just signed up imma newb

hey everyone on this site i just signed up about 3 minutes ago because i was on google looking up some fish info and i ran across some post people on here seem nice and friendly and help a lot i would also like to be a part of this well here i am stuff to know im 18 i collect sneakers and i have two tanks one with two red ear sliders had em about 7 years and a new tank about 3 months old with a 7 inch pleco and a baby oscar and baby green terror they are currently in a 30 now im new to this and before my fish get bigger im looking into getting them a bigger way better tank. i also had two catfish in the tank but they killed my albino oscar and my black tiger oscar (all babies btw)when i was sleeping so i re-located them with my turtles and they are actually doing fine. well hi everyone

Welcome to our forum. We try to keep this website friendly and fun as well as informative. Please ask all the questions you want, and feel free to comment on anything you see here.

thanks a lot and i do have a question as of now is my 30 gallon tank at good stock with a baby oscar a baby green terror and a 8 inch pleco? and i actually think its a 33 gallon.

The Oscar and the pleco will become very large for a 33 gallon aquarium, and the green terrors get to be about eight inches long. You could wind up needing more aquariums or fewer fish. People new to the hobby usually populate their aquariums based on what looks good in the store display tanks. Many fish species, however, are not compatible when they become adults, and many require different water conditions. Some species are also more challenging than others. While your fish are maturing, you may want to check out one of the search engines like Google to find the requirements, behaviors and adult sizes of different species.

For starters, it's usually better to select the more common, less expensive species of fish and plants, because they are easier to raise. Aquarium keeping is always a learning experience even for veteran aquarists. It's not difficult if you follow some basic rules like good maintenance, feeding and species selection. We all have lots of ideas on the subject, so just ask if you want to hear them.

well yea ive done a lot i mean a lot of research before joing this site i have been researching different sites and so on for about 4 weeks for hours on end . I finally got the cyclying part down pat. my first set of fish died and then i realized my tank was not cyled properly now upon doing research i know an oscar can get as big 16 inches and plecos around the same size and also green terrors usually max at 8-9. I know that is way to big for my tank however this will definitely be a growout tank. The only thing im worried about is how long its gonna take for them to get big becuase im not sure how soon ill be able to get a bigger setup being 18 and having limited space. any ideas on the growing rates of these bad boys and one other thing anyone know how to sink squash or zuchinni to the bottom of the tank without the food weights i heard blanching it does the job im just not sure how and figured i'd ask her before i googled it

Aquarium supply places sell little clips for raw vegetables, and they'll probably sink once they are waterlogged. You can also buy sinking algae wafers for the pleco; since he's a night feeder, you put in the wafer after lights out.

Some fish continue to grow throughout their lives, but most are considered mature at about one year. Aquarium shops will sometimes trade your large fish for more suitable species. The pleco and oscar will get too big for almost any aquarium, so you may want to trade them in right now. The terror guys are not the best of community fish, so you may need to trade them in too if you want other species. An excellent community fish is a cory cat; six will put on a good show. If you want egg layers, consider zebra danios or white clouds. Cardinal and neon tetras in shoals of at least six are very attractive, but they're not the easiest to keep healthy. Gouramis are also popular, but some get pretty big and they are sensitive to diseases. My favorites are angelfish, but they can become quite a handful and are compatible with almost noting but cory cats.

For live bearing fish it's hard to beat guppies and red wags. If your aquarium has plenty of floating plants, a pair of wags or guppies will fill the tank in a few months.

No doubt that's more information than you asked for.

wow you really give solid advice haha well its funny that you said the algae wafer thing because i have them and b4 i shut the lights i put some in last night so im guessing i was right on target with that now if i trade in my oscar and pleco can i at least house the terror by himself because i really like the way the look when they are older and i kinda really wanna keep the pleco i just got him last night but if he has to go i understand i wont be ignorant about it let me know what u think bro

I also saw on someones pictures on a different forum that they used a platic like bag clip to hold down the food.

As for blanching a piece of food that is easy. Take it from the chef. Boil a pot of water and place the food item into it for a minute of two, take out and place in an ice bath. That is called blanching. The ice water stops the cooking process.

I always thought that Blanche was a lady in Streetcar Named Desire.

I dont know about that. Before my time was she?

hah thanks i too had wanted to be a chef i even took classes however i lost intrest i think because of the teacher but anyhow thanks for the tip and john i read a couple years ago and yea blanche is from that book she is also from golden girls haha im becoming very fond of this site i think im going to try to be a good contributer to this site yay

The streetcar thing was a Brando movie. He was also in The Wild One with Lee Marvin. Today, the movie is kind of funny because it's so dated, but is sure sold a bunch of motorcycles back in the 1950s. That, of course, has nothing to do with aquariums unless you know someone who painted an angelfish on their Harley tank.

I was thinking Golden Girls... LOL! We're all dated...

If I had a harley... I could see getting an angel on the tank! LOL!!! I'm actually comtemplating putting some fish in my arm sleeve I'm going to get done in the near future...

As for raw veggies... I cheat! If you use a fork, or even a butter knife, that'll hold it down till they eat it away from the utensil. It's not the prettiest in the tank, but it works!

WARNING!!! DON'T JUST DROP IT IN!!! Unless you have gravel... I dropped in a knife one time on a bare bottom, and well... It cracked the bottom of a twenty... It wasn't so great...

Oh, yeah! WELCOME to the forum! Glad to have you here!!!

It's a fun group of people here... No experts... just a pile of people that might win a fish version of Trivial Pursuit!!!

ROFL!!!

haha i never thought about using a fork or knife to hold it down. that actually sounds like a good plan and a streetcar named desire is also a book i seen the movie to hen i was in school i had the topic for english and yea im not that great with fish either but i think im doing pretty well for a newbie i mean i have lost my fair amount of fish but who hasn't the point is we learn from our mistakes and try to help others before they do the same well my fish are doing great i still hadda give my pleco some algae wafers i wasnt able to run to the store for squash or any other veggies. thanks everyone for the warm welcoming.

Got any green beans? They like that too!

yea i deff have green beans can the be frozen or do they have to be cooked or whats there usual preference on the beans?

They don't have to be cooked... Just room temperature.

If you heat them to thaw them, let them cool before you put them in the tank.

ighty sounds great thanks for all the help

No Problem!