Waggles Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 (edited) Here is my very first coldwater tank - water, conditioner, comets, filter all set up in one day: this is what happens when you buy at a supermarket pet store that will sell you anything and nod and smile at your naivety. Goldfish are tough, my fishies survived two years of tank abuse and ignorance. No bacteria content. Washing out the filter sponge in tap water. Overfeeding (I thought they loved me when I walked over to the tank). Weekly water changes, with a good squirt of water ager from Big W (cheap). Eventually when they started dying I called in to a local aquarium shop and asked why me? After getting a good telling off and buying a pH kit after two years of keeping fish the results were bright yellow. There was probably more ammonia in the tank than fresh tap water. So if you have a niece or nephew or the child next door and they want to take up keeping fish - Goldfish/Comets are a good starting point. Practice on coldwater fishies (although mine had a heater set to 21C as it gets to minus degrees here in the Barossa Valley, SA.) After a period of mourning and having an empty tank I ventured back to the aquarium shop 'Gawler Aquariums' run by husband and wife Trevor and Wendy. They are to blame for my addiction as they showed me what one can do with freshwater tropicals. But first you must learn about fishkeeping and aquariums before you buy fish... rats!!! Fortunately, I came across a great introductory web-site for the novice - first tank guide dot net - surprise, surprise how much I did not know. I am now (with hand over heart) learning to be a responsible fish owner. Edited December 27, 2014 by Waggles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unheatedtank Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Time to move on to american mate, then african and back to goldfish like me lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waggles Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Time to move on to american mate, then african and back to goldfish like me lol Funny you should say that, as I miss my Goldies. They are so much more interactive and amusing to watch than tropicals. Like the way they all swam over to the tank corner lip syncing "Feed us, feed us"... They would always rearrange the gravel, and eat the plants or pull them out. And if they were still bored they would chase the bristlenoses around for entertainment. The trouble with an addiction is that you can't say no; you can't stop. Yes, why not a third tank and some more Goldies??? I would be kinder this time around. And some more filters, and some more plants, and some more of everything... AAAhhhh where to place it? What power sockets are available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waggles Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Having gained confidence in the zen of fishkeeping, I have undertaken the challenge of tropicals. This time I actually started reading about introduction to care and maintenance of your aquarium 101. How to do a water change. Compatible fish for a community. The nitrate cycle and good bacteria in your tank. More filtration is better than none. pH and your fish. Products, products and products... Plants for your tank. This is all more complicated than my cat Sahara! She looks after herself and I only have to change her kitty litter [which is definitely not going into the tank]. Anyway, there are still wrong choices: my Giant Danios are not all that compatible with my Gouramis and are bossy greedy guts. They are going out as giveaways. Then there are two Pearl Gouramis, and two Dwarf Gouramis, along with one surviving left-over pink coloured Tetra. There were more but let's not talk about that. Down bottom are two surviving bristlenoses (M+F) from my goldfish tank. Now I read on the internet (so it must be true) that the rule of thumb is, one fish per US gallon [4litres]. My little two foot tank is 65litres = 16 US gallons. Therefore I can theoretically have up to 16 fish in my tank. Right??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Not really. You left out a measurement. I think it was around 1 inch of fish per gallon or 1 cm of fish per litre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
