Total Newbie with an empty tank

[Matt]

I've kept piranha - some red-bellies - in an in-store 180g show tank, back in the late '70s. They got biggish, ~8", before we lost them due to some bad additives (blackwater was contaminated). We had wholesale feeders, so we never counted the cost, and they were a constant fascination to the shoppers. Incidentally, they were probably illegal at the time...


They are not a beginner's fish, IMO, and grow much, much too large for your current tank (although they're cute when small). I didn't find them too aggressive, and deduced that we may have had too small a school at 8 individuals to promote "frenzy" when we fed. They never bothered a hand in the tank, and sometimes were quite lazy about getting around to their goldfish. Maybe we overfed them?

Matt

[Canadbis]

You could come on over to my house and take some of these Julidochromis transcriptus off of my hands, I will give you the breeding parents for $15.
They dont grow very big and are a great little shell dweller

[BullDog]

Thanks for the information all!

Piranhas definatly sound like something I'd like to have one day! Unfortunatly, it sounds like I don't have a proper habitat for them right now. I'll definatly look into them more if I ever upgrade my tank!

Canadbis - I'd love to have some of those, they're neat looking fish! Unfortunatly, I'm in BC, but if I'm ever in Calgary, I'll look you up

I was also suggested FW/brackish puffers, or cichlids. Puffers I would imagine are a bit more demanding on the care side, but how are cichlids? (How do you pronounce cichlids, anyhow? )

[Johnny Reefer]

sick-lids.

[Tarolisol]

Cichlids are pretty basic, the can eat alot, but are pretty easy. Just cant keep them with many other things besides other cichlids. Brakish puffers arnt to bad, but you have to have the water correct. And make sure you get them from somewhere that already has them in brackish not FW. They as well should only be kept with themselves, but they are really cool fish.

[Cap'n]

Originally Posted by Tarolisol

Cichlids are pretty basic, the can eat alot, but are pretty easy. Just cant keep them with many other things besides other cichlids.

Not true.

Incredible diversity within the cichlid family, from 1" shell dwellers to 3' tank busters; convicts that will survive and breed in a muddy bucket to discus that require weekly water changes and specific water parameters. And most can be kept with non-cichlid fish with the proper selection.

Cichlids are a good starting point for a new tank, great centre-piece fish. Check out cichlidforum.com in the cookie-cutter tank section, will give you a good idea of what is available for your tank. Lots of choices. Pick something you like and build your community around it.

PS
piranha are boring

[ron101]

I will also add that you should really decide on what water conditions you are prepared to maintain. Fresh water can be soft or hard, and there is brackish.

As Cap'n mentioned there are different types of cichlids. South American cichlids like Angelfish and Discus prefer soft water while Africans usually prefer hard conditions. So even though they are similar species, you can't really maintain them in the same tank.

Water conditions in the BC lower mainland are predominantly soft (rain water). Hard water usually comes from well sources; it disolves and absorbs minerals. The good news is that it is quite easy to make softwater hard, whereas it is tedious to make large volumes of softwater from hard water.

BTW have you read up on cycling the tank?

It's a good idea to do as much homework ahead of time so to minimize headaches down the road. One last caveat: be very wary of information that you get at the pet store. Many stores that sell FW fish also sell other pets and may not know what they are talking about but will act like they do and steer you in very wrong directions.