buying fish tank

catoutthebag

I would like to buy a fish tank with maybe couple fish.
It's just something I'm considering. No biggie.
It's for a small flat so smaller the better.
What sort should I look for?
Are they expensive to run and buy (tank plus 2 fishes plus filter and feeds)?
What fish are best?
Hoe much cleaning an maintenance and does my sea species allergy have an impact as I couldn't maybe touch them? I'm alright in the sea though.

Never had a pet of my own.:(

Dan-Dan

Why would you touch them?


Get goldfish , cold water fish = no heater or filters , just change water weekly , also is cheaper

andrewf75

You say the smaller the better but fish don't do well in small tanks. The general advice is get the biggest tank you have space for. I wouldn't go smaller than 60cm/2ft. Sounds like you want coldwater fish so no fancy equipment required. Just go to you local shop and have a look around and get some advice, but when you know what you're after you could try second hand ads to pick up a tank cheap.

catoutthebag

Dan-Dan wrote: »

Why would you touch them?


Get goldfish , cold water fish = no heater or filters , just change water weekly , also is cheaper

I meant touching the waters, filters etc which will have dead scales etc which I may react to even with gloves, not as in petting /stroking them.

Gold fish might be an idea. So no maintenance? Sounds good.

catoutthebag

andrewf75 wrote: »

You say the smaller the better but fish don't do well in small tanks. The general advice is get the biggest tank you have space for. I wouldn't go smaller than 60cm/2ft. Sounds like you want coldwater fish so no fancy equipment required. Just go to you local shop and have a look around and get some advice, but when you know what you're after you could try second hand ads to pick up a tank cheap.

Yes I guess cold water. I think I could manage 60cm posdibly.

So with these no nonsense tanks I could just put them onto a secure shelf?

What other fish apart from gol fish?

I guess I just empty the water each week and feed them stuff?

Can I still get vegetation etc in the tank to make them feel homely etc?

SplanK

Please read up before you get goldfish. They are not the easiest to keep PROPERLY and require a lot of water per fish and large filters. Yes you will get people who say you can just plonk them into a 10L round bowel without a filter and they will be fine, but if people did their research correctly, they will soon realise how bad and cruel this is!


Single tail goldfish should really be only in a large pond and 80L of water per fish minimum.


Twin tails are suitable for tanks, but need 40L per fish minimum and a large filter. I had 5 twin tail gold fish (Oranda's) in a 240L tank and ended up giving up with it because I could not keep on top of the water quality despite having a filter that was designed for twice the size of the tank!


They are cold water fish but respond well to a small amount of heat.


You would be best getting cheap tropical fish, yes they require a heater but are much easier to look after and as they are more efficient eaters compared to goldfish, they don't pollute the water as much. Goldies also love to eat plants, so if you are after a nice display, it wont last very long, where as tropical fish tend to behave themselves or are not as large so don't have the destructive power that goldies have! The heaters do not cost a fortune to run in a small tank, and you could get away with 60-80L tank and have a nice setup that requires less work.


I found that my eczema faired up every time I changed the water in the tank, again it was another nail in the coffin for me giving up.

Shrimply

Please please do some proper reading, I'm not going to give a guide here but there is a lot on the internet.

Research "Fishless cycling" it's really important, reading the right articles you'll learn about maintaining the correct bacteria in your filter which are basically what keep everything alive.

If you want a small, unheated tank, research subtropical species. Heated does not mean more complicated though, and there is a lot more choice for a small tank.

If you can't manage at least 30 gallons and ideally more, forget goldfish, they get big and are messy and need large tanks to properly flourish.

wealdroam

OP, have you thought about asking your questions on The Pets & Pet Care Board?

andrewf75

I would say you shouldn't really be asking this kind of thing on an internet forum - even a specific fish related one. Read a book or go to specialist websites. Fishkeeping is a serious hobby. You don't just chuck a couple of fish in a tank.

El_Torro

I agree that the larger the tank the better. The larger a tank is the more it can regulate itself and you don't need to clean it, add chemicals, etc.. as often.

catoutthebag

The flare up of your exema has put me off. I don't want my allergies to flare up.

Looks like I can have no pets then