What type of fish should I get?

Question

I'm getting a fish tomorrow and I want to buy a pretty fish. Somethin that stands out. What type offish should I get?

I never had a fish before. I have a plastic fish bowl at the moment, its medium sized. I only want one, small fish. The bowl should is big enough.

Answer 1

What size tank? We can't answer until we know some details.

Edit: nothing goes in the bowl but a fake fish. Honestly. There are several countries that have outlawed bowls because they can't be cycled and the fish dies only after weeks of horrible conditions. Why on earth would you want to torture any animal like that?

Answer 2

it sounds like you have a small bowl rather than a tank

i agree with the recommendation that you get a betta fish

they are very pretty, and they don't swim around much even when they have space, so keeping them in a small tank doesnt seem abusive (you should see the size of the 'betta bowls' the pet stores sell). i'm not a fish, so i cant answer this.

i had bettas when i was a student, and they always lived for a year-plus, even though i was an irresponsible student.

the only thing you should know is that bettas are 'fighting' fish, so you cannot put them in a bowl with any other fish because they wont get along with them. so, i only recommend bettas if you are pretty well committed to maintaining just one bowl, not 10-gallon plus tank

Answer 3

To call another fisherman a kindergarten fisherman is being a real jerk in my book. Just because you live out in Gods Country ( Montana, Wyoming,Idaho) where most of the avid fly fishing is done, does not give you the right to judge another fisherman on a post they made. Could it be he simplified it, due to the question asked? Saying that fly fishing takes more concentration than other types of fishing is also non sense. I used to fly fish a LOT when I lived in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Each style of fishing has its own merits, depending on the area, person, etc. With all that said....Try fly fishing, you may come to like it, but be for warned it takes, some time and practice in order to keep from snapping the fly off the leader or learning how to roll cast etc. The hardest part is getting that little fly on the hook tho LOL. Again I will state every type of fishing has its place, and conditions, not all styles of fishing will meet all conditions.

Answer 4

If all you have is a fish bowl, then the betta is your best bet. No other fish is capable of reliably surviving very long in a bowl. Most bettas are blue-green, but they can also be white, red, or any combination of these colors.

Most of the ones available are males. They come in long finned, and short finned varieties. The long finned are considered prettier, and are far more common. I've found that the short finned ones tend to be more active. The females tend to be shy, and can also be hard to find.

Bettas eat most kinds of food. Hikari Betta bio gold is the most commonly available food for them, and it's pretty good, except that if you feed the betta more than about six pieces, they sometimes explode. Wardley's also makes a food especially for bettas, but they don't seem to like it as much. Most of my bettas really like a food called Color Bits by Tetra, and it's supposed to keep them more colorful. You can also feed them most kinds of flake food, or micro pellets, and they usually like most kinds of blood worms for a treat. Live tubifex, daphnia, and black worms may also be good food, in moderation.

Despite the fact that bettas are called fighting fish, they are usually pretty mellow with some other fish. Most any fish that is not very colorful, and does not waggle it's tail too much get along fine with bettas. At one point, I had a betta in a 15 gallon tank with three corydoras, one upside down catfish, two gold snails, a pleco, a siamese algae eater, two puffer fish, and a sailfin molly. I had to get rid of the molly, because it kept biting the betta's fins.

Bettas do fight each other to the death, and they do tend to attack neon tetras and fancy tail guppies, but aside from that they're usually pretty mellow. I had one attack a gold snail... once, but they got along fine after that. If you plan on upgrading to a real aquarium, a betta will not usually be a problem, and if it gets out of hand, you can send it back to the bowl.

Bettas do best in fairly warm water, (75-90) so unless you have a heater, you might want to put them in a warm room, or by some warm appliance that is always on.

If your water is below 68F, you should get a goldfish instead, but you'll need to clean the bowl a lot more with goldfish, because they poo all over the place.

In the non-fish option for small colder tanks, a gold snail might also be a good choice. I know, you're thinking a snail can't possibly be interesting, but they are really pretty fast, and very smart. I taught one to eat from my hand, and mine all learn to "skydive" from the surface of the water. A few try floating around the top for a while. They have a "snorkel" that they use to get air too. Weird! Sadly, because of their life pattern, gold snails rarely last more than a year, but you can watch small ones grow up in that time.

Answer 5

I'm going to assume that you are getting a 10 gallon tank. First of all you want to make sure to have the tank cycled properly. You can't just add a bunch of fish all at once and expect them to be okay. You need to slowly add fish to allow the beneficial bacteria to grow and start the nitrogen cycle which will allow the waste products in the fish to be turned into benign substances.

For starter fish in a 10 gallon, I would recommend either 6-8 neon tetras (which are very pretty and easy to find) or 3 female guppies and 1 male guppy. These fish tend to be very popular in the hobby and are also fairly inexpensive. When selecting fish, you want to make sure that the fish will not grow too large for the tank (ie goldfish). Also, pay attention to the recommendations of the petstore, but don't rely on them 100% as they do tend to lie sometimes. Do some research on the type of fish you get before just putting it in a tank.

Answer 6

Definetly don't get a goldfish. They need more space than a bowl and they are harder to take care of than people think. I'd recommend a female betta. Though a lot of people think otherwise, females come in just as pretty colors as the males; they just have shorter fins. Bettas are also really fun fish because they recognize their owner and will stare at you and become very lively when you approach them.

Answer 7

My recommendation would be to get a betta, one of the boy bettas. They're at your local pet store, depending on how fancy you want them they're a few dollars...

And pretty! They don't mind a smaller space, though they like being inside a warm house, 74-80 degrees Fahrenheit is their favorite temperature.

They need their bowl water changed a few times a week, and fed once a day, but are fairly undemanding fish for beginners, and I think, some of the prettiest fish out there too.

Answer 8

All you should get is a betta. DO NOT get a goldfish! Go to www.bettatalk.com to find out how to care for your betta and not accidentally kill it; that would probably make you very sad.

Don't let the fish store people talk you into anything but a betta. Seriously, they're just trying to make money off you.

Answer 9

Only a betta can survive any length of time in an unfiltered bowl. DO NOT get a goldfish, you will kill it within a few months. When you can afford more than a bowl you can upgrade your betta's surroundings (they're better off with filtration and a heater).

Answer 10

Provide more details. Are you experienced? (Probably not since you're asking this) How big is the tank? Fresh water or salt water? Do you have other fish? How much work are you willing to put into care?