help on buying a tropical fish?

Question

my girlfriend wants to buy her teacher a tropical fish when she leaves school on friday, just as a cool present. I'm gonna find out what fish he already has and find out what would be compatible, there's people at the store which can help with that, but the main point is, when actually buying the fish, how long can we keep it out of the tank safely? will it need any special conditions, as a pose to just a plastic bag?any help appreciated, and feel free to give me any other advice you think would help.

for some clarification, once we have found a suitable fish, that will fit in with those he has already, we will buy the fish early on friday, either before school or around lunchtime, and give it to him the same day, so the fish would likely be out of the tank for quite a few hours, allowing for him taking it home after school. thanks for all help so far, from what you have all said I may consider a gift certificate or asking him to accompany us :-)

Answer 1

What you'll need will depend a lot on what fish you would get. If the fish is bought Friday, it sounds like it won't be given until Monday, and that's too long to stay in the bag. At the very least, you 'll need another container for it. Most tropicals will need warm water, so that would mean a heater, and a filter or airstone and pump to circulate water and dissolved oxygen. A betta would require the least, since they're a surface breathing fish that could be kept in a large bowl (at least 1/2 gallon) on a temporary basis, but these should have water that's at least 70-75o.

As you see, this could get into a major project for the two of you. Would it be possible to wait until Sunday to get the fish? Or during the day on Monday? You don't say if the teacher is high school or college level, so there may be a break during the day when she could get this. Some other alternatives would be to ask if the teacher could come with you to the store, or (as impersonal as it may sound) a gift certificate to a pet store so he can get it at his own convenience. She could find out what he'd like and get a certificate in an amount that would cover the price.

Answer 2

you should not keep the fish too long in a plastic bag. There is only so much oxygen in the bag. I am sure they will tell you at the fish store that you should not just dump the fish into the water from the plastic bag. you will need to put the bag with the fish in it into the tank water for a little while so that the fish can adjust to the new water temperature.

Answer 3

Usually the fish should not be in a plastic bag for longer than an hour or two, as it will eventually use up the oxygen in the included water, and pollute the water to a poisonous state.

Pets as gifts are never a good idea unless you have talked with the recipient about it beforehand and he is ready and willing to care for this animal in the time required. A better idea would be a gift certificate for a new fish, or a decoration for his tank.

Answer 4

I am thinking you are asking how long could you hold the fish temporarily in transit till you give it to the teacher? I'd reccomend buying the fish and asking the store if they could hold it for you and deliver on same day if you don't have your own tank to hold it in. There are places in Asia I have bought some fish via ebay on and they ship to USA. Those fish are in transit in a bag sometimes for up to 5 days. I was amazed thinking I was going to get a dead fish and it was fine, but I do NOT reccomend if it can be avoided to hold a fish in a bag that long.

Answer 5

Just keep it in the bag that it comes in when u buy it. there should be enough oxygen in there to last them quite a while. at least 8 hrs or so. They come in the same type of bag filled with air when they are getting shipped from place to place. With travel time and unpacking they are sometimes in there for longer periods of time. I live in hawaii and by the time we get our fish at the stores and they transfer them into tanks is at least 8 hours. And thats normalyy with about 20-30 fish in one big bag. So with a couple fish in just one bag you should be ok for awhile. As a general rule tho, dont dilly dally about it. try to get that fish in a tank as soon as possible. Also dont forget to let the fish bag float in the tanks water for at least 20 minutes before releasing the fish into the tank.

Answer 6

When you buy the fish you should get to the tank as soon as possible, it won't last in a bag for long! 1-2 hours max! Betta's can be put in a large glass vase for a while,but they won't be happy! Any other fish needs to be placed in the tank shortly after you purchase it!

Answer 7

Hi if the bag is oxgenated and only one fish is in the bag then they will be ok for approx 24 hours, keepin the fish warm can be done using a heat pack but seriously you should not keep a tropical fish all weekend in a bag it will simply die.

Answer 8

I really think you should also get the tank on your birthday, and give yourself these 6 weeks to read up on different types of fish and water chemistry. If you don't understand how water chemistry in your fish tank works and all about the nitrogen cycle, then it is pointless even trying to keep fish. First off I wanted to ask what size of tank you wanted to get? We can probably come up with some easy suggestions for you with knowing a tank size. Some small fish I can recommend are groups of 6 or more of small tetras, danios, barbs etc. Guppies are easy for some, but can also be very delicate. They also breed out of control and eventually you might not want that. It is fun at first when your fish have babies, but what do you do with all those babies after when your tank is too overstocked, and you are not prepared? Bettas are also good fish for small tanks. Cycling the tank for 6 weeks isn't to remove the chlorine, you can either buy water conditioners to remove it or let it sit for 24 hours and it will evaporate. When aging your water you must use an airstone in it, otherwise the water will lose oxygen and become stale. You should also be looking into whether your city uses chloramines to treat your water, if they do the best suggestion is to always use dechlorinators since aging your water doesn't get rid of them, and they can be just as harmful to fish as chlorine. Buy a test kit to test ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, and pH....it is highly recommended. The cycling period is so that your tank can go through the nitrogen cycle, which is the process where your filter and gravel build up beneficial bacteria that will help to convert fish waste into something less harmful for them. You will start off with ammonia, and depending on how you give it a kick start, it might take up to 2 weeks before seeing it back at 0. It will also take about 2 weeks for the nitrites to climb then stabilize back at 0. Ammonia and nitirtes can be very harmful to fish, and can either kill them or have negative long term effects on them. You will always want them to read 0 otherwise anything over can be lethal. Nitrates are a little less harmful, though in large numbers they too can be lethal. You don't want your nitrates to ever read more than 40, they should be less but typically you want them to be around 20 or less. Water changes usually help to keep them down, or live plants really help to consume nitrates.. I would suggest doing weekly 25% water changes at a minimum, unless you have a very light bioload in the tank you have, then 25-30% every 2 weeks might also work. Just a suggestion, go to the local fish store and bring paper and a pen with you. Walk around the fish tanks and any fish you see and you like, write it down on the paper. When you get home google the names of each fish and read at least a few sites that have profile information on them. Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into before you buy the fish. Don't ever rely on pet stores to know what they are talking about, most of the time they only know very little, and not enough to help you be successful. Keeping fish is more than just fun, it is a hobby and these little live creatures rely on us to take good care of them. I hope you enjoy your fish :)

Answer 9

The only real way to do that would be to have her teacher go with you, pick out a fish that isn't going to immediately die, kill his fish, or be killed by his fish, make sure he has room for it, and make sure it is a fish that does not need to be in a school. It would really not be a good idea to einie meenie minee moe a fish and give it to him because it looks cool.

Answer 10

does this teacher have a tank that this fish will be added to? or is it going into its own bowl/tank??


if it will be on its own i'd suggest a betta, if it is going an an established communtiy tank try something unique like a loach