance because they have been out of the box for over a year and we are changing the set up.. so I picked up a marine land eclipse hex 5 gallon that i am going to turn into a freshwater planted tank. And another marine land instant ocean 12 gallon salt water tank. price in the store was $160 ... i got it for $30 >.>
So i am glad to be here and learning more about the critters in my world! will probably ask lots of questions as I get my tanks going!
Click to expand...

Yeah, welcome to MFK.........5g and 12g setups will not cut it for any monster fish.........LOL........Probably a breeding pair of convict cichlids in that 12g salt(if converted).....Try setting up a 55g breeder, or better, a 100g basic showcase.........A 55g breeder will hold an easy pair of cichlids to breed such as:
----a single pair of Angelfish
----Two breeding pairs of COnvict cichlids
or
----A colony of Brichardis
An Aqua Clear 101will do the trick.....Simple pea gravel purchased from Home Depot(25 lbs for $4)........Ta-da!!!!!!
As for the 100g showcase:
----A single Midas or Red Devil cichlid
----A pair of Oscars
All these fish are easily come by at your local fish store or at your store, PETCO...........
 
Hate to tell you but I'm really not interested in cichlids to much... i am infinitely amused by plecos though >.>
Right now the 5 and 12 is all I can have... not even supposed to have those actually <.<
When I move out next year and get settled and can afford it I will be upgrading big time.. I have a 55 gallon that I am going to make into a semi aquatic...build a ledge half way up and use it as a nursery of sorts for baby crocodilians or whatever else.
but for now.... 5 and 12 it is....
starting with the 5... i love glo fish so i figure a couple of those and some small plants and i will be happy lol just need to research aquatic plants a bit more.
are there any other small algea eaters that will fit in a 5 gallon other than otocinclus? I think thats the small one i was reading about. I don't necessarily need something to be a heavy algea eater but having one to nibble on it occasionally would be nice.

another question on hardness...if it is the ph why do they have seperate test strips for each? the water test strips i have are 6 in 1 and it has a test for ph and hardness seperately...



also.. just found the intro forum >.> woops
 
well PH is one thing that determines the hardness of water. someone correct me if i am wrong...usually harder water = 7+ and softer water are 7-. But in general they also can contain other minerals and stuff that effects hardness of water. I guess for the two strips.. i normally just test PH in all my tanks unless problems starts to arise.

There are a few common small algae eaters around like the Otocinclus. But with a small tank... i think you just get that scraper thing and scrap it off :)
 
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