Can anyone help out a girl who is not familiar with Fish?

Mrs.K

Hi guys, I have my boyfriends birthday coming up, and I was looking to get him started keeping fish [he said he was interested so I'm looking into getting them]
We were in the pet shop on Parnell St there a few weeks ago, and he seemed to be more interested in the tropical fish
So this has led me to have a few questions about them [I will be going instore to ask but thought I'd get a basic idea before I went in]

Can you get a small plastic tank and then get a heater? how much would a separate heater cost?

Are neon tetra good fish? What other tropical fish would they work well with? [I don't know if they would fight, kill each other off etc.]

Have you any other recommendations for a beginner tropical fish keeper? Apart from stick to goldfish :P

Thanks guys, any help appreciated

Cameron Poe

You should be able to get a 54 - 60 litre tank for about a 100 quid. They come with a heater, filter and lights.

It'll take a couple of weeks to cycle when he first sets it up. So no fish straight away.

Mrs.K

And by cycle you mean? *noob face*
and he only has a small space for a tank in his bedroom, so I was thinking of only getting him a small tank with a couple of small fish in it, hence the tetras
If I were to buy a plastic tank is it possible to buy a lamp separate?

Silverfish

The thing with tetras is while they are a small fish, they are a shoaling fish so will need to be kept in a group of at least 6, preferably 10, and while they are small, they also like to zoom about and need the space to do so.

There's no fish suitable for those small plastic tanks, I'm afraid. I might try shrimp at a push. You would be much better off buying a 54 litre if space is an issue, Seahorse in Ballymount do a freshwater starter kit here that includes everything you need, heater, filter, light, gravel, water conditioner, food, plants and a 10 euro voucher for fish.

That tank is 2 foot by 1 foot so that's not really a lot of space.

Cameron Poe

You'll get the same tank for about 90 -100 in most other shops.

Silverfish

Cameron Poe wrote: »

You'll get the same tank for about 90 -100 in most other shops.

Yeah, but you don't get gravel, plants, food, ornament and a 10 euro voucher as well, afaik, which tots up to a bit more than 11 quid

But yeah if you can get it cheaper and buy the rest separately, it's still a good starter tank.

Mrs.K

Thanks guys
I know he can't have anything bigger
Which is really why I'm trying to talk him into a smaller tank with something simple like bubble eye goldfish or something else not tropical that doesn't need as much care and attention
Because I probably sound stingey
But I just don't want to go and drop a bomb on fish stuff, for them to die after a week because he can't look after them right

I think maybe something like Koi might be more his thing
Can you advise me on something like that?

Silverfish

A goldfish needs a minimum of 100L, and koi are huge fish, and grow up to 2 feet in length, so goldfish / koi are definitely out. Most of the fish you see in shops are juveniles, and will grow much larger.

Goldfish also produce much more waste than tropical fish so need more care and attention, sorry

I do have one 23 L tank (Fluval Edge) with 10 dwarf rasboras, but the smaller the volume of water, the more care and attention it needs, I need to do maintenance on that tank twice a week, and I know I'm pushing it with that number of fish even though they are really tiny (about 1.5cm) but if it has to be a small tank, something like that might work.

Hatgirl

Is your boyfriend going to pick out the fish himself or are you buying them as a suprise? I'd really recommend him picking out the fish himself. I have had too many "lovely surprise gifts" of fish that are actually irritating obligations, if you know what I mean. But... that's just me. YMMV, terms and conditions apply, Objects in mirror are closer than they appear

Anyway.... White Cloud Mountain Minnows! They will be happy in an indoor tank without a heater (unlike neon tetras etc), they are very clean (unlike goldfish/koi/weather loaches), you can happily keep a shoal of about a dozen in a 10gallon/40litre aquarium and they only live a max of 7 years (you know koi live to be about 90 and even goldfish should live 20 years, right?)

2 colours of WCMM are easy to get in Dublin - the gold colour and the wild colour (who have cool little neon green tips to their fins). They have both in that Parnell St petshop you were in (but ignore them if they say the gold ones need a heated tank :rolleyes:).

I adore my WCMMs - no fuss, no stress. After running myself ragged caring for tropicals and goldfish, they are AWESOME

Bebo stunnah

Hatgirl wrote: »

I adore my WCMMs - no fuss, no stress. After running myself ragged caring for tropicals and goldfish, they are AWESOME

I couldnt agree more! I've had Goldies, Beaufortia Leveretti, weather loaches, and WCMM, not to mention buying pakistani loaches, neon tetras, guppies and a fighting fish for the sister.

If I had to pick for ya, it'd be the minnow or even some weather loachs (but they'd need more room than what youve mentioned). Another option would be to keep a single fighting fish, if you were set on the size and having a heated tank, they are pretty, but quite boring on their own!

There's no harm in letting him pick his own fish though, as you'll need some time for the tank to cycle. There's only so many excuses you can give to why there's an aquarium with the filter running before he starts to get suspicious!!