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Mary Chris
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 10:05pm | IP Logged
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One of the crazy projects we took on during dh's deployment is fish. Each child has an aquarium in their room. I told you, crazy! So dd has two Platies, ds10 has 3 Mollies, 1 catfish and a frog.
Ds8 really likes Black Moors. They are goldfish that have the eyes sticking out of their head. We got him a 20 gallon tank and some fish for his birthday. All his fish died. I think he wanted to pet them  . Truly, it is a good thing he is very cute  .
We are going to set up his tank again, but maybe not in his room. Any advice for keeping Goldfish? What kind of water do you use, spring, distilled or tap? From my reading it seems that Goldfish, while rather hardy are rather particular. Any tried and true tips? Other than no petting the fish?
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mellyrose
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 11:40pm | IP Logged
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We have had very good luck with betta fish. They are very colorful and active and live a long time even when Mom forgets to feed them for more than a week, or when she forgets to clean their tanks for more than a month because she had a c-section.
We have smaller tanks (1 gallon) and each fish lives alone. (The males have to live alone, otherwise they fight and kill each other. Supposedly the females can share a tank, but when we tried that there was fighting as well so I bought a 2nd tank.)
Our first set of betta fish lived for more than a year (just under a year, and about 15 months), then they were replaced and one of that pair is still going strong 2 1/2 years later (the other died about 3 months ago.)
I have to clean the tank every other week or so, but maybe with a bigger tank that wouldn't be necessary. I leave the water overnight and tap is fine -- otherwise there's a liquid you can add and the water is okay within a minute.
I know this wasn't about goldfish -- but thought I'd throw in another idea :)
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KackyK
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 6:34am | IP Logged
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Thanks Melanie...like you said  even though it wasn't about goldfish, the bettas do sound easier to maintain since they can be in a smaller tank. We have thought about fish but the idea of me wrestling with one of those bigger tanks doesn't sound pleasing. Good ideas to think about for upcoming ds's bday in June....
And I'm still curious about those goldfish too Mary Chris. I think those things are creepy...those big eyes!
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msclavel
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 7:44am | IP Logged
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We have a betta. Very easy. He is actually in a big bowl. My oldest daughter just loves that fish. He was making some weird looking bubble things in there and she found it that he's preparing a nest...for a woman that will never come...poor guy.
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Mary Chris
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 8:07am | IP Logged
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Kacky,
The other fish we have Platies and Mollies do not need such big tanks. DD13 has a 5 gallon and ds10 has a 10 gallon tank. Goldfish need a bigger tank because they can get so big. Surprisingly to me, dd13 fish have survivied the longest.
I don't think I am going to sell him on Betta fish. Plus I aleady have a 20 gallon tank for him.
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tracym
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 9:15am | IP Logged
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We just got fish this weekend. My ds bought neon tetra on Saturday both died yesterday-he is not so happy. My dd got 2 other fish -I forget and both my youngers each have a goldfish. We were told the goldfish would do fine in colder water and we used our tap water but not sure if that is why the other fish died or not. However my ds also had been handling his fish so maybe that is why they didn't last long. We just got them though so not sure how long they will last. If they don't last long I was thinking if they want more we probably should use bottled water or make sure to buy the chlorine tablets-my dh thinks maybe the chlorine in the water killed them. Anyway that is our experience so far -we are just learning here.
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Nina
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 1:55pm | IP Logged
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We also have a betta.We have the bowl that you can grow a plant on the top.A friend told me that she just left the bowl uncovered,and the fish jumped out and obviously died.I don't think that that is so common though.The betta is very easy.Just make sure that you do Not use tap water in the tank/bowl.
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mavmama
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Just a note from the water guy's wife--If your water system uses chloramines (which are different from plain chlorine), you cannot use tap water. No matter how long you let it set out, the chloramines will not dissapate-you must use the stuff in the little bottle (pretty technical, huh?).
If your water system does not use chloramines, letting the water set out for 24 hours will allow the chlorine to dissapate, and it will be fine.
OT, but that's why a water filter is good for you, too.
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Mary Chris
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 3:19pm | IP Logged
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A friend told us to use distilled water. The guys at the pet store told us that distilled water is too pure for the fish; they said spring water is best. Unfortunately I had already bought distilled water so we used a mix. It seems to be working fine. I guess the issue was more with my ds and him just not being responsible for fish in his room. I think he fed them to much and tried to play with them, not a good combination for the fish.
Tracy, my ds10 also likes the Tetras. But for some reason, he really likes Mollies and that is what he wants in his tank. All my kids are so different in their fish preferences.
The fish are very peaceful and fun to watch. And it is a good science experiement for them.
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Karen T
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| Posted: May 14 2008 at 10:06am | IP Logged
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We bought my son 3 "feeder" goldfish, which are the very cheap ones, and one of those small 2.5 gallon tank kits a few years ago b/c older ds and dh were big into hobby fish. We figured his interest would wane and so we didn't want to set up a larger tank.
goldfish do need cooler water; don't use an aquarium heater. Ours did fine this winter even when our house temp was kept at 62 degrees (espensive oil heat in our new house!)
Anyway, 2 of his gold fish died over the years but the 3rd managed to make it 3 whole years and only recently died. we even moved him from Ga to Md last summer, in a plastic bag in a bucket.
Definitely invest in the water purifying drops from the pet store, and when you need to clean the tank, don't change more than about 20% of the water at a time. Don't overfeed; it makes more waste in the water which can kill them if it gets too bad. Better to put a tiny amount in 2-3 times a day than a huge amount all at once, though ours has survived a few days with NO food also.
One other tip- did you know goldfish LOVE green peas? Whenever I pull a bag of frozen ones out I give 1-2 to the fish and they gobble them right up.
ETA: despite having 2 large dogs, 3 cats, a conure, the fish and a hermit crab, we are getting ready to venture into the world of mice, so don't feel bad...
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Rebecca
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We have had fish at many different times. We currently have two betta, one for each of my girls, in separate bowls in the girls' bedroom. My boys have had goldfish, which seem to live for years (that is unless someone small pours an entire bottle of fish food in the water--they never survive that). We don't do anything fancy, just tap water (room temperature) treated with dechlorinator.
When I was in second grade, My cousin and I each won a goldfish at a parish picnic while playing one of those games where you throw the ping pong ball into the fishbowls. The fish was about the size of a half dollar. It lived until my third year of college, I kid you not. When it finally died, it was larger than my hand. We could not flush him because he was too large so we buried him in the yard. His name was Carpo.
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KackyK
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Rebecca that is so stinkin' hilarious! I reread it three times! Makes me want to go out and buy some just to see how long we can we get them to live!!!!
Now I am renewed about buying goldfish. So tell us...was your forever fish just in a regular type goldfish bowl...I guess the bowl had to grow along with your fish too! Cool!
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SallyT
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We have had goldfish, with not so great results. They need far more room than we had envisioned (per fish), and are very "dirty" fish -- the tank gets gross quite quickly. They also need far more heavily oxygenated water than other kinds of fish, so really need things like a filter and air pump. I think both the waste buildup and the demand on the oxygen supply in the water account for a lot of deaths of multiple goldfish kept in the same tank. At least, this is what I'm recalling from my reading after several unsuccessful rounds long ago.
I will third or fourth the betta suggestion. We have one and love him -- his name is Alfie (Alpha Betta, yuk yuk). We keep him in a gallon pickle jar with the water low enough that there's no way he can jump out -- he is quite active, and we have heard many stories of bettas jumping. He's quite personable, comes to "meet" us when we pass by him, and likes to put his beautiful fins on display, probably to terrify his own reflection in the glass into submission.
We use distilled water for Alfie and also for our family of tadpoles -- they seem to do fine with it. No chlorine is the main thing. We change Alfie's water weekly, and he eats four grains of something called "Fish Niblets" daily. They will also eat things like brine shrimp.
Anyway, I vote for bettas, for toughness, ease of care, beauty and personality.
Sally
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KackyK
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Okay...here's my no-clue question...how do you change the water? Where does the fish go? Do you just change out a portion? But how do you get it out without something happening to the fish?
I need a tutorial! I have seen betas before. They can't be with any other fish right...strictly by themselves. I can already hear my dh, who can personify things a bit too far, and say that they'll be lonely without another fish.
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mellyrose
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KackyK wrote:
Okay...here's my no-clue question...how do you change the water? Where does the fish go? Do you just change out a portion? But how do you get it out without something happening to the fish?
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I take the tanks to the kitchen to change the water. I scoop out the fish in a plastic cup and he sits on the counter while I change the water. We have 1 gallon tanks, so I change all the water each time. I dump the water, put the marbles and plastic plant in a strainer. I run water over the marbles and plant. I take a paper towel and wipe down the tank. Then, I put the marbles & plant back in, fill it up with water and put in the drops to remove chlorine -- wait a couple minutes and then pour the fish back in.
You can always get 2 betta fish in 2 separate tanks and put them near each other if your DH is worried about lonely fish. When they see each other, they tend to flare their fins :)
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KackyK
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So that does sound much easier than I was remembering from watching my father when I was child. There was tubing to siphon off some of the water and the whole kitchen seemed to get wet!
I can do what you just described! Sounds easier then when I was the one always left to change the rat's cage!!!
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Karen T
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KackyK wrote:
Okay...here's my no-clue question...how do you change the water? Where does the fish go? Do you just change out a portion? But how do you get it out without something happening to the fish?
I need a tutorial! I have seen betas before. They can't be with any other fish right...strictly by themselves. I can already hear my dh, who can personify things a bit too far, and say that they'll be lonely without another fish. |
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If you have a large tank that cannot be moved (even a 10 gal aquarium weighs over 100 lbs full), you use a plastic tubing to siphon off some of the water into a bucket. You can buy the little "vaccuum" sets which are basically plastic tubing with a little cup shape on the end, and you stick that partially down into the gravel - it stirs up the yuck and sucks it into the tube, leaving your gravel cleaner.
If you have a smaller tank or bowl and want to take it to the sink, I still would not recommend changing more than 20-25% of the water at a time. This is b/c a sudden change in temperature, ph, salinity, etc. can be deadly to fish. By changing only a portion, the new water mixes in with the old and dilutes out any problems. If your water is really nasty and you think it needs a more drastic cleaning, change 25% every 3-4 days until it's all better. FWIW, I would not keep any fish without a filter, b/c the tanks do get very dirty much quicker.
btw, bettas can be kept in a tank with some other fish - the less aggressive ones. you just can't put a male betta in with another male betta. And you can't keep males and females together except briefly for mating. They will also fight, although not usually to the death.
Until we moved last fall, my dh kept a 250 gallon tank which was built into a wall between our playroom and my sewing room. You can probably imagine what a chore cleaning THAT was! He had a huge plastic tubing/vac set, about the diameter of a garden hose, and ran it into the bathtub when siphoning off water. The filter for this kind of tank actually sits in a cabinet underneath the tank, and was about 2 ft long by 1 ft high. When we bought the house, the tank was there but the previous owner had taken all his fish/filter, etc. so for Christmas that year I decided to get dh the filter, thinking it would be a nice "little" thing (he's hard to shop for) Imagine my surprise when the filter alone turned out to be $450! But, he got 9 yrs of fun out of it. He sold his fish when we moved b/c we knew it would be awhile before we could set up new tanks, esp that large. most of his fish were discus, and by the time we left, they were the size of saucers! he would feed them by hand.
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Rebecca
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KackyK wrote:
| So tell us...was your forever fish just in a regular type goldfish bowl...I guess the bowl had to grow along with your fish too! Cool! |
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Well, he started out in one of those round bowls and eventually graduated to a ten gallon tank. That is where he stayed for the remainder of his life. My parents swore he would die any day...(year after year after year) so he never got a larger tank which seems cruel considering how large he was. 
We changed about half his water once a week but did use a siphon to vacuum the bottom each time. Goldfish are pretty messy and their bodily waste gets buried in the gravel. If you get one, clean its tank from the bottom rather than scooping water from the top. Also had a small algae eater and a snail in there with him. They helped keep things fairly clean.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Any goldfish keepers?
