[narayanang76]

One of the best fish keeping experience and their coloration! Amazing to see how they change their colors throughout the day, and every time you look at them, cant take your eyes from them.

Boesemani Rainbows in my tank:

[Dieseltuned]

Guys , this lockdown has been pretty hard on my 5 year old daughter and we were thinking of getting a fish tank to keep her interested, she likes fish tanks having seen them at one of our friends home. I am currently in Bombay Western suburbs can any one please point me to a right place to get started. Please note I have zilch experience in this area. Any help will be much appreciated

Regards
Ritesh a.k.a dieseltuned

[ritz3645]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

e

Assuming you live between Bandra to Kandivali Google can help locate nearest pet shops. Serious aquarist go to Kurla East Aquarium wholesale market located 100 meters from Kurla station exit on East side. Fish prices are usually per dozen at Kurla, while per piece at local nearby pet shop.

Tank : Chinese fiber moulded tanks or Glass tanks. Moulded tanks have inbuilt filter and lighting. Watch below video

https://youtu.be/_te1xhCUkiU

Fishes : Mollies or any hardy fish. Mollies come in black, white, red, yellow, mix color & also come in moon tail.

Food : German made Tetrabits 93 grm best price link
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00K86ZTWU/..._2SxoFb3Y94T5S

Substrate : Sand, pebbles of your choice.

Water: If planning to use direct tap water, remove premixed chlorine by storing it overnight or 8-12 hours. Chlorine is danger & kills maximum fishes of every hobbyist. Otherwise any RO water can be directly used.

Hiding Decoration : Your choice


Basic like tank, water, fish, food, decoration got covered. While getting the tank you will also get a blue liquid bottle & net.

Flowchart is
New tank -> clean/rinse it but avoid using any soap as difficult to remove it completely from tank or needs multiple rinses. Table Salt or diluted H202 is also a good cleaner.

Post cleaning arange Tank with water + substrate + hiding decoration + filter. Add few drops of blue liquid. Now switch on tank light and relax. Will advise on buying the tank mates the next day, as by then tank will be a little set.

Buy fishes in multiple of six as better price.

Enter fishes -> Unopened Polly bag with fishes in tank water for ten minutes to stabilize then release the mates in tank.

Enjoy.

Feeding : Start by using minimum feed. No food should touch the base while feeding ie. no overfeeding.

Do a fortnightly complete water change.
Process : Remove some tank water in a cleaned rinsed bucket or utensil enough for the fishes to spend one night. Remove fishes using net & place in the removed tank water. After all living beings are removed, remove all water using a garden pipe at site or draining the other end of pipe in bathroom. Clean tank with salt or 3%/6% H2O2 & rinse tank multiple times. Fill tank with direct tap water(My way) set sand decor. Let the clean filled tank sit that way for one night or 10-12 hours to remove chlorine traces. Post one night or 10-12 hours release fishes by net or in a mug with little earlier tank water. This provides stability to tank mates.

Minor like thermometer, heater, ph strips are used to check and avoid big variation in water parameters, or provide a stable environment.

Not sure of Mum shop timings or other details due to Covid.
All Mum pet shops have their details on Google Maps.

[ptaneja]

Guys,

My 6 footer now has only couple of occupants - with Corona around, not in a mood to roam around and buy fish from shops. And also, the shops which I have inquired on the phone do not have anything more than 1.5" ...I would prefer 3" or more.

Any online or known dealer which can ship Chiclids to NCR region ?
Or maybe, instead of Chiclids, a total overhaul to different type of Goldfish.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by ritz3645

Do a fortnightly complete water change.
Process : Remove some tank water in a cleaned rinsed bucket or utensil enough for the fishes to spend one night. Remove fishes using net & place in the removed tank water. After all living beings are removed, remove all water using a garden pipe at site or draining the other end of pipe in bathroom. Clean tank with salt or 3%/6% H2O2 & rinse tank multiple times. Fill tank with direct tap water(My way) set sand decor. Let the clean filled tank sit that way for one night or 10-12 hours to remove chlorine traces. Post one night or 10-12 hours release fishes by net or in a mug with little earlier tank water. This provides stability to tank mates.

Agree on all points except this. Unless you have an extremely small tank (which is bad in all ways), there is no need to remove all the fish and do a complete water change. In fact, I feel it is harmful and causes more stress on the fish. Changing 30-50% water every fortnight is sufficient. And while changing water, you can clean the filter, scrub the glass using the magnetic scrubbers and suck out the muck from the substrate using a Siphon.

PS: The links are just examples. Suggest you buy the accessories along with the tank from the shop itself.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by ritz3645

Sir,
Every aquarium maker uses only DOWSIL Glass Silicone Aquarium Sealant (300 ml) Happy Fins.

Ok sir. I asked as I read a few reviews on Amazon with pics where the instructions said not to use for aquariums. I was wondering how so many are happy with it despite the manufacturer saying its not for aquarium use!

Here's a pic

[ritz3645]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

]

Chief, ask any skilled aquarium maker, anywhere in India, they will vouch for this red colour tube of Dowsil silicone for glass (MRP - ₹240)
My assumption : For warranty issue they may have listed not for aquarium. On cover it is mentioned, Dowsil Glass sealant or specifically made for glass.

You may get more feedback if you or Moderators link your post in 'My Fishkeeping hobby' thread.

[V.Narayan]

The Red devil in the photo below is of 2012 birth vintage. Purchased as a baby now a little over 8 inches in length. It had a mate of identical age which died 3 months back. This has now become my oldest surviving fish. The earlier record was on a black Oscar with orange spots that lived to the grand age of 7 years and grew to 13 inches in length (measured on its death).



I finally after a gap of a few years bought another Oscar. Aggressive blighter. Oscars love to jump. My Florida gar unfortunately died.


Question for the experts - how long do Cichlids live in a well maintained tank.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

The earlier record was on a black Oscar with orange spots that lived to the grand age of 7 years and grew to 13 inches in length (measured on its death)..

IIRC even I had an oscar which lived for close to seven years after which I gave it away but it didnt die. Mine was around the same size and colour. Planning to get one again since I no longer have the time to maintain a planted tank. Only issue I had with Oscars is finding a tank mate. They hardly went along with other fish and I unfortunately lost some fish due to this. Hence planning to get a pair of Oscars and have another stable setup for a few more years.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Only issue I had with Oscars is finding a tank mate. They hardly went along with other fish and I unfortunately lost some fish due to this. Hence planning to get a pair of Oscars and have another stable setup for a few more years.

Request for help with some questions --
(1) How do you tell which Oscar is male and which female or are they unisexual. I assume one should pair off the genders. What if both turn out to be males? Asking as I too feel that one more Oscar should be there.

(2) Should it be of a similar colour combination or other colours will do.

I had a pair of Red Devils {of which one survives} who mated furiously every few months and the Florida gar would eat up the hatchlings thus keeping the tank from getting over crowded!!

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Request for help with some questions --
(1) How do you tell which Oscar is male and which female or are they unisexual. I assume one should pair off the genders. What if both turn out to be males? Asking as I too feel that one more Oscar should be there.

(2) Should it be of a similar colour combination or other colours will do.

Unfortunately I have not tried to visually differentiate between the male and female. But in my case, when I brought the Oscar as a pair, I believe I ended up with fish of the same sex. I believe so since the reproductive areas of both fish were identical. Compared to this, I had a couple of angel fish which I could easily differentiate but again not sure which one was a male and vice versa. But I had two mating pairs of angel fish which laid eggs and managed them though they didnt hatch.

Coming back to the oscar, I do plan to get a pair this time but out of the given lot of fish available I will try to get a male and a female. I am told that the females are usually kept back by the hatchery as much as possible. Regarding the colour, my preference is always the black one with orange spots. Usually the orange spots begin as spots and based on the quality of food it spreads around the whole side of the fish. The other varieties I have seen is the yellow one which is supposedly of an inferior breed, the copper oscar which I dont like and the Albino.

Sorry again that I dont have answers to your questions but the strategy I will follow this time is to get a pair with different belly areas and hope they will remain as a pair. If not they usually fight each other as they approach around 6 inches in length and one of them dies, as per my previous experience. If I really end up with a mating pair, then it will be interesting times to come

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by ritz3645

Remove fishes using net & place in the removed tank water. After all living beings are removed, remove all water using a garden...

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Agree on all points except this.

Agree with @Jaguar. Suggestion - we should not remove the fish out of the tank. The experience is stressful enough to lower their immunity and cause them to die pre-maturely. In the 47 years that I have been keeping fish I stopped this practice about 44 years ago - before that I dispatched many a fish to an untimely death - I guess they are waiting for me on the other side. What ever cleaning is done is done with the fish in the tank. They are removed only for their funeral!.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Request for help with some questions --
(1) How do you tell which Oscar is male and which female or are they unisexual. I assume one should pair off the genders. What if both turn out to be males? Asking as I too feel that one more Oscar should be there.

(2) Should it be of a similar colour combination or other colours will do.

I had a pair of Red Devils {of which one survives} who mated furiously every few months and the Florida gar would eat up the hatchlings thus keeping the tank from getting over crowded!!

I am no expert but i guess best way is to throw a bunch of them together and let them pair up

Cichlids are pretty aggressive defenders of their young and devils are well, devils. How big was your gar? God i miss my fishes :(

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

I am no expert but i guess best way is to throw a bunch of them together and let them pair up

Cichlids are pretty aggressive defenders of their young and devils are well, devils. How big was your gar? God i miss my fishes :(

My Gar topped off at about 12 inches. Acquired another one last night. What happened to your fish

[deathwalkr]

Wow that would have been a good fish to behold in your tank. My Banjar Red Arowana used to bully my (Smaller) Florida Gar during feeding time. Gorgeous fish.

My fishes? Well my son after he started to walk, push chairs, climb up chairs, push down tank lid, put stuff in...well you get the idea. the wife and i decided to retire our hobby for some time. Sold them all to a good friend here.

We did get a small tank for a betta and we started finding our phones and what not inside it!

He is almost 4 now,and we have moved to an independent house with space for him to run and burn pent up kiddie energy so yeah, maybe next year i should be starting again.

Have a 4x2x2 tank in the car shed just tempting me every single day.

And we do have two above ground tanks here...one is 8x4x3 i think and the other is 6x2x2. Just guppies, goldies, swords etc. Might make the big tank as a monster tank with gar, aros, bichirs/catfishes...time will tell. Sorry for the long reply to your one line question