Fish tanks?

Question

I'd like to get some fish, but i've been reasearching and it says NEVER to just put fish in a goldfish bowl, without a filter and all the other stuff. Is that really so bad? I went to a pet store and found out that with a proper fish tank the recommended size for two or three fish, and all the things needed for it, and the fish of course, i would spend over 50 dollars... I would rather just get a bowl and maybe one or two fish to put in it, but of course i dont want to kill them accidentally by doing so...What should i do?
Also, what type of fish are the most resilient, and best to start off with?

Answer 1

It's not as bad as everyone says. Many types of fish can survive in a bowl, as long as you put some water conditioner to make it safe for them. You can get varying sizes of fish bowls, but you should really stick to the larger ones,to be fair to the fishes. Betas, guppies, and goldfish are probably the most popular if you don't want a filter and want to stay cheap.

Betas - Very colorful, cheap, low maintenence, and if you're lucky, interactive. Betas will look at you and recognize that you are another eing. They are really smart creatures.They are very lively fish, but are strictly solitary.

Guppies - Small, colorful, and fast, these are fun fish to have. They are cheap and require the same as a beta. They prefer to stay in groups, but be careful, they are pretty fast to breed. You might be a grandparent after about a month. That doesn't always happen though, I've had my guppies for 2 yrs. and nothing.

Goldfish - These are the classic ones you always see in a bowl. They are not as lively as the guppies and not as pretty as the betas but are very hardy. The temp. that they live in can be as low as 50 degrees f - 80 degrees f. Some come in different colors, or with bubbles for cheeks. Always check the size they grow to though. The common feeder fish can grow to be about 2 ft long!! Most goldfish tough, will grow to fit the size of the tank you have it in. These slow moving calming fish are very fun to have.

Hope this helps!!!

Answer 2

Well Sarah, you can put them in bowls, as long as you recognize it's not going to be a very healthy environment for them and you will be stunting their lifespan, and depending on the fish, growth.

Many people advocate keeping goldfish in bowls and proudly boast that they had a gold fish that lived one or two or three years in one. What they might fail to recognize is that these fish would have lived over 10, or even 20 years if they had proper space, and would have grown to up to a foot long.

You can get a betta and they tend to do ok in a bowl, but once again it isn't ideal - these are tropical fish that do best in a heated tank.

A couple of guppies could work, they're tough and cheap, but all the same things apply.

In the end I always question what the point of keeping fish in a bowl - they have no room to do anything but float around uselessly. As far as I'm concerned if you don't want to invest 50 bucks in a tank (and by the way, you can save money going with used) then perhaps fish aren't the best idea for you.

Answer 3

If you have done research that says not to put fish in a bowl but you do so anyway and the fish die from it, it won't be an accident since you knew before hand that putting them in there will kill them. If you don't want to spend the money to give what ever fish you want to buy a proper set up them maybe you shouldn't have fish but if you still want to give it a try look on places like http://freecycle.org/ and http://craigslist.org/ for cheap or even free tanks

Answer 4

I differ in opinion of the others. Yes, a fish bowl may seem cruel, but it is not as long as you do constant water changes. For one goldfish bowl I would put no more than one goldfish and yes they do pollute more than other fish. So you have to clean it at least twice a week. Other fish that will go in the bowl without air is your bettas and gouramis. They put out less ammonia and are much funner than goldfish. Though for bettas no more than one male and then for gouramis maybe two fish. These fish do not necessarily require a heater, but it would be nice. You could also put guppies in a bowl they would need air though. Guppies would make little guppies and they are very fun I would recommend no more than three to five in a bowl though. For all of these assorted fish cleaning the bowl will still require once to twice a week. The better solution though you don't want to spend the money is the tank. You could get a 10 gallon. It all depends on what you want to do with your tank. You can have a very nice planted tank with the fish. The hobby is not cheap so you might want to consider you options.

Answer 5

No, never, ever put fish in a bowl. None of them. It is cruel and inhumane. The space is too small to make them happy, plus it creates very poor water conditions that will poison your fish. Do not listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. They are wrong, do not know what they are talking about and are only trying to sell you product. You can choose not to listen to this, but you will find this out when your fish die. There is no "resilient" fish. They all need proper care. I am glad, though, that you are asking all of these questions before you get your fish and not after you have gotten them and they have become sick from poor water quality. The only fish that can handle a smaller tank is a betta, but even with those, they need at least one gallon of water and they really should have at least two. And this is an aquarium, not a bowl. They are tropical fish, so they need a heater. They can breathe air from the surface, but they still need a filter to help cycle the water and get rid of the toxic ammonia and chemicals. If you choose to get goldfish, just remember, goldfish need a minimum of 10 gallons of water per one fancy goldfish and 20 gallons of water per slim-bodied goldfish. Goldfish don't need a heater, but they need a lot of filtration. Please read up on how to take care of a betta, goldfish or whatever fish you choose to get. You need to know how to cycle the water, how to do proper water changes and tank cleaning, proper filtration, how to test your water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, etc., identifying and treating diseases, etc. The more knowledge you have about how to properly take care of your fish, the happier and healthier it will be and you will be happier too. Good luck and thanks for wanting to learn about taking care of fish!

Answer 6

Nope, fish won't survive in a bowl, especially goldfish. Its because they release ammonia and other toxins into the water. Filtering and cycling the tank means that beneficial bacteria are in the water and the bacteria use the ammonia and nitrite toxins and convert them into the much less toxic nitrates. Then you simply change the water to get rid of the nitrates. Without a proper cycle, the water will build up toxins and kill the fish.

Answer 7

No. Goldfish will not survive in a bowl. Goldfish need a filtered, unheated, tank that allows at least 10 gallons of volume per goldfish. You will spend a lot more than $50 on the epuipment.

Answer 8

Since you don't want to commit to the care of the fish, I'd suggest "virtual fish".
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/104-5043602-6127165?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=aquarium+dvd&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

Answer 9

you can have two or three goldfish in the fish bowl.firstly get the treatment to rid of the chlorine of the tap water.wait for five days before you can put a fish in the bowl.only out one fish first.let the good bacteria to settle in the bowl before you add another fish.feed it only once a day and dont over feed it.change water with treatment every ten days but only take ten percent of the water.buy yourself a little fish net to filterise the fish dirt once you put the new water.the gold fish are much better fish.they can live a lot longer and low maintenace.