Fish!!!!

Hey guys.
my child said she wants fish for her birthday . it is on tuesday.got anyideas where to get a cheap tank? I would like to have fish too. But I am afraid that the cats will get to them. any Ideas where to put them too?
thanks

a nice ten gallon with a small pleco ( pm me I give common and scientific names), a male Betta and a small school of neons , tetras , white clouds.. cost with fish at big box store about 75 $.. a nice one you put together or predone ( heater thermometer net declorinator ect _ ) will have a lid and only when changeing h2o need you worry about kittys

You can get a cheap tank at walmert. I would say around $20 for a 2.5 gallon $30 or $40 for a 5 gallon and $60 or $70 for a 10 Gallon. The 5 and 10 gallon comes with pretty much everything you need to start but the fish and rock. I don't think you have to worry about the cats. I have never had a problem. They like to sleep in the tank and watch them once in a while but thats about it

Its a shame you dont live near us, we have several in the attic you could have one for free

Tropical fish take a great deal of care. We have had them for years, hubby has 2 5 foot tanks and 2 3 foot tanks. He is always cleaning out one or the other Take care which plec you decide on tho' many grow pretty big and you will find yourself having to get ever bigger tanks (like us ) or having to take it back to the shop

Same with goldfish, some can grow very big and although they are cold water fish still need to have a very good water quality. There are loads of fish forums which can help you with any questions, I believe that many TCS members keep all sorts as well who may be able to help.

Our cats have never been bothered by them at all, they all have lids. Izzy used to sleep on top of them for the heat from the lights, but she cant get up there anymore.

I would say WalMart

We get all of our fish supplies, and fish there too. I LOVE goldfish - and they have them there for like $1.00 (the bigger ones ) they have smaller ones there for .29 cents Those are the feeder fish, but I get them anyways, I had one for 3 years before he died - and he was a .29 cent fish!

They have resonably cheap stuff there (food, tank, everything)

Good luck!

Originally Posted by VampireCat

Its a shame you dont live near us, we have several in the attic you could have one for free

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Me too. A tank is only as expensive as your tastes in decorations. I had one that had hamster tubes in it that housed a black knife fish and he loved to be in them, he felt so safe even though we could see him with no problems. Outside the tubes, we decorated with black and neon rock, and various bright colored plants to finish the effect. It was really awesome. it's a shame he died. I loved that tank. It was like a tank within a tank. With fish inside the tank and inside the tubes. But a starter tank would probably be a 10 or 20 gln tank and some neons, or tetras, even Mollys. Don't get to many though. If I remember correctly, the rule is one fish per gln of water? I think that's how it goes. Make sure you check how big the fish will get also. Some fish will grow HUGE and the pet shops fail to mention that to the customers. Then they take said fish home put it into a tank that's to small, and drive it insane and it dies, because it is stunted in growth. Sorry for all the horror stories. I just see people buying fish all the time that I know they don't have the equipment to deal with and it bothers me that the pet stores sell them these fish.

If you want a fish tank that is fairly easy to maintain, get one as big as you can afford (within reason!). A 20 or 30g would be a great size to start with, but 10g could be alright too. If you really want to go smaller, you could get a single betta fish. Then all you would need is a small filter and a small heater.

If you want goldfish, keep in mind that all the goldfish you see at the pet store are babies. They will grow much bigger. You need to have 10g per goldfish, at least.

With a 10 / 20g, you could get a school of small fish (neon tetras, harlequin rasboras are good choices), an algea eater (make sure you get one that wont grow too big) and a larger fish (a betta, or a dwarf gourami would be fine)

I saw a really cute one at Petsmart. It was Spongebob Squarepants and Bikini Bottoms. I forget how much it cost, but I do remember that it was much less than I thought it was. It was small, less than 5 gallons, and a really pretty purple. It had all the decorations, just add water and fish.

I personally like to start out with Platy fish, the red wag are my favorite. They are very hardy, community fish, and they have live babies- which is really freaking cute. They are great fish to start a tank out with. You might want to buy one of those little books on starting a community tank. They sell them at Walmart, Meijer, PetSmart, etc. They will tell you how to set up your tank. Mollies, Platys, Tetras, and Guppies make great starter fish, and will likely live a year and bring you plenty of cute little baby fishie joy. Get a Pleco, like someone else mentioned, or some type of cat fish too.

Originally Posted by VampireCat

Its a shame you dont live near us, we have several in the attic you could have one for free

Tropical fish take a great deal of care. We have had them for years, hubby has 2 5 foot tanks and 2 3 foot tanks. He is always cleaning out one or the other

Take care which plec you decide on tho' many grow pretty big and you will find yourself having to get ever bigger tanks (like us

) or having to take it back to the shop

Same with goldfish, some can grow very big and although they are cold water fish still need to have a very good water quality. There are loads of fish forums which can help you with any questions, I believe that many TCS members keep all sorts as well who may be able to help.

Our cats have never been bothered by them at all, they all have lids. Izzy used to sleep on top of them for the heat from the lights, but she cant get up there anymore.

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do you do shipping?

what about these?


How much do you think I can put in this tank?



thanks

I love neons!!

My tank currently died from 12 fishies im now down to 3 and its fresh water tank.
I think for neons you will need to have a heater.

Originally Posted by KittyLova

what about these?


How much do you think I can put in this tank?



thanks

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If it is a 2.5 gallon a betta and a snail
5 gallon betta and some neons

can you post some pics of your tanks?

I have never had any luck with the neon tetras. Even with heater and proper ph ect. The store here says they dont adjust well. My best luck is with red eye tetras we have had the same 10 for about 3 years now. Mollies are pretty hardy also. platys also do well.