# fish aquarium help needed



## bigfish (Oct 5, 2010)

hey i just recently bought a 35 gallonfish tank. so far i have put gravel, fake plants, ornaments filter aqua 20 and a heater in it, and a air pump. i have added neutral regulator which brings ph to 7.0 and removes chlorine, chloramine, and amonia. also i added aqua safe which neutralizes chlorine, amonia and heavy metals. i have had it running for 3 days now. this is my first tank. i want to know if i need to put anything else in it before i put my fishes which the pet store told me to wait for another 2 weeks for. so is there anything else i should do? and i want to make it a community tank like have peaceful fishes. what are some combonations i can put in here that will get along with eachother. I got 5 zebra dainos today because some one told me they help start the biological cycle. when should i add the other fish and what fishes do well together and how many of them? i want peacefull fishes.

thanks


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Part of the problem with removing ammonia this early is that you need to start your biological cycle. Toxic ammonia is turned into a toxic Nitrite and then Nitrates.

I put my fish in to start, zebra danios are pretty hardy. You can also look into a fishless cycle (although you already have some fish anyways) where you add ammonia via food sources like a prawn in the water or something like that.

You'll need test kits for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrates. I'd also recommend looking for GH\KH test kits as well as you have gravel instead of specialized substrate.

Someone who is less tired will provide some details that I'm missing I expect.


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

You can get Seachem Stability too. They have all the good bugs in them to kick start the process as well. 

I just noticed on your equipment list that you didn't list a filter. Do you have a filter?


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## donjuan_corn (May 6, 2010)

you need more filtration. Start out with some platys and guppies and one bristle nose pleco baby. Add some duck weed if you want to have some babies, it's fun and a great beginner fish.


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Oops my bad, I guess its too early in the morning and I haven't had my coffee! >.< I didn't see that Aqua 20 part!
Yes, i agree with donjuan_corn. The AquaClear 20 is up to 20g, but if your bio load is low, you can probably get away with that. It also depends on what type and number of fish you have and if you have plants (which I guess you don't).

Try using the aqadvisor and see if the load you are going to put in it is ok with that combination: AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor


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## xFl (Apr 24, 2010)

If you know someone with a cycled tank, you could always seed your filter with the filter drippings. That or ask someone on the forum =)


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## jimired (Jul 22, 2010)

Live waste water from another tank, add it and wait a good two weeks,
danios are night impossible to kill off and are quick but gentle, good conditioner fish. IMO


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## BossRoss (Jun 17, 2010)

except zebra danios get fat and ugly when they grow up!! hehe


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi, Bigfish, welcome to the hobby! I think you're off to a good start. 

Everyone does things differently, but I'd suggest letting your danios have the tank to themselves for about a month. Then, I'd add about 3 corydora catfish (if you're planning to add any) because they will eat any food that falls to the bottom of the tank. (You should also feed them their own sinking pellets) Then I'd wait another month and add a pair of feature fish, something that you really like. I have 2 Bolivian rams in my 36 gallon tank, for example. Maybe you'd a pair of dwarf gouramis or something like that, a colourful fish that inhabits the middle of the tank?

It's useful to have a test kit to check your ammonia levels, but if you don't, then just wait a longer time before adding any new fish, add them slowly, and don't overstock. (As someone else here mentioned, it would be helpful to add more filtration, perhaps another AquaClear 20 or 30. And if you can get some filter media from a cycled, healthy tank, that should help you out quite a bit.)

I hope that you get years of enjoyment from your new tank.


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## SophieThomas (May 12, 2010)

Everyone has a different opinion here but you will quickly find that very few fish live naturally at 7.0pH. The buffer is not necessary. 

As for the zebra danios, I have found that the ones that get most contorted (hunchbacked, distended stomachs, etc) with age are the longfin types. Stick to the nice streamlined ones and they will stay healthier longer, they are fun to watch and they are very hardy.


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

yah..i agree that u might need a bigger filter soon if you are gonna be putting more fishes in...try at least an aquaclear 50..or just get another 20 or 30 gallon rated filter. plants also help with the water conditions too...if u dun like live plants...get some duckweed or something..easy to grow...and u dun need to plant it


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