Help I need to know what is easier fish to look after .......?

Question

OK HERE IS THE DEAL WHEN I 4 YEARS OLD MY MOM AND DAD USED TO GET ME SOME GOLD FISHES THE ONLY THING THAT ABOUT 3 DAYS AFTER THEY GOT ME THE GOLD FISHES THEY USED TO DIE SO MY MOTHER STOPED GETING ME FISHES AND STARTED TO GET ME DOGS.NOW I AM 13 I WANT TO GET SOME FISHES BUT I DON'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT FISHES IF YOU KNOW ANY GOOD WEBSITES AND COULD YOU TELL ME WHATS THE ESAIST TO LOOK AFTER FOR A BIGGINER TROPICAL OR FRESH WATER FISHES ANY ADVISE WOULD BE HELPFUL.P.S.SORRY IT SO LONG.THANKS

Answer 1

Here is our list of freshwater fish that would be great for the beginner to start with. For pricing purposes, I used the LiveAquaria.com site.

Anabantids (Bettas and Gouramis) Bettas are also known as Siamese Fighting Fish (as in the fish that will attack its own mirror image). Bettas and Gouramis are beautiful labyrinth fishes meaning that they get air at the surface of the water through a labyrinth organ. The downside with male Bettas is that you can only keep one Betta male in a tank (you can have other fish but no other male Bettas). Gouramis are usually peaceful additions to the community tank. Price range for Bettas is $2.49 to $6.49. Price range for Gouramis is $2.49 to $12.99.

Cichlids. There are so many different Cichlid species, that you will have no problem picking one that suits your aquarium. Cichlids can get large and are territorial during breeding season. They can be prolific in captivity? Price range for African Cichlids is $5.99 to $39.99. Price range for New World Cichlids is $3.99 to $59.99.

Cyprinids (White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Zebra Danios, Rasboras, and Cherry Barbs) These little guys are hardy. You will find tons of color and pattern variations. You will also enjoy watching their schooling behavior. If you had to pick one fish to start with, you could not go wrong with a White Cloud Mountain Minnow. Price range is $1.29 to $7.99.

Livebearers (Guppies, Platies, and Swordtails) These beautiful fish will stay small (under 3 inches for the most part) but that is not the only thing about these guys that makes them a great pick. Brilliantly colored and happy in the community tank, these peaceful fish are extremely easy to keep. Out of all the starter fish, they are the easiest to breed in captivity. Guppies look like they should cost way more than their going price; you'll easily get excited about these fish. Price range is $1.99 to $5.99 to $34.99.

Tetras are so cheap it is practically criminal! Tetras are great additions to the community tank and their vivid colors will attract your attention every time they dart around in their little schools. Price range is $1.49 to $7.99 with most of them in the under $3 range.

Loaches are bottom dwellers that differentiate themselves from most of the fish in this list. They are more secretive; they tend to hang out alone, with many being nocturnal. Loaches require currents in the water as they are stream dwellers in the wild. They will also take care of your snail population if you have a problem with it. Price range is $2.99 to $13.99.

This site may also be of interest to you:
http://www.hongtai.com.sg/frames/mytank-all.html

:-)

Answer 2

Goldfish in a bowl? Yes it's cheap, but it's not easy to care for, and it won't live long. Don't go there. If you want easy care, go big (with the aquarium) and only put in small fish. See, you are thinking of "Getting a pet fish", in the same way you would get some other animal. Feed it, clean it's cage etc. Like you would decide to get a hamster or a pet rat? But it doesn't work that way. You need to change you thinking to "Setting up an Aquarium". You decide what tank you can afford / are allowed / have space for. What equipment you are going to need to maintain that environment. Then you set up the little ecosystem that's like a small section of a pond or stream. It needs clean flowing water, it needs the correct temperature, if needs to be big enough for the fish you intend to keep. Once you have done that, then your fish can live in there with minimal care. The tank system and natural ecosystem you have set up provide the right conditions for the fish. Stuffing it in a bowl of stagnant water is NOT the correct conditions. How many fish naturally live in bowls of stagnant water? None. You will then struggle to keep the water clean, and no matter how much you care for the fish, it's going to get sick and die. On the other hand, buy a simple 15gal tank, filter, heater, light. Add some live plants, a betta fish and an apple snail and you will have a proper little aquarium that needs very little care, maybe 15min a week to vacuum the gravel and change part of the water. That's about as easy care as they come. The heater and filter look after the conditions in the tank, the plants assist the filtering to keep the water clean, the lights keep the plants growing, and the snail controls the inevitable algae growth. By only having one small fish in a large tank there is little waste going into the system, so it's easy care. Ian

Answer 3

Go for cold water fish first. They are really easy to look after, don't have too many in the tank and get plenty of oxygenating plants. Tropical fish do take a lot of looking after and salt water fish even more. You have to have good filtration and constantly monitor the Ph, Nitrate, Nitrate, and Ammonia levels. Goldfish are much more hardy and as long as you have good oxygentating plants you can start off with this type of fish. When you start up the tank let the water stand for at least 24 hours before adding fish (to let the chemicals evaporate) and when you put the fish in - they'll come in polythene bags - float the bags in the water so that the temperature the fish are in and the temperature of the water they are going into are the same. Putting fish straight into colder or warmer water is a sure fire way to kill them off. Good luck and have fun with them.

Answer 4

Actually, you sound like a beginner who put the godfish in bowls with no filters and space so you'd better go read some stuff on fish that introduces you to fish and will tell you which fish that are good for you and how to keep them,etc. You can start off with a betta, one of thoose fish that CAN be put in a bowl with no filter as long as you change the water regularly, not clean the tank with soap or anything related closely and other basic stuff like that which every fish keeper ought to know.Bettas are hardy and tolerant, just right for lots of "uninformed" people out there. You had better start with freshwater fish, saltwater fish are troublesomeish and hard to keep.

Answer 5

I think you have your best answer clearly stated from Copperhead, which includes something very important most have not led you onto, and that is before you jump into the aquarium set ups, you need to understand the nitrogen cycle process. This is what you really need to learn about before you go buy your tank equipment and then get your fish. If you don't understand the dynamics of this, it's very liable your fish adventure starting out is going to end up in the deaths of whatever you purchase. Double thumbs up on the listings and pointing out on the cycle on my end for Copperhead.

JV

Answer 6

Start with live bearers( mollies, guppies ,sword tails..). Walmart has a great starter kit that includes 10 gallon, hood, light, heater ,water conditioner and food samples for $49.99. Also you can take a free on line small freshwater or saltwater fish care course at about.com this is a very helpful course, they give a lot of detail on tank and fish care!

Answer 7

The "best" fish will depend on the size of the tank, and what types YOU are interested in keeping!

A good way to be sucessful is to get a tank large enough to hold fish you want at their adult sizes - goldfish really need a larger tank than most people realize, and they try to put too many fish in at one time. I would suggest a 20 gallon tank to start if you have the space for one this size. A 10 gallon will get crowded pretty quickly. In a 20 gallon, you'll have twice the room, so you can get a few more fish (and maybe more kinds!) and the temperature and water quality won't change as quickly.

See this link for some suggestions on different fish communities based on fish size and aggression: http://www.elmersaquarium.com/h701elmers_freshwater_handbook.htm I would suggest starting with a community from types 1-4. Each one will give a suggested tank size and different species that will fit in that community type. You can get info on each fish by clicking on its name. Some kinds are okay by themselves, but others should be purchased in groups of 3 or 6 if the fish is one that schools. The hardiness rating will let you know which are the easiest to care for - those with "A" or "AA" will be best for a beginner.

When you start the tank this time, read up on cycling a tank/nitrogen cycle in the links I'll put at the end. What this is about, is that when fish eat, their wastes contain a lot of ammonia, which is toxic to them. There are bacteria that use the ammonia as an energy source, and convert it to nitrite in the process. Nitrite is also toxic, but this is converted to nitrate by another type of bacteria. Nitrate isn't harmful unless the concentration is high. The problem you face is that when you're first starting your tank, you don't have much of these bacteria, and unless you do frequent water changes, the ammonia and nitrite overwhelm your fish and they die, especially if you add a lot of fish (or fish that produce a lot of waste, or you overfeed your fish) in the beginning. This is probably what caused your goldfish to die.

I think it's great that you're taking the time to research fishkeeping this time around. Keep up the good work, and read as much as you can about the species you like - the more you can find out, the more successful you'll be.

Welcome (back) to the hobby!

Some websites with really good information:

Answer 8

Start with a tropical tank and set it up.....this could take a couple of weeks with no fish in. Once it is all stabilised. Try with just 6 neon tetra (they like to be in shoals) and once they are settled add 2 molly.

Answer 9

try this website www.wetwebmedia.com this will tell you all you need to know. the best advice i received was buy three books by different writers on the subject cross reference them decide what you want to keep. Then buy a tank site it, fill it, run equipment for a week . Sauce a good local shop with healthy stock and don't deviate from your plan. Also join a local aquarist society for advice on mixing species hope this helps.

Answer 10

i have a 35 gal high tank and a 20 gal tank, i have had my fish for 4 yrs and i still have the same fish i started out with
i have a beta, swordtails, angels, cotomas, gold fish, and neons, I have good filter systems and i keep the filters clean.
u can go to www,tetra-fish.com to find out alot
just thought i'd pass along my experience

Answer 11

tropical need to be kept at a constant temperature but once you have all the equipment then it is pretty easy, cold water fish don't need a heater and can be set up in an aquarium tank the same way as tropical in appearance but easier without the heater, have a look in your local pet shop for what you like best. have a look on google for keeping tropical and coldwater fish.