# Newbie on Fish



## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

Hey Everyone,

I dont usually post here as im a rabbit owner but Ive been thinking for a while about getting 1 or 2 fish. I have had fish before but when I was much younger so am now like a person getting fish for the 1st time.

I just wanted to find out for 2 fish what is the recommendations in terms of tank size, filter system (do they need one if they are goldfish?), food etc. On a monthly basis how much would you say 2 gold fish would cost?

Sorry if I seem totally clueless but I like to know as much as possible about any pet before rushing in and buying so that I can give them the best life possible! 
Thanks


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

I found a really good article on goldfish keeping...

My Goldfish Keep Dying | A Guide To Keeping Goldfish Without Killing Them

x


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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

Thanks so much for the replies. Both have been very helpful. After doing more research and especially after the advice in the posts I am seriously thinking about tropical fish to start off with. I had always thought of tropical fish to be alot more tricky to look after and always thought they required so much more chemicals etc.

Ill be popping down to the local garden centre and [email protected] to have a look at what they have there to get more of an idea!

Thanks again and I shall be keeping you all updated!


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

I'd advise not to buy fish from [email protected] they are not very good. Most of the staff have no idea about the fish they sell.

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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

PoisonGirl said:


> I'd advise not to buy fish from [email protected] they are not very good. Most of the staff have no idea about the fish they sell.
> 
> x


Ahaa ok! Any suggestions where to go? I got to [email protected] 15 mins after it closed anyways! I have a garden centre near me 'Shoots' I know they have a big Aquatic section ill have a browse their 2mrw!

x


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

Do you work at [email protected]?
Yes I have a few friends who work there who know what they are talking about, but the problem with [email protected] is the tank set up. They all run off eachother, so if one fish has a problem, they all do.
I'm always seeing dead fish left in the bottom of the tank.

Although they have the questions they have to ask, there are only a few staff who actually know about fish.

I buy my fish from my local pet shop, who has seperate quarentine tanks for new fish even though he buys from a reputable stockist. He will order me in pretty much any fish I want.

Just watch out for garden centres... high stocking levels in tanks is unfortunately not illegal and I have bought fish who have died shortly after due to the ridiculously high numbers in the tanks.

x


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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

Fishyfins said:


> should i assume that you put me in the small minority that do? lol


awwwww... you dont happen to be working in the Borehamwood Branch by any chance? If so ill pop by and get some advice from you!


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## Guest (Sep 26, 2009)

umber said:


> Hey Everyone,
> 
> I dont usually post here as im a rabbit owner but Ive been thinking for a while about getting 1 or 2 fish. I have had fish before but when I was much younger so am now like a person getting fish for the 1st time.
> 
> ...


Don't get your fish from pets at home. I have two goldfish and got a pleco from there. I told the lady selling him to me I had goldfish and she said the pleco would be fine with goldfish and won't suck on the slimecoat. How wrong she was. I lost one of my goldfish Dasher due to this. Goldfish need a filter system as they are very messy fish. For two goldfish I would reccommend at least 40 gallon tank as goldfish need 20 gallons per fish. I give my fish flake food for goldfish. Tetra fin goldfish flakes. I would advise getting disease safe just in case your fish gets sick. Good luck.


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## Guest (Sep 26, 2009)

PoisonGirl said:


> I'd advise not to buy fish from [email protected] they are not very good. Most of the staff have no idea about the fish they sell.
> 
> x


Your right about pets at home look at what happened to me this morning.


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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

Ok so Ive decided tropical fish it is... today I have bought my set up and hopefully after a week or so pending on water test levels ill get my 1st fish yay!

I got a 60L tank with a filter, lighting, and heater and got some gravel, hiding places and plant things to go inside for starters. I shall fill it up today and put the required started chemicals (sorry not familiar with the right names yet).

Thank you all for your help Ill be a regular on here no doubt!


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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

umber said:


> Ok so Ive decided tropical fish it is... today I have bought my set up and hopefully after a week or so pending on water test levels ill get my 1st fish yay!
> 
> I got a 60L tank with a filter, lighting, and heater and got some gravel, hiding places and plant things to go inside for starters. I shall fill it up today and put the required started chemicals (sorry not familiar with the right names yet).
> 
> Thank you all for your help Ill be a regular on here no doubt!


For tropical fish you should have the tank up and running for 4-6 weeks before you add the fish, or so I was told on here.


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## belly (Sep 21, 2009)

Hello, my 2 cents for what it is worth. I know a bit about fish as I breed them. 

First keep in mind, that works for me may not work for you. Ask as many questions as you can - you will get as many answers, and that is a good thing. Gold fish are hardy fish but they too actually like warmer water. They can live to 20 years of age and to about a foot in size. You are better of with starting with Mollies, guppies, swordtails or danos. The first 3 kinds are livebearers and once mature they can have babies every 28 days. They are not for every one.

You mentioned the start up chemicals. If the place that you purchased everything from was any good, they would have included a type of bacteria. Its basically the kind that is produced when your system has been running for a while & it has "balanced" for lack of a better word. Even though you are using the chemicals, you will still need to watch the water quality by not adding too many fish at a time. Did they sell you a NO2 or NO3 test kit? It helps to make sure of the water quality.

A few things ppl forget to mention - always keep in mind how big the fish will get, plecos will get very large unless you get an albino bristle nose as they stay about 4 to 5 inches in length. Cories are get for most tanks as they clean up the bits of un-eaten food & get along with almost all other smaller fish. Don't leave your lights on longer then 8 hours a day or in direct sunlight or you will end up with algae problems.

If you need help with anything, let me know. I have written a bit of stuff over the years and will send it to you.

cheers


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

If you don't want babies, then pick one sex only. I have a 4:2 ratio or female to male Platy. Two or maybe three of the females are pregnant now 

Not all Placo's get huge. I have a bulldog/rubbernose and s/he will not get bigger than about 4"

x


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2009)

belly said:


> You mentioned the start up chemicals. If the place that you purchased everything from was any good, they would have included a type of bacteria. Its basically the kind that is produced when your system has been running for a while & it has "balanced" for lack of a better word. Even though you are using the chemicals, you will still need to watch the water quality by not adding too many fish at a time. Did they sell you a NO2 or NO3 test kit? It helps to make sure of the water quality.
> 
> A few things ppl forget to mention - always keep in mind how big the fish will get, plecos will get very large unless you get an albino bristle nose as they stay about 4 to 5 inches in length.


Just a couple of pointers, a lot of so-called 'cycling' products are a waste of time in my experience. They either contain the wrong types of bacteria or produce inconsistent results. Also as for Plecs, not all species grow to massive sizes. There are plenty of others apart from the bog-standard Bristlenoses including several species from the genera _Panaque_, _Hypancistrus_ and _Peckoltia_.


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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

Any suggestions where to buy fish from? I have a [email protected] near me and I also have a garen center not too far either which I know has quite a big aquatic section but as a first time fish owner I thought Id ask where is the best place to get them from. I dont know if I have any proper Aquatic stores near me. I am in Borehamwood if anyone knows of any good places near here to get fish pls let me know! Thanks!


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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

FishyFins I got my tank from [email protected] they told me there that the water should be ready after 7 days! They told me to bring a sample of water after 7 days and they would test it for me to see if its ready for fish.... does this sound right?


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## deb53 (Jun 4, 2009)

Fishyfins said:


> yeah, were told to say that. its a load of tripe. a tank will typically take 4-6 weeks to be ready for fish. here is the explaination. its quite long, so please forgive me XD
> 
> an aquarium filter works much like a human sewage works. various types of good bacteria live inside the filter, and devour the waste the fish produce, breaking it down into harmless compounds.
> when you first set up an aquarium, there is no bacteria there. as a result, if you put a fish into the tank, its waste isnt eaten and broken down, so waste levels rise. its very common for waste levels to rise to such an extent over a matter of days, that the fish is either killed outright through toxic shock, or its metabolism is severely damaged, and it dies a slow painful death over perhaps several years.
> ...


Excellent post ..F.FINS

To the OP..not sure if you have come across my thread about changing filters??

Well I will have to run 2 filters for at least 2 weeks maybe 4 for my new filter to be mature enough to manage the tank....

And that is with mature water, fish and lots of "good" bacteria in the old filter.

So to be told that yours could be ready in a week is I am afraid a load of twoddle.

Be patient Hun, wait until the tank is properly done and you will be rewarded with a beautiful tank and happy, healthy, stress free fish that will give you years of pleasure.


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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

Fishyfins said:


> yeah, were told to say that. its a load of tripe. a tank will typically take 4-6 weeks to be ready for fish. here is the explaination. its quite long, so please forgive me XD
> 
> an aquarium filter works much like a human sewage works. various types of good bacteria live inside the filter, and devour the waste the fish produce, breaking it down into harmless compounds.
> when you first set up an aquarium, there is no bacteria there. as a result, if you put a fish into the tank, its waste isnt eaten and broken down, so waste levels rise. its very common for waste levels to rise to such an extent over a matter of days, that the fish is either killed outright through toxic shock, or its metabolism is severely damaged, and it dies a slow painful death over perhaps several years.
> ...


Oh wow! It does make sense Fishyfins! I guess im going to be patient with this one. I am a strong believer in giving animals the best they can get be it my darling rabbits or my soon to be fishies! So if it means I have to wait a few weeks for them to have a happy healthy environment then I shall have to do that. Id rather have happy healthy fish then sad, sick or dead fish!

Ill set up my tank 2mrw hopefully. Ive currently filled it with water and am leaving it over night to make sure there are no leaks in it.

Any ideas on where to get stands from? I did see a few in [email protected] but thought there were quite steep. There was 1 I really like it was a cupboard stand with 2 doors but it was £39 which I thought was really expensive for what it was but anyways. I need to find something asap so that I can set up my tank and start making a beautiful home for some little fishies!


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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

wow i didnt realise it could invalidate the warranty thanks again. 
1 more question this may sound dumb sorry. when maturing my tank is it the actual filter or water im maturing? reason i ask is if i mature my tank but then once its ready i decide to move it. if i empty the water out and refill will i have to mature it again over 4-6 weeks or a much shorter time?
thanks


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

Hey if you want to move the tank, try and get hold of some water containers.... Like the upside down huge bottles they have in offices for a drink of water.
You can fit quite a bit of tank water in those! 
If you are going to have your filter out of the tank or whatever, put some of the water from the tank in a bucket and plug filter in.

That's what I'm going to do if I ever move house.

When you do a water change, you only need to take out about 25% of the water once a week (les often and more water out is not better) rinse your filter sponges in the water you take out, not fresh water!

x


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