TurboAndy

iTrader: (1)

Im thinking of getting at 190ltr corner tank Im thinking of getting at 190ltr corner tank http://www.seapets.co.uk/products/aquarium-supplies/aquariums/fluval/fluval-venezia-aquarium-sets/fluval-venezia-190-aquarium-and-cabinet-oak-and-wenge.htmlAnd would like as much info from members on here who also keep tropical fish.
I would like to see pics of your tank set up to give me some ideas on what to get mine to look like.


This is a list of fish I would like to get alone with prices. If you could tell me how easy or hard these are to keep and are the prices reasonable.
Mixed male guppy 1.99
Female Guppy 1.59
Armoured Shrimp 10.50
Convict Cichlid 3.50
Tropheus Moliro Red 18.75
Haplachromis Moorii blue 8.79
Lanugo heinie Caerulas yellow 8.25
Silver Shark 5.25
Granit Molly 2.80
Neon Tetra 99p
Clown Loach 6.50
Cockatoo dwarf cichlid.

RS_Matt

Funny you should say this, I have a 240l Fluval Roma tank and keep all manner of fish.



If you buy a few female Guppies and the nicest males you can find you'll never have to buy a fish again! I've had several Silver Sharks but they always died young of white spot, I take it my water is just stupidly hard. No other fish in the tank contracted it off them. I've never had much luck with Neon Tetras either but every other fish I've owned has done fine. I also defy the odds in having a Siamese Fighter live peacefully with Guppies, and controversial ID sharks which don't seem as hard to keep as the experts claim.

scooby0809

iTrader: (11)

shrimp could get interesting and good luck with the convict, any cichlid when it gets bigger which is normally fast, can be territorial, aggressive and munch smaller fishes, saying that i will always keep large cichlids as much more interesting than you mollies/guppies etc they actually have a character just be care full what you put with them!

TurboAndy

iTrader: (1)

Cheers peeps. Lovely tank you got there Matt. We also have really hard water here. Is there something I can add to the water to counter act it being so hard.
Ive had second thoughts on the cichlid as ive read they can be aggressive.

RS_Matt

I occasionally leave a bucket under the drain pipe when it rains. I've softened the water up a tad for the ID Sharks. I think once a fish adapts to the water and gets a good slime covering they can be pretty durable. It's still important not to do any big changes in regards to anything, 20% water changes, add fish/ornaments/plants in small amounts, never clean all the filter at the same time etc etc. I try never to add any chemicals apart from the tap water treatment drops. Once though I got an algae bloom and the water looked like milk, treatment was the only way but the fish seemed a bit off it for a few weeks after.
Try and ask a mate to give you a few litres of dirty water from his/her tank when you first fill your tank up, then every so often add a bit of food to feed the bacteria. I just filled my brand new tank up and added 15 fish and none lived, apart from a Rainbow Shark, which is hardy as hell.

scooby0809

iTrader: (11)

cichlids can/are aggressive but a very rewarding fish to keep as its not just another pretty fish! just needs a little planning fist to stop bloodshed, the fact you have hard water would really suit the Tropheus Moliro Red and any other lake malawis/Tanganika Lake fish, they would really thrive in your water which others in a soft water area would have to buffer there water to keep! google the malawi cichlids very colour full fish and you could keep quiet a few of the smaller ones, good luck

TurboAndy

iTrader: (1)

So I also need to get Tap water treatment drops. Whats the best thing to do regarding starting the tank. Ive been told to put everything in including my live plants and leave it running for 2 weeks before starting to slowly add fish.

Thanks for that. Ive had a look and quite like the look of them. havent quite decided on what to go for yet regarding size.

SWRTWannabe

Is this your first tank? Remember that when setting up a new tank, you need to add fish gradually - adding the lot in one go will result in a lot of dead fish. You need time to allow the bacteria that process all the fish waste to establish, adding a few fish at a time. The shop may well be able to advise as to how many to add, as some varieties of fish benefit from being in a group.

With regards to the water, have a chat to the local aquatic shop as I guess they will have plenty of advice about what works with the local water. You can buy water from aquatic shops (look up Reverse Osmosis) but not sure how expensive that works out to be.

Again, the local aquatic shop will advise on a good variety to start with - a variety that is tolerant of the variable water chemistry as the tank establishes.

Good luck!! (Oh and don't believe all you read about fish keeping being a relaxing hobby. Whenever I look at my tank, I'm never relaxed until I've done a head count and made sure they are all accounted for!!)

TurboAndy

iTrader: (1)

Cheers for that. Yeah its my first tank. I used to have a large pond with Koi in and that used to be a nightmare at times.

b road blaster

i use a RO water set up iirc it was around the £120 to buy i just let it fill up a 180ltr waterbutt that i keep in the shed with a heater in it set to same temp as the tank, then i just use a small submersible pump with a hose to pump it straight into my tank when doing water changes
also use the same pump with pipe to take water out of tank



180 gallons

RS_Matt

Straight swap for my 240?

I'd love a tank that big, I'd sell a kidney to get hold of a Paroon Shark. I'll have to upgrade soon though as Pangasius can exceed 2 foot in home aquaria.

b road blaster

lol @ RS matt love me tank and fish can spend hrs just sitting looking at them, and i thought my silver sharks were getting big at around 12" lol lol mind you my decorus (sp) catfish is getting bloody massive hate to think what he will get to

TurboAndy

iTrader: (1)

wow thats one hell of a tank, lovely

b road blaster

thank you kind sir tbh it pretty much looks after itself much easier than my old 180 ltr tank, but even if it was only a 50ltr baby tank i would still love it its all about the relaxation it provides for me
you really don't have to have a big tank to enjoy them

TurboAndy

iTrader: (1)

the one im looking at is at 190ltr corner tank.

b road blaster

yeah i see that mate nice size set up tbh mine is ok and as said it do look after itself water wise (ph balance and amonia levels) but cleaning and water changes do take me up to 4 hrs per week lol lol
what are you going for gravel or sand ???
if going for plecs and bottom feeders then i would recomend sand as its much softer on the fish but it is harder to clean, also you need to move it about to stop pockets of gas building up

b road blaster

only thing i would add is the guppys ..... they breed like hell and unless you keep them in a baby tank they will proberly get eaten by the others
the clowns are also very good for eating any snail that may get in the tank (off of live plants if you are going for them)
i would also think of maybe adding a couple of oto's very good at keeping the algae down
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_otom.php