Looking to get an aquarium

Z

Zidion

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Jul 28, 2004
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Im looking ot buy an aquarium for my mom for her birthday. Shes been wanting ot get a little gold fish or beta fish, but I think she would just love it if I got her a nice aquarium.

I honestly dont know much about fish. So any help you guys/gals can give me would be awesome :)

It needs to be a kind of small aquarium, maybe a 10 or 20 gallon (have to figure out where I can put it then decide on the size).

is there a good FAQ anyone online? or a good article or something? Im not looking ot spend much. maybe $100-150 for everything.

thanks
-Z
 
Drs. Foster & Smith's web site has a complete area dedicated to beginners, which can be found here. It might be worth checking out. Especially read the article "The Cycle of Life" as it deals with cycling an aquarium, which is something you'll need to do.

Also, the sticky topics on the forums here are a good thing to read over as well. You may even want to print them out so your mum can look them over too.

If you go with a betta a ten gallon tank will be fine, but if you decide on a goldfish, go for the 20 gallon. I believe the general rule of thumb is one goldfish to every ten gallons of water, so two would be the max on a 20 gallon tank. If I am wrong, someone correct me on this.
 
If you want to get her a nice looking aquarium that's fairly easy to maintain, look at the minibow 5. They're less than $40 at most places, and they'll easily house a betta and perhaps a few small cory cats or oto's. Don't buy into the "bettas thrive in this cup of water" thing that some pet stores have. They'll survive in that tiny bit, but they're happier and more active if you get them some swimming room.

That's the easy all-in-one solution. If you decide to go bigger, obviously you're going to open up your opportunities... but you're also gonna have to open your wallet. $150 should get you a nice 10-15 gallon setup, a bio-wheel filter, decent lighting (necessary if she wants live plants), and some small fish for it. If you just want to get her a nice self contained aquarium, it's hard to beat something like the mini-bow.
 
$60 can easily get you an entire ten gallon setup, minus a stand (which isn't really needed if you have counter, or sturdy table to place the aquarium on). At least it can here. Check out places like Petco, and Petsmart, and see what sort of deals they have.
 
Look at their fishes. If they appear healthy and clean, with few to no dead fishes, then the LFS at least knows how to take care of the fishes (or are really good at removing sick or dead ones).

Then ask them a few questions that you know the answer to, like is a 10 gallon tank good for a few goldfishes (answer is no :p)
 
In addition, look around and see if they have something like a hospital tank, or a fry tank. The stores that set those up and raise fry or make sure sick fish get well are usually the ones that know something. Stores with a large saltwater section typically employ competent people too. I found a place just this weekend that I'm quite impressed with.... fry tank that has a large note "DO NOT ADD.. DO NOT SELL".... a big saltwater section... 2 pacu and 2 oscars, quite large... live brine shrimp for food.... and the guy that I talked to really knows his stuff. Once I get the money and space to do a reef tank, I'll be dropping quite a bit of money with them.

Oh, and one other thing.... stay away from stores that sell non-aquatic plants as true aquatics. One of the local stores around here that I try to avoid now is selling both Cherry Hedge and Purple Waffle as aquarium plants. Both are on plantgeek's guide to non-aquatic plants. http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=11
 
Hey man thats a really nice gift. a beta would be a good fish for her. i would recomend a tank thats a bit shalow and make sure that the filtration doesn't cause to much surface turbulance. a beta will feel more conforatble that way. a 10 gallon aquarium with an undergravel filter and power head would make a nice setup. they like plants so go for java moss and java fern. it's easy and it doesn't take much light. JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU PUT A HEATER IN THE TANK. bettas need water thats 80+ degreas.

white cloud mountin minoes are also one of my favorite cool water fish. there easy and look buetiful under any surcumstances. just look at some of the other beginer advice on fish on the net. www.aquahobby.com is an excellent resource.

good luck!
 
Drs. Foster & Smith's web site has a complete area dedicated to beginners, which can be found here. It might be worth checking out. Especially read the article "The Cycle of Life" as it deals with cycling an aquarium, which is something you'll need to do.
Click to expand...

Thought I'd comment on this.

Drs. Foster & Smith's may not be the best place for information. They say, in their maintenance section, that it's okay to do monthly water changes which is aobut 1/4 as often as they should be (once a week, 20% water changes minimum should be done).

You might want to check out http://www.skepticalaquarist.com it's a nicely done, very comprehensive site.

HTH
Puma
 
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