I'm starting to find all this quite depressing..

Right.. I just killed a fish which I found out could only have had swim bladder disease.

It's the 2nd that dies and about 3 have disappeared..

My aquarium is not as nice and clean as I would like it to be and I can't seem to find a book to tell me properly which fish are compatible with which, the diseases and just the general proper way of having a nie successfull tank.

I come here and ask stupid questions to which the answers are often totally opposite to the salesfolk (and sometimes my desires (i.e: how many fish..)

I am sucessfull with most animals.

Had 13 happy dogs.
2 cats.
2 RoborovskI hamsters.
1 syrian hamster.

But I can't sort myself out properly with fish!

 

I'm very sorry to hear that, but I'm sure it will get better. We all had our bad times when we were beginning. As you gain experience you will just learn what works and what doesn't, and it will get much better trust me. I hope you will keep trying.

 

Hello and I'm sorry you are having troubles with your fish.I started out by getting at least 4 of the same kind of fish.Then if my LFS had any other fish in with those then add a few of them.Also most stores have the fish in catagories as to peaceful,aggressive,saltwater and such.Also try reading the tags under the tank you are interested in,most stores will have a color coded system or will have suggested tank mates.Good Luck.

 

They do, but the information I find in store and online seems contradictory. For example, on the net, I found a thing that said my Cherry barbs were neither compatible with my rummy nose tetras or now defunct/disapeared alibon corys...but in store, they said they were!

 

I work at a store that sells fish and we keep corys in with cherry barbs,can't remember what else is in with them though.Also I have owned both and had them together with no problems.My best suggestion would be as I said before but don't spend a lot to do it.Also I wouldn't suggest anything out of the goldfish family if you are wanting a tropical tank.

 

Where did you find something telling you not to keep tetras with cherry barbs? It may have mistakenly said not to keep them with barbs as a whole since some barbs, like tiger barbs, will attack just about everything in a tank.

 

That's not right. I've had no problems with either as far as aggression, and they can live in the same water.

 

They look fairly happy to be honest. They hand around together and all..

 

Hey there!  I am new tothis too.  I had an aquarium a long time ago and only recently got back into it.  I have read books, and sympathize with you frustration about stores/books being contradictory.  I am finding that too.  I am right now having issue with algae in my tank turning my water green.  What is weird is I have had the tank for nearly a year and never had this problem with my frequent partial water changes.  I moved a few months ago and had a friend keep the tank for a few weeks until I was moved in.  She had it where sun got at it for some time every day.  Of course algae grew but when I got the tank back I couldn't get on top of it.  I read about it did all the extra water changes and then I finally asked the store and they told me I was doing too many and changing out too much.  They said to keep the lights off for a week which I did but then it all came back.  It's just a standard fluorescent bulb on a 10 gal tank and the algae came back after anyway.  I only have the lights on maybe 10 hrs a day.  I am quite frustrated with all this because everones advice is the frequent water changes etc, but the store says no because it messes up the nitrogen cycle.  Books say it gets better and is better for your fish if you do more frequent water changes.  I am ready to scream.  

 

Hey there!  I am new tothis too.  I had an aquarium a long time ago and only recently got back into it.  I have read books, and sympathize with you frustration about stores/books being contradictory.  I am finding that too.  I am right now having issue with algae in my tank turning my water green.  What is weird is I have had the tank for nearly a year and never had this problem with my frequent partial water changes.  I moved a few months ago and had a friend keep the tank for a few weeks until I was moved in.  She had it where sun got at it for some time every day.  Of course algae grew but when I got the tank back I couldn't get on top of it.  I read about it did all the extra water changes and then I finally asked the store and they told me I was doing too many and changing out too much.  They said to keep the lights off for a week which I did but then it all came back.  It's just a standard fluorescent bulb on a 10 gal tank and the algae came back after anyway.  I only have the lights on maybe 10 hrs a day.  I am quite frustrated with all this because everones advice is the frequent water changes etc, but the store says no because it messes up the nitrogen cycle.  Books say it gets better and is better for your fish if you do more frequent water changes.  I am ready to scream.  

If your tank is truly cycled, you can't do too many water changes in your tank. If you are not doing anything to kill of your bacteria like gravel cleaning the whole tank bottom at one time weekly, or cleaning filter media with unconditioned water, then your cycle will not be affected by just water changes. Also, if you have live plants in your tank, try completely covering your tank with a blanket or something similar where it will be completely dark in your tank for 3 days with no peeking (called a blackout) and see if this helps with the algae.

Deus, I'm so sorry you are going through this. I have a tank that is so foggy right now with a bacterial bloom, that I can't even enjoy it. This has been an ongoing problem, and I think my filtration is the cause. I'm telling you this because we all have problems with our tanks, no matter how long we've been in the hobby. If you aren't sure about your information, please post it here. No question is a stupid question, and we've all been in your shoes. If you click on the link above that reads: Fishlore.com: Tropical Fish Information, you will find some profiles right here on FishLore that might be helpful. I learned a lot about fish compatibility from looking at the liveaquaria site in the beginning before I found the forums.
fish profiles also has quite a few profiles, and for specific types of fish like cichlids, I would recommend cichlid forum for general information on most cichlids, and www.simplydiscus.com for excellent information on discus. If your tank is not like you would like it to be, maybe we can help you with that. As far as cleaning goes, post your tank's basic information (size, is it cycled?, fish in it, how often do you do water changes, do you vacuum the gravel, and if so, how much with each water change, and how much water do you change out? I don't have as much time as others to attend to my tanks, so I can't do water changes more than once per week. However, when I do my water changes, I change out 50% of my tank water, which seems to work for me.

 

I tried that, heres what it gave me about Tiger barbs and Silver dollars. Which I, and many others, house together. That website is horrible!
Search Results: The Silver Dollar should be kept in groups of 4 or more. The Silver Dollar is not compatible with the Tiger Barb.

EDIT: Just checked this: The Tiger Barb should be kept in groups of 8 and is compatible with Bala Shark, BosemanI Rainbow, Clown Loach, Dwarf Neon Rainbow, Fancy Goldfish, GloFish, Kissing Gourami, Kribensis, KuhlI Loach, Leopard Pleco L114, Molly, Pearl Gourami, Peppermint Pleco L030, Platy, Pleco (Common), Rainbow Shark, Red Tailed Shark, Rosy Barb, Sunshine Pleco L014, Swordtail, Three Spot Gourami, Tin Foil Barb, Upsidedown Catfish, Zebra Danio,

FANCY GOLDFISH??!! Don't trust that site!

 

surely some fish are just especially placid and some especially intollerant of others just as an indivual thing rather than necessarily being because of its breed? also...I have no idea on this one, but can the age that you buy a fish have any impact? also i've heard that for instance danios can nip if not in a big enough group, or if the tank is over crowded, thus turning a placid fish into a naughty fish!......just a thought?! :-\
i've heard mixed reports about barbs. I overheard today in the pet shop that they are not the tollerant of fish. :-\