very small aquarium, first attempt at keeping fish, not really sure which fish to choose ! can anyone give me some advice? dont want them all to go belly up within a month!
2006-10-20 10:16:28 · 22 answers · asked by zoe g 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Guppies and swordtails are easy to keep and will breed well
2006-10-20 10:18:30 · answer #1 · answered by Bill L 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't know how small you intend but a 10 gallon tank is about the minimum I'd recommend. You can get a 10 gallon setup for not a lot of money at a fish store or walmart (just don't buy the fish at Walmart - they tend not to be healthy.) A ten gallon tank can only really handle about 10 inches of fish (body length not counting tail)
If you need very inexpensive fish you can get feeder guppies at most fish stores. They typically cost a dime or quarter each. Fancy guppies are a couple dollars each. Guppies produce live young. Other options would be several mickey mouse platies. (also live bearers) The kids will like those - it's a platy with 3 dark spots on the tail that look like a face with mousketeer ears. Here's a bad photo of one - it's a boy by the way - females have a fan shaped fin under the belly as opposed to a pencil shaped one. http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/fishphotos/ss/livebeartour01_3.htm
Easy fish and zippy ones are zebra danios and leopard danios. The danios don't have to have a heater. Another easy fish is the white cloud mountain minnow - a good ecology lesson as they have become extinct in the wild - their stream in China has become so polluted and degraded that they no longer survive there.
Watch out for overfeeding - if the kids do it you will have problems. Give them (the kids to give the fish) just a couple of pinches of food a day.
The cycling process is the critical determinant. All tanks have to cycle, which means enough bacteria grow to take fish wastes -ammonia (harmful) - and convert them to nitrite (harmful), then to convert nitrite to nitrate, which is not very harmful to fish. It's getting them through that cycle that is the problem. It's a natural process and will happen on its own, but needs some time. Therefore only add a few fish to get the cycle started, some more fish a few weeks later, etc. Go to www.fishforums.com and look in the beginner or general aquarium sections and check out cycling. Partial water changes help as well - 10-20% a week. And use dechlorinated water.
2006-10-20 13:25:52 · answer #2 · answered by judy a 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
NOT guppy`s or other live bearers for kids as the fish do not live very long which tends to upset them. It also depends on the size of your tank but a mix of the following would be fine. Tetra`s which are middle swimmers.(there are a great many to choose from so ask your retailer) Corydoras, bottom swimmers (type of catfish) Hatchet fish or butterfly fish are both surface swimmers. Please dont be tempted by colour alone as even innocent angel fish and other bright cichlids are aggressive toward other fish. Check out a few sites on the internet before you buy. If it is a very small tank go for Danios, white cloud minnows and Green neons as i have had these together in a small aquarium and they look great. Good luck.
2006-10-23 02:37:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you start with a larger aquarium, it's acutally easier and more stable (more water, less variation, less fish death). It would also really expand your fish choices. A 30 gallon is a good starter size and you can keep a wide variety of tetras, gouramis, catfish, etc. Or you could go with cichlids and make it an aggressive tank.
If you already have the tank, and it's 5+ gallons, I'd get some white cloud mountain minnows (a small school of about 5) or guppies. Around 10 gallons you could get mollies or some different varieties of tetras, danios, or rasboras. If by very small you mean less than 5 gallons, then about the only thing to get is a betta. Check out this site for a good variety of fish: http://www.aquahobby.com/e_gallery.php
The most important thing, regardless of the size of the tank, is to CYCLE THE TANK before adding fish. Here's an article on fishless cycling:
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php It will prevent unnecessary fishy deaths. Also, if you add Bio-Spira or Stability when you introduce fish you will help decrease death. Good luck and welcome to fishkeeping.
2006-10-20 14:57:13 · answer #4 · answered by Carson 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nobody has recommended Platys yet.
I've read that they are good starter fish in a new tank & quite tolerant to the initial conditions ... wait at least a week with your tank set up before introducing them though.
If you've got one of those fun things that moves with bubbles it might keep the kids happy happy until you get your first fish.
My friends first fish were Platys ... two beautiful red ones with black tails, then he got more ... he added blue coral (blue with red tail) & a couple of white 'Mickey Mouse' ones - the last purchase was some sunset platys - yellow with orange tails.
Makes for a really colourful tank.
They're fun fish - they come up to the glass when they see you - probably they just want food. And then they bred. Seeing the first little fish was wonderful ... seeing it disapear into the mouth of a hungry tetra (his other type) was not so good! He added some plants with fine leaves (originally he just had plastic plants) & some of the babies have survived to adulthood.
There's pictures of similar on the site in the source down below.
Along with the advice that you've recieved here about setting up your first tank, there's lots of good advice online. Try just searching on setting up an aquarium.
Have Fun & Good Luck!
2006-10-21 03:32:43 · answer #5 · answered by Solow 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Neons, glowlights and a couple of bottom feeders. Once you have the tank set up and the water has settled, please remember you can only add a few fish at a time, otherwise you will get a nitrite spike and the fish will die. You need to test the water for nitrite/nitrate constantly until it settles. Purchase a good book on the subject or do some research on the web and this will save unnecessary belly up situations.
2006-10-20 10:28:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Size depends on the amout of fish. I have a 10 gal tank . I have it set up with 5 Neon Tetras, 2 small Catfish and 2 small Algae Eaters. The tank has been up and running for about 3 months and we have not lost a fish. Good Luck!!!!
2006-10-20 10:21:51 · answer #7 · answered by ramblin guy 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Neon's, tetra's, harlequin's. Apparently all fairly easy to keep. That's the what the hubby says, as we are doing the same for our little girl for her birthday present. Not sure how we are going to do it yet though. Anybody got any good ideas how to populate a tank the week before christmas and keep it hidden till the 25th!?
2006-10-20 10:26:21 · answer #8 · answered by Clare 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Definitely hardy fish like many mentioned. Angel fish, and other really unique-looking fish are usually very hard to keep alive. That can be dissappointing to children when their new fish keep dying.
2006-10-20 10:26:51 · answer #9 · answered by Lalalalalala 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I find that when getting a tank going for kids it is good to go with something bright, and something large enough for them to see quickly for their attention span can be limited.
Depending on the size of the tank you can go with Plaites.. These have nice color and tend to be harder then swordtails and mollies. And most tetras work well except neons, cardinals, and rummy nose tetras these tend to be sensitive.
hope this helps
2006-10-20 12:10:49 · answer #10 · answered by DJ n 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My daughter has a wonderful small tank with a dinosaur eel and two upside-down catfish - yes, they DO swim upside down and they're supposed to! They're both unique types of fish that catch everyone's attention and they're very easy to take care of.
My advice: go to your local pet store and ask the attendant: they usually have people knowledgeable on hand to assist you.
2006-10-20 10:26:57 · answer #11 · answered by dragonwing 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋