Fishies at the petstore?

Question

Hi I'm 13 I got a 5 gallon tank for my birthday! I can't wait to go pick out fishes at the store! I want one of those really colorful fish with the long tails. The ones in the little tubs. The guy at the petstore told me I could put other fish in with them i think he said itwas a baya? jus Not another baya. So my dad (im on his computer now too, he said this was a good place to ask?) bout me one of those black goldfish with big eyes (guy said it'd be fine) but this morning, he was floating with one eye gone! So I got a sucker fish. Now I want a oscar. My brothers name is oscar that's why. Wood it be ok?

Answer 1

Welcome to the hobby!

The fish you are talking about it a Betta and is a great choice for a 5 gallon tank. Yes, you can put other fish with it, but only a few and they need to be things that stay small even when grown. Goldfish, algae eaters and oscars are all way too big for a 5 gallon tank when they are grown. A full grown Oscar is longer than your tank! I would suggest you look at fish called tetras. Ask the shop to show you some small tetras that stay small when they grow up. Look for things like neons, black neons, Glowlights, Penguins, all of those are cool looking little fish that will work great in your tank with a betta. You could fit a group of 4-6 of one kind of those guys in with the betta and still have room for one small cory catfish. The shop can show you these little guys too. They are neat, small little catfish that are really fun to watch. Just start off slow with only one fish for a while and add more slowly, like one or two every week after you have had only one for about a month. This gives your tank time to cycle and be ready to support the extra fish without them dying. Ask your dad to look at these pages with you so you can learn what's going on in your tank.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/

Besure to look at the Getting Started, Cycling Your Tank, Cleaning the Tank, Interesting fish, What About Painted Fish?, Tank Population and Equipment List pages at the bottom. This will really help you on the way to being a successful aquarium keeper.

MM

Answer 2

The fish you're speaking of is a BETTA and they are incompatible with goldfish. In fact, most any tropical fish do not tolerate goldfish. the water quality needs are too different. Goldfish are cold and hard-water needs, and tropical fish need filtered, highly-oxygenated, slightly salted, and filtered warm water. That, and bettas will attack them.

for a 5 gallon tank, you could put in a betta and MAYBE a few jumbo neon tetras or a molly/platy/gourami but not much else.

A oscar fish is NOT okay for a 5 gallon tank. If you go to your local aquarium (like at the zoo?) you'll see where all those oscars end up when they get too big. Most oscars will grow to over 15" in length, and your 5 gallon tank is probably only 10-12 inches long!

My advice? A Betta, and a gourami. Give them a cave and a plant or two, and a good filter.

Answer 3

Angelica… Are you crazy, one oscar requiers 100gallon when they reaach adult hood, the baby ones would need a 20 gallon to be comfertable. You can keep the fish you have now, just get a 20 gallon for them, keep the 5 gallon and get triops for the 5gal. put a lamp over it to keep water warm, thats all, and you can get pellets, just crush the pellets, To get the triops is easy, get some triops eggs(just search for a triops kit on yahoo or ebay)put the eggs in the lamp heated tank and wait 1 day and they hatch( they are almost microscopic when born and grow quickly) and use a magnifying glass to find em oh put sand in there, and when you get the triops settled in you will get some eggs soon, then drain the water and dry the eggs and then you can save the eggs if you move and just follow my other instructions about popping them in water and boom same thing happens, they hatch.

im 12, but ive been learning and experiencing fish since i was 5.(most info from my uncle timmy, hes a fish expery(fishermen) and then when i could read i hit the inter net.

And hello, well, uhh, other crawdude, were probly twins my birthday is valintines day.LOL

Answer 4

Nooo no no no... an Oscar by nature needs at least a 55 gallon! Though 75 is better for them! And they are not for beginner fish keepers, they are hard fish to have. Sorry kiddo. Save them for someday in the future.

You need some nice cute little fishies. Go to this site, you can look up fish profiles and check out their average maximum size and what may be good tank mates.
http://www.fishprofiles.com/
http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/

With a 5 gallon, look for little-little guys, even a few goldfish are better off in a 10.

Answer 5

Don't let people fool you or tease you! The fact that you,as a young person has the courage to ask,youi deserve a respectful answer. Very few fish are suitable for a 5 gallon tank. A betta is fine. One or 2 small goldfish might be OK for a start. Black moor telescope goldfish,bala skarks, oscars are NOT at all suited for a small tank. A group of 6 neon tetras would be fine. Don't forget the additional care: Air pump,filter,cover,heater,food,etc. Don't depend on the advice of the store sales people;many of them have little or no knowledge. Borrow books in the library,ask questions,and get an experienced older person whom you can trust to be your fish-friend.( and who your parents approve of).

Answer 6

I went through several nice fish dying till I realized the bata was killing them then trying to eat them. Betas are supposed to be kept by theirselves. An oscar is definately a very bad choice for a 5 galon tank. One oscar needs at least a 55 galon tank! My sister has an oscar in a 200+ galon tank and it is more than a foot long. An oscar would pretty much eat anything small especially something as colorful as a beta. I would say a tetra would be a good idea to try with it. I would avoid the livebearer fish (guppy, mollie, sordtail and platy) because they would have babies only to get eaten by the beta and other fish if theres not a good place for them to hide.

Answer 7

Oscars are pretty aggressive fish. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to put it in the same tank with a betta. I have a 75 gallon tank and have two oscas in it, with some other fish. They ended up eating all of the smaller fish in the tank, and they grow pretty fast. You might want to consider getting maybe something like an angelfish...and name it Oscar! Good luck!

Answer 8

Skip the salt and get liquid water conditioner instead of tablets. The liquid is easier to measure the right dose, especially for small tanks. Breaking up those tablets is messy and a pain. A heater is really a must. A small one can be had for less than $10.00 if you look around. I got mine for $7.00. Too bad you can't get him a filter, but see if you can get him a little plant. They help keep up the water quality, too, and bettas love them.

Answer 9

In a tank that's only 5 gallons, you need small fish. I'd suggest a small school of 4 White Cloud Mountain Minnows.
I know that's not what you want to hear, but that is reality. No gold fish no oscars. They need many times more than what you have. You will not believe me, so I'll see you when the fish are dying...

Answer 10

Oscars are NOT suitable for a 5g aquarium.

The betta fish would do just fine.

The Black Moor (goldfish with big eyes) will be fine in a 5g tank for a short period of time, but they are capable of growing bigger, and should be allowed to, in a 10g or bigger aquarium.

I would stick with possibly a Mollie, Platy, Neons, Tetras, Zebras, etc.

No more than 2 SMALL fish in a 5g tank.