Pet fish

[PumpkinKlNG]

This is probably a really silly question but my son wants a fish so I’ve bought the tank and some accessories but on the tank instructions it says it needs a water conditioner, I bought “tap safe” in the store, is that the same as tap conditioner? Or is it something else?

Yes, it is.

You'll need to set up the tank and test every day for a week. You may then need to add different chemicals and salts to balance it before adding fish.

You can find that info online.

Yes. But fish won't thrive until you have some beneficial bacteria in the filter of your tank. This can take time and frequent water changes. There are a few good aquarium advice groups on Facebook with info on how to do this.

It is preferable to do what they call a 'fishless cycle" before you put fish in, as it doesn't risk your fish, but this will take time.

Sorry to be miserable, but fish really aren’t as easy as they sound!
The tank needs a filter, a heater for most fish species, it needs to go through a fish less cycle.

Once the fish are in you need to test the water daily to check for ammonia, nitrate (should both be 0) and nitrate (no more than 20), you’ll need to change the water regularly and the fish themselves are nowhere near as hardy now as they once were.

If it’s a small tank you’ll need small fish like a Betta (only one!) or Platys or guppies or similar.
Not goldfish.

I have given up on fish as I find them so difficult to keep alive.

I would reconsider a fish tbh and get a cat or dog instead.

Nitrite should be zero and Nitrate as low as possible, ideally under 20

I second @Powertothepetal.

My cats are far easier most of the time.

We have 2 goldfish in a 55ltr tank and will be upgrading when we move. We do a partial water change weekly and clean the filter tubes. There is a beefy filter that sits out of the tank as the filters you get with the tanks are rubbish. We have a drawer with 5 different solutions in. We also have a heater even though it's a cold water tank for when the temp drops in winter.

You can also easily overfeed fish and kill them. We feed ours a mix of flaked and frozen good but only when they are loitering around the feeding hole rather than scavenging on the bottom for food.

They really aren't an easy pet. When I was a kid our fish would die and the local pet shop would let us buy more no questions asked. As the tank wasn't balanced the new fish would eventually die and so the cycle continued. Now, fish shops, even Pets at Home, won't sell you new fish until you provide a perfect water sample.

Wow thanks for the comments, they do make them sound easier than they are! We already have a cat and she is no trouble at all, couldn’t manage a dog as I think they also sound like a lot of hard work, might have to rethink the fish then, he has been asking for a long time for fish.

Beware of thinking goldfish in particular are easy. They need at least 100 litre tank and they dirty the water so quickly they need frequent water changes and a big filter. Most of the little goldfish people keep will grow to a large size and are supposed to be pond fish. They live stunted and unhealthy lives in a small tank and don't live long like that.

We’ve recently started a tank. Much harder work than our dog or rats. Get him rats!
I do like our fish, but they’re not fun in the way DS expected.

We had gerbils before so might have to go back to that!

We have four aquariums, (one cold water, three tropical) and they are a lot of work. I recently went away for four weeks and left them to DH (who, to be fair, isn't interested). Well, let's just say I have spent a lot of money and hours rebalancing things over the last week (including a reverse osmosis kit, and carbon dioxide kit), and it will take a couple of more weeks to get the balance back to normal...

But with the right knowledge and the time to take care of them, they are really wonderful pets! But not easy