Hi, I'm New!

[Kipsie]

I'm new here, and I don't know a thing about fish! Well, I am a pescatarian so, I eat fish, but not he ones you keep as pets. Heh. I have two guinea-pigs, and a cat. We live in an apartment.

Okay, so ever since I lived in the hospital for a while, i've always passed this really pretty aquarium, with a pretty black goldfish (well, I'm not sure if those exist, but that's what he looked like) and he was so friendly and interactive for a tiny animal. It was so nice to interact with him and some of the other fish, I wanted one of my own someday!

Anywho, about a year or so later, I was at the thrift store with my mom (xD) and we saw a tank with a length about half my height (I'm 5 foot 8 inches) and about the height of my torso (a few feet). I thought it was huge! It had a hermit crab cage, a small betta tank, and another filter-less tank inside of it. I only wanted a betta tank, but the salesmen argued that the tanks all go together (it was obviously 3 different tanks), and we'd have to buy them all. Well, all of them were 75 us dollars, which wasn't quite bad. BUT, my mom and I didnt think of paying down some money for them to keep it for us. I hope the tanks are still there.

I figured I had to worry about if the tank had cracks, if the filter was working (or even included), and if the glass was thick enough (since I read that it may not actually be for fish, but for a lizard). He did say it was for fish, however. I really want this tank, but I have a secret:


I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT FISH!

So, hopefully, i'll be able to get tips and help on getting a starter fish (or a few).


PS Is this site based on a certain territory (the UK)?

 

[spectrum]

Welcome to the forum
Its not just based in one place, there are people from pretty much everywhere here.
A hermit crab is saltwater, and a Betta is freshwater. Unless you want to jump in at the deep end then I would stay clear of marine aquatics for now, stick to tropical freshwater, its far far cheaper and they require much less maintanance. Bettas are good fish that aren't to difficult to keep, very nice as well.
Before you get any fish at all go to Google and search in 'fishless cycling', its the most important thing to learn about when starting up a fishtank.
To be honest, if you make sure you do lots and lots of research before anything else then you shouldn't need to get a 'starter fish' because if you do it right then you can keep pretty much anything (Obviously take tank size into account). The main thing is don't rush into it.
Lots of luck with your new hobby!

 

[Kipsie]

Welcome to the forum
Its not just based in one place, there are people from pretty much everywhere here.
A hermit crab is saltwater, and a Betta is freshwater. Unless you want to jump in at the deep end then I would stay clear of marine aquatics for now, stick to tropical freshwater, its far far cheaper and they require much less maintanance. Bettas are good fish that aren't to difficult to keep, very nice as well.
Before you get any fish at all go to Google and search in 'fishless cycling', its the most important thing to learn about when starting up a fishtank.
To be honest, if you make sure you do lots and lots of research before anything else then you shouldn't need to get a 'starter fish' because if you do it right then you can keep pretty much anything (Obviously take tank size into account). The main thing is don't rush into it.
Lots of luck with your new hobby!

Thanks! I just read a thread dealing with PH and nitrates and ammonia...

It gave me a huge headache. It all went way over my head. I never wanted a hermit crab, but that's what the guys are trying to sell me. Like, 4 tanks/cages for 75 bucks. It's not like I want all of them.

I think I may need to lay down first, and then read some more.

 

[chigwellhammer]

welcome to the forum!

 

[Ashley1991]

welcome ot the forum

was the black goldfish one of these?

http/witnessthis.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/black-moor1.jpg

if so its called a black moor i used to have one i loved him!

it can be a bit daunting reading about cycling but once you get into the swing of things you will be fine

Ash

 

[Oscar Betta]

A suggest as a good starting fish, a betta. Oh and welcome to the forums!

 

[Kipsie]

welcome ot the forum

was the black goldfish one of these?

http/witnessthis.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/black-moor1.jpg

if so its called a black moor i used to have one i loved him!

it can be a bit daunting reading about cycling but once you get into the swing of things you will be fine

Ash

YES! That's what he was. I loved him! Eh, does anyone want to guess the size tank I was describing?

 

[Kipsie]

YES! My dad's friend is giving me a free tank instead.
I don't have to buy one. ^^
He breeds animals, I think.

 

[Ashley1991]

nice one how big is it??
ash

 

[Kipsie]

I don't know how big it is. I just want it to be big enough for my dream 'black moor'.
I have to read a ton of stuff. I think i'm banned from my closest library, so I cant actually borrow a fish book from there. Heh. I'd have to apply for a card at another one.

 

[Assaye]

I don't know how big it is. I just want it to be big enough for my dream 'black moor'.
I have to read a ton of stuff. I think i'm banned from my closest library, so I cant actually borrow a fish book from there. Heh. I'd have to apply for a card at another one.

The black moor will need a tank that is at least 20 US gallons and he may even out-grow that. They get pretty big!

Be wary of fishkeeping books - you want to read loads but books are no more reliable than other sources. There is still total rubbish printed and sold. I'd say that online forums are your best bet for information about tank sizes and cycling the tank but there is still a lot of information to be found if you get a good book.

This is our Resource Centre- it has all the essential information for setting up, cycling and stocking a new tank.

 

[meguro]

i was going to say that buying 3 or 4 tanks when u only wanted 1 would be foolish and not to give in to the sales guy. i would guess that they were trying to pull one over u. but since u have been gifted a tank from a family friend there is no need.

buy fish that suit the tank size. dont get fish that are unsuitable. goldfish, such as the blackmoor, are coldwater fish. while others here have suggested u keep tropical. as far as availability goes, tropical freshwater is probably the better choice, not to mention goldfish are the more popular coldwater species and require larger tanks than many ppl have the space for.

read as much as u can from the resource centre linked in a previous post, there is quite a lot of useful information there. dont be concerned if it overwhelms u at first. you can easily start this hobby with small steps and ask questions on the forum when necessary.

 

[Kipsie]

I'm sorry.
I didn't know there was a difference between coldwater and tropical fish. Can anyone tell me more about this? I don't know much about fish.

Well, I guess that makes sense. Tropical places are usually warm, right? Heh.

Edit: I was looking up a few fish, and I saw that some fish lived in conditions from 72-79° F (that's 'cold', right?) and some lived from 72-82° F (Well, my ait conditioner is that low, which is 'cool' in my opinion), so i'm totally lost to what your definition of 'cold' and 'warm/tropical' is. Help?

Okay, i'm reading on cycling. Gosh, i'm really confused. I'm sorry.

 

[Ashley1991]

cold water you will never need a heater so like goldfish and tropical you definatly need a heater (alot of species live around the 25 c mark)

Ash

 

[Assaye]

I'm sorry.
I didn't know there was a difference between coldwater and tropical fish. Can anyone tell me more about this? I don't know much about fish.

Well, I guess that makes sense. Tropical places are usually warm, right? Heh.

Edit: I was looking up a few fish, and I saw that some fish lived in conditions from 72-79° F (that's 'cold', right?) and some lived from 72-82° F (Well, my ait conditioner is that low, which is 'cool' in my opinion), so i'm totally lost to what your definition of 'cold' and 'warm/tropical' is. Help?

Okay, i'm reading on cycling. Gosh, i'm really confused. I'm sorry.

Fish come from different waters all over the world. It's actually a bit misleading to lump them into categories like "coldwater" and "tropical" as it's all relative and there is hufe temperature variance within those categories.

In short, though, some fish require temperatures that are warmer than our typical room temperature. This means these fish definitely need a submersible heater that will keep the water warm enough for them. The water wouldn't necessarily feel warm to the touch but the fish really feel the difference. Each species has a recommend temperature range based on where it is from in th world and what conditions it has proved able to live comfortably in. When buying fish for a specific tank we must make sure all the fish will be happy at the same temperature.

Tropical fish are very commonly avaliable and tend to be smaller than many commonly avaliable coldwater fish. This makes them a good choice for the beginner. The heaters are an extra cost but there is not particular skill upgrade from hardy coldwater fish to hardy tropical fish. It's really just a matter of temperature.

I would always recommend a heater in a coldwater tank anyway as while the room temperature will generally be warm enough for them, fish like a stable temperature and in a tank that is the same temperature as the room, the tank's temperature will jump about a bit depending on whether there are people in the room, whether the heating is on, whether it is night or day. Many heaters will go low enough to stay off 90% of the time unless the room gets too cold and then they'll come on.

While researching your fish you'll come across suggested temperature ranges and it'll start to make sense