What would you recommend?

[highhopes]

Hello I'm Sarah.

I have been interested in keeping fish for a few years, but up until now the only experience I have is with having a goldfish as a child.

I have been reading posts on this forum for a few days and I am amazed at how experienced you all are and what a great resource this is so thank you.

I want to ask though, as a complete beginner what would you recommend in terms of tank, fish etc? The last thing I want to do is get a set up without the knowledge I need and end up causing harm or worse killing my first fish. Would it be best to learn how to care for cold water fish and get some goldfish?

Thanks for your help

 

[AJ-Master]

Welcome. Before you spend even a single cent/pence, first work out what type of fish, shrimps and other lovely creatures you want to keep. This will have a huge impact on your decision of what to buy, and more importantly can you care for them.

This is more or less your key question. eg for me gold fish are messy (not saying I am right) and boring, compared to guppies. But Guppies breed very easily and can fill up tank very fast.

It will be your personal taste.

Also, how much work are you ready to do? with small tanks and let us say 1 gold fish you will need more regular cleaning than a big tank and 1 gold fish.

Rest I leave to more experienced people here.

 

[GobyMaster11276]

Hi! Welcome to the hobby. My advice would be to do some research first. Get an understanding of the nitrogen cycle for a tank, then test your tap water. Once we know that, we'll be able to determine what types of fish are suitable (e.g. soft water fish). How much time/space are you willing to dedicate for it? You mentioned goldfish, and though many people believe goldfish are easy to care for, they produce lots of waste and need quite a bit of room.

 

[Essjay]

Cold water fish are no easier or harder than tropical freshwater fish. The only difference is that tropicals need a heater.

The first step is to look at your water company's website for the hardness of your tap water, and if they give a water quality report, look for the pH. Once we have those we can suggest types of set up suitable to your water.

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

I concur with other members here. First thing is to know your source water parameters (GH, KH or Alkalinity, and pH). Second thing, is to know the size of tank you can accommodate. Many think a smaller tank is easy, but in fact it can be more difficult; the larger the water volume, the more stable it can be. But it is impossible to start suggesting fish without knowing the tank limitations. It is generally best to go with the largest tank you can accommodate.

Byron.