planning a tank setup.... help.....

ok heres my current situation.... bought a 10 gallon tank and have 3 fantails and 3 mollys.... ones prego. tank is set up and the fish are doing good, the only problem I have is the first goldfish we got is a big bully to everyone.... hes tried to eat the tail of the black moore we have and actually ate the three baby mollys that wound up in the bag with our other mollys when we bought them.... (I figured theyd be too big.... they were about this size __ and the goldfish is only about this size _____________ ....so.... anyways this setup is just temp. we are moving in about 4 months to a bigger place and I will be getting a bigger tank...(probly about a 50 gallon.... we plan on keeping the ten gallon for our daughter, and it will have just the fantails in it. when I get my 50 gallon I want to have guppies and mollys....nothing but..... so.... what would be a good equipment list and a good layout in order to have healthy happy fish? oh and I love the babies, so any info on that would be great....I cont have more than the two tanks so I can't have a separate tank for the babies and if I can figure out a way to separate the tank into maybe one big section and one little section then that's fine, but how big should the sections be and how would I do it?..... I love fishies! I absolutley love livebearers...id rather have a big school of tiny fish then 2 or 3 bigger fish......

 

OK lesson one: write in paragraphs so we can decipher it!

Lesson two: don't put big gold fish with little fish: You know the Chinese eat their goldfish? gold fish is of the carp family. Gold fish is best kept with other goldfish.... not in a community tank.

lesson three:
this is a hard one, and sorry I write in this style, I just mean this tongue in cheek...

Say you wanted to have a baby. Do you organise the baby room when the baby is born, or the nine months before? youwould plan and buy and paint and everything is organised when the baby comes home right?

Well likewise with your animals. plan the environment before you buy your pets, so the same with fish.

I suggest you give your fish back to the and start again:

Wait until you move and have the fish tank. get your gravel with substrate if you want plants... Your fish tank should be away from direct sunlight, proper lighting - very important if you are going to have plants.
A filter suited to the size and type of your tank. a testing kit for PH, NH3, NO2 and NO3 as a bare minimum, KH,GH, PO4 are also very useful to know the reading of. a notebook to write these test results in.

CO2 testkit is needed if you want a planted tank and add CO2 - to, much will kill your fish!

also have a good look for rocks, or pieces of wood. if you want to go the kitch way or kids way, add some other stuff like a sign that says no fishing Buy them in the shop, dint just put rocks and stuff from the bush or out of the local creek. this could bring nasties into your tank, unless you boil everything for 20 min.

Ok put any substrate in (laterite and peatmoss are good items), then a layer of gravel and a saucepan on the bottom. (test your tap water) The end of the hose - with a sock or pantyhose) on top of the saucer and slowly fill the tank about a third - to half full. Then add rocks, wood, plants internal filter etc, fill up the tank add the external filter if you have one and filter the whole lot for about 3-7 days before you add the fish. NO need to age your water because no fish is in the tank, waterchanges need to be aged.

Test your water every day.

Add 2 fish or school of 6 small fish. Wait another week and test your water everyday. This is to start the nitrogen cycle.

Then you can add fish every second day, but preferable every week a few more fish until you have about 1 inch of fish for every gallon of water - this is a rule of thumb, the proper measurements might be different.

Test everyday until the NH3 and the No2 and the NO3 are settled (they should be 0!) If you have a planted thank and a good filter than this should be in about a month after the fish are introduced.

Change 1/3 water weekly or fortnightly, test the water after every water change and write these measurements in your notebook. Also write in your notebook the chemical s you used (PH-up, KH-Up white spot treatment etc) when and what type of fish you bought, plants you bought, eggs or life bearers born... anything to do with your tank!

Enjoy your fish!

 

Great advice Wizzbone

CO2 testkit is needed if you want a planted tank and add CO2 - to, much will kill your fish!

Yes, CO2 injections are necessary in a medium- to high-light planted tank with the more demanding plant types. Otherwise, you can have a successful planted tank without CO2 injections as well I don't think CO2 test is necessary in a low-light planted tank since no CO2 is added there.

Ok put any substrate in (laterite and peatmoss are good items) ...

I think that if a person has a low-light tank with plants that attach to decor / driftwood only, a regular plain inert gravel is enough. Laterite would be useless in a tank without rooting plants. If, however, a person has a lot of rooting plants, then any nutrient-rich substrate would certainly be beneficial

 

The goldfish need a MUCH larger tank than 10g. They get big and are heavy waste producers - at least a 55 gallon would be needed for them. I'd move them to a larger tank or return them, they'll be pretty miserable in that tank before long and wipe out the mollies.

 

I agree with FLBettaCouple

 

ok... thanks for the info....ill keep all that in mind....oh and Wizzbone thank you for the wrighting pointers adn the tank info.... also, weve had the goldfish for about 2 weeks...(almost 3) and I do change half the water every 3-4 days and vacuum the gravel then also.... and the goldfish are only about 1 inch big right now anyways..... how fast do they grow? in a few months they will be seperated from the mollys.... anything else?