For small tanks, I can't speak too highly of the Eclipse for looks, filtration and ease of use, but given the choice between the hex 5 or the 6, I'd go with the 6 as just one extra gal. will make a difference and it's a far better shape for fish, as the greater the surface area, the better.

However, I would NOT recommend goldfish for such a small tank. They really do need far more space and will soon outgrow it and even with the superior filtration of the Eclipse, you would need to water change near daily.

Better a school of small fish that will stay small and for a small child who simply adores fish regardless of species, I would suggest Halequin Rasbora. (Rasbora heteromorpha) They are pretty, easy to care for, will stay small and are a far better choice than Danios that swim at hyperspeed and really need a larger tank.

The Rasboras are slow drifters, so won't become frantic in small tank, but no less than 6, so they will feel comfortable as like most all tropicals, they are schooling fish and get stressed if not in a group and stressed fish tend to be sick fish, but no more than 8, so they won't overwhelm the system.

Do do not, under any circumstance allow any pet store employee sell you a few of this and that. If you want a community tank, with mixed species, you will have to wait for a far larger tank.

Live plants. Absolutely! An Eclipse 6 with a coarse sand substrate would support an Anubas Nana in one back corner, with perhaps a small piece of driftwood with some java moss on it in the other and for color, a bronze Crypt in the middle, then add dwarf Sags, that over the course of a few months, would carpet the entire bottom.

The live plants are what will keep the tank free of algae and the thicker the plants grow, the less any algae will have to feed on.

Heater: a 25 watt submersible is a good choice for a planted 6. Get one with temp. settings by number, so you can dial it to about 78 deg. It will maintain the right temp all year. As the Eclipse has two cords, one for the filter and one for the light, plugging the light into a timer is a good way to make sure the plants receive enough light, particularly when you first plant them, adding any good water soluable fertilizer to get them started on root development

Your greatest challenge will be either hiding the tank from your daughter, or convincing her that she needs to wait for her fish's home to be completed before they move in, because you are correct in your belief that you need to set it up and let it run for a while before you introduce the fish. A month is plenty, so get going soon, and she will be a very happy little girl on Christmas morning.

Yes, the fish will survive a long drive in the bags, just have the shop use extra large bags, or insist that they bag them individually. Take a cooler with you and make sure they fill the bags with only 1/3 water to 2/3 air and get them tightly filled. Lay the bags longwise in the cooler, to expose the most surface. They should ride just fine.

When you get them home, slip them all into a clean dishpan or plastic storage container and over the couse of about 15 - 20 minutes, slowly add one cup of tank water to the container to every two cups your remove, to allow them to adjust to the temp and chemistry of your water. Then, net them into the tank.

I am in the midst of preparing a tank for my 6 year old fish happy granddaughter and plan on stocking it with Rasbora het for the very reason I suggested. I have dozens of species in my tanks, but am most confident of the hex for pretty, easy and hardy. All important factors when it's for a small child who may not accept dead fish with the same aplomb as would an adult.

BTW: If your local pet store doesn't carry a good selection of plants, one of the best suppliers online, just happens to distribute in Canada.

For planted tank addicts like myself, going to their website is rather like being a child in a toy shop. See:

:http://www.aquariumplants.com/

Birdwidow, I can't thank you enough for all your time and thorough answers. It's just the information I was looking for! I'll print out your post to take with me to the shop as I'm sure to forget all the names you gave, lol. If we end up getting her this setup, I'll be sure to come back and post pics. :)

I googled the fish you suggested and they're very pretty little guys. Having a little school will mean having to deal with babies, though, won't it? Is it possible to sex the fish and have all of one or the other gender? I know for sure I won't be able to deal with a tank full of babies!

The only other thing I'm still concerned about is our distance from the pet shops. What should I have on hand for little fishy emergencies? I worry about me doing something wrong and them getting sick and me not being able to get to the shop in time to buy whatever is needed to save them. Am I over-thinking this? Is there a kind of fish first aide kit I can have on hand to make me feel better?

The tank you want will work and I agree with Birdwillow about not having goldfish in a tank of that size and type. Another fish you can try would be Endlers, they are a species of livebearer from Central America which look much like common guppies. They reach a size of no more than an inch for males and less than two inches for females. They have been bred in captivity for only ten years or so since they were discovered and so look much like the wild type.

Any babies they have can be left in the tank with the adults and will just replace the older fish as they die of old age. They do just fine eating regular flake foods that you can buy at any store selling supplies for pets.

As Birdwillow said Anubias are great plants for a small tank. There are at least eight different species that are commonly sold and all do great in an aquarium with no care at all. They thrive in low light and grow slowly. Java Ferns also work great, they are a type of fern that lives along the shore of streams in the wild but can live and thrive submerged in an aquarium. A great website to buy either the Endler fish or live plans is Aquabid.com. Then you do not have to go to the city and try to find supplies and livestock. The plants would be found under rooted plants while the endlers are found under wild type liverbearers. The plants and endlers in most cases have pictures so you can see what they look like.

If you go with rasboras you have no fear of babies. They are egg layers and need special breeding tanks to produce babies. Just putting males and females together with rasboras does not work because they eat the eggs after they are layed. Any of the smaller barbs would also work in a tank of the size you are looking to buy. You could try Cherry barbs or Checkered barbs which both stay small and are very easy to care for.

For medications you should have on hand I would suggest something to treat whitespot since it is the most common disease but is easily treated.

Lance

As paproseman wrote; Rasboras are egglayers, so there would be no chance of unwanted infants, but as much as I enjoy playing with colors with my own stocks of Endlers, I must disagree about having any livebearers in a very small tank, particularly one intended for a small child, because....

You would soon be overrun with fish and as the tank becomes overcrowded, the fish will become weak, then sick, particularly as livebearer babies need to be fed near continually to assure healthy development, thus making it necesary to water change continually and mothers of toddlers have enough to do just keeping up with their own little one's messes.

So if your object is to establish a nice tank, with easy to care for, attractive little fish that will live quite a while on one light feeding daily, in a tank you need to water change just once a week- avoid livebearers.

As for diseases: If you buy healthy fish, once they acclimate to your water chemistry, if you keep their water clean with regular changes, maintain a steady temp and don't overfeed, it's highly unlikely for them to develop any diseases.

I also must disagree about Aquabid as a place for you to buy fish. It's fine for dedicated aquarists who buy in quantity or want to add a rare species to their collection, or bring in new blood, but for less than a dozen innexpensive, commonly found at local pet shop fish, you would either need to find a seller who is local to you, or pay more in shipping than the value of the fish.

The bottom line for keeping any aquarium fish healthy is a clean tank and clean water. If you want to have anything onhand at all times, it's water conditioner, clean conditioned water you have held in a spot where it will warm to close to the tank temp, and replacement cartridges for the filter. But changing a 6 gal. tank is quick and easy. Once a week, religiously- drop the bio-wheel into the tank, then 3 gal. out- 3 gal. in.

Then, no less than once a month, use a long tined fork to gently stir up the substrate a bit, to bring muck up to the surface. It will temporarially cloud the water, so just leave the filter to clear it, then drop the bio-wheel into the tank, siphon out 50% of the water, swish the bio-wheel in the water you have removed, add fresh water, remove the filter, give it a through cleaning and a fresh cartridge and when you have returned it to the tank and turned it on, put the bio-wheel back. THEN discard the dirty water. So keep TWO small buckets for tank cleaning. Never allow the bio-wheel to dry out.

If you are going to do this, buy the tank ASAP, put about 2 inches of well washed coarse sand in it, fill it about 2/3, set in the plants, add a dose of liquid plant fertilizer, then using your hand to break the force of the flow, fill to the top and with no cartridge in the filter, let it all run for a month, holding the cartridge aside until you add the fish.

You will receive a small sample packet of biological starter with the tank. Use it this once. Then add a very tiny pinch of fish food twice a week while the tank is cycling.

Buy and add the fish. If they are all alive and healthy after 2 weeks, with proper care, they will stay that way.

Then, never- EVER add any new fish without first keeping them in a quarrantine tank for at least 2 full weeks, 3 is better- and the chances of your indtroducing any diseases to your healthy tank is remote.

When it's time to surprise your daughter, drain the tank about 50% so you can carry it without spilling, retain the water, carry it up to where it's to be kept, replace the water and when she wakes Christmas morning- share in her delight, regardless of the species you eventually choose.

Just be sure they are all of the same species. The one thing you simply cannot do with a 6 gal. tank, is mix species.

Also- don't go crazy trying to fiddle your water chemistry. Acclimate the fish to your water, or you will spend most of your precious time trying to change the chemistry of the water to the fish and sans some pretty sophisticated equipment, it never really works.

BTW: You have both a little girl, and a horse, so might enjoy this:

Our son is near desperate for me to set up a tank for his little girl. In his poor addled male mind, he thinks it will distract her, but she is MY granddaughter, and I was riding before I was walking. I kept, bred and exhibited Arabs for over 50 years, so while we are now down to one old retainer, he is a sweet equine babysitter. It's too late for my son. He will work to support a horse, even though he would prefer a sports car. MY granddaughter comes to visit Grandma and heads straight for the barn. Just call it the ultimate Mother's Revenge. LOL!

My baby daughter cried a lot... and long... and loud. One of the few things that distracted her was our ten gallon tank with guppies. I highly recommend a tank with a few pair of fancy guppies, with heater, light, plants, and sponge filter. It's also cool for children to see live young being born and watching them grow up.

Sorry I haven't been back for an update in a while. I've been swamped with work lately and didn't want to post unless I had time to do it thoughtfully. :)

We did come home with the 6-gallon tank that weekend, but as I mentioned, I haven't had time to open it up yet. I came home with a 50-watt heater because the shop gal was concerned that the 25-watt wouldn't be enough for the 6-gallon because the package said it was good for up to 5 gallons only. They were the same price, so I said sure. If that was the wrong thing to do, let me know and I'll exchange it. I also came home with water conditioner and bacteria stuff. My intention is to get this all set up today and get started already!

Now, I am still a little confused about substrate, so I didn't purchase any that day in the city. I couldn't find anything labelled coarse sand, as you folks recommended. All I saw was various sizes of gravel and something called live sand, which was so darned expensive that I wasn't even going there. Can I buy a simple small gravel for real plants or do I really need to search for coarse sand? Also, how much do I need to buy for a 6-gallon tank? Remember that I don't live in the city, so going back for another bag if I don't have quite enough isn't a simple thing.

Speaking of which, although we live closer to Saskatoon, we will be going to Regina for a football game this coming Saturday. The game starts at 5 p.m., so I would be able to go to a shop before then to buy substrate and plants. However, would the plants be alright for all that time in a cooler of some sort? (Game would end around 8 p.m. with up to an hour to get out of the parking lot and 2.5-hour drive home.) Temps have been going below freezing every night lately - it is fall in Canada! Would the plants be okay? My thing is that I'm sure to find better plant selection in Regina as I know they have a larger aquarium shop. Selection is quite pathetic where I looked in Saskatoon and the staff people I talked to either didn't encourage real plantings or didn't know the names of the plants... grrrrr.

If you think they will make it home okay, I would assume I'd need to remove some or all of the water from the tank to install them. Is there any point then in setting the tank up now if I need to empty it in a week? It's just that I may have actual time today, lol!

Since my last posts, I've been thinking of water, too. We're in the midst of getting on a new pipeline project which has been five years in the making. Right now we share a well with our neighbour and the water is horribly hard. Should I even bother starting out with this water? I could go into town and get a bucket from hubby's workplace since the pipeline we're getting onto also supplies the nearby town; it would be the same water. I'm so excited! The water will be treated, but at least we won't have to buy new faucets all the time anymore! The engineers have already been out marking where the lines will be and they should be here with the big equipment before the snow flies. :)

Birdwidow, that's too cute about your granddaughter and the horses! :) Our Erin is more interested in the donkey than the horses, lol. I can still hope, though, right? So you used to breed and show Arabs... how wonderful! Did you ever come up here to the Royal Red? My gawd... what a show! I'd love to take my hubby to that sometime. Tuxedoes and ball gowns in the evening show ring... WOW! One driving class saw a horse lose a shoe; a bunch of white-coated handlers appeared out of nowhere to each horse's head while the shoe was found and the farrier who came out to reset it was even wearing a tux! The barns were virtual palaces, whith owners bringing in real turf and trees for landscaping and tempting people to their areas with espresso machines and tasty treats. The horses, too, my goodness... no breed has such variety as the Arab. :) I'll just settle back into my humble little Quarter Horse world now, lol...

Would only like to add that the tank of course will be in your care, lol. (I have an extensive background and too many links so you can email me at sherryazure@yahoo.com if desired) but mainly read up on cycling and maturing a tank before the fish are added.

FYI:
It is always better to buy a heater for a small tank UNDER watted as they can and do break, overheat. 50 is way to much for a six gallon and 25 would have been perfect (never trust sales people). If it is a great quality should be ok just have it at slightly under where you want temp. (I have dozens of tanks and many therms and all read differently!)

Sorry but one should NEVER carry a tank with water in it.. stress not only for tank but for fish. Not a toy and the spot should be chosen for security (ie won't be run into, knocked over, and level table (never near heater or window, but indirect light ok). While small they do stress and break.

RE going back and forth, slow down lol, (this post is old but still responding for future readers) plan and do it one step at a time. Do not add fish until all is done and tank has set a bit and matured. Plants are like fish, they need chlorinated water and heat unless cold water plants which those are not, and none live in freezing temps (the cell walls will break down). See below on amount of sand, really not needed unless you have rooted plants which are not always good for beginners (again need to know requirements of, light requirements, fertilizers so on)... get some bunch like anacharis, float them or leave some with weights on... and research plants for later as your knowledge and experience grow. Sand becomes nasty if there are not strong root growth to uptake the poo (and other stuff).. it becomes a breeding ground for "negative" bacteria is too deep and gravel vacuuming not done. a fine layer is perfect for growing good bugs which keep the water cycled.

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Then depending on the size (your original size is indeed too small for any amount of any sized goldfish)six is great) of your aquarium you select your fish and that will also affect the type of filtration, heater and water qualities ph, hardness so on.

Example: You would not want a betta in a set up with the filtration as mentioned in above posts - the fins would eventually get shredded. A small box filter with valves set on low would be more adequate. Lots of plants as they love to sit on them, hide under then so on (one betta per tank).

Cooler temp, small school of fish such as white cloud mountain minnow would be perfect for that size. (they come from Chinese mountain streams.)

I would do species only for such a small tank and beginner to boot. White clouds are great beginner fish and there are other small schooling fish but you have to be careful as that tank is too small for more then say 6 really small fish. Priscella tetra is another good choice for beginners.

(that was before I read the last post) with six gallon you can add a few more fish, some bottom catfish such as cory catfish which also like to school.

See, what fish you plan to get informs you as to your tank set up (after you read up on which are good for beginners) and again sales people (at least hear in NYC) can sale you things that grow huge, or say goldfish with tropical so it is up to you do do resaerch.

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I would also consider plants such as Anubias which are low light easy to care for if they can be found. If not even the beginner Anacharis (not sure how to spell) and other easy to care for beginner plants will help greatly with water quality, security of fish (they hate bare tanks with lights a glare (instinct is to be secure from being eaten) and be careful of being sold land plants as aquarium.

Sand is not really needed for bunch plants (Anubias have rizomes and it is never to be planted) but a 1/3 inch layer will help to cultivate the "bugs" bio bacteria which is part of a mature cycled tank and the sand will allow a culture there as well.

With no experience in cycling the beginner reason for dead fish is that reason. Adding too many fish in an uncylcled tank. (over feeding, wrong maintenance so on).

If you can get filter floss from an (healthy) established tank that will help greatly (put a bit in your filter). Add a few fish after a week or so with plants so on maturing a bit. This gives the "bugs ie organisms) time to establish. The plants will help as well. (Look up ammonia poisoning in fish as it is a really painful way to go, burns the delicate gills.)

When you add the fish, do so slowly... any ph difference of a small increment can cause shock and death (as well as temperature change of a small increment)... (There are a great many good beginner books on this, most of mine are from the 50's on up, lol and still serve me well without all the high tech stuff).

I lower the lights to avoid stress, put new fish (I always get tons more water from the store) in quarantine tank with filter, heater, towel over end so low light (they are super stressed from bagging (I bag my own and never dump them in - scoop) and transport and stress results in lower immunity and disease)... I put lid on tank (or grid) and slowly with small airline tubing with knot in it trickle new water into the quarantine. Just a little for first day (again depends on ph of your water and stores)...slowly take out some and dribble in new and over time they will be acclimated and you can also watch for disease outbreak. Soft silk plants will greatly add to there comfort. A bare tank is a huge stress for fish.

Well there is much more, feeding (eyes are usually size of stomach and do not overfeed) a few flakes (rotate with frozen or live, can learn about this later) twice a day. (smaller faster fish smaller more frequent feeding a few flakes each - that's it).

they will nibble on bugs that grow on plants as well (algaes as well) to supplement diet.

Again, as a child I went to the library and read for months and set up tank and waited for it to mature before even considering adding fish. This is the number one reason for fish dying or getting sick. And as your child grows older this is a great tool for educational purposes. Good luck and be careful of getting hooked! (it is a habit that can last a lifetime, lol) Best Sherry

Sherryazure, thanks so much for your time, but judging by your reply, I don't think you really read my posts. This thread is quite current, btw. Thanks anyway!

Calling birdwidow and paparoseman! :)

macky,

Yes, return the oversized heater. Presuming you have a reliable central heating system and a thermostst set no lower than about 68 deg., it doesn't take much wattage to warm 6 gal. of water 8 - 10 deg. above ambient air.

Also, most hardy tropical fish can do well in water a bit on the cool side, say about 75 - 76, but too hot will kill them. Matter of fact, as long as there are no sudden changes, a bit on the cool side will mean more dissolved oxygen in the water. The fish will slow down a bit too and the slight slowing of their metabolism will mean less food needed and therefore, cleaner water.

Fish have very small stomaches, so you will need to guard against overfeeding, which is probably the single most common reason for fouled tanks and dead fish. So feed sparingly, do a 50% water change weekly, a through cleaning of the filter and stirring up of the substrate monthly and the tank will stay healthy.

The easiest (and cheapest) source for coarse sand is usually a home center that sells traction sand. Or a sand & gravel supplier. Then, wash it and keep washing it, until the water runs clear.

Or, when you shop, buy a bag of Flourite, which is an excellent clay based substrate specifically designed to support live, fresh water plants. One bag of it would be about twice as much as you need. It too requires washing before use, but will do a great job of promoting plant growth.

Substrate materials vary in density, but enough to fill a 1 gal. container to the top should be plenty. You only need to get it about 2" deep in the tank.

BTW: That live sand is for salt water tanks. "Live" sand has been innoculated with the bacteria necessary to keep live corals and why it's so pricey.

While moving a glass tank full of water can put undue stress on it and cause it to crack, such is not the case with an acrylic, especially an Eclipse, that is a single, seamless unit.

For aquariums, clear acrylic is superior to glass in every aspect save one; it can be easily scratched, so just be careful not to use coarse materials when cleaning it. Otherwise, a seamless acrylic tank will display fish with no distortion or dulling of color, will never leak and weighs far less.

And I must disagree about moving a 6 gal. seamless acrylic after it has fish in it. As long as you drain off some of the water to lighten it, retain that water to replace it when you set the tank into it's new location and have someone with strong arms and a steady walk do the carrying, it and the fish will be fine.

The safest way to transport live aquatic plants is to place them into the same type of bag used for fish, then add a bit of water and blow it up with air and tie it off. Aquatic plants break easily out of water but as long as they stay wet, they can survive out of water in an air filled closed bag for days. Then, transport them in a well insulated cooler. A quick source of portable warmth to hold them until the game is over and you get the car heated up for your drive home would be a few bags of hot water from the pet shop's bathroom tap. When you get the car warmed up for the trip home, check the cooler. If it feels cold inside, just leave the lid open to the warm air in the car.

RE: Your water. If you have a few clean, 5 gal. buckets with lids on hand, do ask your husband to fill them with the water that will soon come from your tap and use it to cycle the tank.

Just in case, when you buy the plants, also buy a bottle of Had-a-Snail and use it 3 X the dosage recommended on the bottle when you first set up the tank with no media in the filter. Run the tank sans the bio-wheel for a few days while the Had-a-Snail kills any snails or their eggs that may be hiding on the plants.

Then, drain off most of the water, refill it and let it run with the bio-wheel for a few weeks until you add the fish. Pour the liquid bio-conditioner that came in a small packet with the tank directly onto the bio-wheel when you first place it into the filter and just leave it alone to do it's job.

Now- cease driving yourself to distraction over doing it all to perfection. Just set up the tank, kill the snails, feed the plants, set the timer for the lights to give the tank at least 12 hr per day, top it off when it needs it as it cycles, add the fish, leave them for 2 full weeks with just a light feeding once a day and when you little one is sound asleep Christmas Eve, sneak the tank from the basement to where it's to be kept upstairs and enjoy her reaction in the morning.

Then- enjoy HER while her childhood lasts. The years pass too quickly.

Thank you for your time. I won't bother you anymore then.

macky,

You weren't bothering me in the least and if I hadn't been willing to give you my time I wouldn't have. I was just trying to encourage you to just go for it and enjoy both the fish and your little girl and not lose the fun of both by being overly concerned with every tiny detail.

If you have any more questions, ask. I'll be glad to reply.