fish for 5 year old

[Iggly]

I'm really really tempted to get some fish for the DC for Christmas so starting to look for options now.

So far I've gleaned that I should get a tank at least 60L? But beyond that, not a clue....

Can anyone advise me? Type of fish, tropical or not, would the tank topple over if kept on a bookshelf (a low one), how much upkeep....?

Many thanks!

[Gonefishin]

With a 60l tank or more you are probably going to need a proper stand designed for that size of tank. It will be very heavy!

[EauRouge]

1 litre of water weighs 1kg, so a 60 litre tank should weigh about as much as a person. I've got a 60 litre tank on an Ikea expedit bookcase and it's fine. I wouldn't be happy with a flimsier bookcase though. You need to put a polystyrene sheet underneath the tank to prevent shocks.

Tropical or coldwater is up to you. If you go tropical then you have more choice, which can be a good or bad thing- it can be hard to choose the right species and some aquatic stores can be a bit wrong in their advice. If you stick to coldwater then you're pretty much limited to white cloud mountain minnows, but they are nice fish and easy to look after.

You need to do a fishless cycle before adding any fish (and don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise!!); this can take around 6 weeks so if you want fish in time for Christmas then set up around halloween. I would get fish either a week before or after Christmas day because the first week of a new fish tank is a busy time.

Maintenance-wise, if you set up and stock the tank properly then you need to do a water change once a week and tidy up the plants if you have any. For a 60 litre tank it's maybe 30 mins. Not much really. If you try and cut corners or stuff too many fish in then it's more work.

Hope that helps a bit, do you want a list of stuff you need?

[Iggly]

Yes please a list would be great!! I'm getting confused as there are some plug and play aquariums but I think I'd rather set up properly as I like stuff like that (putting things together)

[EauRouge]

The plug and play ones are really good if you're going to stock lightly with small, tidy fish. If you want anything big or messy or if you want to stock heavily then choosing your own filter is better. I like to set up for myself too so I've always just bought a plain tank and then added the filter of my choice.

I've got a couple of 60 litre Clearseals, they are cheap and cheerful. The metal hoods aren't too pretty but aquariums are a standard size so you could easily get a nicer looking one.

Filter-wise, I've got a Fluval 2+ which is brilliant, I've had it for years and years with no problems. You can probably still get second hand ones but they've now been replaced with U2s. I bought one a few weeks ago and so far, so good but it's still early days. I've also had Eheim filters in the past and they're a really good brand.

Heaters are all pretty much the same, for a 60 litre tank you need a 50 watt heater with a thermostat. I'd also get a digital thermometer with an alarm. They don't cost much and will let you know if your heater gets stuck on so you can avert disaster.

For lighting you need a starter unit (the box with the on switch), a bulb, and possibly clips to attach it to the hood (this may involve some drilling if the holes and clips aren't already there). It can get a bit confusing with all the jargon. T8= fatter tubes. T5 = skinnier tubes. Some fishkeepers can get very geeky about planting, adding carbon dioxide diffusers, extra lighting with 3 different sorts of bulbs etc etc. But there are loads of simple plants that you can grow with just a 15 watt T8 and no CO2 injection.

For substrate, you can either go for gravel or sand. Playsand is fine and should be cheap to get hold of now the summer is over. You'll also need to add some kind of fertilising substrate underneath the sand.

You'll need a water testing kit to test for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte and pH. This is a popular one. I have the Hagen Nutrafin one which is also good.

Sorry, I've rambled on and lost myself a bit Is that any help?