oh, i forgot neon tetra as well

Reading is the way to go... if you do loads of research and go for the right things you'll be fairly safe

yep, there is soooo much info out there lol... i am really loving the cherry barbs now!

Thanks how long would I need to leave the tank after putting the ammonia in?

Do you think sand is better to use, than those pebble things? I will have to measure the tank tomorrow and then find out how many fish would be best Thanks for the links, will have a look on that forum and sign up… I am sure that will be very helpful when I am getting this underway Don’t worry you haven’t put me off I am getting so excited now!

Hi regarding the ammonia, there are a few different methods, but basically, you need to add enough ammonia to the aquarium to bring the level up to about 4-5ppm (parts per million). There are calculators for that too on the various forums lol. Depending on the size tank could be approx 1 ml.(tiny amount) You then test the water with your ammonia testing kit, and make a note of the measurement. which hopefully will be on target (4-5ppm) Many people keep a cycling diary. You need to test for the ammonia each day, if the levels start to drop, that is good, but you need to add a bit more to keep up a decent food supply for the bacteria. This can go on for ages,\(weeks) which is why it will be good if you can get some mature filter medium from your friend, it really speeds things up.

When the ammonia levels are reliably dropping to 0 every day, you then need to start testing for NitrItes, this is what the Ammonia has been converted into, and is also toxic to fish (not quite as bad as Ammonia though).

You will eventually see a large raise in NitIte, even off the scale of your measuring kit, just continue measuring and topping up with Ammonia to keep the food supply going. once your filter is processing all of the Ammonia and Nitites in a 12 hour period you are pretty much done.

At this point you will need to do a huge water change around 80% of the tank, as all this processing of Ammonia and NitItes produces NitrAtes,(harmful to fish in large amounts) and the only way to get rid of them is to change the water. All your beneficial bacteria will be in the filter, with maybe some on any ornaments, rocks plants etc, but not floating around in the water itself.

One other thing to remember is that when you first add your fish, it is unlikely that they will produce anywhere near as much Ammonia, as adding it pure, and the bacteria in your filter will adjust, and the aquarium will be balanced. You can add all the fish that you want at this point (always best to be understocked).

This is a simple a guide as i can write. Definitely check out the cycling threads on the fish forums, as there is more to it then this, but this worked well for us.

As for the sand, as we have bottom dwelling fish, such as Corydoras (little shoaling catfish type). they have barbels, which can be worn down by some types of gravel, and they love to sift through the sand. We actually used play sand from Argos, which is really inexpensive, needs a very good wash before use though. Basically it is what you like the look of. Take your time to look at aquarium set ups see what appeals

Generally speaking Mollies are fine community fish. Occasionally we've had people bringing back the odd male Mollie which has been (according to them) chasing and harassing their other fish. That situation tends to be avoided by keeping them in correct group sizes; one male to three females is about right. The more females the better.

Cherry Barbs are a nice fish. You have to be careful with a lot of the Barb types, but Cherry's are generally very peaceful. I have Gold Barbs in one of my community tanks and they look very nice, too.

Got the tank its a bit smaller than i was expecting, but it is still a good size. It is 42 litres, and looks really nice the filter is a Fluval one, and that looks really good too! So, what i am planning is to get this tank all set up and running, and if it all goes well... then i might get a bigger tank in a few months time and have both going. that way, i can maybe try with different kinds of fish! for this tank i am probably going to get Mollies, guppies and platies... and hopefully the cherry barb i know with the size though, that i might not be able to get them all coz i dont want them to be overstocked. My friends brother and sister both work in pets at home, and have quite a bit of experience with fish (especially her brother) so they will make sure i dont overstock it, and when the tank is ready for the fish, they are going to help me add the fish gradually.

I do have a tank somewhere, but i cannot for the life of me remember where i put it! it must be about 60 litres, but my friend needed rid of this tank coz it was taking up space, which is why i said yes, rather than using the other tank... although, i cant use it until i find it... and i have had a good look so it isnt looking good on finding it if i can find it, then maybe in a few months time i will set up it up and use that... if not, i can just buy a new one.

Anyways, i got a wee bit of gravel today but didnt get enough and i only have one wee ornament and no plants! So, i am going to get them tomorrow, and hopefully get the tank looking good! then it will be practically ready for the fishies (after the cycling!)

I am going to read about the ammonia, nitrates and nitrites etc tomorrow, so i know exactly what im doing about them... too late to concentrate just now though

I asked my dad where the old tank is, and he said he chucked it out a few months back

Got the new tank all set up now, its all gravelled, has plants and two wee ornaments in it... i think it looks good although, knowing me i will probably keep rearranging things until the fish go in! Had a wee mishap with the filter... i put in on upside down last night i was wondering why it was being so noisy... so i asked my dad to have a look and he said it was upside down so i called my friend, and she confirmed that it was it is the right way now, and i can see the water filtering away