looking after fish

[katchika]

i got two fish the other day, winston and sharon.
ive never had fish before and am not sure how to look after them, does anyone have any tips?

how do i know if they are a boy or a girl and can they have babies?

they are in a bowl, someone said a freshwater bowl doesnt need a filtration system but others say they do.

[RubberSkin]

Sauteed potatoes and a wedge of lemon ? :D

[Scary Monster]

What kind of bowl? An O shaped one with a little hole in the top or a more U shaped one?

Any ideas what kind of fish they are, or are we talking your standard goldfish?

In a bowl with a reasonable open surface area that's not sitting in direct sun and assuming you don't over feed them the you really don't need a filter. If any of the above aren't the case then one might be useful.

Its worth noting that some food tubs suggest a pinch per fish twice a day, or something daft. In reality a pinch every couple of days usually does the trick.

[katchika]

Very helpful!
Did u go to pride? I was there :)

[katchika]

What kind of bowl? An O shaped one with a little hole in the top or a more U shaped one?

Any ideas what kind of fish they are, or are we talking your standard goldfish?

In a bowl with a reasonable open surface area that's not sitting in direct sun and assuming you don't over feed them the you really don't need a filter. If any of the above aren't the case then one might be useful.

Its worth noting that some food tubs suggest a pinch per fish twice a day, or something daft. In reality a pinch every couple of days usually does the trick.

It's a pretty round bowl. I'm not sure what sort of fish they are. The man told me but it was a long foreign sounding name and I forgot. They are small with bulgy eyes and fancy fins.

Ooh I've been feeding them twice a day, only a little bit but they eat it all up.

[Scary Monster]

If it's a traditional goldfish bowl type shape then you might need some kind of aerating filter pump thing to be sure that they get enough air. Failing that, blow bubbles into the tank every so often!

If you're feeding them twice a day then it should really only be a teeney bit and make sure it all goes straight away. Problem if you give them too much food is that it ends up as gunk in the tank, both the bits that go through them and the bits that get left.

[RubberSkin]

Very helpful!
Did u go to pride? I was there :)

Yeah. Too busy, too wet, too expensive.

[Butterflykisses]

No need for a filter, but it does mean that you have to clean them more often. Oxygenating weed does a great job as a filter and also gives them something to munch on and chase each other around.

Fish can't control how much they eat; they have no stomachs, believe it or not, and so they'll eat as much as you give them. A little pinch once a day will usually do; too much and you can actually kill them from over feeding.

I have a medium sized tank with three fish of various sizes and varieties (Pork Chop, Spanky and Bo :D ) and some fishweed and I clean the whole tank once every three weeks. I also change about 20% of the water once a week to stop it getting smelly.

When you clean them out make sure the water you transfer them into while you clean the tank is roughly the same temperature as the tank water, or they can die from shock, and likewise when you refill the tank to put them back in.

Make sure you use ONLY water to clean the tank; no washing liquids or detergents, and buy some SafeWater solution to neutralise the water; tap water can have all kinds of nasties in it and a few drops of SafeWater make it safe for your little fishies to swim in it.

[Littleali]

the debate on whether they need filters or not is still on i guess

2 of my local fish stores will NOT sell you fish unless you have a filter system

i think they are preferable but not a necessity

when i had fish with no filter, i found the water got dirty very quickly, so if u dont mind cleaning it out more often, you should be fine

do u have any plants? that'll help get oxygen in the water for them

are they black?

[squeal]

I'd buy a filter if i was you. Mine died after a week without one, i think if there's only one though it's alright because years ago i had this fish and it lived forever and tbh it didn't really get cleaned out all that often :p

[katchika]

the debate on whether they need filters or not is still on i guess

2 of my local fish stores will NOT sell you fish unless you have a filter system

i think they are preferable but not a necessity

when i had fish with no filter, i found the water got dirty very quickly, so if u dont mind cleaning it out more often, you should be fine

do u have any plants? that'll help get oxygen in the water for them

are they black?

one is black (winston) and one is orange (sharon). I saw a pump thing in Wilkos for £5 but I didn't understand whether it was the right thing and would be suitable. I don't have any plants, they have a bridge they like going under and a fake plant they hide in. I'll go to the pet shop when I get a chance and have a look at all the stuff.

[Littleali]

ah right, only asked coz my fave bulgy eye fish is the black moore

try and get a real plant hun, will help their little lungs get more oxygen x

[katchika]

I came home the other day to find Winston floating on the surface. It was a sad day. Me and Sharon (the other fish) drowned our sorrows with the help of Captain Morgan.

The bowl is a lot cleaner with just one fish in though.

I get paid on Friday so am going to sort out a filter.

[xlittlexstarx]

The bowl is a lot cleaner with just one fish in though.


I had two fish, Scuba Steve and Sally. I only had Sally a few days before she died :( but after she'd died the bowl was so, so much cleaner. Scuba Steve still died after a few weeks though :crying:

[Man Of Kent]

Stable door open... horse miles away.

Forgive me here, but shouldn't you have asked these questions before gettin gthe fish?

[Bunnie]

I feel your pain, I had my two fish for less than a week before they died within a day of each other. :(

[katchika]

The other one is dead. :crying:

I don't know what I did wrong. I made a rubbish parent.

[Sofie]

I made a rubbish parent.

Sorry but:lol:

It might not be you.

[katchika]

Sorry but:lol:

It might not be you.


Yeah, I blame my boyfriend. He sort of poked them and moved the bowl the other day. So clearly all his fault.

[katchika]

Stable door open... horse miles away.

Forgive me here, but shouldn't you have asked these questions before gettin gthe fish?

Excuse me, but I did ask my friend who keeps fish, as well as looking at a book, and asking in the pet shop. I just thought I would ask here for more advice and other opinions.

[RubberSkin]

Well of course it is. I'd throw in global warming for good measure too :D

Shame about your fish though. They've gone to that great bowl of batter in the sky :p

[Sofie]

:lol:

Some fish just don't last that long. Ours didn't - they were meant to live for at least 48 hours, but only lived for 12...

[Scary Monster]

If you get any more might be worth getting bog standard goldfish to practise on.

[Princess_Violet]

Fancy goldfish? With the veil tails? DEFINATELY need a filter for those guys - they're fragile enough in filtered water let alone a bowl. We refuse to sell fancy goldfish to anybody without a filter, and are reluctant to sell regular £1 goldfish to people who want to keep them in a bowl. Bowls have a small surface area in comparison to the water volume, and so have very poor oxygen exchange, and so the fish cannot breathe properly. For a fancy goldfish this is even worse, as they have been selectively bred through the years to look as they do, and their internal organs don't function as well as a regular goldfish - so in other words, they need all the oxygen they can get, and as close to 0 ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as you can get!

For a bowl you'd be better off with a siamese fighting fish - they breathe air like a human through a labyrinth organ (a basic lung rather than gills) and therefore oxygen in the water and flow is not important to them. They also stay around 3 inches in length too, so you wouldn't need to upgrade tanks as he grew :) GORGEOUS fish too.

Feeding, just once or twice a day, as much as the fish will consume in 30 seconds. Fish out any left with a small net to prevent ammonia spikes.

Oh, and hey by the way :) new here... yes, yes, I signed up just to reply to the fish comment. I'm quite passionate about my fishies (work in an aquatics centre) and want everyone elses fishes to have good lives too! :)

[katchika]

Thanks for that. As I've taken on a cat now, I don't think it would be a good idea to get any more fish for the time being, but if I do in future I'll get a filter.

[Dobbin]

Fancy goldfish? With the veil tails? DEFINATELY need a filter for those guys - they're fragile enough in filtered water let alone a bowl. We refuse to sell fancy goldfish to anybody without a filter, and are reluctant to sell regular £1 goldfish to people who want to keep them in a bowl. Bowls have a small surface area in comparison to the water volume, and so have very poor oxygen exchange, and so the fish cannot breathe properly. For a fancy goldfish this is even worse, as they have been selectively bred through the years to look as they do, and their internal organs don't function as well as a regular goldfish - so in other words, they need all the oxygen they can get, and as close to 0 ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as you can get!

For a bowl you'd be better off with a siamese fighting fish - they breathe air like a human through a labyrinth organ (a basic lung rather than gills) and therefore oxygen in the water and flow is not important to them. They also stay around 3 inches in length too, so you wouldn't need to upgrade tanks as he grew :) GORGEOUS fish too.

Feeding, just once or twice a day, as much as the fish will consume in 30 seconds. Fish out any left with a small net to prevent ammonia spikes.

Oh, and hey by the way :) new here... yes, yes, I signed up just to reply to the fish comment. I'm quite passionate about my fishies (work in an aquatics centre) and want everyone elses fishes to have good lives too! :)


What tropical fish would live well together in a community aquarium?

[Princess_Violet]

What tropical fish would live well together in a community aquarium?

How big is the tank you have? :)

[Dobbin]

I don't know exactly.... about 3ft long, 1ft deep and 1 and a half foot high?

[Littleali]

dobbin...have a look here....helped me

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1911&articleid=3284

and here

http://www.timstropicals.com/Compatibility/CompatibilitySearch.asp

[Dobbin]

Cheers ali :)

[Princess_Violet]

A tank 3ft x 1ft x 1ft works out at roughly 75 litres, meaning you can have up to 75cm/30" of total fish length (adult sizes) :)

Ideas for a tank that size:
Pair or two pairs of gourami (goldens, moonlight, opal, dwarf) avoid 3 spots, and kissings, they get big and are aggressive.
Shoals of small tetras or other schooling fish (neon, cardinal, glowlight, black neon or rummynose tetras, halequin rasboras, cherry barbs) add rummynose after 8-12 weeks of the tank being set up - they're quite sensitive
Some kind of shark? (Red tail black, ruby, torpedo barb, black shark, albino shark) Apollo, cigar, and silvers would be too big though.
Could go with livebearers - guppies, platies, mollies, swordtails... the breed prolifically, and can cause a problem with their breeding, but also look nice.
Some kind of catfish? Siamese flying foxes are nice and don't eat other fish, as are bristlenose plecostamus, and some of the 'L number' cat fish such as golden plec, zebra plec, - most 'L numbers' (one's with no proper scientific name, just a number) don't get above 6 inches. Avoid hypostamus plecostamus (common sucker fish) and gibbiceps (sail fin plecostamus) cause they can get HUGE!
3ft tank you could also go with a pair of angel fish - but avoid adding small fish after the angels cause they'll enjoy munching on them! Also avoid anything too boisterous such as 3 spot gouramis, larger predatory catfish, tiger barbs.
Loaches are cool too - and you get a huge variety. (Pakistani, skunk, clown, chain, cross striped) make sure you keep them in trios though, or they get stressed.

:) Hope that helps! Failing that you could always set it up as a marine tank :heart: I love marines. Other half stole my spare 260 litre tank I had reserved to put my marine fish in, and he put tropical fish in it though! Gr!

[Littleali]

woudnt recommend a marine tank if ur a beginner though dob

[Dobbin]

woudnt recommend a marine tank if ur a beginner though dob

I'm not- I kept coldwater fish (fantails, moors, orandas etc) for years until I got whitespot in the water and all bar one died. It looked a bit sad having one White Cloud Mountain Minnow swimming about in a massive tank by himself, so he was rehomed and the tank has been empty since :crying:

[Princess_Violet]

Awww poor lil fishy!

Marines are pretty easy to keep if you have the cash and know some of what you're doing. As long as you know the ammonia cycle, importance of flow, and correct stocking levels then you'd be fine. I set my tank up a while ago (when I actually had money :rolleyes: hehe) and wish I'd gone bigger when I could have afforded it. I'm just upgrading to a spare 120L tank I have, but just adding some extra rock is gonna be a save up for weeks job hehe. Or you could go down the route of some people's fish tanks I maintain and look after .... just pay somebody else to do it! One guy, knows NOTHING but has a nice 150L marine tank. But pays me to make it look pretty... he just doesn't want to know about it.

Whitespot is evil though :( I had one clown synodontis catfish which as a baby got whitespot every time you did anything to the tank. Poor lil girly. She's huge now though, and moved house and tank without even batting a fishy eyelid :)