Coryd55

Ok. I was talking to my mom last night about getting an aquarium for Christmas. She said to do some research and tell her how much it would cost and all that good stuff. I realize the amount of time and responsibility it takes to care for fish and the aquarium itself. I don't want to just have like goldfish or the other common fish. I have had tons of those in little dinky aquariums and they eventually all died and I got tired of them so I stopped getting them. I want to get a "serious", I guess you would say, aquarium setup going. I'm not sure what size tank to get first of all. I know I want a freshwater setup and I want it to be horizontal (like a rectangle or hexagon with flat back, etc.). I have looked at the Begginner's Guide but I wanted some input from real people. If you could give me ideas for setups and prices that go along with them I would greatly appreciate it. Also if you have any questions I will be more than happy to answer them.



Cory

Chief_waterchanger

Any idea as to what your mom would set your price range for christmas gifts? Some families can not afford more than a very basic setup, which is actually harder to keep stable, whereas some families could afford a several hundred dollar setup which usually includes a larger tank which is easier to keep stable.

Do you know whether you like guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails, plecostomus, corydoras, shrimp, snails, tetras, white cloud minnows, barbs, etc?

PLEASE make sure not to overstock whatever tank you get.

I would suggest a 29 or 30 gallon tank to start with. The more water in the tank the easier it is to keep stable, so it is a lot easier to work with than a smaller tank, such as a 10 gallon. Sadly that size tank, equipment, setup, will run near, if not a little over, $200.00 US.

Just so we know, would you mind if we asked your age and in what country you live? That way we know whether to suggest something that would be easier maintainence and about what comprehension level we are working with. We have members as young as 10-12 on the site, and not meaning any disrespect, but they -may not- understand some of the things the 50-60 year old folks chatter about.

WELCOME TO FISHLORE!

Coryd55

Oh yeah. Just to give you an idea of what kind of fish I like.

Discus Fish
Angelfish
A type of crawfish or shrimp
Pearl Gourami
Convict Cichlid
Oscar Fish
Bala Shark
Silver Dollar Fish
Pirahnas
Kuhli Loach

Hope that helps at all

Coryd55

Im a freshman, 14 years old. I normally get 500-700 dolalrs worth of presents from my mom and dad each Christmas. I live in Georgia, United States. The previous post shouold answer your fish question.

Chief_waterchanger

Okie...

Discus require intense stability and are expensive to buy and maintain.
Angelfish are good fish, you could have 2 adult angels in a 30 gallon aquarium, try for 'tall' aquariums if you are going to house angelfish, it helps their fin growth.
Crawfish are tricky. They will ambush and eat any fish small enough, but will be eatten by fish that are a bit bigger than they are, so it is a balancing act.
Pearl Gourami you could have a male/female pair in 30g without trouble.
Convicts are cool, but not community tank fish, so would need to be kept to just a pair of them for the tank, because the odd fish out will get the crap beat out of them, and multiple pairs will only battle for territory until they kill one another.
Oscars need a MINIMUM of a 55 gallon tank for just 2 of them, preferably a 75g for 2 fish. They are aggressive and will eat anything smaller than they are. Gunnie, one of the original moderators on this site, has some beautiful oscars. But she has 2 oscars and 1 common pleco in a 75g and that is all that is in the tank.
Bala sharks need extremely large tanks, such as a 200g for 3 fish. They should be kept in groups of atleast 3, so 200 gallon tanks are over $1200.00 US.
Silver Dollars are another schooling fish that needs a large tank and a large group. I would do no less than a 55 gallon for 3-4 fish.
Pirahnas are difficult to keep and are expensive to keep due to their needs of live or frozen fish/meats. They need atleast a 75 gallon tank for 5 fish, and should never be kept in groups less than 5.

So to summarize that:

-IF- you could get a 30 gallon setup:

If you did a 30 gallon tall setup (tall means it is less width and more height) you could have 2 angelfish.

If you did a 30g of any type you could do 2 pearl gourami -OR- 2 convict cichlids.

Chief_waterchanger

Oh, if you are close to the Atlanta area, Dino (another moderator on here), Butterfly and Gunnie (two of the first moderators on this site), and I are all members of the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association.

http://www.atlantaaquarium.com/

If you get them talked into an aquarium you could get a 55 gallon setup for around 500 dollars from a retail store.

If you are North of Atlanta, Georgia. Dino and I could cut you a deal on a 55 gallon tank and stand, but you would be better off buying new equipment for the tank if you went that route.

Oh and I should edit this to say: The fish I mentioned with a suggested tank size, that is not to say they are the only fish that can go into the setup, a few smaller fish could go in with most of them, aside from the pirahnas.

A lot of people suppliment tanks with bristlenose plecostomus (they stay 6-8 inches, whereas common plecostomus get to 18 inches long), corydoras aenaeus, ottos, etc as a "clean-up" crew. the plecostomus and ottos will eat algae, the ottos better than the plecos. The corydoras will pickup food from the bottom that the others have left to rot.

Coryd55

I am in Columbus, like 2 hours away from Atlanta. I didn't realize that like only 2 fish would fit in a 30 gallon tank. I duno if my mom would wanna drive 2+ hours to get an aquarium unless the deal balances out in gas money lol. Ill talk to her about it though.

Coryd55

Oh yeah. Is a pleco a freshwater or saltwater fish? Cause I like those to.

Chief_waterchanger

Plecostomus are freshwater. We enjoy several different species of plecostomus at our Fishhouse. The numbers and kinds of fish you can add as well as the fish I listed just depend on what you put in the tank.

For instance:

If you had a 30 gallon tank with 2 angelfish you could put a pair of bristlenose plecostomus and 5-6 of the smaller species of barbs (such as cherry barbs) as well as the angelfish.
-Or-
In a 30 gallon tank you could do:

A pair of convict cichlids and 5-6 smaller species of barbs as well as 2 bristlenose plecos.

Or you could substitute the barbs or the plecos either one for 3-5 corydoras or 3 ottos or 5 kuhli loaches (they look like snakes, they are cool! ).

Or if you wanted a different idea all together you could do:

4 bristlenose plecostomus, 3-5 corydoras, 3 ottos, AND 5 kuhli loaches on a sandy substrate and have some cool looking driftwood or something in the tank with some plants.

Or you could do 30 kuhli loaches, 3-5 corydoras, AND 3 ottos.

It is all dependant on what you DEFINATELY want in the tank as to what else you could add. Sorry that I made it sound like that was all you could put in there.

Coryd55

Oh alright. I understand it now. I like the angel fish with the pair of pleco and barbs; the convict cichlids, plecos, and 5 kuhli loaches; and 30 kuhli loaches sounds like a bit much. Is that what you meant. If so that would be pretty cool. =)

Also how much would the first setup (2 angelfish, pair of bristlenose plecos, and 5-6 barbs) run me. Just give me a ballpark price.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

Chief_waterchanger

If you could make one of the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association meetings we could bring one down to sell you much cheaper than retail.

I am going to send you a private message with other details including price ranges of both retail and private.

Coryd55

Alright I can talk to my mom. It said on the Assoc.'s website the date of the next meeting. I will try to convince her. Unless the price of the fish is way more than I expect she should be cooperative.