Fish? please help!!!

[MayMaroa]

Honestly, you could keep 2 platies in a 10gal in your situation, as anything over that may be too expensive for your current budget (and remember you need water conditioner as well as beneficial bacteria, a filter, and a heater). The saying I frequently hear on fish forums is “get the biggest tank possible, with the best filtration possible, but if you can’t afford the recommended size tank that’s ok, just get the minimum size” (which would be a 10gal in this case)

no, I swear to god I can afford it it's just even though I wanna buy an aquarium that is 10 bucks(and its big) my mom wouldn't let mom but iv got a plan in mind.

 

[StormyPica]

no, I swear to god I can afford it it's just even though I wanna buy an aquarium that is 10 bucks(and its big) my mom wouldn't let mom but iv got a plan in mind.

That’s great!

 

[MayMaroa]

In us on craigslist is constantly giving away giant tanks for free

But I'm not in the USA.

 

[MayMaroa]

This was yesterday,

 

[Littleredbeak]

But I'm not in the USA.

Do you have site similiar ?

 

[MayMaroa]

No, what a bummer.

But i just bought these to prove i do have the money here

 

[MayMaroa]

The filter just arrived!

 

[MayMaroa]

The API products just arrived!

 

[ohsoqt.sr]

Guys I just got a fish it's a long story what happened we went to an indoor zoo when we went out you get free fish so I got 2 fish I don't know anything about fish so please help and can you identify the species of the fish
Is a filter mandatory? and how much can they stay without a filter? (I'm gonna order one)
they're not eating their food should I take out the food so I can prevent ammonia cause I don't have a filter now? and I heard that uneaten can turn into ammonia how long does it take to turn into ammonia?
and can you tell me some fish YouTube channels and sites and just anything useful in advance thanks

You would usually have to have a “cycled” tank before introducing fish - I have not been able to see a pic of what kind you have, but assuming guppy, Molly or goldfish you need approx 1 US gal/fish as a min tank size. A local hobby aquarium place (or often secondhand or freebie sites giveaway) can help you obtain the appropriate supplies. Make sure you ask for some cycled filter media to bump start your tank.
I would read the riot act to the irresponsible a**holes that give away animals like that, too. Disgusting.
Hope that helps
Sr

 

[Squeeing_Onion]

I used to run a 75 gallon tropical freshwater, and recently downsized from a 55 gallon to one bully betta fish who is now the queen of her very own, planted 5 gal long.

I agree to the above advice regarding Platy’s needs for filters, heaters, and needing a school of 3+ fish. More is better, but you would need a larger tank.

A twenty gallon long is the smallest I would recommend; you can get away with a ten gallon, and plan on upgrading size when you get the chance; i find a lot of cheap aquariums on facebook marketplace and garage sales.

Platy’s are very active, fast swimming fish with quite a bit of power when they want to go zooming about, so a long tank is better than a tall tank.

You want more than 2 fish because as a schooling fish, they feel safest with lots of friends around them (and a safe feeling fish means a healthier fish, as stressed fish sucumb to disease and parasites far more easily), and the numbers will also mean no one fish gets bullied to death and picked on if their schoolmates prove to have any aggression.

I use I think it’s TOPFIN Spectrum (blue lid, circular fat bottle with a shiney label) food? They use garlic in the ingredient list and it’s been my go-to for community fish food.

I prefer pellets to flake food as they seem to get eaten more consistently, completely, and dirty the water less.

Look up “how to cycle an aquarium” and read up on the nitrogen cycle. This will equip you with knowledge to understand why and when your aquarium water needs to be changed, and how to maintain it.

I would not use the bottled mineral water for your aquarium, UNLESS your tap water is unsafe to drink or something. Just use a water conditioner; your water parameters can change a little bit. It’s dramatic, sudden shifts that hurt fish.

I have been using Prime water conditioner for years. We have well water heavy in iron, so this one neutralizes the heavy metals in our water to be safer for the fishies. One bottle last forever because it’s literally two drops per gallon of water, and it’s good quality stuff worth the price. My second choice is Api Stresscoat; some people are wary of it due to the aloe vera content, as it can coat the gills and make breathing difficult for fish. On the flipside, it can also help their slime coat and promote healing, so i use it when i add new fish or when i have fish in hospital tanks, and make sure i have an air bubbler.

Fish can, in fact, suffocate. You want an airstone in your tank. Filters can fail, don’t count on them to supply oxygen to the water.

I once came home to, after months of fighting a columnaris infection in my 75 gallon and having moved the remaining fish into a new-new quarantine tank, a tank full of my clown loaches gasping their last breaths just in time for me to see them die, because the filter in the tank failed while I was at school and I had neglected to install the airstone/pump before leaving.

aquarium forums are an absolute wealth of information. The basic things you would greatly benefit to know more on:

-the nitrogen cycle, and how to cycle an aquarium
-water parameters, and how to accurately measure them (i use an API liquid test kit, though in honesty, once my aquarium is cycled i rarely use it unless i think something is wrong. Liquid tests are more accurate than dip strip tests, provided you do them correctly.)
-Platy’s natural habitat (understanding how they live in the wild will help you make changes in their aquarium to make them more comfortable)

-tankmates, if you want them.

I usually keep a small bristlenosed plecostomus (20 gallons minimum, and they do better in a 40 gal long+) for cleaning up algae, and snails, for my “cleanup crew”

They’ll eat fish food the free swimming fishes miss or leave as crumbs. You do also need to feed them their own algae tablets, so they do not starve or lack vital nutrients in their diet.

-fish diet
Some aquarists can and choose to go full out and feed their fish live foods and fresh veggies. I give veggies as a treat or for medical care sometimes, but i’ve otherwise just used pelleted food. The easiest meal plan is to know what nutrient balance your fish species needs, and just get a food that fits it.

For example, i have a betta, and they are primarily carnivores who need a high protein content. There are foods on the market labeled for bettas, that don’t actually meat their nutritional needs! (Bah duh tsh)


Sorry i kinda rambled all over the place, but i hope any of that is helpful.

 

[Squeeing_Onion]

You would usually have to have a “cycled” tank before introducing fish - I have not been able to see a pic of what kind you have, but assuming guppy, Molly or goldfish you need approx 1 US gal/fish as a min tank size. A local hobby aquarium place (or often secondhand or freebie sites giveaway) can help you obtain the appropriate supplies. Make sure you ask for some cycled filter media to bump start your tank.
I would read the riot act to the irresponsible a**holes that give away animals like that, too. Disgusting.
Hope that helps
Sr

The one gallon per fish is a very tricky guideline, as it often leads to a tank being overstocked (too many fish producing waste for the ecosystem to handle, and the water parameters turn toxic from the pollution)

particularly for goldfish, who as a carp get HUGE, and are super poopers that just plain produce a lot of waste. I usually hear 10 gallons per fish for goldies.

I generally ditch the fish per gallon thing, and go by the size of the tank and imagine how comfortable a single fish would be to swim comfortably in it (or not), then don’t add so many they get crowded.

If all the fish could hide from sight of both people and each other at the same time without crowding together, the tank is probably big enough.

10 gallons is usually my minimum tank size for any single fish to start at. I have the 5 gal long for a betta since the tank itself is so dang nice and its what I had on hand >.< one of those filter-built in ones that’s really easy to clean.

 

[AnatandGiaco]

Guys I just got a fish it's a long story what happened we went to an indoor zoo when we went out you get free fish so I got 2 fish I don't know anything about fish so please help and can you identify the species of the fish
Is a filter mandatory? and how much can they stay without a filter? (I'm gonna order one)
they're not eating their food should I take out the food so I can prevent ammonia cause I don't have a filter now? and I heard that uneaten can turn into ammonia how long does it take to turn into ammonia?
and can you tell me some fish YouTube channels and sites and just anything useful in advance thanks

 

[AnatandGiaco]

The fish are surely Platys and they are fairly hardy fish. The filter you ordered should be just fine for them. But, since you probably put them into a tank that hasn't been CYCLED, you should do a 25% water change regularly until the tank cycles through and you have no ammonia, nitrites or even nitrates. If you see them struggling to "breath" then increase the amount of water and the frequency of your water changes. Not eating means they are stressed because of the water conditions and so give very small amounts of food. But remember that food (and they're deification) is important in getting the tank to cycle through.

 

[MayMaroa]

I ordered stress zyme and aqua essential conditioner.

 

[MayMaroa]

I have ordered( and they already came) a bigger aquarium, filter, API products( aqua essential and stress zyme), I decorated the aquarium with many rocks and made a cave(i washed everything with their aquarium water) made a ton of hides added small rocks on the bottom.

Here's the tank.

I named the black one ollie and the other one Oliver.

 

[HeatherG]

That looks like a fun tank to me!

 

[HeatherG]

There's a red string coming out of the gold platy.

Is it poop? I’ve seen fish swim around with a line of poop being towed along with the fish.

 

[HeatherG]

This was yesterday,

It’s poop.