# New aquarium



## bensand26 (Dec 6, 2010)

I'm going to get an aquarium. I want a common pleco, 6 glofish, and 6 neon tetra. How big of tank do I need? How should I go about getting this venture started? How many fish do I need to introduce at a time. I'm new to this. I don't wanna endanger fish because of lack of knowledge. Please teach me how to get started. Basically, tell me everything I should do. Tell me everything you know!!! Thanks a lot!!!


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## Martini2108 (Jul 23, 2010)

Ok well first off welcome to the hobby . Now plecto's get really big, the glow fish and neon's could be kept in about a 10-15 gallon tank. Tetras (neon's at least others are) are not as hardy as your LFS says they are. I would go with some cardinal or white cloud tetras, the red serpae tetra's are really nice also. You are going to want to look up the nitrogen cycle (growth of beneficial bacteria) ammonia---->nitrite----> nitrate, all are harmful to your fish. To start the cycle you need to add fish, zebras dinos are great cyclers very hardy. After the cycle is done (about 3-4 weeks) then you can add the fish you want. I would go out a get an API master test kit (freshwater). For cleaners look into a bristlenose plecto. Some nice bottom feeders are yoyo loach and cory cats. You might want to invest into a 20 gallon, gives you more options and the larger the body of water the more stable it is. Are you wanting to get live plants or plastic?


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## bensand26 (Dec 6, 2010)

So, 20 gal tank. Start with zebra danios, then add glofish and Cardinal tetra and bristle pleco??? Does that sound good? Also, it will be plastic plants


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

Without the pleco you're looking at about a 15-20G aquarium. With a common pleco you're talking about 55G to give him room when he is over a foot long. Yeah.. they get that big. *J/D*

There are other types of plecos that do not get nearly as big, one of the most common being a bristle-nose pleco which gets about 4-5 inches long. That will go in a 20G with the others you mentioned. You could also consider otocinclus which look like teeny-tint plecos. Just avoid Chinese algae eaters (which get mean, and stop eating algae). I've heard mixed reports on siamese algae eaters and flying foxes. Other tank algae eaters would be snails and shrimp. I keep otos (otocinclus) and shrimp. I loved the pleco I had years ago, though. Wouldn't mind getting another sometime.

Whatever you do, make sure you actually feed the algae eater algae wafers. You will probably run out of tank algae real quick, if you ever even develop it.

I would recommend cardinals instead of neon tetras. Just a little bigger, but a little more hardy, and not as likely to carry neon tetra disease (which affects many different types of fish, not just neons). You probably also want some sort of ground cleaner.. such as shrimp, cory cats, or loaches (not clown loaches, they also get 12" long).

Consider whether you're doing real plants before setting anything up. There are a lot of benefits to them, and they can be (relatively) low maintenance. With the fish you've mentioned you could probably have them without any trouble. The two main things you have to think about are whether the hood you get will have enough light (about 2-2.5 Watts per gallon), and whether you want to put in something more nutritious for the plants than rock (with rock or sand on top of whatever). Its nearly impossible to redo your substrate without just emptying the tank and starting over.

Read up on the nitrogen cycle. You can do a fishless cycle using a fish flake a day with no fish, or pure ammonia. Or you can pick a real hardy fish )glofish would work) to cycle the tank while all the toxic ammonia and nitrite levels were high. Ask if you need more info about this.

Above all, everyone is here to help. Just ask if any questions cross your mind.


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## Martini2108 (Jul 23, 2010)

That's about right. Now you are gonna want to look into heating and filtration. Tropical fish like temps around 76-82 degrees fahrenheit (some like to keep it a bit lower than 82) also if you are gonna want live plants then lighting also.


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

bensand26 said:


> So, 20 gal tank. Start with zebra danios, then add glofish and Cardinal tetra and bristle pleco??? Does that sound good? Also, it will be plastic plants


BTW, glofish are zebra danios that have been genetically altered to add a florescing gene from jellyfish. I think in all other respects everyone has found that they're just like zebra danios. This means you could just use them to cycle the tank, if you'd prefer.

Do be ready to lose a fish or two if you try and cycle it with fish. zebra danios are tough, but it can happen. If you want to be more careful about it, get an API master test kit for freshwater, and pay particular attention to ammonia and nitrite levels. If they're above 1ppm do a 30% water change.


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## bensand26 (Dec 6, 2010)

the other question i have is.. i move out of my apartment in may. i move into a new one across town.(10 minute drive). how on earth would i move the fish and not shock them to death. or would it be in the best interests of all parties involved to just wait till i get in my new residence to get the fish?


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

bensand26 said:


> the other question i have is.. i move out of my apartment in may. i move into a new one across town.(10 minute drive). how on earth would i move the fish and not shock them to death. or would it be in the best interests of all parties involved to just wait till i get in my new residence to get the fish?


I did this a lot in college with a 30G, and a little before that with a 10G. Usually I would be sure I could move everything fish related in one load, drain the tank about 50%, removed most ornaments, and load it dead last. I would keep it up in inside the car or cab of a pickup, and be sure there where blankets anywhere it contacted anything to cushion, and made sure there were other things loaded preventing it from shifting and falling in the floorboard. Drive carefully, avoiding bumps, and unload and setup the tank first thing. I am sure it shocked the fish some, but probably not too bad. I don't remember losing many, if any fish this way, though the tank was well established. I wouldn't put it off till may, as long as you're willing to try move it. I think it'll do fine. If you have a much bigger aquarium I'd be more worried. For smaller sizes the bigger danger is temperature drops while the heater is not plugged in.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

That common pleco can/will get around 15" in length by the time its an adult. Id go with a Bristlenose pleco or rubberlip pleco as they dont grow more then 4" and can be housed in a 20-30g tank.

that pleco will need atleast 100g by himself at adulthood which is less then a year away if he is under 5" now.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I agree with not using the pleco unless you use a really large tank.

FWIW the wife and I setup a "beaslbob" tank with peat moss/sand/pc select substrate, 2 spiral tubes in an incandescent fixture, lotsa live plants with no filter, no air stone no mechanical filtration and no water changes in a 10g.

The tank was initially stocked with 6 glo fish and 6 neon tetras. One neon died the first night but the rest survived for over 2 years when we moved and the tank was moved to her daughter's house. A year or two after that it is still running but we kept a glofish or two for our betta bowl. Still had 3-5 fish remaining from the original stock. 

And the plants have to be harvested every two months also.

my .02


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

This one's gonna be long, are you ready?

#1. There are other ways to cycle a tank other than with fish. If you decide to cycle with fish and want to keep your original population, add 3 glo fishes and invest in some test strips (easiest to use, IMO). The fish will start the cycle themselves, the cycle will continue from excess food and fish waste, and the lack of bacteria in the beginning will poison the glo fishes, but not enough to kill them (hopefully). With a fish cycle you're looking at 2 weeks before adding other fish, approximately, and I would add them in 3's, and only add 3 per week so that you don't overload the fragile cycle you've established and further poison your fish. Here's a link to a nice article on the nitrogen cycle and ways to cycle your tank:

The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

#2. I wouldn't go with a pleco. If you don't have algae, why get one? I know they're cool to look at, but as everyone else has said, they get big. Even the little guys get big. Most people on here will agree that if you need something to clean your tank, get a shrimp or two (I would recommend Amano shrimp, if you can find them). WAY cooler to watch, and they clean not just algae, but fish waste as well.

#3. 6 glo fishes and 6 tetras, plus a shrimp or two if you'd like, would be comfortable in a 10 gallon, even more comfy in a 20 gallon. We go by the rule of 1" of fully grown fish per gallon of water in the tank, and the 12 you've selected don't get much bigger than an inch.

#4. Transport shouldn't be too bad of a problem, if it's only a short distance. If you're really worried about stressing out your fish or splashing, transplant them to a clean tupperware with some tank water half-filling it and seal them in, then drain your tank and transport it and the fish as one, then reassemble at the new site ASAP.

#5. For in-tank structures, think hiding places. Caves, plants w/big leaves, etc. Also, the more natural the stuff in the tank, the lower the stress on the fish. So adding things like natural wood (available most places) would really help the little guys.

Hope this helps!:fish5:


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Don't use test strips and don't add anymore fish other than the initial fish until the cycle is complete. The cycle will complete in 4-8 wks, but can be sped up some if you have some used media from an established tank.


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