Advice about tropical fish please?

Question

Hi there, I'm thinking about getting a 60L Tropical Biorb. I've never had fish before so obviously I need to do a lot of research but could you give me advice on the best type of fish to keep. My kids like the ones from Finding Nemo ie Clown Fish and the blue and yellow Tangs (I think) but I'm not sure the tank is right for them. I'm needing something easy to start with. Would also appreciate any usefull websites, I've Googled a few but not sure what I'm looking for. Thanx!!!

Answer 1

1. Forget marine fish like in finding nemo, stick to fresh water fish.

2. Forget the bio-orb, they're cute but useless for most types of fish. Get them a proper rectangular tank in the range of 10 to 20 gallons and it will open up your options and be easier to maintain. No bull, bigger is easier.

3. BUY A BOOK! (or borrow one from the library). I find it amazing how few people will actually read literature on a hobby in which live creatures are involved before diving in.

4. websites:
www.badmanstropicalfish.com
www.thekrib.com
www.fishforums.net

Be careful, many websites out there, including many recommended around here, are full of bad information. I've found those first two pretty good.

Never rely on the fish shop for advice and information! You don't know how informed they really are, and you don't know if they're just trying to sell you a product. The smartest shopper enters a store pre-armed with knowledge.

Recommended fish depends on what type of tank you end up with, and what size. In anything less then 5 gallons your can only keep a betta. Remember that goldfish need big tanks. I highly recommend first getting the tank, and then posting again asking what types of fish are recommended for your X sized tank. Otherwise the advice you get won't be accurate.

Answer 2

First up those kind of first are actually marine fish and not tropical ones. Tropical fish are just fresh warm water ones, and marine are salt.

I personally wouldn't recommend getting a bowl at all because the surface area at the water's surface is very small and an important part of keeping fish is the aeration of the tank. Presumably, you'd be getting a pump anyway, but it's just something you might want to consider.

If you want a marine tank, I would ask your local pet shop owner or wherever you want to get your tank from to recommend what fish to get. It's best to get a damsel or two of some sort to put in the tank first off and then introduce other fish slowly. Damsels are very tolerant of new water in a tank and help to adjust the levels in there so it is livable in for other fish. You'll need to make sure your heating and nitrate and ammonium levels are right too. (You used to be able to buy little kits to help you do this, I presume you still can).

A yellow tang, blue (regal) tang and a clown fish should all live happily together, although one of the tangs will likely become more dominant then the other. (Not usually a problem, but it can mean that he less dominant tang will not grow to as large as size as it normally could).

Also, if you get a clown, I'd recommend getting an anenome too. It makes them a little happier to have their own territory!

As for tropical fish, neons and tetras are very easy to keep and have plenty of colour in them. They are also inexpensive

Answer 3

Depends on the fish but if you want a comunity tank i would advise buying some surface swimming fish, some middle swimming fish, and some bottom feeders, this way your tank will always look good. Dont buy guppies as they dont live long and are not as hardy as people think. Live bearers are usualy short lived fish but they breed a lot. Good surface swimmers are, Hatchet fish, Butterfly fish and if you want them guppies are surface swimmers. Middle swimmers are, most tetra`s, Rainbows, platy`s, mollyies Danios. Bottom swimmers i would stick to Corydoras or other small catfish. When you buy your fish make sure you watch them for a while first, Check they are healthy and see where they like to swim in the tank and whether they are a shoaling fish. Buy two or three a week NO more or you will have trouble with your water. Good luck. p.s Never wash your filter sponge under the tap or you will kill all the good bacteria. Take a bit of tank water out and give it a quick rinse in that. (They dont need to be spotless).

Answer 4

Hi - marine fish are a definate no no in a biorb. it needs to be at least a 36" x 12"x15" as the bigger the better with marines. the larger volume of water the more stable the levels will stay. in a biorb you can keep either around 3 small goldfish or some danios/minnows etc that can tolerate lower water temperatures. warning- do not overstock as you will end up with all types of problems eg diseases , poor water quality. the more fish the more waste produced and therefore raising the ammonia and nitrite levels. i would definately advise reading up as much as poss before buying fish as it is a lot more than just shoving a fish in a bowl!!! i would recommend www.maidenheadaquatics.co.uk for advice. i can tell you that they are one of the most experienced aquatic companies in britain. (no i dont work for them) they have stores all across england and wales and are all qualified and experienced. good luck.

Answer 5

I disagree with everyone about the Biorb. I doubt that many of them have personal experience with them. I have a 16 gallon Biorb for my goldfish. He is fine and the tank cycled in less than three weeks without ammonia or nitrites spiking over .5. The lighting is beautiful with some live plants and coral.

I agree that you should cycle (look it up on the Internet) your tank in a fish less manner either with ammonia or fish food before you introduce fish.

If the Internet sites are to be judged by books, which books should be the judge?

Also, maybe it would be easier to start with cold water fish. If you want tropical, I agree with everyone else that you should stick with freshwater.

Answer 6

Hi, well first of all the nemo fish are salt water fish and bio orbs are not suited for this. And salt water fish are for the pro's only, not for beginners, very difficult to look after. Go for just tropical fish if you like the colourful ones, they are much easier to look after, or even cold water fish which are easier still. No temperature to keep an eye on.
I recently bought a biorb. I hated it and returned it after a month (luckily to a full refund). I noticed that when the orb was full of water it bent the light so much you could hardly see the fish inside as everything looked warped. There was only one small point of focus and that was in the center of the orb, where the tube was. I'd reccommend a hexagonal one as this has the opposite effect of the orb and actually increases the visible field inside.
Keep the tank away from natural light as well, or you'll get problems with algae. Good luck

Answer 7

Whatever you do, do not get marine fish, they are enormously expensive, extremely sensitive to changes in their environment i.e water salinity, nitrite and nitrate levels, frequent testing is needed and you will need protein skimmers and an adequate filtration system. Marine fish look pretty but at £15 for one cheap fish with a possible life expectancy of perhaps just days is it worth it or fair / kind to the fish? Forget also the idea of an biorb, pretty but not practical, get a square tank, 600 mm wide, 300mm deep, 450mm high (Total between 70 and 80 litres). Consider the weight of 80 litres (80kg +weight of tank, gravel etc.) Alltogether approx. 100 kg.

Check out your local library , I am sure they have a number of useful books or ask a reputable retailer / aquarist for compatible warm water community fish.
As for numbers of fish, take into account the tank size and the number of fish, in particular the combined length of the fish. You don't want to overstock as then even the most placid fish will get stressed and become either agressive or go into hiding.

Answer 8

no way! the classic clownfish grow to be 6 inches and the tangs grow to be 1 foot! and they are salt water so they are VERY sensitive, and need a BIG aquarium. here's a site about biorbs... http://www.quantumfish.co.uk/shop_pages/aquariums_biorb.shtml ...

something 60L is basicly a fish bowl so you can't really fit anything in it if you want the fish to be healthy, except for a betta (siamese fighting fish). goldfish grow to be like 8 inches and would surely die in that little thing before it get anything close to that big. a betta, grows to be about 3 inches, and doesn't need a heater. and I THINK you can put a type of algae eater that won't get that big such as the otocinclus. ( check at the petstore ). the rule is 1 inch of fish per gallon and 60 litres and about 16 gallons. so 16 inches of fish, but that much would look crowded... I would suggest getting an actuall aquarium, you can fit WAY more fish in and they would be healthier. if you do go tropical the temperature should be at around 78, but sometimes the heaters are a bit off, so test the temp. before you put the fish in. like mine for example, it was set to 78 and it only went up to 76. goo luck :-B

Answer 9

I agree with Ghapy, Marine is very time consuming considering you don't have any fish and you want to start with something simple that you can build on. Start by cycling your tank. This you can google. Next, decide on the fish you want. I started with fish that will work well with other fish. Also, they should do something productive for the entire aquarium. There are bottom feeders that help dispose of the waste. There are sucker fish that aid against algae. And, then there are plants which aid in the breakdown of waste and produce oxygen. Whatever the case choose wisely also there is another thing you might want to think about. There are livebearers which lay fry that are alive and there are egglayers which of course lay eggs. I have both and have found that if you catch a livebearer laying fry, your kids might like to see it. The egglayers fry will probably get eaten before adult hood. Hopefully I was of some assistance. Email me if you have any questions. Roy

Answer 10

If you're new to fish keeping AVOID marine fish, they're expensive and hard to keep. The best place to buy fish is pets at home, I used to work there and the staff are trained well and will be able to give advice, they'll also check your water's OK. You'll need to have your tank set up for at least a few days, preferably 1 week before getting any fish to condition the water. You need to go for community fish if you're mixing breeds, remember that fish will eat any other fish that are small enough to fit in their mouth (e.g don't keep angel fish with neon's). If you're unsure just stick to one breed until you get more experienced, e.g Tetra's you can get neon's (they have a bright blue stripe along the centre of the body), and rummy nose tetra's (they have a red nose). Guppy's are also quite easy to keep but you need to have females and they breed like crazy (the males are smaller than the females but have larger more brightly coloured tails. Hope this helps, good luck and happy fishing!!!