Advice on an aquarium

[BADMIHAI]

Ever since I saw Jabba's fish tank, I wanted to get one of my own. If you guys have the time, I'd appreciate any advice on expenses and maintenance work required for a small/medium aquarium. I also want recommendations for what fish (some that won't be expensive, and won't die on me) and fish tank I should buy .

Thanks in advance!

Mihai

[Junk2006]

get those fish that suck on the fishtank walls they won't die too easy.

[666fast]

First, how much space do you have? Aquariums take up more space that you would think. The tank can't be flush up against the wall, due to all the stuff that hangs off the back.
The next thing you shoudl consider is what fish will you keep. Some fish get big and therefore need a big tank. Despite what people say, a fish won't grow only as big as the tank allows them too. I don't know how many times I've seen 10" Oscars in 20gallon tanks. Damn thing can barely turn around.

By small to medium I'm guessing you want something in the 55 gallon or less area. A 55 gallon tank is 4 feet long I believe. Believe it or not, 55gallon tanks are actually pretty cheap. It's pretty much the standard sized aquarium.

How much you spend depends entirely on tank size and what fish you want to keep. obviously, Goldfish will be cheaper than Lionfish. Not just in the cost of the fish, but in what it needs to properly care for it.
Maintenance also depends on what fish and tank size. A bigger tank doesn't have to be cleaned as often as a smaller tank. Fish type matters because some are eating and pooping machines.
It's hard to say what it would cost, but you could get a 55 gallon tank and stand for roughly $300 new. Make sure to check the used classifieds in the newspaper. There is nothing wrong with a second hand tank. They usually come with extra stuff such as filters, decorations, etc.. at a good price.
Make sure to look the tank over. Always check it for cracks. Obvously, you aren't gonna be happy if it empties itself on the floor. If it's an acrylic tank, look for scratches. If you find some, talk down the price as it can't be fixed. If a glass tank is scratched, it can be fixed.

Some fish to look at:
Convict Cichlids. Tough little bastards. With proper care, they actually look far better than whats in the pic. Some are pink, some have a blue tint to them. I had them for awhile, awesome fish.
http://www.aquariumfish.net/images_01/convict_pair_with_fry_2.jpg

African peacock Cichlids Awesome looking fish, they can be blue like this one, or yellow with bluie stripes and so on. Easy to take care of. The females are a brown color.
http://www.elmersaquarium.com/image_fish/01%20cichlid_African_PEACOCK_Aulonocara_male.jpg

Blue Acara, cool fish. I had them sometime ago. Easy to take care of and very easy to breed. You'll need a bit bigger tank for these guys (45-55gallons) they get to be about 8-9 inches maximum.
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/cichlid-pictures/1_acara.jpg

Electric Blue Hap. I never kept them myself, a few friends did. They all told me they were easy to care for. The bright blue depends on how well you take care fo them. Good water and food and they get to this awesome blue color. There is also a Electric Yellow Hap that have a yellow or orande color.
http://www.tjorvar.is/assets/images/Sci_fryeri_06_kk.jpg

Some bigger guys:

Green Terror. Yes, they are absolute Terrors. If you want one, you'll need at least a 55 gallon aquarium for one. They will eat anything they can get in their mouths. So, if you want to keep it with something, it'll have to be of equal size. Which means a really big tank. I was actually afriad of mine! It bit me numerous times! There is also a Red Terror, it gets just a bit bigger than the Green Terror. But looks just as cool.
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/img/gterror1.jpg

Then there are these guys, I wouldn't recommend them to you, they can be a bit hard to take care of. Add in that they can be quite expensive, you probably won't consider them. They also require at minimum, a 55gallon tank just for 3 or 4 full grown fish.
Discus, as you can clearly see, they are beautiful. Often referred to as the King Of the Aquarium. Great fish if you have the patience to try and keep them. They come in just about every color and pattern you could think of. Some people are so anal retentive about them that they keep them in bare tanks. No sand, plants decorations, nothing. just fish and water! Some will even buy super expensive Reverse Osmosis units for better water. Some people even store water in barrels and age it to get all the chemicals out and to reduce it's hardness!
I myself kept them in a planted tank. makes them really stand out if you choose the right plants.

http://fnp_aquarama01.tripod.com/aquarama/discus.jpg

http://freshwaterfishes2.tripod.com/150m/discus.jpg

http://www.aquarticles.com/images/NZ%20Aquarists/Gord%20Mckay/GM12%20Discus%20pair_b.jpg


If you want any more info, just ask. I could go one forever, but you are better off browsing here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/
Soon as you know what fish you'd like to keep, you'll know what size tank and extras to get. You'll be able to get a better idea of what it will cost.

I myself would like to go for an Arroawana if I could afford it, but I don't have room for a 150gallon tank! LOL

[BADMIHAI]

Thanks a million 666! That was very good advice. I think I won't go for a tank larger than 55 gallons, as I don't have a small fortune to spend. As for fish, it will probabily be gold fish. Now all I need is to find the proper tank, and choose the decorations. Again, thanks!

[RC45]

Drop fishfreek a line... ;)

[BADMIHAI]

Drop fishfreek a line... ;)

I don't know, man. I'm scared he might start stalking me if I do. :shock: :wink:

[666fast]

As for fish, it will probabily be gold fish.


That makes it easy. Everything you could want to know is here:
http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/goldfish.html

A well planted 55 gallon with about 5 or 6 goldfish would be quite cool. Who knows, give it a try and maybe one day you could pull something liek this off:
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48127/p35_l.jpg

[666fast]

ow do they managae to get the "gras" to grow like that,


By using the right plant. Plant one big clump, let it grow, spilt it apart and replant. Dot hat many many times and eventually it carpets the entire tank. It's not that hard, just requires a bit of patience. And good water and light. LOL


how do they clean the bottom of the tank when its all covered like that????


You pretty much don't. You can use a syphon filter to kind fo vacuum the grass, but other than that, you do nothing. Fully planted tanks don't get cleaned often. Maybe once or twice a year you completely tear it apart and give it a good cleaning. In a tank like that, it would easily be a 3 day project. Mine took a good day and a half to tear apart, clean and put back together. Then you just have to worry about fish getting stressed.

BTW, that tank was built by Takashi Amano. He's known all over the world for his planted aquariums and books. Some of them are insane.
Here are some pics of his other creations:
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48575/aki6.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48576/amano.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48577/amanoADA2003a.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48580/amanoADA2003b.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48582/aquajournal35_01.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48583/aquajournal37_02.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48584/g29.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48585/images623183.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48586/paisajismo.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48587/testata.jpg
http://www.zippyimages.com/files/48588/ultimatedarkside.jpg

[BADMIHAI]

It seems he sure knows his Xs. :lol:


EDIT: It seems maintaining an aquarium requires a lot of work...for which I don't have time. I'll have to reconsider my idea.... :cry:

[666fast]

It seems he sure knows his Xs.


I take it none of the pics showed up? Stupid free hosting crap
Works for me though.

EDIT- you can view some of the pics here:
http://www.disky-design.dk/fish/amano.html
http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/discus/amano/
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2637/amanopix.html

[BADMIHAI]

OMG! Those pictures are just great. You're not making it easy on me, man! :wink:

[sikx5]

dude, i can see that ur my age, and if you plan on buying a car or saving, dont get into aquariums. Ive spent over $4gAU on this hobby...its addictive, you always wish you had a bigger tank and so on..it never stops. :twisted:

[BADMIHAI]

dude, i can see that ur my age, and if you plan on buying a car or saving, dont get into aquariums. Ive spent over $4gAU on this hobby...its addictive, you always wish you had a bigger tank and so on..it never stops. :twisted:


Thanks, mate! I just realized it takes alot of dedication (and funds) to maintain an aquarium. It would be OK for the money, but I don't have the time to take care of the fish. Most likely, I'll start with this when I'm older.
Thanks for your help, guys!

[sikx5]

Dont get me wrong, its a great hobby, just required a lot of dedication. here are some shots of my tank, its 1.5years old and ive spent roughly 4g. Its a reef tank, 6x2x2 180gallons, 3x250watt 14,000k bulbs, turboflotor 1000 and de-nitrator.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5310/DSCF1855_resize.JPG
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2321/DSCF1861Large.JPG
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5976/DSCF1877Large.JPG
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/8858/DSCF1908Large.JPG
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6386/DSCF2083Large.JPG

[Jabba]

Some lovely stuff here...I hope fishfreek sees this thread.

[fishfreek]

Aquarium Advice direct from the source. www.aquariumadvice.com

Photos of my tanks

www.vafishfreek.com/gallery/

[DR.GONZO]

dam nice set up's do you have pics of your jabba? I wanna see that!

[DR.GONZO]

here are the pics of the fish we have, maganieus fist then living stoney then DIABLO!


I'll try later DAMM!

[Jabba]

dam nice set up's do you have pics of your jabba? I wanna see that!

Thera are a few pictures in my house thread in "general chat"...I need to get some better pictures of it though when I get a chance.