beginning fish for a pet?

Question

I went to our local walmart to get our son a fish we got a fishbowl. one goldfish,one oranda, and one plecostomus. the goldfish was dead this morning now I think the plec is on his way. Please help!! is it the bowl? I have been changing the water reg. and my son only feeds them once a day. whats a good starter fish for a 10 year old?

Answer 1

Fish bowls are too small for anything but emergency use. Lots of people make the mistake of placing two or three fish in a small two quart bowl. Plecos need to have lots of room. Goldfish need the same. The Oranda is the same as any other goldy, that pudgy little guy needs room.
I'm a breeder. I make money on breeding and selling fish and Wal-Mart is the last place on earth I'll sell to. the keepers have no idea how to keep fish. they go buy wal-mart's guidlines. I'm not saying each wal-mart keeper is a sad loss when it comes to fish. Most however are. They want to sell and that's it.
If they cared at all for the fish they would have told you that you need at a minimum a ten gallon tank and that those three fish you were buying would need a 55 gallon tank by the time they were fully grown.
I'm sorry about your experience with the wal-mart keepers and sorry a fish had to die.
Use a real fish shop/ pet store. you get better information normaly and they wont set you up to break your child's heart

Answer 2

The key to putting multiple fish in one bowl in 1 gallon of water of every inch total of fish. Sounds to me like you put too many fish in a fish bowl. I know that you see so many fish in the aquariums at WalMart and other pet stores, but the one thing you need to understand is that people are continuously buying these fish on a regular basis and therefore the one inch per gallon rule does not apply. There must be room enough to grow, and swim freely. The very best fish by itself in a fishbowl would be a Beta. You can only have one (more than one is quite disasterous) and it can be placed with other fish if you follow the guide I just provided. Before I moved to another state and couldn't take my fish with me I had a Beta for 2 years. No need for filtration system. One thing of food will last for at least a year. Feed 1-2 times a day. change 1/4 of the water a week with room tempature distilled or dechlorinated tap water. They are a hearty fish. There is a reason why they are called Veitnamese fighting fish.

Answer 3

Yes, its the bowl...and the fact that you got it from walmart.
Goldfish need at least 200 gal. to reach their full length, or their growth will be stunted and they will die a premature death. They also need aerated water, a filter, and all the necessities.
Try starting with a 10 gal., its a little more stable.
Get a few guppies, they're easy to care for and are tolerant of changing conditions.
With the 10, you don't have to change the water as often, at least, when you have a filter.

Bettas are even easier. Just feed, and change the water every 2 weeks(w/ filter). Just make sure not to put guppies or flowy fin fish with the betta...and def. not another better(at least..not without a divider)

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Wal-mart doesn't take the best care of their fish, which end up dying from diseases and neglect.

Answer 4

You have a lot of great answers and mine will be no different. Wal Mart is the WORST place to buy fish. They don't take care of them good. A lot of people, including myself when I bought fish, didn't understand how much care fish actually need. Any kind of fish, including bettas shouldn't be in a bowl. There is no filter system to keep it clean.

I would say a betta is the best kind of beginner fish but even bettas are suppose to be in a 2-5 gallon tank with a heater and a filter. Water changes should be done with some kind of water conditioner and water changes should be done every week with any kind of fish no matter what.

I think you can get a 2 gallon tank with everything in it minus the heater for about $15 and a small heater at Walmart is around $5. I would go to Petco or Petsmart to get your fish.

I would have to say I think a betta is a great beginner fish for anyone.

Hope this helps

Answer 5

Its not only unethical but also inhuman to keep goldfish in a bowl (in larger sense, any fish). Would you feel comfortable if you are kept in the store-room of your house ? Get a small tank if you are even quarter serious about fish keeping !!

Moreover, your choice of fishes are absolutely ridiculous, a placo never goes with a goldfish. Grow up man, do some homework before you decide to kill some more souls !!

Answer 6

Gold fish "bowls" are about the worst thing there is to try to keep fish alive and healthy.

The water is stagnant and with no circulation the fish simply don't get the correct amounts of oxygen to keep them alive, never mind keeping them healthy. Circulation is critical for the absorption process of the oxygen into the water.

That is only the first issue. With no filtration, the fish end up living in a cess pool. The urine and feces and decaying food build up and give off ammonia, amongst other chemicals, and make it a pure hell for the fish that you have in there.

If you really want you child to have a fish or two and be able to enjoy them, invest in a 10 gallon acquarium with a filter. Fish are absolutely amazing to watch when they are happy and healthy, but nobody I know likes seeing a dead fish floating in the top of the "goldfish bowl".

If you are going to introduce your child to animals, please do it in a manner that he/she will appreciate the life/lives that you have been given to take care of. They are living beings too, and as such deserve proper care.

Answer 7

1. Goldfish cannot live in bowls. Baby-juvenile long bodied goldfish need 20 gallons PER fish. (comets, commons, shubunkins, commonly sold as "feeder fish") Baby-juvenile fancy goldfish need 10 gallons PER fish. (moors, fantails, ryukins, orandas ect)
Goldfish NEED alot of filtration, not just for oxygenation but for cleaning since goldfish EXCRETE alot of ammonia. They also grow to be 12-14 inches. (ive seen 14 inch black moors) They DO NOT grow to the size of their container. The outside stops growing but the insides continue to grow, ultimately killing the fish . Goldfish have lifespans of 20-30 yrs. Having them only live to a year or 2 or 5 in a bowl is animal cruelty and is equivelant to forcing a large breed dog live in the cubbard under the sink or having a child live in a closet.

Plecos should NEVER be housed with goldfish. Common plecos can get 2 ft long. They need lots of algae aswell as supplementation with algae wafers, cucumbers, zuccinis, and driftwood.
It is the bowl, no fish can live in a bowl.
Do the animals a favor and research before buying. As you have experienced, you cant trust the information given out by walmart. The same goes for anypetstore that says goldfish can live in bowls.

Answer 8

It's probably moreso where you got the fish from. Walmart is not know for taking good care of their fish, as they have so much other stuff to handle, the fish are normally neglected.
Buy fish from a petstore, and make sure there are NO dead fish in the tank you purchase one from.
Goldfish, betta, platies, guppies, these are all good beginner fish.

Also, water should only be changed when needed, and only a partial change. Never remove all the water, and replace it.
It's suggested to let the water sit, after adding dechlorinator, for 48hrs before adding fish, otherwise the water is not always suitable.

Answer 9

How big was the bowl?

Each fish breaths in different ways. Betas breathe from the top of their tank, so size isn't an issue. Gold fish swim to get air in their gills.

It sounds like you have too make fish in a bowl. I would start with one fish and move from there. Gold fish are normally hard to keep alive, so don't worry too much.

A good starter fish is a beta though--easy to take care of.

Better yet, try hermit crabs. I failed at 5 fish before my then-boyfriend gave me crabs for Christmas. They stayed alive for 2 years before I gave them away. They are easy to care for--you just have to feed and water them.

Answer 10

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1919&articleid=2445

Corydoras fish, there is a link (with a pic), I got one from walmart for idk...3 dollars or something and that thing has been alive forever!! They arent that cute but they live a long time. they get about an inch long.


and then there are these little buggers

http://tropicalresources.net/phpBB2/fish_profiles_aymonieri.php

They are little chinese alegae eaters and live forever! I have 2 and wow I have no clue how they are still alive. They are also a couple dollars at wal-mart.

Neither of those fish are all that great looking but are great for starters you might want to start off with a couple of them (they dont need filters or heaters even tho it says they are tropical fish and need them) then if that works out you can ad is a couple gold fish, black moors are my favorite lol
hope that helps