HELP FOR A NOOB PLANNING ON HIS DREAM TANK

I am starting in the fishkeeping hobby and found the corys in my local fish shop. i am thinking about buying a tank but i need help on deciding what size, what to put in it, should i keep live plants or fake plants, what type of decoration i should have and what other fish go well with corys. i would appreciate all suggestions and let me kno if you have any ideas for me below. thanks guys.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Croc on April 30, 2012 at 5:06pm

BAD NEWS

i had to give the 20g back to the guy who gave it to me for free so no more fish and no more tank. i have to start all over again thxs guys for the help i dont know what to do now dont have alot of money and a 20g long here costs a minumum of $150 i no kinda outrages. i would still love all of the info you guys are giving me jst information about a 20glong wil not be included

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Doug T. on April 30, 2012 at 7:30pm

That sucks, especially if you already started buying some stuff for it. If you have the patience to wait and have a Petco near you, every few months they do a dollar/gallon sale, so a 20 gallon tank would only be 20 bucks. The last sale the ones near me had was around Christmas so they're probably due for another soon.

And I'm glad to hear that you didn't really put "live" rock in your tank.lol

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Miguel(CaptinFindus) on April 30, 2012 at 8:10pm

Here Are Some Plants You Might Like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5S5iCq_Z-k

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tony G - AquaStudent on May 2, 2012 at 6:53pm

I would recommend going as large as you can with your budget. Remember you'll have to tally up the cost of filtration, heating, lighting, decoration and all the fish with it. It adds up quick.

A 20 or 30 gallon tank is a good starting size. I recommend going as large as you can because it'll give you more stocking options and will be more stable. A rather crude example is peeing in a bucket tarnishes the water more than peeing in the ocean. More water means more stable parameters.

As for plants or no plants that's something that you can decide on later if you don't want to now. Plants will help keep a system healthy but also is something extra to maintain (this can be good or bad). I'd recommend going with some low light plants at first, anubias, swords, cryptocorynes, jungle val, etc. you can find lists of good plants all over the place. Make sure you have a good spectrum light (roughly 6500k is my favorite although many other spectrums work). Incandescent hoods are good because you can replace the incandescent bulb with a compact flourescent bulb. This however may not work depending on how large of a tank you have. Flourescent strips are also a good option. They are generally inexpensive and you don't need a lot to get into low lighting. I'm hesitant to say shoot for 1.5-2 watts per gallon because that ratio isn't really the best but it's a good starting point.

The most important thing I can tell you is be patient. Patience is the key to this hobby and without it you will get very frustrated and loose interest quick. Take it one step at a time and learn. Do what you want to do but have a backup plan in case things don't work out.

Good luck and feel free to pm me or contact me on youtube if you have any specific questions.

Cheers!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tony G - AquaStudent on May 2, 2012 at 6:54pm

If you're looking for a setup that doesn't need to be mint check your local craigslist. you can often times find some great deals on used setups.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chanyce Speakman on May 2, 2012 at 7:37pm

Everybody does things differently. There are pros and cons to many different set ups. My best advise is do not go blindly into this hobby or you will lose a lot of money and time. Get a book on freshwater aquariums as well as any type of fish you are thinking of keeping. Just do research and find what is best for you. That is the best thing you could start with. Also, a last piece of advise. BE PATIENT! Patience and knowledge through research is the best thing.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Croc on May 10, 2012 at 8:21pm

Hey guys what do u think about a 10g sand planted multies tank

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Naomi Slater on July 18, 2012 at 7:07pm

Steer clear of fake plants. They are fake! Live plants are beneficial to the system you are creating for your fish. They process the water, provide refuge and look so much better than plastic or silk. I have a mixture of stem plants and plants attached to wood, and my corys have not uprooted anything. They do like to excavate under the wood and make caves though. The more palnts, the better.