AboutBenty Expertise GOT A QUESTION ABOUT:
Basic needs for specific fish, illnesses, best tankmates, breeding, water chemistry, tricks to safely cut corners, and/or “stupid” questions? Maybe I can help! :)
I like to explain why you do things in aquariums (like why to use spring instead of distilled, or what pH numbers mean, ect.) so you understand why and not just taking someone’s word for it. I also like giving answers where you have two choices so you can choose which is best for the time and money you can commit to your fish. I understand how tight money can be and how expensive fish related things get.
I will NEVER leave you with an “I don’t know.” Ever. I hate that. That would waste your time and that's just mean. :)
Puedo contestar tus preguntas en español también.
Experience I have had tropical fish since 1999. I currently have: a 55gal, ten 10gal, 3 five gallons, three 2gal, and a bunch of jars and bowls. At the time I'm typing this, I have: 14 angels, 13 goldfish, 73 bettas, 12 barbs, 5 catfish, too many guppies, 4 gouramis, 2 plecos, 10 loaches, bunch of swordtails, and probably a few others, lol.
I love to rescue fish. I've had everything from mutant danios, to one eyed goldfish, to my newest adoptee, a 2 year old betta with a MASSIVE tumor problem. He was brought to a pet shop and left there because the lady didn't know what to do with him. He's pretty scary looking. One of the guys at the store there I know let me have him. :D YAY! Elephant Man lives in a gallon bowl with pretty stones in my bathroom.
Plus!!!
I sell: veil, delta, halfmoon, plakat, and crowntail bettas as well as halfblack and blonde tuxedo fancy guppies. Ask me about it sometime.
Question My parents bought me a 50 gallon tank as i did well in my GCSE's. I have set the light, Heater and filter up and i have added water. My ornaments, plants and gravel are in there and it has bin set up for 6 days. I read it needs to stand for week so i thought i would ask you ( if you dont mind) what fish could go in there and how many would be comftable in the tank? My grandparnts have danios, a plecto, barbs and a pair of convict chihcilds. I like these fish a lot. Could i have these in my 50 gallon? They have a 45 gallon. Thanks, Jack!
Answer Hey Jack!
First off, congrats on doing well on GCSE's! Good job! Congrats on getting a fish tank too! You couldn't have asked for something better. I'm biased though, heheheh.
Well with a 50 gallon you have a HUGE range of choices. It mainly depends on what you want. Look through some fish book at the library. There's TONS of fish out there alllllllllllllllll sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes.
Some things to consider:
Do I want to work a lot with it, or just set it up and enjoy it?
Do I want to have pairs of fish that may breed and result in the curse/blessing of babies?
Do I want a lot of little fish or just some larger fish?
What kind of water is from my tap? (If you have very hard water or very soft water, you'll have to have the headache of adding chemicals to change it to a fish that is not adapted to your water. Test your water's pH before you consider what kind of fish. If it's higher than 7, you'll either have to bring down the pH with chemicals or keep Malawi chiclids. They are BEAUTIFUL fish but pricey and fight. They can handle higher pH's. If you have 7 you're good for pretty much anything you can find. If you have around 6, you want to go with things from the amazon like angelfish, discus, ghost fish, tetras, ect. Look them up.
Tetras are common and small. Angelfish get big but won't outgrow your tank. A school of them is beyond impressive. They become more like pets than fish too. They recognize you and beg and stuff. Fun stuff. Discus are amazingly beautiful but crazy expensive becuase of that. Peaceful too. Ghost fish are some wild looking fish. Google then. They eventually get about a little bit over a foot. That takes years though.
You can do themes with your tank like Asian fish or Amazon or African or American or whatever.
There is just so much you can do. If you like chiclids like convicts, there's a beautiful selection of colors of chiclids-- electric blues, bright yellows, sunset oranges-- a whole rang of bright colors.
One thing I will say, don't get a pleco or any algae eater until you have algae. That's a big common mistake with starting a new tank. You don't want them to starve to death. You won't have algae for a little bit either. Get some kind of algae eater when you start having it on the sides of the tank. There's different kinds like Siamese algae eater (NOT the CHINESE. They become aggressive and big.)
Mistakes not to commit with a new tank:
Buying a fish becuase it looks nice and not knowing anything about it.
Not knowing what a healthy fish looks like. (Google some illness signs to watch out for. Don't buy anything from a place with sick fish if you can help it.)
Mixing aggressive fish with non agressive (aka dinner heheheh).
Not knowing diet requirements of fish you're looking at. (Certain ifsh only eat life food or bugs. If you don't want to feed crickets or roaches or smaller fish all the time, don't get a fish that requires it.)
Best thing to do, go to a petstore around you locally. See what kind of fish they have. See if you like anything there. Ask if they get that kind regularly. Ask if they have had any sickness problems with the fish. ASK! More questions the better. Don't believe everything they say becuase they may not know fish... but it can't hurt to ask about the fish you like.
After your field trip to the store, come back and look up online about that fish. Read everything you can. If you don't know what something means, look that up too. After you feel you're confident about knowing a little bit about that fish and it will work, put that on your list of fish to get. Don't put just one fish or one kind of fish in a tank though, that's going to get into territory disputes when new fish come in. Everyone goes in at the same time.
In general, it's one inch of fully grown fish per gallon in your tank. That's 50 one-inch tetras or 6 or 7 angels. Big difference. It all depends on what you want. :)
Again, congrats on getting a fish tank and doing well on your test! Email me if you ever have any problems: bentyisthecoolest@yahoo.com
