Fish in tank: does anyone on here keep them? Any tips for newbie

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

As title really.......... the "fish" I mean are not the outdoor ones in a pond, its the ones you keep inside, in a tank.

Advice sought re. situation, i.e. light or dark place? Filters (what sort, whether needed), temperature/thermostat. And, what sort of fish would be good for a "beginner".

Dunno if anyone on here can help. I saw some fish in Pets at Home recently, and thought it might be a nice idea, that's all.

 

[dunkley]

I had a small tropical tank years ago. It was very pretty, very relaxing, but I found it all too stressful with temperature, sickness etc, etc - not to mention which fish tried to kill which other fish! Eventually they all died and I gave the tank away.

Fast forward several years and teenage daughter went to a local 'fair' and came home with a bloody goldfish! I stuck it in a bowl, and to my shame spent most of the night hoping for a 'floater' in the morning Sadly, it lived and therefore needed a home. A simple goldfish bowl was not adequate, it needed a 24" penthouse .............. and, of course, a friend The original fair fish lived for years, as did 'his' friend, and as they have always died individually, we have continued to replace them. Tank sits on dresser in the kitchen, has simple filter, light bulb, and some weed and tunnels. Far, far less stressful. Turn it on in the morning, feed. Turn it off at night. Put a snail in to munch algae. Watch them bobbing around from time to time Siphon off half a tank when it looks grubby - top up with cold tap water, with a few ml of something called 'Tapsafe'. Complete strip down possibly twice a year. Goldfish are far less temperamental and time consuming than tropicals, and there are some really pretty ones out there with floaty tails and all sorts

I know people who have tropicals, and they end up addicted with bigger and bigger tanks, and breeding - the whole works................could work out very expensive!

ETA - Obviously don't put the tank in direct sunlight, or they will poach

 

[Zero00000]

What type of tank are you looking at having?

Tropical, Marine, Brackish

My top tip - do not buy from pets at home.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

What type of tank are you looking at having?

Tropical, Marine, Brackish

My top tip - do not buy from pets at home.

Ummmm........ sorry, don't know the difference between types of fish-tank! Haven't got that far yet, its just a bit of a thought really I guess. You'll have to enlighten me

 

[Leo Walker]

Get a newt instead! Easy to keep and much more entertaining than fish!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....445200313666.238151.606503666&type=3&theater

 

[dunkley]

I think Zero00000 is a bit of an expert S/he is using technical terms I *think* by 'tank' she means 'tankful of fish', so will they be tropical fish, cold water fish, or salt water fish. So, I have a goldfish 'tank'

 

[Kallibear]

Fish are fairly easy to keep with a bit of forethought, a little knowledge and the correct equipment.

Personally I think tropical are easier than gold fish. Gold fish are big and messy and like destroying your plants. Plus tropical are prettier and require nothing extra than a basic heater

The secret to healthy fish is the biggest tank you can mamage with the least fish you can bear, and a good basic filter.

If you want something easy and quick to get you going then look into a 2ft tank, a small/medium sized filter (Fluval 2 would fit the bill), a light and a heater. Set it up with a few plants and leave for a couple weeks. Then go and get a small shoal (6 or so) of a small fish you fancy (neons, danioes, guppies, harlequins ) and let it settle. Then do what everyone else ends up doing, which is lots of reading and becoming obsessed and ending up with fancy cichlids or similar.

And ditto avoiding pets at home. Hunt out your local specialist fish shop (they look weird and are usually run by odd, socially awkward individuals but they're always really nice and helpful when it comes to fish) and ask their advice.

 

[blackcob]

Leaving it for a couple of weeks won't do anything, it needs to be cycled properly and preferably fishless - http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html.

 

[weebarney]

Oh my that sounds complicated.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

As title really.......... the "fish" I mean are not the outdoor ones in a pond, its the ones you keep inside, in a tank.

Advice sought re. situation, i.e. light or dark place? Filters (what sort, whether needed), temperature/thermostat. And, what sort of fish would be good for a "beginner".

Dunno if anyone on here can help. I saw some fish in Pets at Home recently, and thought it might be a nice idea, that's all.

I have a tank here and keep a variety of fish, I find Pets @ Home very helpful in choosing which fish go with which and where and how to care for the tank.

The tank must be set up a while before the fish introduced, I use a algae liquid to keep it down as even though mine is not in the window it still goes green on the side of the tank.

 

[thewonderhorse]

Sorry, nothing useful to add.

Just that fish are the only pet I've managed to repeatedly kill off.

Too traumatising for my liking but lovely to watch when you have a tank. x

 

[s4sugar]

I've kept fish for over 50 years and expect even the smallest tropicals to live for years. Guppies maybe three, neons 8 -10years,
Buy a tank over 100 litres -Juwel or Fluval are decent brands) & keep the stocking low & water changes frequent. A filter is essential, lighting is to see the fish unless you want to grow plants. Without a heater your fish options are very limited.
Best advise is to decorate the tank so it looks good with no fish during the fishless cycle phase ( look at the link above) then you will be happy with fewer fish. Unfortunately people see crammed tanks full of baby fish in stores and don't realise how big those fish can or should grow nor how many dead ones are removed each morning.
Fish emit wastes into their water and it is the build up of these wastes that kill most off. You have a link to cycling above - the bacteria in the filter process the ammonia, which is harmful, via nitrite which can be deadly to nitrates which are used by plants or removed by waterchanges.