Aquarium Hobby

Binary_Bark said:
Agree, but talking to someone with a specialty and tropical maintenance store might be the way to go.
What I'm trying to say, is newbies should go to these places, get the advice they need and make sure no fish die. Specialty stores would be much more beneficial than just going to a pet store, by fish, they say nothing and just give you a plastic bag with fish and water. From my experience with these guys, they ask what do you have? then start suggesting best fits, species you can have in the same environment.
This store especially wants to see water tests, photos, etc before selling you any fish
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Oh yeah Panorama Petshop is very much that.

They’ve been around for decades and while they do more than fish they aren’t just your average mall pet shop vibe.

Family run business that my grandfather introduced me to some 30+ years ago selling specialised birds to them he would transport all the way from De Aar to Cape Town.

I got into the hobby in primary school from just hanging out there and chatting to the fish guys while he did business.

My very first tank actually came about when my hamster died who was kept in a small aquarium with a wire mesh roof and I converted it to its original use case, must have been 12-13 at the time maybe even slightly younger.

Bug bit and by 14 I went and threw all my money into a fancy blacked out glass “show tank” as they used to call them back then, which really just meant it was all glass including the canopy which had a built-in light box area and so on instead of the cheap plastic overhead lids.

A whopping 90cm rectangle which I thought was huge at the time. 😂
 
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Binary_Bark said:
SW fish staring at R900 each...
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Expensive airfreight has hit all that now, corals also, what you used to pay for a ok sized colony you won't even see a booger size frag for now. If you even lucky enough to find it.
I brought 1 flow pump the other week as it was 1K off normal price & still got no change out of 3k.
 
SauRoNZA said:
You don’t want to change all the water because then you reset the entire ecosystem every time as well, which could in itself be causing even more algae.

But yes either change the type of light of you want it on longer, or just put it on a timer.

Also fun fact gold fish can live 20-30 years. 😅
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Yeah , that fact about their lifespan - ruined me when I read about it at the time.

I had resorted to changing everything due to the amount of Algae. The tank was so bad. Now it's a pleasure and maintaining the tank is like 15 mins max:

Every 2 weeks:
1. Water in plastic container the day before. Put some dechlorinator. Left near the tank so the water temps are nearly equal
2. Pump out 40% of the water and clean gravel at the same time
3. Put in new water

Once a month
Replace the filter sponge with a new one.
 
TedLasso said:
Yeah , that fact about their lifespan - ruined me when I read about it at the time.

I had resorted to changing everything due to the amount of Algae. The tank was so bad. Now it's a pleasure and maintaining the tank is like 15 mins max:

Every 2 weeks:
1. Water in plastic container the day before. Put some dechlorinator. Left near the tank so the water temps are nearly equal
2. Pump out 40% of the water and clean gravel at the same time
3. Put in new water

Once a month
Replace the filter sponge with a new one.
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If you are doing the water in a bucket the day before you don’t need the dechlorinator, it’s already evaporated.
 
Current stock is doing very well, what I've seen is that two of the black spotted silver Tetra's tails are turning red. Bit worried, but from what I've read, Tetra especially can sometimes change a bit of colour, especially from a featureless shop tank to a home planted aquarium. Plus point, since adding the fish the cloudiness in the water has gone, much more clear. However, need to remove some dead plant materials to keep the ammonia levels low. These two spices of tetra seems to be very gluttonous, they tend to nib at anything floating in the water column, even though fed daily.
 
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RedViking said:
Personally don't like putting or seeing animals in a small contained space. Also why I avoid the zoo. Seeing the little things go round and round in circles because there is nowhere else for them to go messes with my mind.
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It's a bit different with fish, especially Aquarium fish, 90% of them are born and raised in tanks. They are used to it. But maybe not captured from the wild.
 
Make sure your fish have a great home, natural, well balanced, well fed, with plants hiding places and don't over stock. If you have a great specialty store to go to (not a common pet store) they will assist and tell you what can go with what and when you've got enough. Keeping a Aquarium is very relaxing, you can find yourself staring at it for hours.
 
SauRoNZA said:
If you are doing the water in a bucket the day before you don’t need the dechlorinator, it’s already evaporated.
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This is no longer true. South africa also use chloramines now which don't evaporate so beter to always treat the water.
 
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Taking the advice form @TedLasso below, I've just opened the curtains and let natural light, has also helped reduce the bloom. Was just going to run the light 8hours during the day.

TedLasso said:
4 months ago , at the pet store I ask why I am getting so much algae and the guy asked me if there is a light. There was and we had it turned on for 6-8 hours a day. He told me, no need for light as it was causing the algae , and fish didn't need the light, only humans. The tank is in a well lit area . .

S h i t. It did the trick. No light - no Algae at all. All I have done in the 4 months now, is change half the water and clean the gravel (when removing the old water) every two weeks. Even the white sponge filter after 5 weeks doesn't look as bad as it used to within 2 weeks.

The fish has also recovered. So happy days.
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Side note: Newbies like me, thought adding rainwater would be great. but not so. Rainwater often lacks essential minerals and can have an unstable pH, which can stress fish. It might also contain pollutants depending on how it’s collected.
 
RedViking said:
Personally don't like putting or seeing animals in a small contained space. Also why I avoid the zoo. Seeing the little things go round and round in circles because there is nowhere else for them to go messes with my mind.
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Would be interesting to compare the size of a little fish and a space it has in fish tank, compared to the size of your dog and your yard.
 
Brings back memories, I got a little 17l tank for our eldest son with three gold fish and some fake plants, ditched the corner filter early on as they are rubbish but otherwise it is largely as we bought it. I obviously do water changes, cleaning the foam filter and gravel, so far so good but I would love a tank of my own again some day. Between myself and my youngest brother we had four tanks in the early 2000's, fresh water but we had everything from guppies, to tetra's, angels, catfish, plecostomus, cichlids, etc. Everything got given away when my parents moved cities and my youngest brother headed overseas, my eldest sons little tank will have to do for now.
 
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