Advice on a Nano and what to put in it!

Gr1f

hi all,
My daughter wants a fish.... any fish, like a gold fish. So I was thinking why not go for a Nano so I donlt have to worry about changing water each week or so. I came across this
FLUVAL CHI 25 LITRE NANO TANK

..and am wondering what you think or if there is a better alternative?

Total fish newbie unless it comes with chips.
:-)

Sleepy

The only thing you can keep in a nano without being cruel is shrimp. And disregard the nonsense about not having to do water changes.

A goldfish requires a pretty large tank, you'd be looking at a minimum of about an 120l tank for a fancy goldfish. Larger for a common one. Goldfish bowls have been banned in many countries as they're extremely cruel.

A better starting point would be something like this: http://www.seahorseaquariums.com/Econoline-60-Tropical-aquarium//2553 with a school of small hardy fish such as guppys, danios, minnows, mollys, platys etc.

Make sure to read the guide on cycling at the top of the thread. Unless you've someone nearby who can give you squeezings from a mature filter, you've really left it too close to Christmas to have fish in the tank for her on Christmas morning. Though, tbh, it might be no bad thing to teach her from the start that fishkeeping is largely about patience: nothing good happens quickly in an aquarium.

kylith

I'd recommend getting nothing smaller than 40 litres and getting one betta (Siamese Fighting Fish). They're a wonderful fish with great personalities, they'll 'dance' in greeting and are very colourful, which is great for kids.

No matter what you're going to have to do weekly water changes. Look on this as a great way to start teaching your kids about the responsibilities of having a pet.

Gr1f

Thanks for all the tips! I really don't have much space. So basically your saying that those Nano aquariums are all bad?

This may need further thought.... :-)

TooManyDogs

I would have thought a nano shrimp tank would be good, but like the others said, water changes are a must. I'm a bit obsessed about watching my shrimp but I think they're fantastic little creatures!

kylith

nano tanks are very difficult to stock and, being so small, if something goes wrong it can go wrong very quickly.

You'll also need to cycle the tank while it's got no fish in order to grow good bacteria in the filter. This involves feeding the fishless tank with fish food, which will rot and feed the bacteria that will eventually have a large enough colony to break down fish waste into something less harmful. It takes about 6 weeks to complete the process. You can get test kits with lots of lovely bottles of chemicals on ebay quite cheaply, with these you can test for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and pH.

Fishkeeping is more time consuming and expensive than you think, when you do it properly. You have been warned!

Sleepy

Gr1f wrote: »

Thanks for all the tips! I really don't have much space. So basically your saying that those Nano aquariums are all bad?

This may need further thought.... :-)

Pretty much. They're fine for shrimp or snails but putting fish in a nano tank is a bit like keeping a dog in a garden shed for it's entire life. It may survive for a while but it's ultimately no quality of life for the animal and it's unlikely to reach the age it should (a goldfish can live over 30 years when kept properly!).

The suggestion of a Betta (also known as a fighting fish) is a good one, they're very colourful but be aware that they're very aggressive fish and should be kept alone in their tank (not always ideal for kids who like their fish to have "friends").