# im a newb



## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Hi today I bought a fish tank about 5 gallons, water filter an decorations I was wondering what kinda fish besides goldfish could I put in there.... an the 5gallon is what had tomarrow I plan to get a bigger tank


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

sharkattack said:


> Hi today I bought a fish tank about 5 gallons, water filter an decorations I was wondering what kinda fish besides goldfish could I put in there.... an the 5gallon is what had tomarrow I plan to get a bigger tank


goldfish are actually one of the last fish you want to put in there because of the size they get. First off you need to cycle the tank for at least a few weeks so read into how to cycle the tank there are specific threads for how to do it just avoid using feeders to do it. in a five gallon tank you are very limited to what you can have in there.... even if you plan to get a larger tank i always recommend never buy any animal unless you have the proper size tank to house it as an adult right away because they do grow fast things come up and it happens to a lot of people trust me and animals end up homeless. As of right now you may want to look at 2-3 small tetras or glofish danios. you could also have like a microgeophagus (ram cichlid) or apistogramma like a cacatuoides or a dwarf gaurami. maybe a couple male guppies, a betta, or even just some shrimp and try breeding them. there may be a couple other fish i forgot to mention but like i said you are very limited to what you can have for right now just look around research some fish and find out what you want but please please dont over do it.


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## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Can some1 answer my question instead of going around it? I also have questions about rabbit snails... [email protected] email me


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

how did i go around your question i answered it just fine and when u say your getting a bigger tank u need to specify what size or people arnt able to determin what fish would be suited for a "bigger" tank.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

and if you are getting a bigger tank tomorrow there is no point in even stocking the 5 gallon just to move them into a the other tank when u get it because they both have to be cycle and we are talking a bear minimum of two weeks before that happens before you add any fish. does this five gallon even have a heater?


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## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Actually I'm gunna keep the 5 gallon ihave 2 nail sized goldfish an rabbit snail I think the 5 gallon is beyond big for them there's a lot of space. An its not like I wanna have awesome fish tanks like 100gallon 1s I just want a couple fish I can enjoi watchinganrelaxing


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## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Buti do have lotsofquestions about rabbit snails if any1 canhelp me


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## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Plus imposting here because i have no idea what I'm doin I just remember being 5 an havin sweet goldfish


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Not trying to be rude, but if you have no idea what you're doing and asking for advice, maybe you should take it. 

Ask any experienced fishkeeper on here that has goldfish, and they will tell you it is completely inappropriate and inadequate to keep even ONE goldfish in a 5 gallon, unless it's only a temporary arrangement, like as a hospital tank because the goldfish has a disease or whatever. Or maybe if you have a bigger tank ready to move them into soon. 

Goldfish produce a lot of waste, so even with a filter, the water in a small tank will become fouled very quickly. Plus, goldfish get very large, very quickly.


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2010)

if u got question on rabbit snails ask away ... ask and ill help u as much as i can ...

as for stocking fish ... ur 5 gallon should be a betta or 5 small fish.
if u do buy another tank, say a 10 gallon .. a 10 gallon is fine for one goldfish ... but i would buy a high rate GPH filter ... maybe a 600gph power pump. 

all depends on what new tank/size ur getting.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

ForMany said:


> if u got question on rabbit snails ask away ... ask and ill help u as much as i can ...
> 
> as for stocking fish ... ur 5 gallon should be a betta or 5 small fish.
> if u do buy another tank, say a 10 gallon .. a 10 gallon is fine for one goldfish ... but i would buy a high rate GPH filter ... maybe a 600gph power pump.
> ...


a 10 gallon isn't even suitable for one adult goldfish it would be so crammed and would be hard enough just to turn themselves around in it fish need swimming space.


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## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Imgoing. To take a picture tomorrow I think you getting the wrong idea these fish are smaller then baby neon tetras an I have 2 the snail is also very tiny.. I do agree an have read they do need bigger tanks I doplan to get a bigger tank but there expensive for a 20yr old whopays his own bills. An rev imsorry for my rudeness it was childish I wasn't expecting thesekind of answer but they do help! I'm goin to buya new y tank so nowim wondering what do ineed for a nice tropical tank I get paid Friday an I'm willing to spenda good 400 on what id need aka(tank, filter, plants, ect) plz and thanks also Formany I have lots an lots of questions my email is [email protected] email me or I also have a post in the invertabe forum


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

sharkattack said:


> Imgoing. To take a picture tomorrow I think you getting the wrong idea these fish are smaller then baby neon tetras an I have 2 the snail is also very tiny.. I do agree an have read they do need bigger tanks I doplan to get a bigger tank but there expensive for a 20yr old whopays his own bills. An rev imsorry for my rudeness it was childish I wasn't expecting thesekind of answer but they do help! I'm goin to buya new y tank so nowim wondering what do ineed for a nice tropical tank I get paid Friday an I'm willing to spenda good 400 on what id need aka(tank, filter, plants, ect) plz and thanks also Formany I have lots an lots of questions my email is [email protected] email me or I also have a post in the invertabe forum


yeah getting into the pet hobby youll find that a lot the answers you get are never what you want to hear. if you have goldfish its not going to be tropical you have to pick between goldfish and tropical fish. now the thing your going to want to decide is if you really want to take the commitment of goldfish because you are very limited on what you can do. pretty much a few goldfish and maybe a pleco. i would never recommend anything less than a 75 US gallon for a couple adult goldfish just because of their waste they produce and size. goldfish produce at least 50x as much waste as most any fish of the same size. now with tropical fish your options are limitless in the right sized tank. i actually recommend at least a 55-75 gallon for any fish just because its always better to start big rather than waste the money on a small tank because trust me you will eventually want more and your very limited in a smaller tank. so now lets talk what you need. i always say over filter... just because a filter is rated for 30 gallons alls that is saying is bear minimum what you want to look at is gph thats what counts. i always recommend having enough filtration to cycle your tank over 10 times an hour so if you have a 10 gallon tank you want a filter that is doing 100gph now on my 60 gallon im running 800 gph which is more than 10x also it is always better to have 2 filters running rather than one because its always good to have a backup. now its up to you to decide what type of filter i always recommend a hang on back filter for beginners they are a great way to start and about the best brand for HOB filters is marineland they are seriously second to none and have either a 3 or 5 year warranty on them. you can go into the forums here and look into filtration and how to properly maintain your filter. second thing your going to want get is a heater dont waste your money on a glass heater they are risky and break all the time. get either a thermal plastic or titanium heater again marineland makes great products. third is hood and lights but that is pretty straight forward just make sure its the correct size lol. unless you are going to do live plants you will have to talk to someone else about recommended lighting for that. now as for gravel typically the minimum recommended amount is 1 pound per gallon but that can vary depending on tank size i.e 20 L have more floor space than a 20H and 40 breeders have a lot of floor space so they will need more gravel. now a thing i have learned is if you buy fake ornaments typically they are hallow and what happens is they trap stagnant water inside of them and can get pretty nasty so they need to be washed out every few months. now another thing to keep in mind is stocking a tank there is a rule out there that a lot of beginners come across that is really quite false. the rule is 1 inch of fish per gallon however this rule only applies to 1 inch fish and not to goldfish at all. you wouldn't want a 10 inch fish in a 10 gallon and especially not a 20 inch fish in a 20 gallon lol. there are to many things to consider when figuring out how many fish you can have. size of fish/body mass, amount of filtration you have, size of tank, airation. in my 60 gallon i have fish ranging from 1 inch to 5 inches and i have around 50-60 fish but i do big water changes have lots of filtration and airation running in my tank. my air pump is rated at 80 gallons and i do 40-50% water changes weekly but i do not recommend that in a new tank instead do 20-25% weekly. what it all comes down to is personal experience and monitoring your fish and levels when adding more making sure that its not getting dirty to fast and your fish arn't stressed, sick, or dying. also you probably will want to get your hands on a freshwater master test kit they are a lot better and a lot more trustworthy than dip strips and run about the same price only last a lot longer. oh and very important cycle your tank before hand just go to the forums and look for how to cycle a tank. dont rush into anything or make any sudden decisions about the fish you buy just research you may end up regretting what you got when you find something better. dont be scared to come to the forums with any questions you may have they can be a big help in finding the information you need from people who really know what they are talking about. also if you have local fish stores sometimes people can be a great help but even then whenever i get information from someone and i am unsure of i always run it by this forum and get an opinion from everyone. sometimes everyone may not agree right away but with a little time and descusion typically everyone can come to an agreement on the best way to deal with something.


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2010)

Revolution1221 said:


> a 10 gallon isn't even suitable for one adult goldfish it would be so crammed and would be hard enough just to turn themselves around in it fish need swimming space.


no one say anything about housing a full adult size goldfish in there. 

dont know y u ppl get so hyper up for ...

there a thing call upgrade ... its not like someone dumb enough to house a adult size in a 10 gallon ...

u make it seem like the goldfish going to grow into adult size in a week or so ...


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2010)

and like he say those fish r smaller than neon tetras, which A 10 GALLON WILL DO FINE ... WITH A GOOD FILTER.


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2010)

400 dollar u can get urself a 120 gallon and still have like $250 left. 
use that 250 and buy a 20 or 40 gallon ... u will be left with $190 or so
use that 190 n buy some bio balls, tubing line, buckets and Do a DIY overflow box/sump filter ... 

save urself some money by looking at craigslist.org

find a good deal and u will be happy u did look on craigslist

if u get lucky, u mite just find a whole set up tank for cheap. 

i see 180 gallon for around $150 but thats where i live.


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## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Awesome! I'm loving the help an I'm glad u understand my situation.. I'm going to look at tanks after work.. I was kinda thinking like an angel tank my girlfriend love them an there very sweet looking any thing specific I should know about angel fish? At my local fish store they have a wholesection called heaven which looks so awesome plz an thanks


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2010)

dont know much about angel fish, but all i know is, they'll need a heater, loL
like all other fish, plants n hiding space ...


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

ForMany said:


> no one say anything about housing a full adult size goldfish in there.
> 
> dont know y u ppl get so hyper up for ...
> 
> ...


man you have no idea how many people will house adult goldfish in bowls smaller than a ten gallon. I had this lady come into work seemingly normal sounded like she knew what she was talking about she had like 4 other goldfish so she bought two commets at about 7 inches as she was walking out the door she says to her friend "im going to need a bigger bowl." people are dumb enough to do things like that trust me.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2010)

Revolution1221 said:


> man you have no idea how many people will house adult goldfish in bowls smaller than a ten gallon. I had this lady come into work seemingly normal sounded like she knew what she was talking about she had like 4 other goldfish so she bought two commets at about 7 inches as she was walking out the door she says to her friend "im going to need a bigger bowl." people are dumb enough to do things like that trust me.


those kinda ppl r ppl who dont care, or do know but to dumb/stupid to care. 
its their own lost n their own waste ... 

maybe she bought it to feed it to her other big fish?


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

ForMany said:


> those kinda ppl r ppl who dont care, or do know but to dumb/stupid to care.
> its their own lost n their own waste ...
> 
> maybe she bought it to feed it to her other big fish?


she didnt buy them to feed to other fish.... didnt u just say that no one is dumb enough to house an adult goldfish in a 10 gallon then u went on to say just now that those people are dumb and dont care. its their loss and waste of money yes but at the expense of a fish who didnt desreve to be put in those kind of conditions and to live an unhappy life. yes there is such thing as an upgrade but like i said things come up money gets tight and animals end up living in improper conditions wether the owner intended it or not i see it everyday people bring in unwanted fish because they werent able to upgrade like they had planned. just today a guy was telling me about is friend who has two gold fish when he bought them they were small he put them in a 10 gallon and intended on getting them a bigger tank and well he doesnt have a good job anymore and the fish are now 10 inches long and still live in a ten gallon. thats why u should never buy an animal unless you have the proper sized tank right now to house it as an adult. i may be being hypocritical because yes i have done it and have fish right now that will need a bigger tank but i work at a petstore i dont have to worry about having the money on hand to pay for it i just write on a sheet of paper what i got - my employee discount and they take $20 out of each pay check until its paid off.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2010)

when a person say, i need a bigger tank doesnt mean its a 10 gallon, 5 gallon, 50 gallon, 30 gallon, 20 .and so on ... it just mean that person need a bigger tank, maybe she got a 55 gallon and want a bigger tank as she knows its going to grow bigger ???

ppl r just ppl, u cant tell them what to do, its their pets ... if a person wanna house 5 adult goldfish in a 10 gallon, he got all the right to do so ... 

this is LIFE, no one is smart ...


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2010)

but lets not get out of topic ... so back to topic ...


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

ForMany said:


> when a person say, i need a bigger tank doesnt mean its a 10 gallon, 5 gallon, 50 gallon, 30 gallon, 20 .and so on ... it just mean that person need a bigger tank, maybe she got a 55 gallon and want a bigger tank as she knows its going to grow bigger ???
> 
> ppl r just ppl, u cant tell them what to do, its their pets ... if a person wanna house 5 adult goldfish in a 10 gallon, he got all the right to do so ...
> 
> this is LIFE, no one is smart ...


no it wasn't a tank she said BOWL thats what i said in my post she had them in a bowl. and no it is not there right to keep them in a small tank its called animal cruelty its just unfortunate they don't ever seem to enforce it with fish but it is still concidered inhuman and animal cruelty.


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## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Lol if I worked at afish store I would probably know more an have a sweet tank i got on discount. But I don't lol an that's why I'm asking for help. I couldn't get to the pictures yesterday toup load them so give me a day or 2... I have a quesation about plants..which plants are best for my goldfish tank that don't needalotof light an something that'd be nice for my rabbit snail


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

sharkattack said:


> Lol if I worked at afish store I would probably know more an have a sweet tank i got on discount. But I don't lol an that's why I'm asking for help. I couldn't get to the pictures yesterday toup load them so give me a day or 2... I have a quesation about plants..which plants are best for my goldfish tank that don't needalotof light an something that'd be nice for my rabbit snail


the plant question i dont know anything about as i just started my first live planted tank last night and have never studdied into it before!


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## sharkattack (Jun 20, 2010)

Ok. What kinda plant did u buy


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