# new here and to fish tanks...



## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

the other day i was eating at a place called petes that has a saltwater tank and i got to thinking that id like a tank so i went and got me one of those eclipse hex 5 gallon tanks to try and start off with... well i got the tank all setup and let it run for about a day so to make sure it was ok tank seemed good so i went to petsmart and got me 3 anglefish and a rubbermouthed pleco.... well evrything was freaked at first as i expected but after a few hours they seemed to start mellowing out and all... well this morning all three angelfish were swimming together and getting along and then at about 2pm i noticed taht the black/white one i had was being sluggish and then it got wedged in one of my plastic plants... which after a few seconds it wiggled itself out of so i assumed it was ok, but then about 30 minutes later noticed that it was resting agains the other plants... well i went to go take a shower at about 3pm and when i got out it was being held against one of my plants by the light current produced by my 6" bubble bar and the little wimpy filter that comes with the tank and it was no longer breathing.... well just to make sure it wasnt playing dead or anything, i let it hang out there for a little while, read a few hours, and i declared it dead and noticed that its dorsal fin was dominated... something that my dads oscarswould do was destroy the fins on the smaller fish, well i noticed one of my other angles had chunks missing from its dorsal and the third was missing a few chunks from its tail fin... im assuming they all go into a scrap in the mid morning... i watched my remaining two yellowish ones this evening and it seems as tho they get along great and they were playing in the bubbles ridding them up to the top of the tank and then going back to the bottom ... it was kinda cute actually...


well, thats my log of events so far... so what all have i screwed up so far? im expecting to hear that im stupid for putting angelfish in a 5 gallon lol


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## aconrad (Apr 30, 2008)

Okay well, your first mistake was not letting the tank cycle. Fish tanks have a cycle they need to go through before it is ready to put any delicate fish in like angelfish. To add to that, that tank is WAY to small for angelfish, not even one will be comfortable or live. You need to let the nitrates and nitrites and ammonia get established, which i presume you got them started putting angels in such a small tank. Some fish stores will test your water levels until you buy a test kit for checking your WQ. Watch the nitrates and nitrites and ammonia. You'll get the hang of this dont worry.


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

i havent had a chance to run by and get a test kit for the pH of the tank buy i did grab a little ammonia monitor that hasnt really peaked like i expected it to... it seems like the tank is doing what its supposed to as the filter has started to get that "healthy tank smell" that ive noticed with tanks that are ok...

my angles seem to be ok in the tank since they are only about 1.5" long each and they hvae been playing in the bubble wall at the back of the tank. BUT, since i really shouldnt have tried the angles to start with what should i sling in there? btw the water stays at 79.6ish to 81.8ish degrees with no heater according to the digital thermometer that i got at petsmart.

what all can i put in a 5gallon tank? i originally thought that maybe 8-10 Neon Tetras would be cool but im not too sure about that... i had some of them when i was in Kindergarten lol


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

+1 getting to 5 posts so i can post pictures...


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

+1 more, again, trying to post pictures of my setup...


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

one last post before a picture!


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

im a semi-photography nut so heres some shots of them

prior to the striped one dieing...


















before i got the fish in it


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## aconrad (Apr 30, 2008)

Okay that smell, thats the tank cycling smell not the healthy tank smell. You dont want this smell. Your filter really shouldnt smell that much at all. Dont use neon tetras unless they are wild. When they are bred in captivity they will die. I would say for fish to put in there, not very much, some small tetras will be fine. Not neons or any of the sort though, try things like lemon tetras or you could try guppies. With guppies though male and females you start with two and in a few months you have two hundred.


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## aconrad (Apr 30, 2008)

Go in the chatroom it will be easier for us to talk.


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

well the fish have only been in the tank for like 2 1/2 days now so im not expecting it to smell like roses or anything yet lol. i looked into guppies but i didnt really like any that i saw aw the store...

what are you talking about with the neon tetras being farm raised, i thought that most petstore fish were farm raised unless its kinda big or and oddball


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## aconrad (Apr 30, 2008)

They are, thats the problem. When they are farm raised they get bad traits and they will not survive in most cases even for the most experienced.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Neon tetra have a better chance of survival in a will established tank..... but the commercal ones still will die off quickly. try some Danios...... they are hearty fish until you gain some more experience, and get the maintence down. They are nice one out there and most are affordable.


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

well as suggested earlier ill probably just go with guppies if/when these die off... they SEEM to be doing ok tho... i have a feeling that the ride from the store to my house wasnt too pleasant, i drive a Mustang GT with longtubes, hpipe and flowmasters and its basically got a drag suspension on it so it wasnt the smoothest ride... i figured that would have stressed them out and one might have died on the way home or something but they seemed ok.

could you guys post links with a little information on some of these fish your suggesting? and what exactly what you would suggest for my tank.


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## aconrad (Apr 30, 2008)

You will need a bigger tank for those before long though, if youre looking to get rid of them and are in South Florida im happy to help u get them to a good home


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

im in upstate SC... Simpsonville, SC to be exact...i expected to find a large community of aquarium nuts here since theres a LOT of money within a 15 mile radius and its notcheap to have an aquarium... but ive beenwrong so far... even askingaround all the other people i knwo all they have ever had is like one goldfish... im known to blow money on stupid crap tho lol

how big of a tank are you talking about for those two?

btw,my fish are already following me around the tank, well one of them does... itwilll swim over and play around.... so imguessing they are happy right now.


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## aconrad (Apr 30, 2008)

Angelfish are beggers mine are following me the second they see you, and for two or three i would keep them with community fish or semi agressive small fish in atleast a 45 gal tank eventually.


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

well, need not worry about multiple Anglefish... this morning one of the two remaining was "resting" on the bottom when i went to feed it... it worried me at first but then i just kinda figured it was lazy and sleeping... well it woke up or something and then swam up to get food, when i got out of the shower it was still being jolly and all.. well my mom noticed that it was dead not 30 minutes after i left this morning... i havent done ANYTHING funky that i know of... my ammonia monitor hasnt changed colors so as far as i know its not full of ammonia, and the tank doesnt smell, well theres a FAINT smell in the filter but thats about all... the rubbermouth has become more adventurous tho.

im heading to petsmart after i eat dinner to grab a ph tester, ammonia tester and some goodies for cleaning up water and my dad suggested "water ager" which sounded like some sort of stuff that helps introduce the good bacteria... 

im also going to grab 3 or 4 guppies while im there to try with something a bit less advanced... i would get 2 goldfish but i just cant stand them lol


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## RoadconeTuning (Sep 8, 2008)

well, i didnt get any more fish but i did finally buy a test kit and everything came back perfect... except for the pH... it was 6.2, that would explain a LOT... tried some upper, going to test again in 20 or so...


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## aconrad (Apr 30, 2008)

You would be better using a buffer rather than ph up. I personally hate ph up, it never works unless you do it way too many times. A buffer will get it right up, that ph isnt your whole problem but it is a problem, I keep my tanks at about 6.8 except for cichlids of course. You are gonna need to let this tank cycle before buying anymore fish. You should do a water change about every week for now until the tank is settled. When you use the buffer use it in the water you're going to change not in the whole tank so it gets stirred up better. You're going to want to do a 1-2 gal water change.


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