mathew Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 well i havnt but im toying with the idea of getting one (with fish aswell) for the new place as part of the main lounge seems empty. how much work is involved with the little buggers? pics of peoples aquariums would be good to give me an idea of what size/type to get. (and give you dudes a chance to brag about how big yours is like the tv threads we get:d) what sorta fish would you recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieP Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I had one years ago, was a pita to keep clean and smelled so i got shot of it. I had a silver arrowarna, cool fish, watched me walking across the room with his dinner and would take it from my hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyT Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Mate has gone through the stages of keeping fish. Start small and fresh water. Good books and info are available at the pet centres. If you don't bone up you'll end up with a lot of dead critturs. You can move on to salt water then. Much more expensive and exotic. 350 litre tank etc. It takes a lot of attention and dedication. You will become a chemist . Worth it though. According to my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 We have got a large one here... Will dig out a pic in mo. Tropical tank Bar-gin of the year for us, found it on ebay for £100, It is a good 200+litres with custom stand, filters, the lot. Quite a few people upgrade and just get rid of the old setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Black Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Started keeping KOI a few months ago, now THEY can be a pain in the arse. I would imagine an aquarium would be easier, but i'm no expert, i would advise reading a few books on it before starting though, and find a forum on it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guigsy Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 My mum has a few fresh water kinds. As do i. My mum recently got a small saltwater tank. They are fascinating with little creepy critters all over the corral and stuff. you can sit and look at them for ages. But they are definately not for beginners and are not easy to look after I have a 60L tank which is big enough but not small or massive and looks good in my room. There is a forumla for the number of fish each tank can handle. Something like 1 inch of fish (minus tail fin) for every 2 or 3 litres (i think thats it) So my tank holds 20 - 30 1 inch long fish. Its also important that you get fish that like the PH of your water. or they will die. Some are hardy and will live in most things others are quite sensitive. Some need lots of weeds and others dont. To Nitrates are one of the things that will kill your fish. make sure you test for it every so often. Plants and not over feeding the fish keep them low. Lots of plants also look good. I always have a few algae eaters which helps to keep the tank clean. Catfish etc. Also get some snails (but not any old snales some are good others are bad. They clean the tank for you also. Change the water! Im lazy and only do it every few weeks. There are chemicals you can get to make the water last longer but IMO less chemicals in there the better! I usualy change about half the water each time. Each time you change the water you need to add in some stabilizer stuff to convert the tap water to livable water for the fish. Dont go out and buy a tank sand, gravel, stones etc and some fish all in one go. Once you have the tank set up how you want it with sand and stuff and its full of water it needs to sit for a while and settle and it takes a while for the tank to become habitable. Here is mine when i first set it up after it had settled after a few days. http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v133/118/96/796820653/n796820653_1319727_2017.jpg Then after a few weeks you can add in some plants. Maybe some hardy fish. In mine i got a few plattys. they are quite hardy. This is mine after the plants were planted. http://photos-653.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v126/118/96/796820653/n796820653_1343536_7687.jpg Then once its all growing away nicely... http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v142/118/96/796820653/n796820653_1502103_1700.jpg Best off going to a local fish store and asking them. I usualy go to "Maidenhead aquatics" which is in a vyvale garden centre near me. They know a lot and have a good selection of stuff. Not saying places like the pet supermarkets are rubbish but the ones ive seen are nothing compared to a dediated store. A bit like modding your car from halfords when you could get it done properly When your buying fish if there is a few dead/dieing ones in the tank... move on and get something different! I think thats all! There are plenty of forums you can join aswell. my mum is on a few and is as addicted to them as i am here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathew Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 thanks for the info so far guys will defo be looking into it more! i popped down to pets world earlier to get a carry case for my rabbit and spent about 30minutes looking at the fish instead, almost left the place without even buying the case i went in for:d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathew Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 this may be a no brainy guigsy but in your tank are actual real plants? i assumed (from my young goldfish days) that they were all artificial plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FISH-TANK_W0QQitemZ150299709944QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150299709944&_trkparms=72%3A1301|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guigsy Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 nope they are all real, actualy growing plants Goldfish are probably ok without real plants but goldfish are boring Oh yeah and tanks etc. My tank came with the light already in the top and the pump and heater all came with it. you can buy it seperately but its a bit more complicated. My tank is made by "Tetra" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodfreak Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 freshwater 'tropical' fish are quite easy to look after, Marines can be a nightmare but are in a different league and make freshwater fish look quite plain. The 'ultimate' set up is a 'reef' tank .....but they can be superb have a look at.....ultimatereef.com for some amazing set ups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 My daughter wanted a goldfish a couple of years ago, and me being the flash git went down to the local tropical fish shop and went the whole hog and brought a Jewel fish tank which have a built in-tank filter system which is quite easy to manage, gravel, plants, logs, bubble pump and a fw chemicals to get the tank set up, this cost almost £400 ! The tank needs a couple of weeks to settle with the new water before you can add fish, now this is the time to take a lot of advice from a specialist at the fish shop as they will die if you get it wrong, as said before some of the fish I have put in have died with the slightest issues, temp change, a rise in nitrates etc but some seem to be able to handle anything, unfortunately the hardy fish are a bit dull to look at! I change 10% of the water every week and the soft filter weekly also, then I change the carbon filter every 6 weeks and the other nitrate filters every 6-8 weeks, never changing them all at the same time as this is where the bacteria needed for the health of the tank live, I add a chemical to remove the chlorine from the tap water every time, I also add aquarium salt every other change to relax the fish and de-stress, make sure you allow this to fully disolve before you add this however as the fish will eat any leftover grains and this kills them (as I found out !) They can be great fun to look after and look great in the night with the tank lights on, just do your homework and read up on the do's and dont's or it can be an expensive hobby, as for marine tanks you need a lot more cash and attention to get that right and is something for another time I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 My daughter wanted a goldfish a couple of years ago, and me being the flash git went down to the local tropical fish shop and went the whole hog and brought a Jewel fish tank which have a built in-tank filter system which is quite easy to manage, gravel, plants, logs, bubble pump and a fw chemicals to get the tank set up, this cost almost £400 ! The tank needs a couple of weeks to settle with the new water before you can add fish, now this is the time to take a lot of advice from a specialist at the fish shop as they will die if you get it wrong, as said before some of the fish I have put in have died with the slightest issues, temp change, a rise in nitrates etc but some seem to be able to handle anything, unfortunately the hardy fish are a bit dull to look at! I change 10% of the water every week and the soft filter weekly also, then I change the carbon filter every 6 weeks and the other nitrate filters every 6-8 weeks, never changing them all at the same time as this is where the bacteria needed for the health of the tank live, I add a chemical to remove the chlorine from the tap water every time, I also add aquarium salt every other change to relax the fish and de-stress, make sure you allow this to fully disolve before you add this however as the fish will eat any leftover grains and this kills them (as I found out !) They can be great fun to look after and look great in the night with the tank lights on, just do your homework and read up on the do's and dont's or it can be an expensive hobby, as for marine tanks you need a lot more cash and attention to get that right and is something for another time I thinkShouldn't your daughter be doing all that though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Shouldn't your daughter be doing all that though? Ha, she like to sprinkle a few flakes in every now and then, the rest is up to me !!, should have seen that coming, still its cheaper than the pony she also wants !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ark Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 The missus keeps four tanks now - 3 tropical freshwater and one cold freshwater for goldfish. One thing to be aware of is the bigger the tank, the easier it is to keep the water good, because the ecosystem can balance better. Oh, and even though you _should_ mature a new tank for a week or more, realistically bacteria reproduce fast enough that it actually cycles in a couple of hours and can have a fish in it very soon. Never shock the ecosystem by suddenly stuffing 20 fish in all in one go. Downsides? Constant power consumption for heaters, filters, air pumps...and noise - there's always buzzing, dripping and splashing from the equipment, which can drive you potty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbloodyturbo Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 i have a 120 jewel tank, it has the filter built in to the back right side corner and you can heardly see it, very quiet and very cool looking having everything built in. My advice would be built the tank up where you want it and let the water come up to temperature, then plant your plants and set rocks and logs where you want them. your filter media will be next to useless at filtering nitrites at this point so you'll have to leave it a couple of weeks or do what i do. You take filter media from another healthy tank and put some of it in to your own, it will help it along. You also get special stuff for speeding up this process. For first fish get something cheap as you dont want to spend £20 on a pair of clown loaches only for them to crook 2 days after you get them. Get neon tetras and guppies (only male guppies!) only put 5 or 6 fish in and let them swim around for a few days and monitor the nitrite/nitrate level and adjust as you need to. Whole idea is you dont want to overload the filter. you can more fish every week or so untill you have the amount you want. Once the hard bit of setting it up is done, looking after them is very very easy. once their used to the tank they will accept all sorts of things without dieing. just be careful that you dont mix aggresive/territorial fish with normal little docile fish, siamese fighters are fine contrary to popular belief they usually dont p!ss other fish of, however female fighting fish are a nightmare, they will harass everything in sight, just like human females. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 however female fighting fish are a nightmare, they will harass everything in sight, just like human females. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j80leo Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 My brother has got a marine tank looks wicked and it is a nightmare to look after glad its him not me lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 We have got a large one here... Will dig out a pic in mo. Tropical tank Bar-gin of the year for us, found it on ebay for £100, It is a good 200+litres with custom stand, filters, the lot. Quite a few people upgrade and just get rid of the old setup. I can confirm that Gav has a large one. I've got 2 tanks, one freshwater and one brackish. Both about 40 litres I think, which is fairly modest but still a few rungs up from a goldfish bowl! Freshwater tropical fish seem pretty simple to look after. Marine fish can be tricky (apologies if anyone's already said this). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guigsy Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 good point about the pumps and water noises. I have mine in the livingroom and it is quiet as my tank isnt huge. But i find the water trickleing relaxing. But once the tv is on you cant hear it at all. It would bug me if it was in my bedroom though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgyRog Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I have a 6ft high top tank, with mainly large Malawi ( tropical fresh water ). They are very hardy fish and get to quite a large size. Fish tanks don't have to be that hard to keep, but you must not over stock and make sure you have a filter that is a lot bigger than is needed. This makes it much easier to maintain, the fluval FX5 canister in the pic is an external filter that turns over all 700 litres of my tank every 10 mins. Over feeding is another cause of tanks getting dirty, get some loaches ( clown, pakistan etc ) as they keep the bottom of the tank clean and maybe some small catfish, but be aware they will eat small fish if they get the opportunity. Get advice from your local Aquarium specialist about what fish to get, as some fish will kill other and some are more peaceful. Just remember there is a fair cost to electric and water and general up keep. Sorry if the pics are a bit blurred, but the fish won't stay still:blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyT Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I have a 6ft high top tank, with mainly large Malawi ( tropical fresh water ). They are very hardy fish and get to quite a large size. Fish tanks don't have to be that hard to keep, but you must not over stock and make sure you have a filter that is a lot bigger than is needed. This makes it much easier to maintain, the fluval FX5 canister in the pic is an external filter that turns over all 700 litres of my tank every 10 mins. Over feeding is another cause of tanks getting dirty, get some loaches ( clown, pakistan etc ) as they keep the bottom of the tank clean and maybe some small catfish, but be aware they will eat small fish if they get the opportunity. Get advice from your local Aquarium specialist about what fish to get, as some fish will kill other and some are more peaceful. Just remember there is a fair cost to electric and water and general up keep. http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj152/DodgyRogSupra/2008-10-01_17-17-12_01102008227.jpg http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj152/DodgyRogSupra/2008-10-01_17-21-00_01102008236.jpg http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj152/DodgyRogSupra/2008-10-01_17-19-44_01102008233.jpg http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj152/DodgyRogSupra/2008-10-01_17-25-48_01102008240.jpg http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj152/DodgyRogSupra/2008-10-01_17-18-52_01102008232.jpg http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj152/DodgyRogSupra/2008-10-01_17-17-48_01102008229.jpg http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj152/DodgyRogSupra/2008-10-01_17-27-00_01102008243.jpg Sorry if the pics are a bit blurred, but the fish won't stay still:blink: That's a bloody pool Rog. 3/4 of a tonne of water LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgyRog Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 That's a bloody pool Rog. 3/4 of a tonne of water LOL. Yeah, makes the floor bow a little:blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I have kept some form of tropical fish on and off for the last thirty years, had marines, had Moray ell's, puffer fish etc, also use to like big catfish and Chiclids, still run two tanks but with very little in them, can't decide if i have had enough, still tempted to turn one into a Rift lake or Malawi set up:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I used to keep tropical fish when I was at school but got rid of the tank to fund my first car. I always wanted to keep marines but I didn't have the money then. I'm moving into a new apartment this weekend and plan to buy a new tank. Spent the last few weeks scouring the internet and reading different forums - think I might go Marine but worried I won't have the time. Problem is not many aquatic shops speak English here, and my Japanese doesn't extend to fish talk DodgyRog - Very nice looking tank Who makes it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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