What kind of fish and tank or bowl should I get?

Question

Im looking to buy me a fish or 2, but the thing is i dont wanna spend money buying me a 30 or 40 dollar fish tank, do you think a fish bowl would work just as well, and if so how do i take care of the fish inside the fish bowl. Also id appreciate it if you gave me some nice fish to buy besides a goldfish. thank u

Answer 1

Ok... To start off Fish bowls are inhumane and cruel. You can get a 1 or 2 gallon fish tank at Wal-mart for like 20 bucks.
Which is what I highly recommend. Because then you will have more fish that you can get. You could get a betta or guppies.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=202101
Here are a bunch of tanks you could get.

But if you insist on using a bowl
here is a list of aquatic pets that can be put in the bowl. A few Ghost Shrimp, and a Black Mystery Snail are appropriate for a large fish bowl. Another good combination for a fish is three White Clouds, a few Ghost Shrimp, and a Mystery Snail.Live Aponogeton Plants, Java Ferns, and an Umbrella Fern add natural beauty. A Dwarf African Frog can live in a fish bowl but will need to eat live Black Worms twice a week

Answer 2

most places (wlamart and petsmart included) have a 10gallon tank without a hood for $10. here's a bare minimum of supplies and cost for a tank:

10gallon tank - $10
filter - $10
heater - $15
gravel - $5
plants/decor - $10+
thermometer - $2
food - $2+
fish - $5+
net - $1
conditioner - $2+
plus you'll need to cylce the tank befoe you put fish in. do a search for fishless cycling.

it's a rather expensive hobby. if you want a bowl your only real option is a betta... in which case this is what you'd need and how to care for it:

2.5+ gallon bowl or tank
7.5watt heater (hydor makes them) (although for a 5gallon tank a 25watt heater may be used)
gravel
a silk plant or two
thermometer
betta
food
net
water conditioner
should be able to get all that for about $20 to $30

1. fill the bowl or tank with conditioned water, add gravel, plants, heater, and thermometer. run heater for a day or so until the temp is steady and between 78°F and 80°F.
2. put the betta, and the water he came in, in a bag and float it in the bowl or tank for an hour before adding it.
3. feed fish 3 or 4 pellets a day.
4. do 20% water changes everyday using a turkey baster. suck 20% of the water from the bottom and replace with clean conditioned water.
5. once or twice a week do a full water change.

it's a lot of work to keep up a bowl, more work than a tank, but a tank is more expensive. fish are living things so if you don't want to spend the time or don't want to cough up the cash, then find another hobby.

Answer 3

If you dont want to have a goldfish you had best buy a betta.They are not much work and can live in bowls.The only thing is you dont want more than one or they will fight.If the fish is inside a vase like bowl you can put a peace lily above the water and let the betta eat off of the roots and feed the betta once a day.Also if you do buy a betta the males are the prettiest.

Answer 4

A beta is a very nice fish, the males are much prettier than the females ( strange, I know). A small fish tank would be good, or a clear vase. If you use the clear vase, make sure you clean it out every so often, otherwise it would stink. If you get some kind of a tank, make sure the water is above the oxygen thing, and also get some kind of cleaner in the tank sometimes. It will usually make the water kind of an aqua color, but that means its working. If you get a beta, make sure you do not put more than one in a tank because if you have 2 in a tank, they will fight. To have a little fun with your beta, put a mirror beside its tank and its fins will flare up, and he will get mad, but it is hilarious to watch. These fish last for a couple years.

Answer 5

the best thing to buy for one or two fish is a 10, 15, 20 gallon tank, depending on how many fish and the sizes. Fish bowls are not normally recommended as you are unable to put a filter in the bowl. The filter is important as it helps to start the bioligcal system, eleminate smell from the tank and remove chemicals

Some nice small fish are tetras, mollies, guppies, platties. or if you want to get only one fish a betta is a pretty fish.

the other fish that are listed are small and dont get too big. a good rule of thumb is to allow one gallon of water per every inch of the fish. for example, a guppy can et up to 4 inches. to avoid over crowding allow about 3-4 gallons per guppy. You can find information on how big a fish will get from your pet store.

Answer 6

Skip the bowl. For less than $20 you should be able to find an entire 10 gallon kit used on craigslist. Maybe even free on freecycle. This time of year we have spring clean up. I generally find several 10's and at least one 20 or larger cruising around the better parts of town, with hoods, filters, etc. Last year I found a 29 with an iron stand and florescent hood at a garage sale. I offered $10 and told them they had to throw in the small stuff, heater, filter, plastic plants, etc. Got it.
If you know how to shop, you can get the stuff for nothing or next to nothing because people are unwilling to take care of a pet, too much work, they end up discouraged and give up.

Answer 7

well, all fish other than goldfish need a heater. besides in a bowl, when you change the water, all the good bacteria gets drained out. so in an aquarium, you need a filter, gravel and lights. it's supposed to be 1 inch of fish per gallon. the aquarium temp. should be around 78-79. some nice fish are guppies, mollies, platys and all different kinds of tetras. but be carefull, platys and mollies are livebearers ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livebearers ) and the male livebearers will go after the females. so either get all female, all male, or 1 male to every 3-4 female. good luck in your fishy adventures ;)

Answer 8

To answer your problem, you can raise a betta fish. These animals are relatively easy to take care of and they only cost 3 dollars. Although people say you only need 1 pint of water to hold them, they become completely stressed which leads to fin rot, ick, and other parasites and diseases. So, i suggest you to buy a betta, and at least a 5 gallon fish tank, or 10. At petsmart, its 10 dollars for a 10 gal. fishtank. Or, you can get a 5 gallon fishtank set.

Answer 9

Never try to use a tank of under ten gallons.any less just isn't big enough to keep even small fish in. You should try some Guppies, Black Mollies, a Neon Tetra and a Zebra Diano.To start keep under ten fish for awhile.