New to aquariums

[heaventreeofstars]

Hi everyone. I am new to aquariums and am thinking about getting one. My roommate in college has a big silver arowana named Denzel who is fun to take care of. I am thinking about getting a five or ten gallon tank with something easy like guppies or goldfish to start out with. Does anyone have any ideas? The articles on this site are really helpful. Thanks!

[akatosh]

Hey welcome to the site i, just joined not to long ago and i dont know how i would do it without this site... i've got a 10g with some guppies and a dwarf Gourami which are cool... but i'm thinking if i pick up another 10g i'm going to go with either Tiger Barbs or Neon tetras...both seem to me like really good beginer fish

[country_boy454]

Welcome to the forum. I have a ten gallon tank with guppies and cory cats.

[CAF]

First of welcome to AC!!!!

First tanks are hard because there are so many cool options. Personally I prefer livebearers such as guppies to start with. Are you planning on any live plants? If so they will need special care as well. But a planted livebearer tank is just fun to watch and look at. No matter what you choose we will be right here to help you.

Have Fun!!!

[Nick89]

Welcome, and I wouldn't suggest a 10 gallon tank, only because you will want a bigger tank in the future, or bigger fish. So, i think a good tank that is a little easier maintence wise, is a 30 gallon aquarium. You have a lot more choices, with fish. Especially some cichlids. Good luck

[CAF]

Welcome, and I wouldn't suggest a 10 gallon tank, only because you will want a bigger tank in the future, or bigger fish. So, i think a good tank that is a little easier maintence wise, is a 30 gallon aquarium. You have a lot more choices, with fish. Especially some cichlids. Good luck


Not EVERYONE wants, likes, or enjoys cichlids AquaKid... LOL

[Nick89]

Good point Lol.

[jeffs99dime]

welcome to a.c.

[Nikita706]

I would recommend the guppies. Goldfish need larger tanks (I just learned this myself recently). But don't be turned off of the 10g tanks. They're great starter tanks and sometimes (as in our current situation) you just don't have room for anything bigger! Much less trying to find something sturdy enough to hold anything bigger. But now that we've had our 10g for a while and are moving to a bigger house in a couple weeks, we will hopefully get something bigger soon.

Let us know how the tank turns out and welcome to the AC!

[Drumachine09]

Welcome to the A.C.!


Guppys and corys seem to be very popular beginners tanks. Heck, even I still have a guppy/cory tank.

[zackish]

The new user is in college, that is why he probably wants to do a 10 gallon. I am currently doing a 10 gallon reef in my dorm.
Anyways, I would say no on the goldfish but yes to any of the livebearers and stuff.
For a beginner like you if you really just want some basic fish just go out and buy the 10 gallon starter kit for $50. It comes with everything you need. Just be sure to read up on cycling your tank and anything else you can find pertaining to fish keeping.

[squirt_12]

Welcome to the forum!!!!:19:

[heaventreeofstars]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm really looking forward to this first tank, whatever I decide on first.


Are you planning on any live plants?

I don't think so at first, I'm going to try to keep it simple. I might later on though.

[Lady Hobbs]

Hello and welcome aboard and I also would go with small livebearers for your tank.

Steal a dirty filter insert and some gravel from your friend and put it on top of your new gravel. Seeding a tank will get it going much faster for you.

[Nikita706]

The new user is in college, that is why he probably wants to do a 10 gallon. I am currently doing a 10 gallon reef in my dorm.
Anyways, I would say no on the goldfish but yes to any of the livebearers and stuff.
For a beginner like you if you really just want some basic fish just go out and buy the 10 gallon starter kit for $50. It comes with everything you need. Just be sure to read up on cycling your tank and anything else you can find pertaining to fish keeping.

The cheapest 10g we could find was around $100 by the time we set it up. Of course, we live in a smaller community, but still we bought ours at Petco. Where did you find a $50 10g tank?

[Ark6ie]

hey there, welcome to the forum. id go with livebearers too, they can be kept in small tanks, easy to care for and there are lots of colours to choose from. whatever you get im sure you will enjoy fish keeping and become addicted like the rest of us lol. good luck:11:

[crackatinny]

Welcome to AC:thumb:

[Nick_Pavlovski]

A group of 4 or so platys and a couple of bottom feeders/cleaners sound like the best for you.
Platys are pretty hardy fish.
Don't forget, you'll need a heater!
Are you able to do weekly water changes in the college?

[gm72]

The cheapest 10g we could find was around $100 by the time we set it up. Of course, we live in a smaller community, but still we bought ours at Petco. Where did you find a $50 10g tank?

Walmart has them for less than that, actually. Tank, hood/light, filter. Just need to add a heater.

Welcome aboard to our new member, too, by the way!

[heaventreeofstars]

Are you able to do weekly water changes in the college?


Yeah I can. I have time on the weekends to do that.

The only thing I am sort of worried about is figuring out some way to take care of the fish over breaks like Thanksgiving (1 week) and Christmas (about a month) when we aren't allowed to go in the dorms. Maybe I could take them home with me (25 min drive) or leave them with one of my friends who has an apartment. I don't know if that could affect which kinds of fish I have though.

[CAF]

I've driven my fish across country in bags... They'll make a 25 min trip with no prob.

[Nick_Pavlovski]

Maybe I could take them home with me (25 min drive) or leave them with one of my friends who has an apartment. I don't know if that could affect which kinds of fish I have though.

Well, the hardier the fish, the more likely they will survive. Left alone for a month is far too risky.

If you do want to transport your fish, many of us here use eskies / coolers as the major container to carry them in, with the fish travelling inside the esky/cooler in plastic bags. The esky/cooler helps maintain warmth and also they don't get scared seeing stuff whizzing by.

I'd go with friend with the apartment, or see if a LFS can "babysit" them for you!

[sushant]

welcome to AC.:22: larger tanks are easier to maintain.so go for atleast 30 gallon tank.

[Nikita706]

Walmart has them for less than that, actually. Tank, hood/light, filter. Just need to add a heater.

Welcome aboard to our new member, too, by the way!

Aha! That's why. We don't have a Walmart around here. Just Target. I guess that's what we get for being tucked away in the Redwoods, lol.

[digger]

the only problem with guppies is that they are live breeders and your 10 gallon will get over crowded fairly soon with the fry id go with neons some of them have some very nice colors and welcome to the forum.