Fish...
- Thread starter Sumanji
- Start date
Andr3w said:
I really have no idea! My fish knowledge is sort of limited to -> Goldfish, Shark, Moby Dick
I went to Pets At Home today and saw some cool fish but again I'm not sure what you can put together in a tank and which fish are "good" ones to get...Andr3w said:
That's another area I'd like advice on... what are the good brands and models of aquarium kit?
Bri said:
I'm not gonna delve into a) the ethical issues of that and, b) what deep psychological issues you may have.
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This is the best thing you could do, look in the yellow pages and find a proper aquarium shop. Go in to the shop and talk to the owner and ask his advice.
DO NOT, buy fish from a garden centre or places like Pets at home, etc.... They are not cared for properly and quite often can carry diseases. Stick to buying from small local fish suppliers that you know and trust!
DO NOT, buy fish from a garden centre or places like Pets at home, etc.... They are not cared for properly and quite often can carry diseases. Stick to buying from small local fish suppliers that you know and trust!
I got into fish when i was younger. I would start out with coldwater because it is relatively easy and you can see whether you like it before spending a fortune on heaters, etc.
The smallest way to start would be to get a goldfish in a little tank. Easy to do but a little boring.
What I did was the next step up. I bought a starter set from a pet shop which comprised of a tank, filter, light, etc, which was only £70 or £80. I bought some sand from the ELC which looked better than stones and then got some plants from a mail-order planty type place and the set-up looked great.
I bought a couple of goldfish but also a little silver guy (he died pretty quick), so it looked better than just the normal goldfish.
Word of warning. Mine were all dead within a month. I was devestated. To this day I don't know exactly what went wrong. To be fair, I carried the silver guy in my back pack on a 5 mile bike ride from the pet shop and when I got him home he was a bit weird acting.
On second thoughts, i'm probably not the best guy to give advice...
Good luck anyway. My tank and everything's in the loft now
The smallest way to start would be to get a goldfish in a little tank. Easy to do but a little boring.
What I did was the next step up. I bought a starter set from a pet shop which comprised of a tank, filter, light, etc, which was only £70 or £80. I bought some sand from the ELC which looked better than stones and then got some plants from a mail-order planty type place and the set-up looked great.
I bought a couple of goldfish but also a little silver guy (he died pretty quick), so it looked better than just the normal goldfish.
Word of warning. Mine were all dead within a month. I was devestated. To this day I don't know exactly what went wrong. To be fair, I carried the silver guy in my back pack on a 5 mile bike ride from the pet shop and when I got him home he was a bit weird acting.
On second thoughts, i'm probably not the best guy to give advice...
Good luck anyway. My tank and everything's in the loft now
You have to neutralise the chlorine in tap water to use it in a tank.
The reason your fish died in the first month is probably due to the nitrates (or is it nitrites). When first setting up a tank there aren't any "good bacteria" in the filter.
When you first add the fish it starts a nitrogen cycle. This usually takes 4-6 weeks in which time the levels of nitrates will become massively high as the good bacteria in the filter aren't working properly yet. Most fish aren't hardy enough to cope with high nitrogen levels and die
Ways around this are to use water from an already established tank, buy a nitrate inhibiting solution or buy very hardy fish to start off with.
The reason your fish died in the first month is probably due to the nitrates (or is it nitrites). When first setting up a tank there aren't any "good bacteria" in the filter.
When you first add the fish it starts a nitrogen cycle. This usually takes 4-6 weeks in which time the levels of nitrates will become massively high as the good bacteria in the filter aren't working properly yet. Most fish aren't hardy enough to cope with high nitrogen levels and die
Ways around this are to use water from an already established tank, buy a nitrate inhibiting solution or buy very hardy fish to start off with.
Andy100 said:You have to neutralise the chlorine in tap water to use it in a tank.
The reason your fish died in the first month is probably due to the nitrates (or is it nitrites). When first setting up a tank there aren't any "good bacteria" in the filter.
When you first add the fish it starts a nitrogen cycle. This usually takes 4-6 weeks in which time the levels of nitrates will become massively high as the good bacteria in the filter aren't working properly yet. Most fish aren't hardy enough to cope with high nitrogen levels and die
Ways around this are to use water from an already established tank, buy a nitrate inhibiting solution or buy very hardy fish to start off with.
Don't get me wrong, I did a fair amount of reading on the subject. I seem to remember using a tablet to the water for that purpose and I tried to get the filter running for a few days before the fish were introduced but I probably rushed it if i'm honest
This thread has inspired me a little. It might be time to get the ladders out and get into the loft
Wasn't having a go at all mate.
Unfortunately I know from first hand experience.
Started with 12 cardinal tetras of which only 1 survived, poor little bugger.
If you're going tropical I've found Tiger Barbs to be pretty good. They shoal and after a few days they don't hide away.
Angel fish are nice to look at but they'll nip at anything and can cause damage to other fish.
Most fish tanks are hard work though. I have a 60L tank and you have to change 1/3 of the water every 2 weeks. Neutralising and carrying 20L of water is pretty tricky, it's a lot more water than you think it is.
You also have to scrub the sides with a cleaning magnet and clean the gravel.
It's nowhere near as low maintenance as I though it was going to be.
Unfortunately I know from first hand experience.
Started with 12 cardinal tetras of which only 1 survived, poor little bugger.
If you're going tropical I've found Tiger Barbs to be pretty good. They shoal and after a few days they don't hide away.
Angel fish are nice to look at but they'll nip at anything and can cause damage to other fish.
Most fish tanks are hard work though. I have a 60L tank and you have to change 1/3 of the water every 2 weeks. Neutralising and carrying 20L of water is pretty tricky, it's a lot more water than you think it is.
You also have to scrub the sides with a cleaning magnet and clean the gravel.
It's nowhere near as low maintenance as I though it was going to be.
Oh well then, its perfect
Aww, really tempted to get some fish now. Just dont have anywhere to put them... front room is out of the question do to my mum's job... that leaves my bedroom.
*looks at large empty space on top of drawers*
SiriusB
Aww, really tempted to get some fish now. Just dont have anywhere to put them... front room is out of the question do to my mum's job... that leaves my bedroom.
*looks at large empty space on top of drawers*
SiriusB
Get a couple of Piranhas. I had them for years until my daughter started putting her fingers in the water, then they had to go
There very easy to look after, they like a tank with a gravel base, a few bits of bogwood and if you want plants then look at amazon swords. Nowadays you usually have to buy them as juveniles, i started with a group of 6 that were just over an inch long. They grew nicely and i only had two left when I sold them but they were nearly 7 inches long. They even spawned but the eggs never hatched, so either thyey werent fertilized or i had in fact got 2 females.
As for feeding, i just gave them cut offs from any steak, pork, ham, basically anything we had for our main meals. Avoid liver tho, as it stains the water and makes it stink if you dont have decent filtration.
Once a month we took a trip to the local stream and caught a few live sticklebacks and gave them those and youre sorted. We also did this when we went on hols. A dozen sticklebacks when we went away and some would be left when we returned.
So, my vote goes to the piranha.
There very easy to look after, they like a tank with a gravel base, a few bits of bogwood and if you want plants then look at amazon swords. Nowadays you usually have to buy them as juveniles, i started with a group of 6 that were just over an inch long. They grew nicely and i only had two left when I sold them but they were nearly 7 inches long. They even spawned but the eggs never hatched, so either thyey werent fertilized or i had in fact got 2 females.
As for feeding, i just gave them cut offs from any steak, pork, ham, basically anything we had for our main meals. Avoid liver tho, as it stains the water and makes it stink if you dont have decent filtration.
Once a month we took a trip to the local stream and caught a few live sticklebacks and gave them those and youre sorted. We also did this when we went on hols. A dozen sticklebacks when we went away and some would be left when we returned.
So, my vote goes to the piranha.
MeatLoaf said:
Hmm I'm actually quite intrigued by this idea, sounds pretty cool. They are tropical fish though right, so I'd have to play around with heaters and stuff. And I could have no other fish in there or they'd get munched I guess!
Are they quite expensive? I don't really have a strict budget, but I don't wanna be paying £20 a fish or something silly!
Cheers,
Suman
Sumanji said:
Yup you will need a heater and a fairly decent filter system. Biggest problem with the heater is with the fish breaking them when the fish got bigger, so i got a pice of clear perspex, drilled holes in it and used aquarium sealant divide of a small end bit of the tank and put the heater and filter behind there. At least twicw i had my fish bite the heater wire and i got quite a shock when i put my hand in. They also make a great talking point when you have people round. As for cost ive seen small red bellied piranhas going for about £6 each, get 3 of them and if they are kept well fed they wont eat each other!
When small it is possible to keep some fish with them, i found the armoured cats, such as plecs to be suitable, but look for a largish one as a small ones to delicate and would be eaten. But even a large plec would need to be removed eventually.
