Neighbour making formal noise complaint.

[hannahb]

Hi - I'm new to tropical fish keeping and wondered if anyone could answer a couple of questions for me please!?

 

I have 14 fish (all quite small) in a 3' tank and sometimes they all seem to crowd down the end of the thermostat, the temp is constant and what it should be but could they be cold?!

 

How often should I feed them tropical flake food? Pot says 2-3 times a day, that seems excessive to me but only once seems mean!!

 

Thanks to anyone that can help, I'm 3 days of having my next baby and really dont feel like going down to the local pets at home to ask their advice!!!!!

 

Hannah

[Snowy]

I used to find mine sometimes grouped around the heater - I suppose sometimes it islike us huddling up to the fire! Do you have a good pump circulating the water so that it is not getting hotspots? What temperature do you have it at? You may need to turn it up a fraction - just a degree or two can make them a lot more active! What kind of fish are they?

 

I only used to feed mine once a day.

[Joojoo]

Hi Hannah

 

I'm not certain of what size heater you really need for your size tank but this site is fantastic for advice http://www.fishforums.net/ and they were absolutely invaluable to me when I was setting up. They will definitely be able to answer any questions you have got.

 

Re the food you should really only be feeding every couple of days or your tank will get dirty very quickly. Mine are fed an assortment every 2 days and are fine on it.

 

I would steer clear of asking Pets@Home any advice on keeping fish. In my experience they haven't got a clue what they are talking about. Find a dedicated aquarium specialist as near to you as you can. The forum has a list of the good ones.

 

Hope you get some answers soon and enjoy keeping fish

[ruth1]

Practical fishkeeping is really useful as well, we did lots of research on the internet when we were new to fish to.

 

we feed ours a tiny amount twice a day but have a really good pump and filtration system and a huge tank.

 

Also aquariums for Dummies is a great book.

[victoriabunny]

I feed mine once a day, using a mix of sinking pellets for the catfish and loaches and flakes for the rest. Once a week I give them some frozen "real" food - my fish shop sells it in little cubes that you keep in the freezer. I just defrost one at a time and drop it in - the pack has a mix of bloodworm, daphnia etc. They go mad for it. My tank is really clean and I only need to clean it once a month or so, so feeding every day works for us. Plus I'm rather proud of my track record at keeping them alive - I've had it for three years now and most of the fish in there are the originals! I thought tropicals only lived a year or so but these guys are still going strong (anyone know how long fish live?!)

 

To the OP - have you got a filter/air pump that circulates the water? Maybe you're getting hotspots. Put a thermometer on the side of the tank furthest from the thermostat and see what the temp is.

[victoriabunny]

I feed mine once a day, using a mix of sinking pellets for the catfish and loaches and flakes for the rest. Once a week I give them some frozen "real" food - my fish shop sells it in little cubes that you keep in the freezer. I just defrost one at a time and drop it in - the pack has a mix of bloodworm, daphnia etc. They go mad for it. My tank is really clean and I only need to clean it once a month or so, so feeding every day works for us. Plus I'm rather proud of my track record at keeping them alive - I've had it for three years now and most of the fish in there are the originals! I thought tropicals only lived a year or so but these guys are still going strong (anyone know how long fish live?!)

 

To the OP - have you got a filter/air pump that circulates the water? Maybe you're getting hotspots. Put a thermometer on the side of the tank furthest from the thermostat and see what the temp is.