Completely New to Fish

[enrique4jc]

I sort of "inherited" my first aquarium when I moved into a place housing a few goldfish in 29gallons. Never did a water change. Just took the whole setup apart about once a month, scrubbed and bleached everything, and put in new filter media. It loooked pristine but everything I put in there kept dying. Glad I've learned better since then.

 

[seaecho]

I'd start with nothing less than a 20 gallon, but that's me. If something goes wrong in a small tank, it goes wrong FAST, and you could end up with dead fish pretty quick. 20 gallons is a nice starting point. You can have several fish of different types. What kind of fish do you like the look of? Find out what temperatures they prefer, and if they would get along. Personally, I love tiger endlers, and have many of them. They seem very hardy. Cherry barbs are great too. I also love balloon mollies, although many people consider them to be deformed, but I have two I've had three years now, no health problems, and they're adorable. Female bettas are great too, although a 20 might not be big enough, depending on the bettas' personalities. Sometimes one will be more aggressive, and there's not a lot of room to escape for a more passive betta. I have a sorority of 7 girls in a 55 gallon, and lots of hiding places, so my bettas don't ever "get into it," as they can always get away from each other. Oh, and NEVER put a male betta in with females! I also dearly love Peacock Gudgeons. They are as personable as female bettas. Very sweet, gentle and not at all hyper.

I wouldn't recommend goldfish, as they are so dang messy! You'd be cleaning constantly, plus they need bigger tanks. It really comes down to what fish you prefer, since everyone has different tastes, and also what foods they will accept. (Some types of fish will only eat live foods!) So it really, really pays to do your homework. Don't buy a fish just because you like the looks of it. Too many people wake up in the morning to find a fish or two or three have been murdered during the night by an aggressive kind of fish that should never have been put into the same tank with the peaceful, passive ones. Good luck and let us know what you end up with!

 

[GoldieGirl1027]

Welcome! I too am new to the community! Have you considered getting a male betta fish? They need about a 5g tank and are a solo fish! You can keep other things such as ghost shrimp or some species of frogs with them too! A basic 5g with a filter and a heater would be a great setup! I would decorate with silk plants opposed to plastic since some male bettas have been known to get tail rips from plastic plants. If you do go with a betta, you could also add smooth decor (nothing they could get their tails snagged on). They can be feed pellet food as well as freeze-dried food such as bloodworms. They live for about 2-4 years and have minimal health problems if kept in good conditions! If you have any more questions let me know!

 

[FreshyFresh]

GoldieGirl, male bettas are not necessarily "solo fish". Obviously you don't want to keep more than one male betta in the same tank, but I've kept lone males in small community fish tank settings with great success. They're awesome when given room to swim. Even better is a group of female bettas. Super cute and entertaining fish.

In regards to the original poster, I'm pretty sure we scared him away once all the nitrogen cycle and water change talk flowed in. Not uncommon.

 

[enrique4jc]

So how are things going? Did you get your tank set up? What kind of stock?

 

[GoldieGirl1027]

I simply ment one male per tank I have kept other things such as ghost shrimp, snails and even have heard of otos with bettas. They are in no means a strict lone tank dweller Thank you for the clarification!

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