Ok now we are ready to introdce some fish to our set up but remember we can not oveload the filter.
I will not use Technical terms and try to keep it as simple as poss.
The reason we can not overload is that the bacteria on the filter has been come acustomed to water condition and the introduction of two many fish will upset this balance and create amonia which in turn will kill of the fish. So the 1st fish we introdce must be hardy
the ideal fish would be the Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus) so we will start with a pair of platies.
some donts
never buy fish from a tank if there is a dead fish in it
never buy a fish from a tank where a fish has a fungas
never buy a fish from a tank if some fish are swimming with clamped fins
Never buy a fish from a tank where fish are not swimming in a natural manner
never buy a fish from a tank if other fish have small white spots
If you spot any of the above and the tanks are on a common filter system(pets at home use this system) do not buy a fish from any tank
Never buy any fish from a tank that has a bag floating init this indicates the shop has received a delivery and has not quarantined fish before putting on sale and you may purchase a fish that has just been released in that tank being caught and rebagged for you the will stress the fish and bring on disease
do,s
On arrival home with your new purchase always float bag and gradually equalise the tank water with that in bag before releasing fish.
As these are the 1st fish we have put in we do not have to do this one but on introduction of more tank mates drop some food into tank as we release the new tank mate this will stop the other fish harassing the new comer and give it time to settle another good idea is to switch of your tank light for a few mins.
more to follow

all very useful info kenny x

Thanks, some good advice there. :san50:

Now lets look at some suitable tanks mates for our community aqarium.

Characins - neon tetra, glowlight tetra,black neon tetra,black phantom tetra,emperor tetra, just a few peaceful fish that will not nip fins of others such as guppies.
some others -cherry barb,rosey barb, danios (zebra) etc, dwarf gourami,siamese fighting fish (but only one male) various corydoras catfish,loaches
Chiclids Dwarf ones are suitable for a community tanks such as the Krib, Angels also belong to this family and are ok if kept with larger fish as full grown ones will see many of the tetras listed above as food.
Just some ideas

how big do siamese fighting fish grow to?

when i go to PAH i often look at them, but theyre always kept in little holding tanks on their own :thinking:

shelley only the males will be held in small holding tank as 2 will fight to the death.
the females are usually in a tank together. the dont grow to big about 6-7cm females are smaller.
they belong to the same family as the dwarf gourami ( both labyrinth fish) meaning they breath air from the surface so dont require strong areation,but make an excellent addition to the tank
best kept 1 male to 2 or 3 females, the males can look fantastic with gills open and all fins spread open to display to the females

aww....I miss my aquarium....thinking of buying a new one...
My aquarium broke just christmas, after the table that it was on snaped
One thing is sure..the cats was busy to catch fishes....

aww what a shame evy that must have been awful hun x

oh right i didnt realise that kenny... my tank is pretty aeriated ive got a bubble stone and a strong filter, so maybe a siamiese fighting fish wouldnt feel settled

It was funny hto to look at the cats....lol
But I miss it

they would be ok with the bubble stone and if the flow from filter is directed to an area of the aquarium they would swim in calmer parts of tank.
If you have any zebra danios you will see that they swim into flow of power filter on occassions as they prefer fast flowing water but live happily in the aquarium