We want a fish....help?

[Biancadelriosback]

I'm looking to buy my son a fish for his birthday as he loves them and it would be cheap (or so we thought)
Originally we were just going to get a tank and a couple of gold fish however after doing some reading it seems we need a much larger tank than we can afford or have space for. So I thought I would buy a 24 liter tank and a few platies, shrimp and snails. Although now Ive ready that platies are temperate so need to be around 20 degrees? So we can't have them as our house is usually between 17-19 during the day (at the moment!) as we only have the heating on in the morning and evening for an hour. I don't know what to do! Pets at home seems to be giving me conflicting advice to what I've read online and the last thing I want is to buy a fish and A) make its life miserable and uncomfortable and B) watch my son get sad if it dies quite soon due to poor conditions. This is turning out to be much more difficult than we originally thought...help?

Getting a fish is commitment. I'm glad you've been doing some reading. Pets at home etc are really bad for giving out wrong information. Why don't you look at a small tank (around 30l) and put a smal filter (whatever you get youll need a filter) and heater in and have a fighting fish? They come in loads of colours (I have 2 females at the moment 1 red and 1 electric blue) and can be very friendly. Mine always come to the front of the tank when you go in the room and I can hand feed them.

Also if you wanted multiple fish you could get a few male endlers x

i think that in a 10 litre tank, you would be fine with some cherry shrimp.

Small tanks are best left for experts to be honest, it's a shame they're marketed for beginners. They're actually harder to keep healthy! Small water volumes are more susceptible to water chemistry fluctuations.

I would look at a larger tank, it will be far more satisfying long term, of about 60-100 litres. A plain old rectangular one with a solid hood and light inside, none of these fancy schmancy ones, they're style over practicality! Get a heater, that's the only difference between tropical and room temperature and do NOT cost lots to run at all.

See if there are any aquatics shops near you instead of Pets at Home, you're likely to get better advice and a cheaper tank bundle too - especially this time of year.

This is a good source for information, look up the Nitrogen Cycle, New Tank Syndrome and beginners guides. They'll also have recommended shops near you too.
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/