Fish owners *edited to include tank rec's*

Is she hoping for tropical or cold water fish?

Yes, would be a helpful idea wouldn't it!

Coldwater is what we're looking at to start with. I'm not confident with heaters etc at the moment.

White cloud mountain minnows are really easy to keep

they're little but quite colourful, and make a nice little swarm (I know it's a school, but I prefer swarm), plus unlike goldfish they're not agressive and won't shred real plants - which I've found really useful for keeping the scud down on the glass (no idea why that works, maybe because they absor the nitrates?)

Oh, we saw the white cloud minnows, and they are really sweet little fish. I can't remember what the fish in the next tank were, but they were little and went well with the minnows. We's be looking at 2 or 3 different types, and I am trying to put her off the sharks, crabs, catfish and shrimps which we looked at!

The biorb tanks all seem quite popular - it's what I would get as at the moment I'm quite tempted by those!

Well I have tropical fish and tbh the heater is no problem. You set it up and just make sure it's always turned on.

Have a Google for fish tank basics and you should find some help. Or go into the library and have a look at the books there, I know most of them will have advice on how to set up a tank and what you need. The tank I have running at the moment is a 4' one which I got second hand, cleaned, resealed as we had a leak and then set up. Personally I prefer a natural looking tank with real plants in but you don't need those.

I think my very basics would be tank, hood with light, filter, substrate and some things for the fish to swim around/under/over/hide in. Preferably live plants as well, although if you get those remember to check for snails on them first!

Also once your tank is set up you need to leave it to mature before putting fish in, and then add them slowly. Oh and depending on the size of your tank you'll have a fish limit otherwise you end up overcrowding.

We did look at those, but the small one was around 50 I think, and I don't think there'd be much room for anything. Unless any Biorb owners can tell me diffent?

Thanks btw, I seemed most rude earlier, appreciate the advice.

I would go for a normal shaped tank to be honest. Fits easier into a corner ?

Thanks ever so much Gryfon, that is helpful. Are snails on plants bad then? I did see a plant in a set up tank at Pets at Home thinking about it. Idid look at live plants, as I felt they would be better than plastic... would the fish feed on these?

I picked up a leafltet, and it did say about leaving the tank to mature, so I did mention that to Kayleigh. We want to do everything right and minimise the risk of loss.

Shouldn't have googled biorb... the baby one now comes with moonlight function... lol

Snails are just a blinking pain! I have loads in my tank which I'm slowly getting out but they breed like, well like snails ? I have a couple of plants I would add to the tank but I'm sure the snails strip them at night!

I have a couple of plant species which seem to thrive in my tank whilst other ones don't like it, although I think my tank needs more light for them possibly.

Ah right, so no snails then! Thanks for that Gryfon.

I'll have a mooch around the net and see what I can come up with.

Has anyone got sharks or crabs? Are they really cool or <shudder> would we be better off with out them (Or hopefully not suitable for coldwater!)

She seems to have got her heart set on odd bloody fish type things!

Snails aren't such a massive issue I don't reckon

I got them from a plant in one of my tanks about 18 months ago, and they've not caused any problems

Sharks are not cold water and need massive tanks (they get VERY big) You are probably better off not getting goldfish either as they actually need 20gallons per fish (even though most people dont know this or do this) they are very messy waste wise.

The first place to start is to work out what size tank you are going to get, they work out how many gallons it is, then you can have an inch (at adult size) of fish per gallon. I would suggest joining a fish forum as they are very good for advice.

The minnows are a good idea for a small tank

Elvira, can I recommend Erdington Aquatics - they're online an sell mail order but also have a shop, and they're great value.

I have a biorb and I love it but it's not the cheapest way to get started.

If you want easy-to-keep tropicals you can't go far wong with tetras.

Alleroo, I'll bear that in mind with snails... K seemed to think they were 'cute' <sigh>

Thanks for the advice Zoe, I have started looking at forums, and reading advice on there, the Minnows are looking like a good starting point right now.

I will also see what size tank we can accomodate. I have a space in the corner of the lounge which would be perfect.

Lumpy, thanks for thatt. I have the weekend off, so I may drag Kayleigh over to have a look and get some advice. I have a SatNav now, so I'm more confident in finding new places! I'll also look into tetras too.

Thanks to everyone! I think we may be on a starting blok now, and I am confident that with some proper advice, she will be able to have her fish after all!

Oh, just thought of the other fish we looked at, danios. What are they like, anyone have experiance with these?

Hi Elvira, I haven't got any recent experience of fish keeping but I did have a tropical tank for a couple of years as a teenager many many moons ago! It was fairly easy to maintain but was a bit of a faff to start with. Having to get the water ph levels correct, temp ok,plants and fish acclimatised (sp?) etc. If I was to do it again I think I'd go for cold water, minnows or teeny goldfish. I thought danios were tropical but that might just be a 20 year memory blip.

Also, cost wise, have a look in your local paper's classifieds section or try freecycle. You might grab a bargain.

? Good luck, x

Thanks Copper, I do need to research it before we buy anything, so thanks for pointing out about danios.

CLEARSEAL AQUARIUM GLASS - 24 X 15 X 12 Inch - Has anyone used one of these at all, I can't find how many litres it would hold.

This should help

https://www.thesprucepets.com/aquarium-sizes-and-weights-1380694

looks to be just over 15 gallons, it's a decent size

Thats not a bad size to start. BTW snails that are not pest snails can be really good and dont need quite so exacting looking after, I have had purple apple snails, they are really pretty http://www.snailshop.co.uk/ is a good place (although she did close but reopened due to demand so doesnt have any stock). You can get coloured apple snails on ebay as well. Danios are tropical though.

Yeah my snails are annoying tiny ones which are everywhere!

Just remember when you're finding somewhere to put your tank to keep it away from drafts, heat ie from a radiator and not in direct sunlight. My grandad used to have one in his sunlounge and unless he kept the curtains shut around that area the algae was awful.

Those pest snails are murder to get rid of, I emptied my tank and left to to totally dry out for 2 months hoping to kill off the buggers (had the fish in another tank) filled it all back up and wham 2 monhts later it was infested again. Some types of loach are supposed to eat them apparently (my tank was too small for one though)

I have a 30 litre Biorb with 3 goldfish. I've had it for 3 years now and it's pretty low maintainance. There's one snail in with the fish and he eats bits of algae and helps clean the place up. It only needed a 24 hour cycle before I could put the fish in.

If I get another fish tank in the future, I think I'd get the 60 litre and keep tropical fish.

Sorry but there is no way it was properly cycled in 24 hours

I read what came with the tank. Maybe it was becuase some of the water I used was from the last tank I had for them, but going by the advice I was given, it only needed 24hrs without fish and they did fine once in.

Thankyou everyone for your fantastic advice. And thankyou Mogwai for posting a photo of your lovely Biorb. I haven't seen one set up before, and it does look impressive.

Zoe, I showed Kayleigh an ebay link to a purple apple snail and she proclaimed 'Ahhh, cute!', so I think I may allow one snail in! We did see some largish gold coloured snails in a tank at PAH and I wondered why they were in there! It now looks like they were apple snails from the pictures I have loked at on your link.

She keeps showing me links to fancy fish. At PAH they had 2 tanks that had one of the most pretty fish in, The two tanks had what we now think is a Japenese Fighter Fish? They were the most amaing blue/green colour with really impressive tails.

Could I ask you al (If anyone is still reading! ) How many of you have coldwater, and how many have tropical? Have you owned both in the past and what sort of running costs would we be looking at with tropical?

Also, I know we would need extra equipment for a tropical, but what sort of fish would we be better with to start off with if we did go tropical rather than coldwater?

Any other advantages/disadvantages between the two?

She does show me very nice fish, but I know some would be tropical. She really needs to make up her mind!

I have just started keeping tropical fish (within the last 6 months) so please, feel free to ask any questions. I'm NOT an expert by any means, but I have done extensive research into the hobby.

Please have a look at the following links (I apologise if you have already found these...):

Beginners guide - http://www.tropicalfish.site5.com/tfc/showthread.php?t=34257

Tank cycling guide - http://www.tropicalfish.site5.com/tfc/showthread.php?t=60022

General good info - http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/

It's worth looking at the tropical beginners forum there too, it is filled with useful info and really friendly, helpful people.

I'm in the midlands area too, although I haven't found that many good local fish shops (LFS). I got my tank etc from Shirley Aquatics. Be wary of any advice you are given at the shops though, it is generally incorrect. I kid you not.

I've only had tropical fish as there seemed to be more choice and they're not hard to look after at all. The only difference is a heater and thermometer.

When I've cycled my tanks it's taken about a week but I bought those capusles you can get which are supposed to have some sort of organism in them so just speeds it up a bit.

Things like guppies and plattys are fairly hardy, and you can also put white cloud mountain minnows in tropical fish tanks. I'm actually tempted to set up another tank for some different fish.

The fancy fish will have been a siamese fighting fish aka a betta. The males are very agressive and usually can not be kept with many other fish, definately never with others of the same kind. They can be harder to look after but in a small tank 1 on his own would be ok and as long as you looked into his needs it would be fine.

If I were you I'd work out first what fish you'd like, buy a kit and test your tap water (pH and hardness) to make sure the ones you want will cope, and then look at tanks that suit.

I've just set up a biorb (30L) and have had fish in for 5 days - it's great but i already wish I'd bought a bigger tank!

To get the bacteria you need going in the tank you need to ad an ammonia source daily before you add the fish. You test every day and wait until it's able to deal with all the waste the fish will produce.

Can we not add pictures now?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ignore any advice that tells you a tank will cycle in 24 hours. I have a biorb and I love it, but in the fish-keeping world they are somewhat frowned upon, partly because they give this DREADFUL advice.