Should I start?

[Tocs1001]

I am 14 and I have wanted a fish tank for a couple years. Recently I have been saving my allowance drulling at the fact of owning a fancy smancy windows mobile pda. Dell axiem... But anyway I have this fish tank (no filter, heater, gravel, etc.... Just a tank I made it into a terrarium after I had a plant phase and wanted to keep carnivorus plants. in it so i set that up and I got this unknown tropical plant and it just grew and it choked my poor venus fly trap and other things of water. Its still alive after not being watered for about 2 years now and its a rain forest plant 0__o. Now onto the point I was thinking of finally ripping that plant out and turning that aquarium actually into an aqurium. So i goto this little pet shop up the street called all about pets. And I ask what Ill need because I looked on the internet and found some cool fresh water tiny fish to fit in my 12 gallon tank and I wanted to see what the store had. After totaling the caust It came to arround $80 to $90 dollars not counting what I paid for the tank. So now im torned between the cool fancy guppies and my flashy pda. I have always gawked at aquariums wishing I owned one. I talked to my friend and asked him how much he enjoyed his tank He said for the first couple weeks it was cool but now its just a ho hum fish. So I have 2 questions.

1 is that price too much should I hit a chain like pets mart or the Mejier pets department?

2. Is it worth my time do they get old and boring or will I seem to like them Like I like other peoples tanks all the time?

[Lexus]

You could get a full set up for a 10G for $49 at Walmart.... this includes, filter, heater, lights, hood...
A 10G kit with everything but heater is $29.
Depending on what you need the cost will vary.
A 5-10 filter will cost $10 at Walmart
10lbs of gravel $5
heater $19-29
These all are at the low end, if you want high end equipment it will cost.


Now you said 12G and I have never heard of a 12G.

But there are unexpected costs that may arise with fish, such as medication ect...

[Vivid-Dawn]

I spent about $150 on my set-up... that included buying the tank. I also got the name-brand water conditioners, medicine, gravel, plants (both live and plastic), decorations, light/hood, aerator, filter, heater, breeding net (since I have guppies, and I knew they'd breed all the time). I also didn't buy stuff that was the cheapest... not the most expensive either, but kinda "decent".
I've had my fish for 4 months, and I haven't gotten bored of them. In fact... I want to set up a real breeding set-up and try my hand at getting guppies to eventually show at contests and stuff. That'll take a couple years, though. Then I got to thinking I might want to do a saltwater tank, too.
On the other hand... my husband got his tank all going, and now hardly even watches his fish. He'll feed them, watch them for about five minutes, then ignore them until the next day (he only feeds them in the morning, before work).
I suppose it depends on your personality.

[Tocs1001]

thx guys I think Ill buy the stuff thanks for the feedback I just wndered about the bored thing and I want fancy guppies so should I get that net thing u were talking about? the store up the street sells the fancy guppies in a pair male and female. I also I was eyeing the african assorted fish but the sign said aggressive 0_o so I think Ill leave them alone.maybe some tiger fish they were cool and a sucker fish the kind that help cleans they had a neat black one. And the tank is probably 10g like u said but I bought it a couple years ago.

[Thunderkiss]

Just like kids, it often seems that tanks are better when they are other peoples
It IS work, but if you are into it, it is, of course, well worth the time. Especially if you get fish to breed. Makes it all worthwhile.

[Vivid-Dawn]

If you're not sure about how many gallons it holds, you could always do what I did... put the water in gallon jugs, and count how many you pour in there. My tank is labled as 10 gallons, but it only holds 8 and a half... and that's filled clear up to the top! (it might also be the space taken up by my gravel, decorations and plants, too)

The breeder net is relatively easy to find. It's just a small compartment, that goes in your tank with holes small enough for the water to flow through, but not for fish to escape. I tried the plastic box kind. Then I figured it was too small, and got a frame with netting over it - it's nice and big, but after only 2 weeks is covered with brown algae... which my guppies and mollies like to pick at, but I dun' like how it looks ;p
You can get breeding boxes/nets for under $10 depending on what size you get.

Guppies really should be in "trio"s. One male, two (or more) females - that way, the females don't get stressed from only one being pestered the whole time by the male. In fact, I think that rule is applied to any livebearer.

[Tocs1001]

neat but I actually found the stupid peice of cardboard that went around the tank when I bought it and it says 10 gallons it was in my 6th grade science project what do you know lol anywho I have one more question what is cycling and how do I do it? wait......... thats 2.

[fish_doc]

See if you can talk your parents into going halfsies with you. And tell them you are going to study the breeding habits of guppies for another future science project.

About getting bored, I have been in the hobby for over 12 years now and I am still learning new things everyday. This hobby teaches you about chemistry, biology, medicines, diets, animal behaviour, and so much more. Stick around here and we will give you help and ideas to keep you intrested.

[Vivid-Dawn]

There's two types of cycling you can do. Fishless, or with fish. The latter is considered cruel by most people... and I've heard the former doesn't take as long. Either way, you're gonna want at least 2 weeks for it to complete.
Basically, the water gets established with good bacteria, that converts Ammonia to Nitrites and then that gets converted to Nitrates. As far as I can tell, all are toxic at high levels and/or prolonged exposure...but the Nitrates aren't as bad - and they can only be taken out by doing water changes (partial.. not all the water).
Here's a few of the links I like about fishless cycling...
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article14.html

http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm

http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/flc-data.htm

And, of course, you can just Google/search "fishless cycling" (which is where I got those links from)

** Edit - I meant Nitrites into NitrAtes... I should pay attention to my letters LOL

[Tocs1001]

great thx but do i need live plants?

[Ownager2004]

Ive had my fish tank for over a month and i think its still interesting. Im going to breed platys, which is supposed to be pretty fun for a noob like me. I think id be more inclined to get bored with a pda than a fishtank, but a fishtank might be a hassle if your not to interested in it.

[fish_doc]

Live plants are not needed. There are many options nowadays. Plastic plants, silk plants, or live plants. Some tanks use rock formations instead of plants.

[osteoporoosi]

But plants IMO are the thing that really makes a tank beautiful. And it is natural for most tropical freshwater fish. But they do need fertilizers, how much dependinf on what plant you are getting.
If you are going to buy both male and female guppys, you will soon be crowded with babys. To avoid this you could only get male guppys.
Tiger barbs and most plecos(suckers) grow too big and messy for a 10g.

My suggestion for your 10gallons:
5-7 male guppys
5 amano shrimps(these guys are both useful and fun!)

Or:
1 male betta
10 ruby tetras

Or:
15 ruby/neon/cardinal tetras
5 amano shrimps

But before adding fish you must cycle the tank properly. My english is way too bad to start explainig how to work that out, but you probably will have the info from someone else. Good luck with your tank!

[Tocs1001]

I thought it would be fun to breed some guppies... so thats what i will do but I will have to get rid of some somehow... does anything eat them? I might get a larger tank in the future but thats kinda what i had my mind set on breeding some guppies.

[fish_doc]

There are many cichlids that love to eat guppies. But just leaving the fry in the tank with the parents many of them will get eaten by the parents.

[Tocs1001]

nice..... canabalistic parents thats just wat every kid wants... now I bought this Mini Penguin BioWheel filter and the instruction booklet is crappy so.... how do I set this thing up I know basically how it goes together but after I made 30 thousand trips up and down my stairs with a jar of water from the only filtered fosset and I hit the power the heater went on the light went on but no water was going through my filter. In all the diagrams in the instruction booklet there is a tip on the snorkel shaped tube that intakes the water... but i cant find it did I get ripped? I think the tip is called a strainer.

[Tocs1001]

Nvm!!!!!! I found the strainer and figured out u had to fill the basin hope it works...

[Tocs1001]

sry for the triple post but... there are bubbles attached to everything in my tank I got the filter running btw and I see all these bubbles but in my friends tank there are no bubbles how do I get rid of the nasty bubbles?

[Lydia]

i doubt you will get bored with them....i have had mine for 3 years or so, and i havent gotten bored with them....and i tend to get bored kind of easily .....it is very enjoyable to breed guppies (or any livebearer for that matter) its alot of fun to watch the babies grow up....about the bubbles, i think you can get rid of them by just rubbing your hand or something up against them....i think they will disapear then....im not sure though

[fish_doc]

Give it about 24 hours the small bubbles will go away. Just do what Lydia said. they will come back but after a day they should stop.