[Cause]

So I am considering getting a pet fish so I have something alive to keep in my room. I miss my dog! I thought it was a simple matter of getting a fish putting it in a bowl and feeding it some flakes every day. However a short search has told me that gold fish are apparently extremly likely to die. They apparently produce a huge amount of waste.

However I swear I have seen many a happy gold fish in a bowl with no problems. So do you own any fish? Do I need to worry? Should I get something beside agold fish.

[Aptorian]

You need to filter the water and make sure that it is oxyginated, that's about all I know about fish tanks.

Don't know if there is a difference when you just have a small bowl with one or two fish in it. You'll still need to change the water quite often I imagine.

[Leo]

We used to have many fish in our house, and outside in our two ponds. We are now reduced to about 3 tanks. A Heron can be blamed for the losses of the ponds, but disease still seems to be a problem with fishies.

[Binder of Demons]

There are numerous things to consider, but the basic issue is that of keeping the water "clean". While a tank can look clean, it is the gradual build up of nitrates and nitrites in the water from the fish excreting that will prove fatal. Often people who keep goldfish in a bowl just rely on changing the water but this is quite risky.

A water filter helps take care of this problem by providing an area for "good" bacteria to grow which can convert the very harmful nitrites, into less harmful nitrate.
You can then more easily control the nitrate levels through regular partial water changes, say 10-20% of the volume of the tank. It is also a good idea to leave the new water you will be adding, to stand for a few hours, and come to match the room temperature before adding it in. The process of adding new water which is too different from the tank water can stress the fish, which can in turn make them more susceptible to disease.

And finally, don't overfeed. This is probably the single biggest problem beginners face. Because the fish will either keep eating which creates more nitrates, or the food is left over and starts to decay, which can rapidly pollute the water.

Now all this written down together can make it seems problematic, but generally fish are easy to keep. But be sure to set up the tank several days, if not weeks in advance to allow to "good" bacteria to become established, before adding your new fish.

[alt146]

Aren't there certain types of plant you can put in the tank that oxygenate it and keep the water relatively clean?

To be honest I thought this would be about the band, I know nothing about fish

[Slow Ben]

yeah, my roommate in college had one of those with a plant growing out of the top. You never have to feed it either, it eats off the roots. But i dont think it was a goldfish, it was one of those fish who, if you put it in a tank with another of the same kind they will fight to the death.

Anyway, it lived long and healthy till we got drunk and fed it ibuprofen. Poor fish.

[Cause]

I just want a really low effort pet.

I had to give up my love affair with a bonzai tree when I realised the thing is as needy as every ex I have ever had combined.

[Fist Gamet]

Goldfish are easy to keep, mate, and they are very low maintenance. Make sure you have a decent sized tank for it and get a couple but do not overcrowd, give them lots of space. A simple little filter the right size for the tank is needed. You can either have a few real plants to help oxygenation but the low maintenance option is to have a little oxygen pump that can pump the air right down under the gravel (and the fish actually seemed to love playing around in the bubbles!). Give them a corner to hide in when they get stressed (either using artifical plants or rocks as a screen for them) and, like BoD said, feed them sparingly.
Partial water changes are best when required, making sure you treat the water to remove chlorine etc (although leaving the new water out overnight does pretty much the same thing).
There are a lot of fish you need to be careful with as they are upset or killed by small variations in conditions but goldfish are the hardcore fish of the aquarium world and are happy in all sorts of conditions and water temps (I am thinking you want room temp)
Keep the tank out of direct sunlight and watch for algae growth. You can get cheap testing strips to check for nitrates and nitrites every now and then but regular partial water changes should keep it all managable.

Gamet - Fish lover.

[Ozymandiac]

Cause, on 14 February 2010 - 07:43 PM, said:

I just want a really low effort pet.

I had to give up my love affair with a bonzai tree when I realised the thing is as needy as every ex I have ever had combined.

So it took you no time at all? ZING!

[Adjutant Stormy~]

My friend had a goldfish that lived for 8 years. Which is absurd. He also would forget to feed it for weeks at a time, which probably had something to do with its longevity.

The chief concern is proper water treatment - depending on where you live some municipalities have treated water that will kill goldfish, but pet stores sell drops that you can use to remove contaminants, for example, highly fluoridated water.

[Mezla PigDog]

When I was a kid we won a goldfish at the fair. He used to chase other fish out of the tank when we tried to introduce him to friends. We called him Jaws. His tank sometimes got so green that you couldn't see in and he got bleached white by being left in the sun. We also forgot to feed him for weeks at a time. He lived for 10 years (hence why he was badly taken care of, we got really bored of him but he wouldn't die)!

I also regularly take care of my sisters fish, they travel on the bus in a jam jar between our houses. They are tough cookies. They just have some rocks in the tank and a really basic pump. They get fed every other day and the water is changed every couple of weeks or when the tank goes green. In winter, when the water from the tap is really cold, their metabolism slows down so much after a water change that they virtually stop moving! These fish are at least 3 years old and pretty indestructible.

However, I got through about 5 pairs of fish in a couple of months when I was a kid. In hindsight, I think I was overfeeding them. If they start floating or swimming on their side, just starve them for a few days and they will be fine.

I say go for it and if they die, keep getting more until you get one of the indestructible ones.

This post has been edited by Mezla PigDog: 15 February 2010 - 01:37 PM

[Satan]

Cause, on 14 February 2010 - 05:39 PM, said:

So I am considering getting a pet fish so I have something alive to keep in my room. I miss my dog! I thought it was a simple matter of getting a fish putting it in a bowl and feeding it some flakes every day. However a short search has told me that gold fish are apparently extremly likely to die. They apparently produce a huge amount of waste.

However I swear I have seen many a happy gold fish in a bowl with no problems. So do you own any fish? Do I need to worry? Should I get something beside agold fish.

Yeah. Fish die. I found out the hard way as a kid.

[Obdigore]

I thought this would be about the cracker-type snack. Much better than a real live fish. Tastier too.

[Cougar]

I'm gload to see the usual level of animal cruelty I've come to expect from Malazites in this thread

[Bent]

I own 3 fish - Bettas. No filtration or anything needed. You just have to keep them in seperate bowls (mine hang on the wall, I'll post a pic later). They will kill each other and any other fish that is the same size or larger than them, but if you just want one they are extremely low maintenence and hearty fish. You feed them once a day (not much, a fish stomach is literally as big as one of their eyes) and change the water once a week. add a tiny amount of conditioner to eliminate chlorine and bad stuff, when you change the water, and watch them swim.

This post has been edited by Bent: 15 February 2010 - 04:03 PM

[cerveza_fiesta]

As an experienced fish keeper I should probably throw in my two dollars (two cents aint worth what used to be what with inflation and all)

Its possible to operate a tank with almost zero maintenance if you do it properly and heed a few basic pieces of advice. Fish store guys will try to sell you all manner of chemicals and other assorted useless stuff. You don't need it if you do your tank right.

apologies to the quotees for my severe editing.

Binder of Demons, on 14 February 2010 - 06:37 PM, said:

build up of nitrates and nitrites in the water from the fish excreting that will prove fatal.

[Use] A water filter

You can then more easily control the nitrate levels through regular partial water changes, say 10-20% of the volume of the tank. It is also a good idea to leave the new water you will be adding, to stand for a few hours, and come to match the room temperature before adding it in.

And finally, don't overfeed.

But be sure to set up the tank several days, if not weeks in advance

All of the above is very true. Heed that advice.

I would suggest leaving water change water out overnight in a bucket to dechlorinate as well as approaching room temp. It comes out of solution over time. This saves you chlorine neutralizing chemical.

Fist Gamet, on 14 February 2010 - 08:50 PM, said:

Make sure you have a decent sized tank for it and get a couple but do not overcrowd,

You can either have a few real plants

Give them a corner to hide in when they get stressed (either using artifical plants or rocks as a screen for them)

Keep the tank out of direct sunlight and watch for algae growth.

You can get cheap testing strips to check for nitrates and nitrites every now and then but regular partial water changes should keep it all managable.

Gamet also speaks the truth. And put real plants in there. Fake plants are for weiners.

Plants provide cover for the fish to hide. I usually provide a nice piece of driftwood since they look sweet in freshwater tanks.

Direct sunlight will promote algae growth, but you can keep it under control with small snails and a "sucker fish" or "plecostomus". They get really big if you overfeed your other fish (they eat everything that the other fish don't), so be careful.

Adjutant Stormy, on 14 February 2010 - 10:03 PM, said:

My friend had a goldfish that lived for 8 years.

Yep, those fuckers live a long time.


My recipe for a low-maintenance fishtank:

Shopping list -- you can often find this in a kit on sale at the petstore

• Something in the range of 15 gallons.
• A fluorescent light canopy, with appropriate plant-growing bulb.
• a filter, slightly oversized for the volume of the tank. Hagen Aquaclear filters are cheap, last forever and work well.
• 2 sponge filters for the aquaclear filter.
• Substrate for the tank -- colored rocks are fine, but I usually opt for the washed river gravel instead cause it looks more natural. Get enough to put a solid 1-2 inches in the bottom of the tank. It actually helps water cleaning to have deep substrate and gives room for real plants to take root.
• Small tank heater.

Instructions -- you can vary this depending on how many chemicals you want to buy. I always opt for the no-chemical tank.

• Set up the tank how you want it and fill with water.
• Hook up the filter. I usually opt for 2 sponge filters and no carbon filter. Carbon filters aren't necessary and don't do much besides keeping the water clear. Unless you freak out at a bit of yellowness in the water, they aren't necessary and you really benefit from having the extra sponge filter. More bacterial attachment points = more filtration.
• Connect the heater and lights and get it all running.
• Don't touch it for at least 24 hours to allow dissolved gases to come out of the water (like chlorine)
• If you have a buddy with an established tank, steal a Liter of water from his and throw it in yours after a day or so, to get the bacterial population going.
• Don't touch it for a solid week at least.

Livestock -- after a week of your tank sitting there. Grab a couple of hardy fish (goldfish if you like)

• Grab a couple of hardy plants (swordplants and hygrophilia are good ones.
• Grab a very small plecostomus for algae control.
• Plant the plants in the substrate and get their roots all covered up.
• Float the fish-bag in your tank for an hour or so to equalize the temperatures, then release the fish. Try to keep the skanky petstore water out of your tank water if you can. You can use a fish catching net or your bare hands to extract them.

Ongoing care

• Change 10-20 percent of the tank's volume every week for the first while. You can slack off on that after a few months.
• When you do the water change, leave your new water out overnight to dechlorinate (avoiding chemical purchases)
• During water changes, disassemble your filter and squeeze the fish shit out of the sponges in the OLD water. NEVER squeeze out sponge filters in the new water because it can kill that vital bacterial population.
• Pour new water in slowly so you don't shock the fish.
• If your plants do well, consider putting their lamp on a timer to get a consistent lighting cycle.
• Feed sparingly. Your fish will live longer, your plecostomus won't grow out of control, your water will stay cleaner.

With this procedure you should be able to avoid buying most aquarium chemicals. Depending on your municipal water supply, you might need to adjust pH (acidity) slightly with a buffer chemical, but that should be all.

The pet store guy will try to sell you all kinds of useless shit, you really don't need it.

Oh yes, and a few fish will die, its inevitable with new fishtank owners...but if you pay attention and research your problems as they appear you can limit your problems.

[Abyss]

I just want to point out that piranha are FAR more entertaining.

- Abyss, notes goldfish also make horrible sushi.

[Slow Ben]

Whoa! You ever have those moments you remember things from where you were a kid you had totally forgotten? Just had one.

I had 2 goldfish when i was real young, one was black and one was orange. Named Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, of course. Ahh memories.

[caladanbrood]

Wow, I thought with fish it was just a case of throw them in a tank and don't forget to feed them...

We bought hamsters the other day with less preparation than this - maybe we're bad pet owners.

[cerveza_fiesta]

ha.

My longwinded explanation is how (in my opinion) to do it "right", having experienced ALL the setbacks and problems over the years.

And that's only for freshwater. I think I might max out the character count in a post trying to describe the saltwater tank procedure.

Of course you can just throw em in a bowl and feed occasionally. Goldfish can totally tolerate it.

Gold fish are however the least interesting, messiest, ugliest and most retarded of all common aquarium fishes.

With only slightly more effort (using the above methods and at least a 25Gal tank), you can totally keep sweet fish like this dwarf cichlid here:



or my personal favourite, bichir (polyopterus)



Both of which EAT GOLDFISH WHOLE.

FOR BREAKFAST.

This post has been edited by cerveza_fiesta: 18 February 2010 - 06:12 PM