Discussion
Ok, totally off topic here.....
I'm interested in getting a fish tank for my flat. I'd really like marine fish, but understand they're a bit difficult (and expensive) to keep, so perhaps tropical is a better bet?
I'd like a tank that it's too big, and can be placed in the corner. I quite fancy a BiUbe aquarium, as they look pretty funky:
http://www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/ishop/1029/shopscr369.html
but are they just over priced tat?
Also, what to people do when they go away at the weekend or on holiday for a week? Can you get a device to feed them?
cheers :)
I'm interested in getting a fish tank for my flat. I'd really like marine fish, but understand they're a bit difficult (and expensive) to keep, so perhaps tropical is a better bet?
I'd like a tank that it's too big, and can be placed in the corner. I quite fancy a BiUbe aquarium, as they look pretty funky:
http://www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/ishop/1029/shopscr369.html
but are they just over priced tat?
Also, what to people do when they go away at the weekend or on holiday for a week? Can you get a device to feed them?
cheers :)
I have a marine tank that is about 350 gallons.
Bigger the tank then (generally) the easier it is with marine fish.
Small tanks are a lot harder to keep in equilibrium and marine fish are more sensitive to fluctuations in their environment that tropical or cold water fish.
It's even harder if you have corals etc.
Bigger the tank then (generally) the easier it is with marine fish.
Small tanks are a lot harder to keep in equilibrium and marine fish are more sensitive to fluctuations in their environment that tropical or cold water fish.
It's even harder if you have corals etc.
KITT said:
Ok, totally off topic here.....
I'm interested in getting a fish tank for my flat. I'd really like marine fish, but understand they're a bit difficult (and expensive) to keep, so perhaps tropical is a better bet?
cheers
Hello Matt
Marine fish are ones that live in the sea, and tropical fish are one that's that live in the err.... tropics. You can get freshwater fish that live in the tropics and also marine fish that live in temperate areas.
Marine tropical fish are the hardest to keep, and the most expensive to buy. They also have a good "death rate". Also, most of the marine tropical fish you can buy in this country are caught overseas (regardelss of what the fish shop owners says) as they are notoriuly hard to breed in captivity. For every 10 fish caught alive on a coral reef, 9 will be dead by the time they reach here. To catch them the locals use cyanide to "poison" them into a stupor. They rise to the surface, and are scooped up and put in bags to be shipped to foreign shores. Those that they don't want are left to "fend for themselves" - which usually means larger fish not affected by the cyanide come along and eat them, and those that die en route to your local Fishworld are binned.
Anyway, why am I saying this? IF you decide to get a tank PLEASE do NOT get a marine tropical tank. Get a freshwater tropical tank by all means, as these fish are easier to keep, cheaper to buy, breed in captivity and some are just as cute n purdy as their marine counterparts.
nd you don't need to bu66er about with synthetic sea salts to make the water from the Dorset District Water Board or whoever you have, feel like back home on the reef in the Philippines!
Anyway, sorry, rant over...
Oh, and don't buy a Bio Orb (a round one with the filter system running up the middle). They're shite and algae up in 5 minutes!
diddyman said:Forgive my ignorance, but are you refering to fish like Clown fish, Damsels etc? I was lead to believe they are bread in captivity? I wouldn't want a fish that's been taken from it's nautral habit (I used to go diving in the Red Sea when we lived in Saudi Arabia).
Also, most of the marine tropical fish you can buy in this country are caught overseas (regardelss of what the fish shop owners says) as they are notoriuly hard to breed in captivity.
diddyman said:So I guess the BiUbe will be just as crap?
Oh, and don't buy a Bio Orb (a round one with the filter system running up the middle). They're shite and algae up in 5 minutes!
I really want a tank that can sit in a corner and doesn't have a large foot print. I can't justify one of those column ones (~£600), so if anyone' got any suggestions?
I've got three freshwater tropical tanks up at present, a 125ltr, a 180ltr and a 260ltr. That's all I am in a position to comment, I've never ventured into Marine stuff.
I agree with the other comments, the bigger the tank the easier to keep "happy", small tanks can go bad very quickly, but once they are set up freshwater tropical tanks don't need so much attention. From what my Marine-keeping friends tell me their tanks need more frequent attention to keep the water quality in tip-top condition. Also Marine fish are more expensive than freshwater.
The biggest consideration is : Where are you going to put the tank ??
Water is heavy, really heavy, you just won't believe how hugely mind-bogglingly heavy it is, I mean you might think the tank on it's own is heavy but listen.........
Sorry about that, what I meant to say is that water is heavy, roughly speaking 1ltr = 1KG, 1 imp gallon = 1 stone, so you need to be sure where you place the tank is strong enough to take the weight, and that you are not going to need/want to move it about every couple of weeks...........
The BioOrb type tanks look great, and are supposed to have excellent filtration systems, but be under no illusions you are going to have to plan "maintenance" approximately every couple of weeks initially, then maybe move out to 3 to 4 weekly intervals.
Don't be tempted to fill her up and bung in the fish straight away either, or you will be disapointed in the number of fatalities you have. You need to let the filter media "mature".
Use a rough rule of 1 to 2 inches of fish per gallon to avoid overstocking. In the example on the web-page a 35ltr tank = 7.5 gallons therefore 7 to 14 inches of fish. In reality this means you can have a small shoal of little fish, like tetras or danios and couple of bigger things like gouramis, mollies or loaches.
By the way I don't mean to teach anyone to suck eggs here, just assuming you're a novice starting up for the first time !!
I agree with the other comments, the bigger the tank the easier to keep "happy", small tanks can go bad very quickly, but once they are set up freshwater tropical tanks don't need so much attention. From what my Marine-keeping friends tell me their tanks need more frequent attention to keep the water quality in tip-top condition. Also Marine fish are more expensive than freshwater.
The biggest consideration is : Where are you going to put the tank ??
Water is heavy, really heavy, you just won't believe how hugely mind-bogglingly heavy it is, I mean you might think the tank on it's own is heavy but listen.........
Sorry about that, what I meant to say is that water is heavy, roughly speaking 1ltr = 1KG, 1 imp gallon = 1 stone, so you need to be sure where you place the tank is strong enough to take the weight, and that you are not going to need/want to move it about every couple of weeks...........
The BioOrb type tanks look great, and are supposed to have excellent filtration systems, but be under no illusions you are going to have to plan "maintenance" approximately every couple of weeks initially, then maybe move out to 3 to 4 weekly intervals.
Don't be tempted to fill her up and bung in the fish straight away either, or you will be disapointed in the number of fatalities you have. You need to let the filter media "mature".
Use a rough rule of 1 to 2 inches of fish per gallon to avoid overstocking. In the example on the web-page a 35ltr tank = 7.5 gallons therefore 7 to 14 inches of fish. In reality this means you can have a small shoal of little fish, like tetras or danios and couple of bigger things like gouramis, mollies or loaches.
By the way I don't mean to teach anyone to suck eggs here, just assuming you're a novice starting up for the first time !!
KITT said:
Forgive my ignorance, but are you refering to fish like Clown fish, Damsels etc? I was lead to believe they are bread in captivity? I wouldn't want a fish that's been taken from it's nautral habit (I used to go diving in the Red Sea when we lived in Saudi Arabia).
Yes, them! Most of them do not breed well in captivity, so most have to be imported.
KITT said:
So I guess the BiUbe will be just as crap?
Dunno what a BiUbe is, but it may be!
phil hill said:Not at all! All advice is much appreciated as I've never had an aquarium before so it's all new to me
By the way I don't mean to teach anyone to suck eggs here, just assuming you're a novice starting up for the first time !!
I did figure that the bigger the tank the heavier it would be. I guess the BiUbe would weight about ~40kg when full, which is pretty heavy.
One of my friends has a shoal of neon tetras which look pretty nice. Are they any more colourful tropical fish? After my experiences in the Red Sea I'd love a marine setup, but I think for now I'll stick with tropical
pdV6 said:Me, go to a GARDEN centre! Actually you're right, I went there just before Christmas to get some decorations and do remember they have a fish section. Might try and get over there this weekend. Cheers
Matt - get yourself to Cadbury garden centre; lots of fish and lots of tanks to look at there...
cotty said:
What's the temperature of the water supposed to be, with guppies, etc.?
off the top of my head I think its 23degrees need to check though
Yep its 23degrees. Im a bit worried as my tank is running at 28 as my lounge gets realy hot in this weather the fish seem to be more active though
Make sure when you set the tank up to use real plants that you can get from where you get your fish from. They help to airate the water
Try and get hold of a book called The Complete Aquarium by Peter W Scott. It shows lot of ways to set the tank up using different plants, rocks, sand, gravel and what sort of fish like which environment.
There is a lot more to it that I first thought, you can do so much more that just pour in some gravel, a couple of plants and a rock or two
Try and get hold of a book called The Complete Aquarium by Peter W Scott. It shows lot of ways to set the tank up using different plants, rocks, sand, gravel and what sort of fish like which environment.
There is a lot more to it that I first thought, you can do so much more that just pour in some gravel, a couple of plants and a rock or two
KITT said:
I'd like a tank that it's too big, and can be placed in the corner. I quite fancy a BiUbe aquarium, as they look pretty funky:
www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/ishop/1029/shopscr369.html
but are they just over priced tat?
If you dont mind secondhand you could try e-bay or this site I just found www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk
People tend to upgrade a lot so need to sell their old tank
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