desinfect plastic mini tank

Question
Hi chris,
I hope you may can give me some tips regarding cleaning a plastic container we been given. they had hermit crabs in it. It's quiet big with colour stones and other decoration in it(circle 400mm X around 200mm high). There is still traces of food in it. We bought a little pump and want to start ourselfs into keeping some kind of little fish. My kid is all in to it. What do we use to clean the tank (hot water only?) What kind of little fish are easy to look after"kid and adult - newstarter safe"?
thanks for helping us out, regards Andrea

Answer
Hi Andrea;

Use hot water and just a few drops of household bleach. Let it soak for an hour or two and rinse, rinse, rinse with hot water. This will eliminate the ammonias and other waste that the crabs will have left behind.

This is a very tiny little tank. Does it have a filter? If not, put fish like guppies in it. Even with a filter don't be tempted to keep goldfish in it. They seem like the obvious choice for bowls and small tanks, but they get way too big and are quite messy fish. Just one goldfish needs a tank at least twice that size with a good filter on it. A male betta would be good to put in there. Maybe a little catfish with him to help keep it clean.

You can join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://forums.about.com/ab-freshaquaria/start

There is a wealth of information there. My member name is ChrisR62. See You There!

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins