Should I keep tropical fish in my underpants?

[PatsyCline]

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

if you have a big tank you can get a predator fish to take care of the fry.

My dh has a 300 litre tank with guppies, swordtails and platies (platies were a mistake as we were given one with the swordtails so bought two more to keep it company ), also we have corries, bristlenoses and neons. But the guppies especially bred like rabbits and we were in a position where the tank oas at risk of becoming overcrowded.

so after careful reading, we purchased two angels and voila... fry problem sorted.

and the angels are a beautiful colour .

Felt I should add as am in the presence of a fishkeeping guru, that it is necessary to add lots of aeration to the tank for the goldfish/tropical fish combo to keep the goldfish happy.

Hmmmmmm...predator to eat babies...sounds a bit offputting for a 7yo DD's first tank (sure many DS's would love it though )

lol yes probably right. although tbh have never witnessed it happening, we've just noticed a definite decline in fry so I assume that most get eaten almost straight after birth.

it was a choice between that and overcrowding which tbh wasn't a nice option, and in reality predators eating babies is nature.

I have just released my baby golden gouramis back into the 'big tank' and I rush down every morning just to check they are still OK. I am a very proud 'grandmummy' to my little fry

I've never kept lifebearers. I'd love to see them, I I think that guppies are beautiful, but they'd get gobbled in an instant in my tank. I'd love a second smaller tank if I had the room.
I've had quite a lot of fish eaten, the kids actually see it as normal and really don't get too bothered about it. As the fish grew and the tanks got bigger, the smaller fish just got gobbled.

Another gorgeous fish - get a betta/siamese fighting fish. They have very fancy fins and are absolutely beautiful to watch. You can only keep one in a tank, but they are pretty peaceful on their own.

Baby black mollies are very cute I think.

I've been very careful with my gouramis though because I have raised them from eggs and I have got very attached to them. Thankfully they didn't all make it or I would have had 100s of gouramis the rehome

I'm not all that rigid with 'stocking levels' tbh. Effectively my tank is overstocked but by just adding fish gradually and checking the water quality freqently, I've not had any problems. My filter is more than sufficient for the tank and that is how i have got away with it (also choosing the fish carefully helps I think). They all seem pretty happy in there together apart from my poor keyhole cichlids who keep laying eggs only to have a sneaky ancistrus eat them overnight

I think that I shall try to avoid breeding fish for now. Can just picture DD1 saying "Oh look at the little babies...that are now being eaten by that fish. Argh!" We'll wait until she's eight for that lesson in hard knocks, methinks.

Thank you everyone for the guidance.

Patsy

Patsy - methinks she'll have you fishing all the babies out with a net and putting them into a nursery tank - thats how I ended up with 7 big aquaria by the time I was 10

i'm gonna stay away methinks.

If i tried that my fish would bite me for trying to take her dinner away!

Has anyone tried those autofeeders?

I'm debating about investing in one, I'm not sure the pyramids are enough.

The fish goes psycho if not fed enough and I'm sure she will electrocute herself one day keep jumping up at the lighting sytem. I'm away for two weeks at xmas and need to make sure there id def enough food there.

I have one - a spare - used to have 2 tanks - would you like it for postage costs? (about £5 I think)

The tank is now set up and getting established. I am a little obsessed with the whole thing, frankly.

We told DD1 that Father Christmas can't carry the tank so he's just bringing the fish on Christmas Eve. She is sooooooooooooooooo excited!!!! So am I.

Might I be so annoying as to ask how the tank is establishing as it won't be cycled ready for fish by Crimbo if starting from scratch....?