it's because knowledgable fish store people loose there ability to tell sarcasm after hearing so many terrible true stories. I gotta say, I was 11 when I got into breeding guppies and selling them to shops. 14 years later I own a business exporting fish in Peru... go figure!
Which fish are hardy for a noob?
- Thread starter Peter McFarlane
- Start date
Nice looking setup.
Livebearers are a great choice for your first fish.
If you hang around this site for any length of time I guarantee you'll be lusting after a monster setup pretty soon!
You just need to resist the temptation to add any more fish for the time being.
Give it a month and the tank will be fully cycled and ready for a few more - that is if you haven't already got a swordtail population explosion by then
Livebearers are a great choice for your first fish.
If you hang around this site for any length of time I guarantee you'll be lusting after a monster setup pretty soon!
You just need to resist the temptation to add any more fish for the time being.
Give it a month and the tank will be fully cycled and ready for a few more - that is if you haven't already got a swordtail population explosion by then
Yup, thats a nice sensible start 
You could get some small bottom dwelling fish to complement the livebearers that mostly swim around in the top water.
Some small Cory catfish or dwarf loaches would suit. Stick with the small species because it's better to keep them in groups of 4 or more. Maybe a little bristlenose pleco to lurk in that rock cave
Cheers
Ian
You could get some small bottom dwelling fish to complement the livebearers that mostly swim around in the top water.
Some small Cory catfish or dwarf loaches would suit. Stick with the small species because it's better to keep them in groups of 4 or more. Maybe a little bristlenose pleco to lurk in that rock cave
Cheers
Ian
Thanks for the positive comments guys! My brother works on the trains over here, and those rocks were destined to be used for the tracks!
The two plants are actually plastic, so I set them behind the tank (outside of it). To give the feeling of the tank having more depth then it actually does. I have got real plants on order, so didn't want to waste the limited space with fakeys... So yeah gonna add a few live plants but no more rocks.
Fish wise, I'm thinking maybe 4 neon tetra's and 3-4 tiny cory's. I wanted a plec, but I know they grow huge... I saw this thing in the pet store, it looked like a plec to me, but it was TINY (like 1 cm). The guy said it wasn't a plec it was a ___________<<< (Insert confusing Latin name here...lol)
The live plants are gonna arrive in the next 3-4 days, so once there in and settled etc. How long do I wait till I can add my next few fish?
Thanks guys.
Mac
The two plants are actually plastic, so I set them behind the tank (outside of it). To give the feeling of the tank having more depth then it actually does. I have got real plants on order, so didn't want to waste the limited space with fakeys... So yeah gonna add a few live plants but no more rocks.
Fish wise, I'm thinking maybe 4 neon tetra's and 3-4 tiny cory's. I wanted a plec, but I know they grow huge... I saw this thing in the pet store, it looked like a plec to me, but it was TINY (like 1 cm). The guy said it wasn't a plec it was a ___________<<< (Insert confusing Latin name here...lol)
The live plants are gonna arrive in the next 3-4 days, so once there in and settled etc. How long do I wait till I can add my next few fish?
Thanks guys.
Mac
Ah Nick and Ian, I posted before I saw your responses...
Nicks completley nailed my thoguhts, about wanting more fish already hehe!!
Ps. I'm not sure what swordtail sex looks like, but I think there doing it already....lol
Nicks completley nailed my thoguhts, about wanting more fish already hehe!!
Ps. I'm not sure what swordtail sex looks like, but I think there doing it already....lol
You can get small plecs as well as big ones.
This is an Otocinclus - it's a loracarid species (pleco)
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=107
They grow to a huge 32mm long (just over an inch)
You could get a bunch of them, they are sociable, playfull and eat algae.
The Bristlenose grows a bit bigger, 4-6", so only get one of those if you are thinking of going to a bigger tank later. They will be fine in a 20gal tank though.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=49
You are right to aviod the Common and Sailfin plecs though, they can grow to around the whole length of your tank 
Cheers
Ian
This is an Otocinclus - it's a loracarid species (pleco)
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=107
They grow to a huge 32mm long (just over an inch)
You could get a bunch of them, they are sociable, playfull and eat algae.
The Bristlenose grows a bit bigger, 4-6", so only get one of those if you are thinking of going to a bigger tank later. They will be fine in a 20gal tank though.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=49
You are right to aviod the Common and Sailfin plecs though, they can grow to around the whole length of your tank
Cheers
Ian
If you can, I would go for cardinal tetras rather than neons (very similar to look at) they're more colourful, a bit bigger, and not susceptible to neon tetra disease.
Also, go for a bristlenose plec as they only get approx 5" max and are best at cleaning algae.
Also, go for a bristlenose plec as they only get approx 5" max and are best at cleaning algae.
Not sure if they'll work in there, but some powder blue gouramis or pygmy gouramis would look cool in there.
Convict cichlids are hardy noobie, nah, THE noobie "pocket" MONSTER....No question about it....The experience picked up from the breeding and rearing of the fry will give the novice a greater sense of life and the characters a cichlid has to offer....Another true exotic would be Pygocentrus Natteri....
on the topic of hardy bottom dwellers, a spotted raphael would go good in there- they stay smaller than striped raph's. I would personally wait a while longer before adding more fish If I were in your shoes.
