Fish - Need the full lowdown. Goldfish or tropical fish. Complete fish novice!

[hockeypuck]

Hi,

DD is desperate for a goldfish and MIL has given us their old fish tank, which I have just noticed is also a tropical fish tank.

So, do I get a goldfish? or do we get a couple of tropical fish?

What's the difference in running costs, hassle etc etc

Thanks in advance!

bumping to active convos

I've never owned tropical fish hockeypuck but goldfish are good. It does require some effort though in terms of making water safe, partially changing water, filtering etc. (don't want to put you off ).

I'd imagine the same things apply to a similar extent to tropical fish? (although they would obviously have warmer water I would think).

Any good pet shop should give you advice on the details. Good luck!

main difference is that tropical you need to heat and light the tank properly. So it costs more in that respect. Tropical fish food is more ££ too. How big is the tank?

Tropical fish seem to get far fewer problems and are far less messy. I would say they're a much better starter fish.

While there's slightly higher set up costs (heater) it isn't a lot. Also I wouldn't bother factoring in food costs - unless you have a mahoosive tank with loads of fish, it's the water conditioners etc that cost the money not the food and that's the same cost regardless of whether you go coldwater or tropical. Fish don't generally give a toss about how well lit the tank is - but if you put real plants in it's an issue - again, same issue whether you go tropical or coldwater.

I'd say go tropical.

DO read up on it before you start though, particularly google "cycling with fish" and "fishless cycling" to learn how the nitrogen cycle works in fishkeeping and how to avoid "new tank syndrome" (where all your stock dies off!). Find a good fish stockist who will give you lots of advice BUT BEWARE they want to sell you more fish and are more likely to encourage you to overstock. Use ThinkFish's community creator to work out which fish go together well and the maximum you should have in your particular tank.

Hope that helps

To give you an idea of the difference in starter costs... a 100W heater is around £20. Also factor in a goldfish should have 10 gallons per fish (ideally 20 gallons for the first fish and 10 for each subsequent fish) - tropical fish can live in smaller spaces and be visually more interesting, so may not actually work out cheaper going with a goldfish because the tank you'll need is so much bigger!

Thanks so much for that good advice. I'll definitely look up those sites.

Has anyone got any experience of clown fish? (Nemo)

Good advice here (no experience of clown fish I'm afraid hockey).
In support of my fat-bellied goldfish, I think they are EXTREMELY visually interesting, my DP is exasperated by how many times I shout 'look, he's gone through the tunnel'. [god I'm sad but I love them ]

Wigparty I love my fish too, 2 fancy goldfish and a blackmoor

Excellent sullysmum! What is the definition of a fancy goldfish, I've never been sure?

hockeypuck - Nemo is a marine fish (EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE) I'd go with fancy goldfish. Which are the goldfish with strange colours (instead of your bog standard orange ones)

Oh - Blimey this is a learning curve. I clearly have some studying to do over the next week!

we got clown loach as an alternative to nemo, which are tropical. The kids weren't fooled though.

Go along tot he pet shop and have a good look around. Agree though, stay clear of marines. A lot of work, expertise and money needed to keep them.

Marine fish are DEFINITELY not for beginners. Not only would it be an extremely expensive and difficult learning curve, you can forget going on holiday and leaving the neighbour's kid to pop a bit of food in now and then - you have to watch over the water parameters like a hawk.

With the fancy goldfish suggestion you do have to remember that they still fall under the 10 gallon minimum rule. A full grown fancy goldfish is the size of a large cooking apple with fins.

Another thing to consider is that fancy goldfish are pretty inbred these days and are much more prone to nasty illnesses and genetic defects. They really do need tip top water condition and diet to stay healthy.

A record full sized fancy goldfish can you see now why a tiny tank is inappropriate?

A more normal sized adult fancy goldfish

Oh my god rubberduck, that is HUGE!

aaaahhh shucks - no Nemo then? Thanks for the advice on it though - I do get carried away when it comes to Nemo stuff!

Looks like a goldfish it is then!

Ewwwwwwww gross rubberduck - just seen that big fancy goldfish - might start with a dwarf goldfish first!!!!!

We have tropical fish (freshwater, not marine)- no more expensive to buy/feed, just need a heater.

Set DD's expectations - no Nemos, as others have said, and the recommended "starter fish" are generally not that exciting - but you can build up. DSIL has a goldfish tank and she seems to 'lose' fish more often than our tropical tank does.

I think if a shop encourages you to overstock you should walk out - the one we went to would only sell us a few fish to start with and were quite cautious when we went back for more after the initial 4-5 weeks. However, our tank is stable and they seem happy now (she says, making a mental note to clean out fish tank this week ) - ideally find a small independent rather than a huge pet store.

Erm - dwarf goldfish aren't dwarf, they're babies! This is what I'm trying to say... the small thing you buy in the shop grows BIG.

You wouldn't buy a small cute great dane puppy without researching and realising that they grow HUGE. If you want your fish to stay small, go tropical

right, got it. So what are small easy to care for colourful tropical varieties that you lot have?

Start with a hardy fish that is unlikely to keel over while the tank is cycling/only just finished cycling. Add only a few at a time so the tank can acclimatise to the new bioload.

Fish that have done well in my tank are:

white cloud mountain minnows (technically a cold water fish, but also perfectly happy at tropical temps)
cherry barbs (a rather upsetting story about the bag rolling off the carseat while I was getting them home but they survived and also survived various mystery illnesses in the tank along the way)

Other good starter fish are danios.

Once you've got the tank going then I like guppies (but they are short lived, unfortunately), harlequin rasboras, honey gourami. Tetras are gorgeous and come in lots of different varieties but can be fragile and shouldn't be added until you've had the tank running at least 6 months. Cardinal tetra are just as pretty as the more popular neon tetra but are a little bit hardier.

Basically have a play with the community creator on the thinkfish link I gave you and they'll let you know if a particular breed won't get on with something already in there. Also, a good aquatic shop will be able to advise on the best first fish and what will get on well together.

Oh, check whether the fish are egg bearers or live bearers. Egg bearers probably won't breed without special conditions so you won't be overrun. Live bearers ... things can get a bit crowded fast .

Here's a good run down of good beginner fish

Good article on the Nitrogen Cycle