Digital Changeling

May 20, 2007

Fish! (Well, not yet...)

(I think the tank is even more purple than in the photo. There are more pictures here.)

So I've decided to try keeping fish. I bought a ten gallon tank (with filter, thermometer, heater, light, gravel, and fake plant) from my local fish store. I got it set up this afternoon and the heater is straining to bring the water up to about 78 degrees (F).

I talked to the guys at the fish shop about what sort of water to put in the tank and they said that tap water was fine. I was a little worried about this, but my memories of my mom leaving gallon bottles of tap water out overnight so that they could go into our goldfish tank seemed to suggest that it might be okay. The folks at the store told me that I need to let the tank run for a day or two before I can put some "starter" fish in it. I'm not sure I believe that 10 gallons worth of chlorine additives is going to vaporise in 24 hours. If the tank still reeks of chlorine tomorrow evening I'm not going to subject any sort of fish (even "starter" fish) to it.

I'm also a little concerned about how hard the water is around here. I think I want to keep neon tetras in the tank eventually, and everything I've read says that they prefer soft and slightly acidic water. Oh well. Hopefully the guys at the store will be willing to give me advice on how to condition the water if it is unsuitable.

I've been trying to figure out how many fish I can reasonably put in my tank and the numbers I'm coming up with are all over the map. Most people seem to suggest that you can keep approximately one inch of fish per gallon of water, but there are a lot of people who disagree with this rule. I've heard anything ranging from 1 fish for every 3.85 gallons of water (what the book on tropical fish I bought with my tank says) to 20 neon tetras being perfectly happy in a 5 gallon tank. Those examples both seemed a little extreme. Then there are the people with three or four different confusing systems for you. I can't find anywhere that will actually tell me a ratio or numbers for neon tetras specifically (except for that one number I mentioned, which seems kinda bonkers to me).

I'm also running into constant suggestions that I buy "the biggest tank I can afford." This seems ludicrous to me, since I can technically probably afford a 200 gallon tank and I live in a rented apartment. I like the idea of fish, but I don't need 1600 pounds of tank to carry next time I move! In general I'm not sure if these suggestions are being made by people who are enthusiasts who wish they had bought bigger tanks or people who are purely motivated by money. When the guy at the aquarium store first suggested that I look at 50 gallon tanks I was pretty firm with him. I mean, some day when I own a house and fewer debts it might be nice to have a giant tank of fish, but some day is not now.

Anyway, my best estimate is that I can reasonably have somewhere between 8 and 15 tetras in my tank (assuming I can get the water into good enough shape). Wikipedia seems to suggest that neon tetra prefer to be in schools (6 to 8 at least) and get along great with Rummy Nose, Cardinal, or Glowlight tetras. Of the three I think only Glowlight tetras appeal to me. Cardinal's look almost exactly like neon's and I find the rummy nose tetras rather ugly. So if I can have more in the 12 to 15 small fishes range perhaps I'll have a small school of neons and a small school of glowlights.

I was also thinking it might be nice to have a snail to eat the algae so I don't have to clean it up so much. ;)

I have spent some time thinking about what all else I want to put in my tank once it's not a cesspit of chlorine. My research suggests that tetras (and many other small fish) like a relatively rich environment with plenty of places to hide. The book that I got suggested drift wood, stones, and plants. I got a natural light bulb, so I should be able to have some plants if I want. I'll probably want some relatively hardy ones, since I'm not planning to spend a huge amount of time on submarine gardening. We shall see I guess. I'm not sure how much of this stuff (ie. plants and decoration) needs to be set up before my starter fish arrive or if I can simply wait until the tank is more acclimated to fish in general.

posted by Eva @ 7:10 PM