Fish Care

[demha88]

Im off to petsmart to buy my younger sister a fish. what i need from you all is the basics. what do i need. my list so far has the tank, food, a light maybe, food, nets, aaannnd the fish itself. anything else i should pick up??

[red_roses101]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid]Aaaaaaaawwwwwww that's so cute[/COLOR] :)
[COLOR=DarkOrchid]Don't forget a [B]filter[/B].
[/COLOR]

[felix]

If it's a small enough tank/bowl, a filter isn't really required i don't think.

[Byrns]

[QUOTE=demha88]Im off to petsmart to buy my younger sister a fish. what i need from you all is the basics. what do i need. my list so far has the tank, food, a light maybe, food, nets, aaannnd the fish itself. anything else i should pick up??[/QUOTE]

Chlorine remover, and "Cycle". Plastic plants?

[demha88]

alrite thanks, i;ll make sure to ask the sales people if i need anything else.

[OceanDrop]

if you're getting a relatively simple fish (goldfish, betta, guppy, etc) buying a starter kit would probably be best. includes most of the essentials.

[Oni-kun]

[QUOTE=felix]If it's a small enough tank/bowl, a filter isn't really required i don't think.[/QUOTE]

wrong. don't get a bowl or small tank. and don't get a goldfish unless you want to buy at least a 30 gallon tank.

[url]http://faq.thekrib.com/[/url]

And as with electronics and such, asking the sales people won't get you much useful information

[Cacti]

What about the little stones at the bottom of tanks? :lol:

[felix]

[QUOTE=Oni-kun]wrong. don't get a bowl or small tank. and don't get a goldfish unless you want to buy at least a 30 gallon tank.

[url]http://faq.thekrib.com/[/url]

And as with electronics and such, asking the sales people won't get you much useful information[/QUOTE]
Really? My sister's fish lived a very long life in a bowl (forgot what type of fish). And I'm sure since she's in vet school they would have taught her something if it was the wrong thing to do. I've never seen a fish bowl needing a filter, but then again I'm no fish expert LOL :D

[Rometiklan]

I would get your sister the largest starter kit you can afford, at least 10 gallons, but preferably a 20 or 30 gallon tank. A larger tank is much more forgiving when common mistakes are made by beginners.

You'll need:

-Filtration: many choices in filters, but I prefer a hang-on the back power filter like AquaClear, or MarineLand for tanks 5-30 gallons in size. Keeps water clean, and provides mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration, essential for the life balance of your tank.
-Canopy with Lighting: Is your sister keeping live plants? You will need adequate lighting if she is. I prefer fluorescent lighting versus incandescent bulbs.
-Heater: If your sister is keeping tropical fish, she will need a heater of proper wattage.
-Thermometer: checking the temperature everyday is important.
-Gravel: To cover the bottom of the tank.
-Decorations: Rocks, driftwood, background, plastic plants (?), live plants (?), whatever your sister likes. Limited only by your imagination.
-A sturdy stand to place the tank. Water is heavy. A strong stand is necessary to support that much weight.
-Water Test kit: To test the water quality of your tank to make sure parameters are safe for fish. Ssome pet shops can test water for you for free if you don't have a test kit.
-Fish food: A good staple food, along with a few different varieties of supplementary foods to maintain health.
-Siphon tube: To aid in the removal of dirty water and detris during water changes.
-Water conditioner: removes chlorine from tap water during water changes.
-Air-pump and air-stone: If your sister likes bubbles, you will need an air-pump with an air-line leading into the tank and an air-stone at the end to produce bubbles.

I wouldn't get any fish until the tank is all set up. And I also would not get any fish until your sister has a full understanding of how to cycle the tank. A tank that has been cycled will be able to support fish properly, and reduce harmful levels of ammonia and nitrite. A tank which has not been cycled properly will soon grow too toxic to support its inhabitants, and the fish will all die off. Google for some of the aquarium forums around the net, and most of them will explain the nitrogen cycle, and how to achieve a fully cycled tank with minimal or no stress to your fish depending on your methodology.

[duckling.]

Hmmmm if you're getting a tank, how old is your little sister? If she's young then I wouldn't recommend it :) sometimes taking care of a tank is a bit of heavy duty work (IE monitoring the temperature (depends on ur fish), adjusting/changing the filter, and also it's a good habit to change water.. which is incredibly annoying for a large tank). When I was a lot younger I was doing a little research/analysis stuff on guppies and I just put them in a jar. I had rocks, plants, and like 4 guppies. 3 died. 1 lived longer than all of my other fish in my large tank.

[felix]

[QUOTE=duckling.]Hmmmm if you're getting a tank, how old is your little sister? If she's young then I wouldn't recommend it :) [/QUOTE]
She's half way through vet school at Guelph. So not too little. :)
It could be that she used a small bowl because she moved a lot between school and home.

Yeah we have two big tanks for the turtles. Those are super heavy and hard to clean. The filters we have keep on dying.

Personally i find fish boring. Cats are better :cheesygri

[Kasakato]

What ever you do- don't add fish till you cycle the tank. I cant repeat this enough. Speaking of fish, my Platies just gave birth!

[Oni-kun]

[QUOTE=felix]She's half way through vet school at Guelph. So not too little. :)
It could be that she used a small bowl because she moved a lot between school and home.

Yeah we have two big tanks for the turtles. Those are super heavy and hard to clean. The filters we have keep on dying.

Personally i find fish boring. Cats are better :cheesygri[/QUOTE]


Plop down the cash and get a canister filter. gonna cost like 100-200+ dollars but its worth it and won't break so easily. A bowl is no place for a fish to live. Its like keeping a horse in a closet. Or a baby in a dog crate. Sure it'll live for pretty long i'm sure you can keep a kid to about 10 years old in a dog crate but will it be healthy?

[demha88]

[QUOTE=Rometiklan]I would get your sister the largest starter kit you can afford, at least 10 gallons, but preferably a 20 or 30 gallon tank. A larger tank is much more forgiving when common mistakes are made by beginners.

You'll need:

-Filtration: many choices in filters, but I prefer a hang-on the back power filter like AquaClear, or MarineLand for tanks 5-30 gallons in size. Keeps water clean, and provides mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration, essential for the life balance of your tank.
-Canopy with Lighting: Is your sister keeping live plants? You will need adequate lighting if she is. I prefer fluorescent lighting versus incandescent bulbs.
-Heater: If your sister is keeping tropical fish, she will need a heater of proper wattage.
-Thermometer: checking the temperature everyday is important.
-Gravel: To cover the bottom of the tank.
-Decorations: Rocks, driftwood, background, plastic plants (?), live plants (?), whatever your sister likes. Limited only by your imagination.
-A sturdy stand to place the tank. Water is heavy. A strong stand is necessary to support that much weight.
-Water Test kit: To test the water quality of your tank to make sure parameters are safe for fish. Ssome pet shops can test water for you for free if you don't have a test kit.
-Fish food: A good staple food, along with a few different varieties of supplementary foods to maintain health.
-Siphon tube: To aid in the removal of dirty water and detris during water changes.
-Water conditioner: removes chlorine from tap water during water changes.
-Air-pump and air-stone: If your sister likes bubbles, you will need an air-pump with an air-line leading into the tank and an air-stone at the end to produce bubbles.

I wouldn't get any fish until the tank is all set up. And I also would not get any fish until your sister has a full understanding of how to cycle the tank. A tank that has been cycled will be able to support fish properly, and reduce harmful levels of ammonia and nitrite. A tank which has not been cycled properly will soon grow too toxic to support its inhabitants, and the fish will all die off. Google for some of the aquarium forums around the net, and most of them will explain the nitrogen cycle, and how to achieve a fully cycled tank with minimal or no stress to your fish depending on your methodology.[/QUOTE]

wow thanks. im printing this now and taking it with me later todya ahaha. thanks for all the help guys