what kinds of water do tropical fish need?

You, as a beginner, should not attempt to keep any saltwater fish in a tank as small as a 10g. It is very difficult for even experienced marine (saltwater) aquarists to maintain a 10g saltwater tank. The water parameters must be almost perfect to keep saltwater fish alive and healthy.

You should start with freshwater fish for a couple years until you get some experience under your belt. In the meantime, read, read and then read some more about keeping freshwater tropical fish.

A 10g tank is a good starter tank for a beginner. Be sure you do regular, weekly, partial (30%) water changes to keep your fish healthy and happy. Also, you need a good filter that circulates the water in the tank about 7-9 times per hour (that is a filter rated at around 80-100 gallons per hour [gph]).

Plants from Petco will be freshwater plants, so you are starting correctly. Always ask the store personnel which freshwater fish will do well in a 10g tank.

Your temp is a little high, most tropicals do much better at around 74-78 degrees F.

Guppies (4 or 5) are a great starter fish (I started with them when I was 10 in 1956). I have been in and out of the hobby a few times since then.

Four or five zebra danios would also look good in a planted 10g with the guppies.

Good luck, if you would like to correspond about starting in the hobby, feel free to email me.

8

fresh water! and 82 is a little high for some tropical fish. real plants look awesome but are hard to maintain and they get the tank real dirty real fast. go with plastic after those die. make sure that you add the dechlorinator at least 24 hours before adding the fish. Also, releasing the fish into the tank takes a while so do it right and keep the light off for 4 hours after you put them in the new tank so they won't be so stressed. Fish are fun, awesome, and really cool but you gotta know what you are doing. Ask the person that you are buying the fish from and they will tell you everything you need (unless they don't know)

Tropical Water;

simply use home tap water with a suitable chemical such as Tetra-Aqua Safe.

it is best to change 10%-30% of the water each week, using the treatment for the amount of water your putting back in. remember to only add about 3-4 small fish per week, to some that may sound to much, or even to little, but normaly the fish being sold with be tiny and dont produce much amonia. your water may turn cloudy for a day or too, even when you have added fish, dont worry this wont harm the fish but its a good idea to do the water change at this time.

good luck!

i own a tetra-aqua-art 60litre (15 gal) tropical tank and love every bit about it, the main problem many come accross it the fish out growing the tank, you local pet store will help you and advise which fish are best suited

You probably bought fresh water plants. So you have to get fresh water fish.

This sounds like it's your first time having fish so I would recomend about a dozen tetras. They have beautiful colors and they like to stay in schools. As long as you keep your tank at the right temperature and do not overfeed, they will be healthy, pretty, and intersting fish to watch. You can also buy a small catfish (I like the albino ones, they are so cute) to keep the bottom of your tank clean, because tetras don't like to go at the bottom of the tank.

TROPICAL fish need freshwater. It sounds like you have everything set up, and the plants are freshwater also.

Be careful when you get your fish, make sure they are not MARINE, those require saltwater (and are very expensive.)

Also, make sure you avoid new tank syndrome by only adding a few fish at a time!

freshwater.

just tap water with a cleaning chemical in it.

and let the filter run with just water in the tank for 48 hours, then go buy fish.

ask what temperature the fish should be at when you buy them, since some fish require different degrees of heat.

warm water salt water