Fiiiish

[Phoenix]

I've been thinking about getting a fish(and a water snail) as I can't have any other pets due to my brothers allergies but I have no idea really how to look after them. I remember there was a topic back on HH with loads of information on keeping fish but I can't seem to find it. I need as much info as possible on practically everything.

[~Azaezl~]

There's a wealth of info and a forum on this site;

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

What size tank are you allowed to have? This will determine how many and what types of fish you can keep, you could go for a purely inverts tank with snails & shrimps or aquatic frogs(I say or because frogs will try to eat shrimp). Have you any idea what sort of fish you'd like?

[Phoenix]

I don't have the tank at my house but I *think* I found the tank on the internet. It don't think it's very big...only 21Ls (5.5 gallons) (dimesions are 45cm High, 20cm Depth, 36cm Wide at base, 41cm Wide at lid). I'd like to get a bigger tank when I have more money but this is all I have at the moment. I guess I'd only be able to keep goldfish in it?

[~Azaezl~]

I'm afraid 21 litres is far too small for most fish, goldfish require at least 40 litres of water(and very good filtration, externals being best). Has the tank got a filter & heater?

A betta(siamese fighting fish) would be perfect for that size and you could have an apple snail as well, bettas are solitary fish so it would do just great in a tank that size. Bettas also come in a variety of tail types as well as virtually every colour you can think of(well except neon colours) bettas don't require a filter either but it will mean more regular water changes.

Here's an example of a crowntail betta;
http://www.bettaclub.org.sg/forum/uploa ... OSMGCT.jpg

a veiltail;
http://z.about.com/d/freshaquarium/1/5/Q/Q/betta11.jpg

and a halfmoon;
http://www.geocities.com/red_harpy/215c.jpg

HTH

[Rhaeniel]

Most important thing - don't overfill it! If it's only a small tank, then only have one or two small goldfish in it. They need enough of the water in contact with the air to sustain the oxygen levels in the tank - a bubble thingy can really help, as it increases the amount of water coming into contact with air, so there's more oxygen in the water.
I hate seeing goldfish bowls with four or five fish in, but only a small section of water actually in contact with the air - bowls are just not a good idea IMO, as the surface of the water is restricted by the area where the bowl bends back in again, creating a wide living area but only a small, tight area for the water to come into contact with air.

One way to tell if they've got enough oxygen is if they come right up and gulp down water from the surface, where it's richer in oxygen. If they do that a lot, then they're probably not getting enough oxygen.

[Phoenix]

The tank has a filter but not a heater I believe. Will a betta need a heater?

[Rhaeniel]

The tank has a filter but not a heater I believe. Will a betta need a heater?

Yes. They're tropical fish, so they need the temperature warmer than goldfish, and it needs to be maintained at that temperature (anyone selling you live fish should be able to tell you what temperature the water needs to be).
Most indoor tanks are usually warm enough for many tropical fish anyway, but I would play on the safe side just in case you get a particularly cold night in the winter.

[Pallidity]

Random tidbit, but if you are interested in a cat, you can get a kitten and train it not to lick itself very often. That, along with bathing it in distilled water 1-2 times a week can help with allergies I was deathly allergic to cats but we've had one for nearly two years now ^__^

[OMgcooties]

If you get a Betta, make sure to also get betta-medicine so that you already have it if it gets sick Mine got sick on Saturday and I couldn't get medicine for him until Monday, got me really worried

[Rhaeniel]

Yeah, Bettas can sometimes be a bit tricky - where I used to work we often had bettas but the majority of them died before they even sold - Im not sure how many died after being sold! I'm not sure why this was, but it could just have been that particular fish supplier.. but because of that, I wouldn't have one (even though I love them) because I just think they're going to die

Has anyone here managed to keep a betta for a reasonable length of time, and did it ever get sick?

[ScarletLady]

get a snake they're well easy to look after if you can handle feeding them

we had a massive tropical tank for a while. we had an oscar, loaches, sharks, kissing and blue gueramis (spelling??) a load of little catfish, some guppys. and then we got an albino african claw frog and it ate all the little fish

it was annoying because we were told they would be fine - my ex used to work in a pet shop.

[OMgcooties]

My mom kept a betta for over two year when I was little, he would have lived longer if my mom hadn't bought him a "girlfriend" who ended up killing the poor guy. I haven't had mine for more than a month or so, he caught fin rot this weekend and I'm currently treating him for it. So far so good

[Spooki]

Yeah, Bettas can sometimes be a bit tricky - where I used to work we often had bettas but the majority of them died before they even sold - Im not sure how many died after being sold! I'm not sure why this was, but it could just have been that particular fish supplier.. but because of that, I wouldn't have one (even though I love them) because I just think they're going to die

Has anyone here managed to keep a betta for a reasonable length of time, and did it ever get sick?

i have owned 4 male betta fish, all have lived over 2 years with the longest being 4 years old. i trained them to swim through hoops and take food from my hand, they are very cool fish. in my opinion they're the easiest fish to keep.

the bettas at the pet store i work at rarely die. when they do it's usually from the stress of being on a display with a bajillion other fish; they'll try to fight each other through the cups.

i never kept my bettas in cups, even though they can live in a bowl or what not with out a filter i found they thrive in community tanks. they swim around all over and are way more active in big tanks. a male betta may not be right for most community tanks since they are aggressive but i know many people have success with females. my males did fine and never got picked on or picked on other fish themselves. they really only seem aggressive towards their own kind, but it depends on the fish. some of the ones we have in the store are pretty cranky and bully everything that comes near them.

[Rhaeniel]

Through hoops?! That's great! ^_ ^ they sound so cool!

Sorry for my ignorance, but what do you mean by a 'cup'?

The bettas we had at the place I worked were put separately into tanks with other fish (non-bettas) so they wouldn't fight - but they were never put in with male guppies or angel fish, as anything with a long, colourful tail can aggravate them and they'll often try to bite them off!

I'm glad some of you have had success with bettas - I plan to set up my old fish tank again once our little one is born, and old enough to appreciate fish, so I'm thinking I might consider a betta if I can find a good place to buy one from!

[Spooki]

Through hoops?! That's great! ^_ ^ they sound so cool!

Sorry for my ignorance, but what do you mean by a 'cup'?

The bettas we had at the place I worked were put separately into tanks with other fish (non-bettas) so they wouldn't fight - but they were never put in with male guppies or angel fish, as anything with a long, colourful tail can aggravate them and they'll often try to bite them off!

I'm glad some of you have had success with bettas - I plan to set up my old fish tank again once our little one is born, and old enough to appreciate fish, so I'm thinking I might consider a betta if I can find a good place to buy one from!

it's a clear plastic cup with a lid that has holes in it. here's a picture. it irks me that some people buy them like that with the intention of keeping them in that tiny little cup. my store always tries to discourage people from buying fish bowls, but the store is so dumb for selling them in the first place. it makes me want to smack corporate!

[OMgcooties]

I had no idea for a long time how bad bowls were, I assumed that if the pet store sold them they were OK. I got a 15 liter tank for mine when I found out, his behavior has changed like crazy because of it. He seems so much happier! He went from quietly swimming around his bowl to zooming around his tank like a tiny blue rocket

[Rhaeniel]

Oh god, that cup is horrible!
I see that as akin to keeping a cat or dog locked in a smal cage, only just big enough to turn around in. You wouldn't be allowed to do that, so why are people alowed to keep fish like that?! It seems people don't consider fish as live animals ¬_¬