keeping tropical and cold water fish.

Froglet

Hi Vicki.Many people assume that fish,who cost next to nothing to purchase,are an easy and cheap pet.They are not.For fish to thrive and be happy you need a decent size tank,when the fish are fully grown,they need a tank of at least 25 -30 gallons.False economy to start small because you then waste that money when you have to keep buying a bigger tank and a bigger filter.Also small means much more maintenence,water changes etc.

Yes you can purchase second hand and i would be inclined to find one and set it up ready.For the best way to do this,go to http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/

You could get away with a slighly smaller tank if you choose small tropicals.They are less sensitive than goldfish.

But to be honest,for a child the age yours is,would it not be nicer for him to have a pet he can actually handle,such as a hamster or guinea pigs? I believe that keeping fish should be a hobby that comes with thirst for the knowledge to get it right,so that the fish benefit from the best care possible and not just a case of making a tank look pretty. I have had to rescue far more fish that i care to mention when the novelty has worn off and they end up neglected.

So unless you are absolutely sure that you can spare the time and money to do it properly,and want to do it for yourself first and foremost i would not recommend it.Not yet anyway.

xxvickixx

Thanks Froglet, sounds like good advice. We are leaning towards fish over rodents as we have cats9(which he pets and loves) and I wouldn't want to risk it.
DH and I love fish and were (before DS came along) keen scuba divers and would like continue to continue to enjoy them. My dad keeps goldfish in a pond at his house and DS loves to watch them, he's quite an active boy and they seem to have a calming effect on him.

I totally agree that people shouldn't rush into it, but the losing interest and not having time or motivation isn't so much of a concern for me as I don't work and already have a passion for fish albeit not as pets!

Will check out the forum you linked to, and give it some more thought.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

first and foremost pets at home will sell you anything to make a sale so not really recomended for beginner starters.

black moors are what you speak of and are really sensative to water conditions and will turn a misty goldy colour when unwell, and is really disheartning to watch the poor fellas struggle.

head over to gumtree for 20-30 gallon second hand tank setups, or depending on your budget might pick up the largest tank you can fit for under your budget with all accessories. saving you £££ from the start, some on there have tanks with fish!! so no cycling needed if its a few years old.

i have learnt the hard way, and been £££ out of pocket because i started at the smallest tank and had to upgrade and again to where i am know, i paid out all in all for a new set up £180 to begin with if you factor in fish,tank,gravel (usually need 2 bags from P at H) filter ornaments lid,treatments for water the did it again on a 4ft tank spending equal if not more money on things. when i should of really looked second hand, i bought a juwel vision 450 (wich new is £850+ on its own) i got one off gumtree complete with fish and filter and pump and meds and nets, food and ornaments £280. what i didnt need or want i took to my local LFS for credit, so i gained money back off a second hand purchase £75 (in LFS credit) infact will pay for my 12months+ worth of food for my puffer. REMIND ME TO PUT A PIC ON I KEEP FORGETTING TO TAKE ONE LOL.

LARGER the tank (space permitting) more room for error.
more room for more fish dont exceed the capcity though and build up slowly and staggered.
larger tank make better displays and better fish homes.

xxvickixx

Thanks for your replies, I really appreciate the time people on here take to help others out.

I spent some time looking at the other forum and it seems that space is our biggest constraint. The unit in DS's room has a surface space of 1ft x 1ft which now seems too small certainly for the lovely black moor/fancy goldfish. Is there anything that would be happy in a smaller tank or shall I buy a pass to the aquarium instead?

Froglet

Vicki,i really appreciate the fact you have asked and taken the time to read up first.So many people buy first and only ask questions later when the fish get sick.Or they take the advice of a general pet store that only wants to sell them equipment,and fish,then medications for the fish when they get sick,which they will.Then when they die,more fish....and on and on it goes.A site such as Practical Fishkeeping,which has helped me over the years even though i have over 20 years experience of keeping fish,is constantly trying to steer people in the right direction,and not believe everything so called "experts" in the shops,tell them.

I would let you little boy go on enjoying watching the fish in his grandads pond.When you have more space and money,then maybe he could start with 2 baby fish from the pond,watch them grow and then put them back in the pond before you start to get problems.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

xxvickixx wrote: »

Thanks for your replies, I really appreciate the time people on here take to help others out.

I spent some time looking at the other forum and it seems that space is our biggest constraint. The unit in DS's room has a surface space of 1ft x 1ft which now seems too small certainly for the lovely black moor/fancy goldfish. Is there anything that would be happy in a smaller tank or shall I buy a pass to the aquarium instead?

to be honest a ft by ft is way too small. perhaps when you have a planned decorate and change things around you could find or create some more space, and saved a bit more to factor in a tank of suitable size.

xxvickixx

What a shame, but better than like you say finding out that it's not suitable the hard way. Maybe when his toys don't take up so much room we will have a shuffle round and find some space then, and will let you know how it goes. x

hampshirebabe

Hi, is there a run down somewhere of what to do step by step to set up a tank? Someone is giving me a 20 gallon tank which has everything with it, but has been in a garage for a year. Would the filter be usable, would all the good stuff you've talked about still be there, just dormant, or do I need to start from scratch? I'm know someone else with an established tropical aquarium, should I try to pinch some gravel off them, but at what stage would I do that? I've read this thread, and quite a lot of other places, but I've got a bit lost with it all, I just want a simple list of things to do.

Mankysteve

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=2491
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=3099
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/the-almost-complete-guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

Here a few guides to get going.

Most important things are is to fish-less cycle although If you've got a freind with an established tank get the same filter they have and steal half of there filter medium there filter shouldn't take long to recover. Then you won't have to mess around fishless cycling. Another option is to run your filter in there tank for a two weeks.

When setting up a tank use proper aquarium gravel sloped toward the front about inch think I use.

When filling dechlorinate the water before adding it to the tank same with changes.

If you can get some premature filter medium off your friends tank you can get fish straight away but make sure you slowly build up your stocking levels.

Start off with Five or six fish start off with.

When cleaning dechlorinate the water before adding to the tank and bring up to correct temp, and rinse filter medium in old tank water not tap water.

MarzipanFish

Hi fishkeepers

My Dad's tank has recently (since I last visted at xmas anyway) become really overrun with platies. At a very rough count there's about 50 ranging in size between about 6mm and 6cm which makes the 2ft tank very crowded!
Any suggestions of what to do with them? We'd like to give some away to get back to a reasonable number but have no ideas where to offer them. Would the shop we got the original few from be interested in taking some do you think?

If anyone around Birmingham might want to have some then PM me with your tank arrangements, how many you would want and an email addy I can pass on to my Dad. There's a mixture of orange with black fins & orange with black splodges (sorry I don't know the proper colouring names )