I will be getting one for my daughter for Christmas so any tips would be great! I know nothing about own fish!
A small fish tank, assuming you want it to have an air filter and a pump, is anywhere from 30 - 40 dollars. Getting all the items to go in it can get expensive (the rocks/marbles, a plant for the fish to get in, etc) so I'd go in expecting to spend a little money.
We did a fish tank last Christmas for Em, and she's loved it. We went in thinking we were going to get a ton of cheap 15 cent goldfish, but the worker there said that goldfish are really dirty fish and you would spend your whole time changing the water. Plus, they die really easily.
So, we went with tropical community fish. Most are pretty cheap ($ 1 - $ 3 a piece usually). Only bad thing about them is that the water has to stay a certain degree, so you would need a heater for it.
It's actually a lot of work sometimes! We change the water ever few weeks, have to change the filter. Etc. Sometimes all of our fish die (luckily Emma isn't affected by that ... lol) and then we have to check the water to see if any chemicals are too high. I've mostly given all the fish duties to my husband now.:)
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But, it really is cute watching your girl pick out her own fish, feeding them, etc. First pets are so exciting!
A betta is your best bet! Betta's are extremely colorful fish that don't require a whole lot of room. They also will stick around for 2-3 years, and they're not overly complicated! You need about a 3 1/2 gallon tank with a small filter and a heater. I know that at pet stores they keep Betta's in those microscopic plastic containers, but how would you feel if you were forced to live in a cubicle for the rest of your life? Sure, you'd survive, but would you be happy? You also need food (obviously lol) and you can get pellet betta food at your local pet store. I also suggest some dried blood worms (I know that sounds absolutely DISGUSTING but trust me, they're not that bad!) to enhance your betta's coloring. If you want to get more fish to add with your betta, you have to be selective! First, you'd need a bigger tank. The basic rule of thumb for SMALL TROPICAL fish is 1 gallon of water per 1 inch of fish, based on the fish's adult size. Betta's are very aggressive fish. They are also called
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Siamese Fighting Fish for a reason! If they see a fish with longer fins (such as fancy male guppies) they will go after the fish and nip them. Also remember that you can't get fin-nipping fish such as tiger barbs, because Betta's are known for their gorgeous long and flowing fins, so you don't want other fish to destroy your betta's fins! Small tetras such as neon tetras, black neon tetras, cardinal tetras, etc. are perfect tank mates for Bettas. Good luck !!:)
How old is your daughter? If she's under 10 I wouldn't put it in her bedroom, but it really depends on your daughter and if she'll understand that you can't play with fish, contaminate the water, or feed it too much.
If you want the smallest tank possible you can get a 5 gallon tank kit. This one comes with a filter and heater.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tetra-5-Gallon ... You would also need
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com 5lbs of gravel (I like black with a handful of neon. It's sometimes called moonlight gravel. It doesn't matter to the fish), a small gravel vacuume, a magnetic algae scrubber, a backround, water conditioner, and 3-5 fake SILK plants.
The tank and acceseries will cost around $ 80 (that's not as bad as it sounds).
In a 5 gallon tank you can keep a male betta fish and a snail or 3 ghost shrimp. Male bettas are very territorial and won't get lonely if they are alone. You can feed it 3 betta pellets a 5 days a week, 4 bloodworms 1 day a week, and no food 1 day a week. Bettas (also called siamese fighting fish) come in many colors with different tail types and make great first fish. You need to change 20% of the water once a week and clean 1/3 of the gravel with the gravel vac. When adding new water make sure you use water conditioner and make sure the temperature is the same as the water the betta is in. Check out bettacare101.com for more info.
UM depending you might want to get a 20 gallon fish tank not too big not too small and tanks that are too small suck because you cant have a lot of fish in them i currently have a ten gallon and its too small i have three fish in there and it still gets dirty
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okay when picking fish don't ever st tart out with a goldfish that's how i learned my lesson they are the worst fish evr they poop so much and having to clean the tank every three days sucks
okay when you go to the Store ask if they have a 20 gallon kit it will come with the tank 21.00 the filter 30.99 the heater 19.99 and some other stuff and the full price will be about 120.00 dollars trust me that's cheap oh yeah it comes with a lid what you need to know is that saltwater fish are very very expensive and nun-hardy you want to get freshwater fish like mollies oh yea mollies have babies just like humans do so IT awesome to have them um you could have tetras they re cool or you Can have them together
