For anyone thinking of buying a fish tank this Christmas

[EauRouge]

Please have a read of the RSPCA statement on novelty fish tanks. It's a few years old but it's still very relevant. I can't link directly, but it's the first link on this page.

If you buy a proper fish tank for Christmas, please do a fishless cycle first! Christmas is generally not a good time to get new fish- they can get stressed when in a new home so need a bit of peace and quiet, plus the water quality needs closely monitoring for the first few days and most people are too busy over Christmas.

And if you already have fish, some live food would make a very good Christmas present for them

Hi, thanks for this information. It is very useful. What kind of live food would be nice for my goldfish and where can I buy it?

Bloodworm or daphnia usually go down pretty well. You can get it at geekier aquatic places. It comes in little bags, you need to tip it into a net and give it a rinse under the tap first.

Is the frozen bloodworm equally yummy or do they have to be live and wriggly?

Frozen stuff is fine too, it's probably easier to get than live. You just defrost it in a little bit of tank water first then tip it all it. It stinks to high heaven though.

Good post, Eau - I hate seeing those tiny novelty fish tanks, they're cruel! If you want a fish tank for Christmas (hint hint, I do!) then try gumtree for a good second hand one. You'll get much more for your money.

I hate it too. I wish there was more protection for the consumer (not to mention the fish)- but there are no laws saying that a fish tank has to be actually suitable to keep fish for it to be sold. Most times you can return them under the sales of goods act saying they are not fit for purpose but there's nothing to stop them being sold in the first place. I believe that betta vases are banned now, or at least not sold anywhere due to complaints, so that's a start.

It doesn't help that so many myths are so deeply ingrained; fish only grow to the size of their tank, they don't live very long, they are stupid/have a 3 second memory, they don't feel pain- all completely wrong!

My two goldfish are still going strong won from the fair when I was 13, they are 21 years old! I've lost count how many times they have moved house with me. I'm starting to think that I'll have to leave them to someone in my will.

21?? Are you kidding?' that's amazing - how big are they??

Both about 3 inches long. One of them has turned completely white and the other mostly white. I'm also pretty sure one of them is blind. The worst thing is that they don't have names. I remember my mum telling me off for bringing them home, and she said they'd probably only live a couple of days anyway. So I didn't name them, I wanted to after a few months but thought that it would jinx them if I did!

They have also lived through their old tank cracking in the middle of the night and landing on my bedroom floor.

One of mine is nearly white now still very cute though!