Well, I was more or less decided on the Eclipse 5 tank... I was planning to visit Petsmart after work to pick it up.. During lunch time, for some odd reason I decided to do a quick online check at various sites to see if there are any better deals going on. Found out that Petco had a new deal going on which would let me have an Eclipse 6 system for the same price as its younger sibling (Eclipse 5) with free shipping. Although I was tempted to place an order right way, thought I wouldn't hurt to first take a look at the actual item before I place an order...
I knew the Petco store near my house didnt keep any Eclipse tanks.. so I decided to stick to my earlier plan: pay a vist to Petsmart on my way home.. At the store, I found the E-6 to be a little bigger and nicer looking compared to the E-5. The sales lady from the marine department seemed very friendly and was more than happy to answer all my question. She let me open a box and go thru all the contents... soon I found out that the Eclipse series doesn't come with a heater.. and I need to have a heater if I am planning to go with tropical fishes... Anyways, I had decided to go ahead with the E-6 tank.
In talking to the sales rep, I also found out that on a average, its a good idea to wait for 2-3 days after setting up the tank before the first fish in introduced into it. The 2-3 days are required for the filtering and aerating system to take effect. she also showed me some fishes that I can use as 'starters'.. I really liked the blue colored Betta Splendens (also known as Siamese Fighting Fish - the males are very territorial.. they will usually fight to the death if put in the same bowl/tank). It was very surprising to know that this highly territorial fish gets along very well with other tropical fishes that don't belong to its variety. Betta Splendens come in different colors and is pretty good in adapting to different conditions.. making it very easy to maintain. A little google back home reaveled some interesting facts: these fishes have a special organ in their body that lets them breadth air directly from the surface of the water in case the oxygen level in the water is too low. Infact, the male (who in this variety of fishes take care of the young) pushes the young to the surface to help them breathe. The Bettas doesn't require any heating or filtering system making them a popular bowl fish. I think a blue Betta Splenden would be a good choice as a first fish for my new aquarium.
I just finished placing an order at petco.com for an E-6. I chose the standard shipping option.. 3-6 days.. no hurry... the tank should be home sometime early next week.
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