Setting up a 29 Gallon Fresh Water Tropical Community

[Enlightened_Gamer]

Hello and good day everyone,

I had just recently posted a thread about the loss of my fish . I had a goldfish community with 1 Oranda, 1 Moors, and 2 Veiltail with living plants. Now I am trying my hand at the fresh water tropical community for the first time and am seeking information on the basics of maintaining a healthy tropical community. Water temp, P.H. Balance, water hardness, and what species of fish that will live in harmony with each other. So any thing that you can pass onto me that I have left out would be greatly appreciated. I also plan to use live plants as well. I am going out today to buy Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana L. Walstad, it comes highly recommended from the Fishlore community. Thank you all so much for your help, kindness, and compassion.

Jason

[Shawnie]

welcome to fishlore!!!!! if I havent already.....sorry about your loss
heres a few links to help you along the way

types of fish http://www.fishlore.com/freshwaterfish.htm

and a beginners guide for just about everything http://www.fishlore.com/BeginnersGuides.htm

goodluck and let us know how it goes!!

[KyWildFish]

Welcome to fishlore!

Some advice from someone whos recently gotten into this hobby.

1. Patience. This is the key to a lot of things in life, but it is critical in this hobby. You will spend the first little while waiting to cycle. Then you will only be able to add a small amount of fish at a time. It can also be expensive to get the set up you want so spreading out over time makes things less of a burdon.

2. Research. This is another big key to the hobby. Learn as much as you can about what you want before you start. Making sure you have the right set up will make your life a lot easier. I have learned that I should have done things completely differently for pretty much each step of the way. I would make a list and a time line and use that to get the best results.

3.Familiarize. The more you know about the stuff involved in this hobby the better you will be. Learn about the different compatible fish, types of behavior, substrates, filters, and everything else. You dont have to know every detail just know what your looking at when you go out to buy something.

4. Question. This is a perfect place to ask what you dont know. No question is stupid here and you're likely to get a multitude of responses. The people here know their stuff. I have found a bunch of folks who know about specific issues and are like mentors or gurus on their subject.

5. Have fun. Everyone here loves this hobby. We celebrate each victory and mourn each loss together. You might even find yourself with a case of Multiple Tank Syndrome after a while. I thought I was safe know I have 3 tanks.

[Shawnie]

awesome kywildfish!!!!!

( I hate not being able to give rep points more than once!!)

[Lucy]

Great post KyWildFish

The tidbit that I'll pass on to you is don't buy a cheap heater. You'll get what you pay for. I prefer the visi-therm-stealth heaters. They're fully submersible, unbreakable and guaranteed for life. I'm sure there are other good ones, that's just the one I use.

[jdhef]

Originally Posted by Shawnie

awesome kywildfish!!!!!

( I hate not being able to give rep points more than once!!)

Here you go Shawnie, I'll do it for you.

[Shawnie]

Originally Posted by jdhef

Here you go Shawnie, I'll do it for you.

ty JD! I owe ya one

I gave him some on another thread...grrr I dont like that spreading around stuff LOL

[MrsM3197]

Originally Posted by jdhef

Here you go Shawnie, I'll do it for you.

Likewise...well stated Kywildfish!

[Dozey]

Excellent post kywildfish and welcome Enlightened_Gamer.

I just want to add, do not go to your local fish store for advice on anything. Do your research and then just go and buy what you want. Although the salesperson will try to up-sell you and pressure you to buy more, when you assault them with your superior knowledge they’ll just get a dazed look and go away.

[jdhef]

Originally Posted by Shawnie

ty jd! I owe ya one

Just go easy on my credit card this month and we'll call it even!