Please tell me I'm not a bad person.

[jwbryson1]

Thanks. Good answer and it follows what I have been reading on the internet. I need a bigger tank too. Maybe 20 gallons.

 

[SCraig]

Thanks. Good answer and it follows what I have been reading on the internet. I need a bigger tank too. Maybe 20 gallons.

The bigger the tank the more stable they eventually become. I have two, a 29-gallon tank with a bunch of Tiger Barbs in it and a 58 gallon tank with a bunch of Gourami and Rainbow Fish in it. The 29 always has a problem with algae however the 58 never does. They are both about 15 years old so they are chemically very stable, but the algae in the 29 drives me nuts.

Don't get anything under 20 gallons. I had a 10-gallon tank when I first started out and it was a waste of time. I never could keep it stable and finally gave up on it and got the 58. I added the 29 a couple of months later, and for a long time it was fine. The past few years I've not been able to keep the algae down and it's really annoying.

Overall I really enjoy them though. Watching the fish swim around is just really relaxing after a long day.

 

[jake337]

Just get a big tank, some cichlids and call it a day. My wife's cousin recently had to upgrade to a 500 gallon tank. They got the cichlids from her brother over 15 years ago. They are huge!!

 

[jwbryson1]

500 gallons? Dayumn! I just wanted to introduce my 8 year old to fish. This is quickly getting expensive, time consuming and space sensitive.

 

[SCraig]

Just get a big tank, some cichlids and call it a day. My wife's cousin recently had to upgrade to a 500 gallon tank. They got the cichlids from her brother over 15 years ago. They are huge!!

Yep. Fish will generally grow to the limits of the tank. Smaller tanks mean that they don't grow as large as in bigger tanks. The aquarium at the Nashville Zoo and also the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga have some cichlids that are enormous. Of course their tanks are also enormous.

 

[SCraig]

500 gallons? Dayumn! I just wanted to introduce my 8 year old to fish. This is quickly getting expensive, time consuming and space sensitive.

Not to mention weight-sensitive! A gallon of water weighs about 8.3 pounds so a 500 gallon aquarium would weigh around 2 tons concentrated in a relatively small area. It's not something you want to put on a second-story floor!

A 20 gallon would be a good size for you probably. Don't put delicate fish in it to start with either. Things like Angel Fish are pretty but they won't survive the nitrification cycle. Gourami, Tiger Barbs, Danios, Gold Fish, are good, hardy fish that can survive the cycle. Personally I absolutely love Tiger Barbs and that's why one of my tanks has nothing but them (and a hypostomous plecostomous to clean things up a bit) in it.

 

[PixelRabbit]

You aren't bad! Great tips in this thread, has me thinking about finally filling my tank again and perhaps filling the tank that came built in here.
You see, even after you have them a long time things happen, I had a 20 gal tank with a nice variety of fish in it, my weather loach would escape on a regular basis and my son's beta was thriving and playing nice. He would go to the tank and call the thing and it would come to him but nobody else... Until that dreadful morning....

Overnight the temperature gauge failed... The heater never turned off and we woke up to cooked fish

It's definitely a learning curve with some casualties along the way but very rewarding once you get the hang of it