Starter advice - help!

[afc69]

Hi all, I'm going to get back into keeping tropical fish, now that I'm in my 60s and recently retired.

I kept tropical fish way back in the late 70s when in my mid teens, but then, other stuff took over Used to keep Angel fish, Tiger Barbs, Guppies, Neon Tetras etc etc. Wasn't an altogether successful experience, lifespan of the fish wasn't long but I never quite worked out why that was - ph levels of water, for example, or the types and quantities of fish I was trying to group together?

Had a look at my local Dobbies and Pets at Home today, to see tank sizes. As a beginner, would you reckon a 60 litre tank would suffice (60cm x 30cm x 40cm|) and if so, how would you guys stock it - type of fish and how many of each?

From memory, I recall being advised to have a couple of scavengers in the tank, to snaffle up all the food that dropped to the bottom of the tank, is that still the advice?

Plants, I take it they are vital to the setup?

Once you have the tank filled up with water, how long before you can introduce the lovelies into the water? I'm going on hols for 2 weeks in late May/early June so was thinking of getting the tank soon, getting it setup and filled up with water but holding off stocking it till I get back, that sound right?

[Chris_jennings]

Hi and welcome.

There are a couple of good articals on this site to help get you started.

https://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1494

https://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=8002

hope these help.

Also it is best to get as big a tank as you can budget for or have space for, things go wrong slower in a larger volume of water.

[VikingMummy2015]

Best to get as big a tank as you have room for; lots of second hand options go for quite cheap on eg Facebook Marketplace too.

You’ll need to figure out your water parameters to get the right stock; looks like you had a right mix of hard and soft water species as well as some not suited to tank sharing!

If you search for your postcode and water parameters in Google, it’ll give you an idea. But it’s always preferable to test your water personally to stay on top of any issues, so a liquid test kit like APi or NT Labs so you can accurately measure gH/kH (hardness/ability to maintain pH), pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

You’ll need to cycle your tank before stocking and you can’t leave it empty without the beneficial bacteria dying off (if you read the guides on the forum, it’ll explain the cycling process). So I’d say you could take time to do your research and then set it up so you can start cycling once you’re back from your holiday.

[Bluetaurus]

Hello and welcome

[Martinspuddle]

Greetings & welcome to

[Stephen]

Hi and welcome to the forum

I echo what VikingMummy2015 had said.
Get the largest aquarium that is in your budget range, the bigger the aquarium the more options available.
Water hardness is a key factor when selecting fish (there are soft water fish species and hard water fish species); which town do you live ?

All the best

[afc69]

Hi and welcome to the forum

I echo what VikingMummy2015 had said.
Get the largest aquarium that is in your budget range, the bigger the aquarium the more options available.
Water hardness is a key factor when selecting fish (there are soft water fish species and hard water fish species); which town do you live ?

All the best

I’m in Aberdeen

Thanks for the responses so far guys, much appreciated. I’m in no rush and so happy to do my research before making selections

[plankton]

Welcome to the forum.
As above, it's the hardness of the water that's most important when deciding what fish you can keep easily.

[Stephen]

Hi and welcome to the forum

I echo what VikingMummy2015 had said.
Get the largest aquarium that is in your budget range, the bigger the aquarium the more options available.
Water hardness is a key factor when selecting fish (there are soft water fish species and hard water fish species); which town do you live ?

All the best

I’m in Aberdeen

Thanks for the responses so far guys, much appreciated. I’m in no rush and so happy to do my research before making selections

Aberdeen water is soft at approx 2.0dGH.
This means you must avoid fish that need hard water such as Guppy, Molly, Swordtails, Platy, Endlers.
The above fish need hard water.

All the best

[VikingMummy2015]

Hi and welcome to the forum

I echo what VikingMummy2015 had said.
Get the largest aquarium that is in your budget range, the bigger the aquarium the more options available.
Water hardness is a key factor when selecting fish (there are soft water fish species and hard water fish species); which town do you live ?

All the best

I’m in Aberdeen

Thanks for the responses so far guys, much appreciated. I’m in no rush and so happy to do my research before making selections

Hello from about 30 miles south!
Water won’t be absolutely identical but it’ll be close (I bought fish from Aberdeen originally back in 2017). Don’t use Pets at Home in town because they sold us fish the day they’d arrived which I only found out later after one died immediately due to the stress.

I can’t remember the store I ended up using most…memory is shot for names! It was out past Kingswells is all I remember .

You’re looking at a nice selection of tetras, gourami and other soft water fish (exact options will depend on tank size). My tank logs from over the years will give you some options.

You might need to keep an eye on your tank kH to make sure your pH doesn’t crash (most likely to happen during cycling when there’s no water changes). I have a wee bit of coral sand in my filter to keep mine buffered now that I have a load of leaf litter in there.