Want to get fish!!!!?

Question

I want to get fish but I don' know what to get. Where on the web can I look at different types of pet fish???

What fish do you recommend?

I want a variety of fish. What fish go good together??

Answer 1

There are a lot to choose from, but what you get should depend on the size of the tank you can keep them in, and how compatible they are with each other and the conditions you can provide.

Most beginners want colorful and easy to care for, but not too big of a tank. The tank size will be your limiting factor in the type and number of fish.

One website I like is this one: http://www.elmersaquarium.com/h701elmers_freshwater_handbook.htm There are ideas for fish "communities" already planned with several fish choices for each. The lower the community number, the smaller and more peaceful the fish. Numbers 11 and 12 have special needs because of potential size and water conditions, so avoid these for now. I would suggest starting with fish from communities 1-3. These will stay relatively small and are active, peaceful, and often brightly colored. You can click on each name to learn more about each fish, and most have a picture with them. The ones with a hardiness rating of "A" or "AA" are the easiest for a beginner.

If you have the room, I'd suggest to start with a larger tank - a 20 or 29 gallon. This size will let you keep more fish and more different fish than a 10 gallon (which would be the smallest I would recommend for keeping fish).

Definitely read up on things like fishless cycling: http://freshwater.fanatics.googlepages.com/cyclinganaquarium before you buy the fish. Don't be in too much of a rush to get things set up, either. You'll end up replacing a lot of the fish you bought if you don't have the proper environment for keeping them. Make sure you don't overcrowd your tank or overfeed the fish, and do your part in maintaining them by doing a weekly water change of about 25% of the water in the tank. Make sure the fish you choose all have similar requirements for temperature, pH, and salt in their water. And read up on any fish you see that you might want to get - store employees are out to sell fish, and may only tell you what they need to get you to buy, not what a fish actually needs to survive!

Here are some other sources with fish photos and information about keeping different kinds of fish:
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=16
http://www.fishlore.com/
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
http://www.firsttankguide.net/

Good luck with your tank!

Answer 2

I think you will love this setup. Get a 20-30g tank and get it all set up, i recomend a kit that includes everythign you need, tank hood, lights filter etc. Often these kits do not include a heater and you will need to buy one, talk to your fish store about proper heating.

Get it all setup, add your Starter fish and some biospira to get it cycling. I recomend Zebra Danios, they are fun and elegant little fish. Get 5 of them or so to start. Tehn after a 2-3 weeks or whenever your tank is cycled, 0 ammonia and 0 nitrate, you can add new fish.

Next I would add your bottom feeders, Corys or small loaches in a group of 3-5 depending on how big they are. Make sure they are all the same type of cory or loach, these fish like have friends of their own kind.


Wait another 2-3 weeks then add something nice and flashy, rainbow fish, various tetras. I love Black Neons and Cardinal Tetras, a good school of 5 and your set.

As algae sets in there are a few good choices, Siamese Algae Eaters, small species of plecos and Nerite snails are all great for the job. Do not get conned into a Chinese algae eater, its not an algae eater and they get large and very agressive. Bad for your other fish.

Good Luck and enjoy the wonder world of aquariums.

Answer 3

When I was in college I sold aquarium fish for a store which exclusively sold fish, and I have helped many people get started. I will give you my opinion, but remember that opinions are like ears; everyone has one or two.

First off, as a beginner DO NOT buy your fish online. The unfortunate truth is that you do not yet (if you stay in the hobby, you will) know enough to go through the quarantine process and ensure the health of fish that you buy online. Though you can get them cheaper, it is better to pay for someone with more experience to take care of them for a while.

Second, I highly recommend community fish. They are easy to take care of and are colorful and fun. I have five tanks in my home with everything from saltwater fish and coral only tanks to community fish. Guess which one is my favorite. My little community fish. Colorful and relaxing. Most of them get along together.

I recommend a pretty basic setup: you can afford to go a bit cheap on the tank by getting a kit. This may run you about $100-130, but it is actually cheaper than buying each piece individually. The only thing you should buy individually is the heater. The hang on the back heaters arent worth the packaging they are in. Marineland makes great plastic submersible heaters that will last just about forever. Get 3-5 watts per gallon, and you will be ok. Im am assuming that you will get a kit, so I wont go on too much about that.

About the fish. There are many different kinds of tetras, and if you are just looking for something fun to watch, you cannot go wrong. Get them in schools of 3-5 fish. This is a defense mechanism for them, and they will be healthier that way. Avoid the Neon Tetras, because while very pretty, they die quickly. I would buy one school at a time until you have your tank filled with about 1-2 weeks inbetween fish intriductions. This will allow your tank to adjust to the new animals.

Get a timer for your lights, just like you would when you go out of town. Your fish like light about 8-10 hours a day. Have the lights on when you will be there to see them. They will adjust to the photocycle you set for them.

Change your carbon filter once a month. Period.

Do a 10-15% water change once a week. This will introduce new water slowly and take out the waste your fish produce.

Dont bother with an undergravel filter. They are crap.

The first time you add fish, I recommend BioSpira or Stability. Both work pretty well.

Buy a bottle of Prime (by SeaChem). The stuff only seems expensive. Their smallest bottle will treat 500 gallons and can be heavily overdosed. It detoxifies chemicals in the water as well as chlorine. It is not a permanent solution should you have a problem, but it will buy you time. Amquel and Ammolock arent worth anything. The strongest endorsement for Prime I can make is that I use it. 'Nuff said.

Finally, get a test kit. There are test strips which are idiot proof and are fairly accurate. Get the 5 in 1 kind and then ammonia. Do monthly testing and keep a record of your test results along with your feeding times and water changes. This way if you have a problem you can take your records to your fish guy and he will have much more information to work with.

Good luck. If I think of anything else I will add it here.

Answer 4

I am sure that Magicman will answer as well. His answers are pretty on target. My suggestions is look around on the sites that have stores. Scan over fish that catch your eye by coloration. Make a note of the breed. Then do a look up on the breeds and read over thier requirements. The requirements are going to give you a gauge on what size tank you will need. They may be a baby now but they will grow. My personal example is I have Arowana. My baby is only 4 inches long, but terminal length goes to almost 3ft. Right now he is ok in the 20 gallon tank, but as he grows, he will go to a 75 gallon tank and ultimately a 150 gallon tank.

Some people are willing to deal with that, as well as thier special care requirements. Others just want simple fish to look at and care for. Some want fish that breed. It really comes down to what you want out of your fish. Each breed is going to have different requirements to water quality, food, growth, breeding, and long term care. I can only tell you of the fish I have, but my situation may be different then yours.

I'd go to a store in person or look at sites that have photos of the fish that strike your interest, research thier requirements, determine your tank size and equipment based on that. Make sure you read up on tank cycling before you buy the fish also.

Hope that helps point you in the right direction and best of luck!

Answer 5

First learn how to cycle a tank without fish,look up fishlesscycling.com. Because the really coolest kinds of fish are live ones.

Answer 6

Well what you get depends on your tank

soget the tank then cycle then try to figure out what fish

Answer 7

everybody will probable say "blue" fish, yet i'm quirky and could say new fish, or pink fish smoked fish,or pink fish cooked fish, final yet no longer least pink fish stunk like fish!

Answer 8

well I own a lot of fish but i would have to say personally i love my dinosaur fish its small like an eel but its friendly it simie aggressive and tropical and you can find it at Pet smart Petco.

Answer 9

If they're about to be your first fish, I'd say goldfish are the best. Stick to coldwater fish, not tropical fish. You can Google for different varieties of easy-maintenance coldwater fish.

Answer 10

Here's a site that gives lists of different fish and gives information...

http://aquariusweb.qc.ca/docs_en/fish.php

It is in french though, so you could use a translator at http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en