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Original poster

Should I keep tropical fish in my underpants?

39 replies

PatsyCline · 10/12/2007 21:11

Sorry, showing my age...wallop.

OK, fish lovers, please help me. DD1 (7)asked for a goldfish for Christmas. In October, I put a deposit down on a lovely tank and had a very nice chat with the man at the aquatic centre who recommended bog standard gofdfish (more hardy than fancy). I went away happy and went back to collect the tank today.

Today, the boss is there and he tells me to go for fancy goldfish (still pretty hardy and won't grow as big) and then tells me that actually he would recommend I go for tropical fish as the tank I bought has a heater anyway and they are much cleaner than goldfish.

Please, please give me the benfit of your experience. My superfacial personality is drawing me towards the pretty tropicals, but should I stay loyal to the goldfish?

Patsy

OP posts:
LadyOfTheFlowersXmasName · 10/12/2007 21:13

Am fishkeeping advisor on another website.

How big is the tank is the first question?
Common goldfish require 10 gallons each and fancies 8 gallons each.

If tank is small, trops may be a better option.

peanutbear · 10/12/2007 21:13

i love tropical but they are a bit harder to look after but much prettier

I would go for tropical fish

Original poster
PatsyCline · 11/12/2007 15:10

The tank is 38 litres.

Patsy

OP posts:
becklesparkle · 11/12/2007 15:14

We bought a tank and a mixture of fancy and ordinary goldfish. The fancy ones did not last long and some of the goldfish are still going strong 5 years later!

My SIL has tropical and although it is harder work and more expensive to get the tank established they are definitely cleaner and the tank looks fab.

As it is for your DD then perhaps go for a mixture of goldfish and fancy ones?

coby · 11/12/2007 15:41

sorry to contradict everyone but tropical is generally considered easier than coldwater.

Set-up is the same for both, you will need to allow the tank to mature before you add fish - hopefully your aqautic shop told you this already.

You should have a far greater choice of fish with tropical too which is nice

I'd go for tropical freshwater fish with that size tank, you'll get a more interesting end result.

Original poster
PatsyCline · 11/12/2007 16:22

Thanks for all of the advice.

The aquatic centre has been very good and I have to take a sample of my prepared water back for testing before they will release fish into my care. They are also going to get social services to do a home visit.

I am definitely leaning towards tropical. Any fish you would particularly recommend? The aquatic centre seems very well stocked and (having asked quuestions like" Do the fish mind when you turn the light off?") I'd love to impress the fish man with my knowledge on my return visit.

Patsy

OP posts:
ChopsterRoastingOnAnOpenFire · 11/12/2007 16:41

another vote for tropical. Goldfish poo so much, they are a bit of a sod to keep clean!

tetras would be best with a 38l tank, you don't want anything that grows too big. You can get all different types, but I find that neons are almost impossible to keep alive. Other ideas would be danos, guppies, platys, maybe a couple of dwarf gouramis.

In that tank you don't want any more than 10" of fully grown fish, so be careful about the adult sizes of the fish you buy.

coby · 11/12/2007 16:49

social services.

Sounds like you have a good aquatic centre then They should be able to advise you on which fish would suit you best. I think it is nice to stick to smaller fish if you have a relatively small tank as I think it looks more interesting.

Have a think about what your DD might like the tank to look like when it is completed. Do you think she would like a more natural look or something more err....florescent?

I tend to avoid livebearers such as guppies and mollies - they breed like rabbits and you'll end up with an overstocked tank and all the associated problems. IME DDs like guppies so be strong if you decide against them. Some people get away with just having male guppies (they are the prettiest anyway). Of the other non-livebearing small fish you should have a choice of tetras and barbs. Barbs can be a bite nibbly and nibbly fish can cause probs like fin-rot etc. Tetras are more peaceful. Many people like Neon Tetras but I feel it is a misconception that they are a good starter fish, they are not as hardy as some think. If you want neons wait until your tank is well established. Whatever you do, make sure you know the full grown size of fish you are buying.

You'll need to check the water quality regularly while you gradually add fish to monitor for new tank syndrome (a build up of nasty chemicals that can kill the fish). when the filter has settled and has some bateria living in it they will convert the nasty chemicals to harmless ones. If you only buy one test kit Ammonia is the best one as it will give an early indication of the problem.

There are some fab websites that will help you and maybe a simple book about fishkeeping would be a good accompanying pressie. 'You and Your Aquarium' is quite easy to read. You may end up with a budding marine biologist in your household!

coby · 11/12/2007 16:50

x post with chopser sorry

platies breed like bunnies too but, like all livebearers, are easy to sex

ChopsterRoastingOnAnOpenFire · 11/12/2007 17:01

coby do you keep fish too?

I have a 180l tropical tank. The kids love our parrotfish - it's about 10-12" now, and very tame.

LadyOfTheFlowersXmasName · 11/12/2007 17:06

Yes deffo Trop. if the tank is 38ltrs and trops are in most respects easier to care for than coldwater.

There is a thread here that I helped on with a link to the website I advise on that has lots of good info on it.

Thread here!

HTH

coby · 11/12/2007 17:25

ladyoftheflowers - haven't I seen you on vasrious cloth nappy threads? Can't believe there is another tropical fish and cloth nappy enthusiast out there...I don't feel so weird anymore

What website do you advise on?

GingerBearingGifts · 11/12/2007 17:31

No. The water will drain away too quickly.
glowlight tetras, zebra danios good hardy 1st fish after a fishless cycle

coby · 11/12/2007 17:35

Chopster - yes i do (sorry only just seen your q) yes i do, just 1 tank now. started age 8 when i brought home several rescued funfair goldfish - my mum throttled me, we didn't have a tank

i love my fish, far better than tv

andaRubberDuckinapeartree · 11/12/2007 17:56

Top tip, don't put tetras in first - they need a well-established tank at least 6 months old or they'll drop off like flies (bitter experience talking here). When you do go for them, cardinal tetras tend to be hardier as neons and are just as pretty.

In mine I have at the moment: white cloud mountain minnows (strictly a cold water fish, they still thrive in tropical temps), cherry barbs (2 females to 1 male), honey gouramis (should really have them in pairs, unfortunately the lady friend died and haven't got around to replacing her yet ) and a male guppy - again he had more friends at one point. I also have a couple of apple snails (fortunately, I don't seem to have a breeding pair, but the eggs are easily removed anyway) which keep the algae off the edges of the tank .

The important thing is to add fish slowly - no more than 3 tiny fish at a time or 1 bigger fish. Get a water testing kit. Read up about fishless cycling or cycling with fish (this is how you mature your biological filter and keep your fish safe). Oh and post some pics (love seeing other people's tanks!)

andaRubberDuckinapeartree · 11/12/2007 17:57

Oh danios are also a nice hardy 'new tank' fish and can be very lively and pretty too

When you go fish shopping don't discount the drabber looking fish - many of them colour up beautifully when you get them home and have settled in. Honey gouramis are the case in point.

coby · 11/12/2007 18:01

zebra and leopard danios are much underrated fishies, very active too. I started my current set up with zebras and they survived a particularly bad filter disaster while I was away at the british grand prix this year

Original poster
PatsyCline · 11/12/2007 20:05

Thanks, everyone. I feel all enthused now! Shall be very thorough with water and take things easy on the fish front. Mt DD is going to be so thrilled on Christmas Day, bless her.

OP posts:
coldtits · 11/12/2007 21:45

I had sailfin mollies for years. They appear to be made of asbestos. They breed and breed and won't die until they are so inbred that the generation is born without mouths - then they starve. These breed like hell and are unkillable too. I never had a goldfish that didn't die within a month.

coldtits · 11/12/2007 21:47

I should add, I had a huge tank with many varieties of fish, but my dad neglected to clean them for bloody years at a time, and the below were what had survived, as a species, for 10 years.

LadyOfTheFlowersXmasName · 11/12/2007 21:49

What was up with ya Goldies then Tits?
They can live for 30 years!!

WashSantasRedSuitErsaurus · 11/12/2007 21:58

I have quite happily kept both fancy goldfish AND tropicals together in our heated tank for many years (DH had tropicals and I had fancy goldfish, so we just bunged them in together when we decided no room for both tanks).

Goldfish are disgustingly messy, we had to add a huge second external filter to our tank as the original one we had just wasn't up to the job. Therefore, I would definitely recommend going with the tropical fish!

coldtits · 11/12/2007 22:09

I don't know, they just kept dying!

LadyOfTheHollyAndTheIvy · 11/12/2007 22:12

Gold....fish....and....trops.....in.....TOGETHER.......??!!!?!

WashSantasRedSuitErsaurus · 11/12/2007 22:18

Goldfish are tropical anyway, they are just classed as coldwater as they are more resilient and can tolerate colder temperatures than other tropical varieties. The Goldfish were so happy in the warm water they were even breeding (fry were quickly eaten though)