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elaphe · 01-26-2008, 11:33 PM

Ansxt,

First, don't sweat the little details like water chemistry. You are on bang on testing for ammonia - that's the killer. Nitrogenous waste kill more fish in aquariums than disease, in my opinion. Get a good ammonia and nitrite test kit - preferably not the dry test-strip type. The tests stripes can become contaminated with compounds in the air and may loose accuracy over time. Secondly, liquid test kits are more cost effective - more tests for the buck. That said, any reading above zero for nitrogenous wastes is bad. SeaChem has an ammonia warning "card" that sits in the tank and constantly "tests" for ammonia. I have used the product and used other test kits to verify that it can "read" the ammonia levels in the aquarium in real-time.

You are also correct in assuming that without fish waste, one has difficulty in creating a live bacterial filter. Testing for ammonia and nitrite becomes important.

Don't get too carried away with testing for other water chemistry parameters. I have been in the aquarium business for over a decade and can tell you that most other test kits are the "up sell" items. The average freshwater aquarist doesn't need a pH, GH or KH test kit. Not to mention the Mg, Iron and Ca kits. Nitrate kits are not needed if you perform frequent, regular small water changes. More on water chemistry later.

Most people stay away from goldfish thinking that the fish just create tons of waste. Give the goldfish a chance. You were thinking of two fish in a ten gallon tank - perfect! Just remember that MANY sales people will quote the golden rule "one inch of fish per gallon of water." Not a bad rule considering that most fish are streamlined and torpedo-shaped ie. THIN! Goldfish have been domesticated for almost a thousand years and don't resemble the parent stock. The fish have been selected to look "squished" from head to toe. As such, they are bulkier fish compared to other "thinner" fish of the same length. Hence, they eat more and "poop" more when compared to their svelte cousins. You are right when thinking that goldfish are best kept with other goldfish. But given the diversity of the different breeds, you can create a very diverse group of goldfish in a single tank. Suitable "cleaners": freshwater clams. Try to stay away from the large snails - apple snails are voracious vegetarians that starve inadvertently in most tanks. The snails will require vegetables like zucchini and lettuce in order to survive, which just creates one more thing to keep clean. If you must, purchase some veggi-clips (clips with suction cups). Suckermouth catfish can potentially harm your goldfish.

As for water chemistry, most aquarium stores do NOT change the water chemistry coming out of the tap and into the freshwater tanks other than to neutralize the chlorine. Why? Cost to do so would prohibitively add to the overhead and to retail costs. Most freshwater fish are farmed and are not raised at ideal (ie. wild) water conditions. Good chance that the water chemistry coming from your taps will be fine for the new arrivals. The fish themselves will change the chemistry over time with their metabolic processes so keep on top of it with frequent regular small water changes. My favorite, 20% every week. In a ten gallon tank, that's only two gallons of water. This will ensure that the chemistry does not change significantly over time with the removal of old and new addition of the "source" water. This is above and beyond just "topping up" evaporated water.

And don't forget to keep the gravel clean. Most people forget that the primary function of any filter is to trap waste. The gravel bed will passively trap particulate matter. And I am NOT referring to an undergravel filter. Gravel by itself will trap any particulate that settles onto it. Keep that filter clean!

Wow, I wrote a lot. Hope it helps to answer more questions than to create them.

01-26-2008, 11:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
elaphe Tilted Location: British Columbia, Canada	Ansxt, First, don't sweat the little details like water chemistry. You are on bang on testing for ammonia - that's the killer. Nitrogenous waste kill more fish in aquariums than disease, in my opinion. Get a good ammonia and nitrite test kit - preferably not the dry test-strip type. The tests stripes can become contaminated with compounds in the air and may loose accuracy over time. Secondly, liquid test kits are more cost effective - more tests for the buck. That said, any reading above zero for nitrogenous wastes is bad. SeaChem has an ammonia warning "card" that sits in the tank and constantly "tests" for ammonia. I have used the product and used other test kits to verify that it can "read" the ammonia levels in the aquarium in real-time. You are also correct in assuming that without fish waste, one has difficulty in creating a live bacterial filter. Testing for ammonia and nitrite becomes important. Don't get too carried away with testing for other water chemistry parameters. I have been in the aquarium business for over a decade and can tell you that most other test kits are the "up sell" items. The average freshwater aquarist doesn't need a pH, GH or KH test kit. Not to mention the Mg, Iron and Ca kits. Nitrate kits are not needed if you perform frequent, regular small water changes. More on water chemistry later. Most people stay away from goldfish thinking that the fish just create tons of waste. Give the goldfish a chance. You were thinking of two fish in a ten gallon tank - perfect! Just remember that MANY sales people will quote the golden rule "one inch of fish per gallon of water." Not a bad rule considering that most fish are streamlined and torpedo-shaped ie. THIN! Goldfish have been domesticated for almost a thousand years and don't resemble the parent stock. The fish have been selected to look "squished" from head to toe. As such, they are bulkier fish compared to other "thinner" fish of the same length. Hence, they eat more and "poop" more when compared to their svelte cousins. You are right when thinking that goldfish are best kept with other goldfish. But given the diversity of the different breeds, you can create a very diverse group of goldfish in a single tank. Suitable "cleaners": freshwater clams. Try to stay away from the large snails - apple snails are voracious vegetarians that starve inadvertently in most tanks. The snails will require vegetables like zucchini and lettuce in order to survive, which just creates one more thing to keep clean. If you must, purchase some veggi-clips (clips with suction cups). Suckermouth catfish can potentially harm your goldfish. As for water chemistry, most aquarium stores do NOT change the water chemistry coming out of the tap and into the freshwater tanks other than to neutralize the chlorine. Why? Cost to do so would prohibitively add to the overhead and to retail costs. Most freshwater fish are farmed and are not raised at ideal (ie. wild) water conditions. Good chance that the water chemistry coming from your taps will be fine for the new arrivals. The fish themselves will change the chemistry over time with their metabolic processes so keep on top of it with frequent regular small water changes. My favorite, 20% every week. In a ten gallon tank, that's only two gallons of water. This will ensure that the chemistry does not change significantly over time with the removal of old and new addition of the "source" water. This is above and beyond just "topping up" evaporated water. And don't forget to keep the gravel clean. Most people forget that the primary function of any filter is to trap waste. The gravel bed will passively trap particulate matter. And I am NOT referring to an undergravel filter. Gravel by itself will trap any particulate that settles onto it. Keep that filter clean! Wow, I wrote a lot. Hope it helps to answer more questions than to create them. __________________ "Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.