manmade

hi all, just started getting into this whole fish thing.
i was lured in by the amazingly bright coloured fishes, too bad most are for saltwater setups...which i can't afford =(.
i have a 16 gallon tank with nothing in it yet. just letting the water settle...i guess? i did put a gold gourami in it, a survivor from a fish bowl setup =X.
can anyone recommend some bright fishies that'll get along with everyone? tanks >>> wawa wa waaa.

Neville

hi, welcome to fishlore. gold gouramis can become territorial and may harass other fish, u can keep mollies and swordtails with them.

manmade

thanks neville. i'll keep those fish in mind.
got another newbie question....should i be keeping my power filter on all the time...or just let it go for about 8 -10 hours a day?
my lights too...the aquarium is in an area with natural light, but not direct sunlight. should i still need to leave the lights on for 10 hours a day?
thanks in advance.

sgould

Welcome! Your filter should stay on all the time. You would not want to leave your lights on any more than 8-10 hours or you risk an algae outbreak. If the area the tank is in has natural lighting, you might want to leave the tank lights off when you are not actually viewing the fish. The rest of the time, the ambient natural lighting will be sufficient for the fish to do their thing, and will allow you to save a bit of power and not tempt the algae gods. If you choose to leave the lights on, then you might want to consider adding some type of algae eating fish as well to help control any growth.

Sean

tan.b

guppies are colourful fish. the males in particular. there are loads of colour combinations to choose from and they are very peaceful. dont put them with a betta though as the betta will attack the guppies tails. betta's are beautiful (i think the most beautiful freshwater fish) but need alot of care and experience and i dont think are suitable for beginners. i'd love one, but i darent put it in a community tank cos they get picked on by any fish that likes to nip fins by the sounds of things. they are prob best kept on their own and i cant afford any more tanks!! bettas also cant be kept with another betta. (2 boys would fight, and girl and boy would breed and fight and not sure about 2 girls, but sounds too risky!!!) anyway, why am i rambling abot bettas??
platties and mollys are easy to keep and friendly with just about any other fish and colourful. neon/cardinal tetras are colourful and easy to keep and friendly with most fish AS LONG AS they are kept in a group of at least 5. if kept in less than that they will not feel secure and can start getting defensive and nip other fish. before you buy any fish have a quick read up on them to check what temperament they have or any special care they require. the fish profiles (see top and bottom of page and there's a link) on here are good for an overview.
welcome to fishlore and any questions let us know!! good luck!
oh, by the way, have you read the freshwater for beginners section on this site...have a good read of the nitrogen cycle. this is the most important thing you will read regarding fish keeping! click on fish tanks begginers guides at bottom of page......have fun!
tan

manmade

great! thanks for all the tips. i did read that beginners guide and it helped a whole lot.
just an update i guess...if anyone cares to know. =)

i added...

1 fruit tetra
1 bala shark
1 red honey gourami
4 jumbo neon tetras
to the original gold gourami

so far so good...but i notice the gold gourami chasing the red honey around at times. seems harmless for now, at least the red honey doesnt seem to be hiding and scared from "leonidas". also i'm gonna add 2 male dwarf gouramis...and that's it! no more! =) hopefully they won't feel crowded in my 16 gallon.

Stradius011

Welcome to Fishlore! You should return the bala shark as they like to school and can grow to 13 inches and you will need a school of fruit tetras.

susitna-flower

manmade

thanks, i really should get a master test kit...i think the gold gourami might have a case of the ICH. =/

right now i got a baby bala shark...i figure by the time it needs a bigger tank i'll have space for a bigger aquarium. *cross fingers*

tan.b

if you dont alreadyknow.....for ich, raise the temp to 84F/29C for 14 days and do water changes and this will sort out the ich. ich is a parasite that cant survive these temps once in the free swimming state, so it cant re-attach and re-infect. the water changes will help eliminate it and fresh water is always good to help a poorly fish. saves medicating the tank and the carbon filtering to get rid of it :P and its practically free!!!
tan

manmade

oh thx tan.b. i can return the ich medication i just bought. will all my fish be ok in that temp?? and do i do more frequent water changes? i'm thinking i'll do 20% change weekly.

tan.b

no prob, it was butterfly who taught me this, so thanks her nxt time you see her around the boards! it seems most fish will tolerate these temps. if you have anything delicate it may be worth checking, but all my fish were fine with it (i dont have anything special/delicate though!). if you do 20% every few days for a couple of weeks its make sure the ich is removed and provide clean water for the fish to heal, also this will add more oxygen to the water as the higher temp results in less dissolved oxygen. if you have an airstone or bubbly filterthen thats a bonus!!
tan
EDIT: just found your list of fish....i reckon they'll be fine with warmer water!

manmade

after a few casualties =(...things are looking better.
it looks like the warm water treatment is working.
i'm noticing less "white spots" on my gourami.
another week and hopefully all will be gone.
can i put a betta in there with some gouramis?

atmmachine816

Welcome to fishlore

no betta's are from the same family as gouramis and they will fight.

tan.b

good good! glad to hear all is going well now . yeah, there's not many fish that can go with a betta, thats why they tend to be kept on their own with a few ottos/cories for their cleanup crew.....you could always get another tank.............
tan

COBettaCouple

welcome to fishlore.. what's the status of your tank now & what fish are in it (you mentioned casualties)?

Isabella

Welcome to our forum, and best of luck with your 16 gallon tank

manmade

Looks to be stable now. Ich is almost gone. Waiting another week before adding more fish...if i can wait that long..=S.
Right now, I have one gold gourami, a red honey gourami, and a fruit tetra...doesn't seem too happy at the moment. ( i lost some neon tetras and a bala shark, the first neon tetra i found behind one of my rocks, it had it's eyeballs and a chunk of it's body missing. i'm assuming the shark had his way after it died..then the bala followed the next day - now that's karma! )
I'm hoping to add this really cool cray fish i saw the other day. anyone think this is a bad idea?
I'm lovin this forum...it's been sooo informative...and you guys have been great with the tips.

COBettaCouple

How often have you been doing water changes? You lost all of the neons, huh? that stinks.

I'm not sure about a cray with gouramis and a tetra.. I'd recommend posting a question in the beginners forum and/or the misc forum and/or the gourami forum to see if the gourami owners can set you up with the info. They can also tell you how big your gourami will get to be as adults and how much room is left in the tank for new fish.

You might want to use whatever room you have left in the tank for more fruit tetras.. you should also ask in your post if that type of tetra is happier in a group of 6 or more. Seems like most tetras are and can get in a fin-nipping mood when there's less than 6 & it could lead to conflict with the gourami.

I'm sure there are fish keepers here who really know the tetras & gourami and will be able to get your tank population good to go. Best of luck with it.

manmade

well...after thinking about it for a while...i gave my gold gourami up for adoption. my co-worker took it, hopefully he'll take care of it. it was just bullying the other two fish, specially during feeding time. it's gonna get too big for the tank anyway, so might as well give it up now.

now i can get more fish!! wooohoo!!

COBettaCouple

LOL.. it's fun to buy fish.

manmade

woohoo! got more fish. i posted pics in the "Fish & Tanks" section.