Keeping Tropical Fish....

[trt]

I was thinking of buying a fish tank, is there lots to learn and do they take up a lot of time?

[divegirl]

lol@ Boo I have to admit to being down to two tanks now. The problem being its pretty addictive. You have a lovely set up and then see a fish you want that won't live happily with your existing school.... so you but another tank for the new fish...and then another and another!

[ummmm]

How do you change the water in a massive tank?

[mrs_overall]

Over the years we have had 3 goldfish, all of whom committed suicide by jumping out of their bowls.

[mccfluff]

we had them, i used to love watching them, mind you tank cleaning day was never fun

[B00]

With a big pipe, suck one end, into a bucket ummmm.

I have one solitary fish now Lisa! It's been on its own for about 2 years, im secretly hoping to get up one morning and its perished, but no, it keeps on going, i keep on feeding and changing the bugger, im convinced it'll live us all out.

I also have my goldfish, coming up to 18 year old now, still going strong in a coldwater tank, but i like him :-)

[ummmm]

And where do you put the fish while you empty the tank?

[B00]

nowhere, they stay there. You don't completely empty it.

[mccfluff]

we used to put them in the bath, with the old water

[rowanwitch]

I had cold water fish in a large tank all sorts of fancy goldfish types they looked lovely still take a bit of care but are a lot more tolerant of water conditions and temperature...

[horseshoes]

Choose a good spot for your tank, out of to much direct sunlight (too much will cause a lot of algae and so needing a LOT of clleaning). Buy the BEST filter you can afford, a couple of plecs (fish which "hoover" the bottom and sides of the tank), some oxygenating plants and once everything is settled down maintenance will be kept to a minimum. Keeping MARINE tropical fish rather than regular tropical fish is more complicated and much more expensive. It's a lovely hobby - go for it!

[divegirl]

Awww What is it Boo? I broke down my Clown Loach tank as it was massive and only had the three fish in it... passed them on to a mate who kept them and with in a week they all went belly up, was gutted, I'd had them for 6 years and they were huge!
Erm... thats not going to want to you make you rehome it is it :0/

Ummmm I have a pretty big tank in my front room and I stick a hose in it,make a syphon [suck on the end] then hang it out of the window :0) Did get a Puffer fish try to escape that way though and had to rescue him off the garden path ooopps

[B00]

A harlequin Lisa. Yes i know he or she shouldn't really be on its own, and it wasn't to start of with!

[ummmm]

Like Rowan I had a tank with gold fish. I just wondered was it the same procedure. I presume that the clean water has a bit more preparation to it.

[divegirl]

Oh god... they're indestructible! Years a go we had a Black Piranha called Banana [daughter named it], it was such a boring tank and a guy I know said to put a school of neons and Harlequins in with him as they were to fast for it to catch.
Got up the next morning and there were 2 fish left... Banana and Arnie the Harlie as he became known.... he out lived the piranha!

[divegirl]

Keeping a fresh water tropical tank is actually easier than keeping Goldies!

Goldfish are the biggest waste producers so need more cleaning than a tank of tropicals. If done properly the filter will break down all the wast products but you need to over filter a goldie tank to do the same... and goldies need ponds not tanks, so if you want to keep a goldie properly you need a minimum 30 gallon tank.... not a bowl!
Oh and as for the argument 'well I kept a goldfish in a bowl for years' we know better now, we also used to put kids up chimneys ;0)

[rowanwitch]

I used to do a one third water change every two weeks and a full strip down and clean every three months with a bottle of fish safe chucked in as insurance. I had 4 big orandas three normal goldfish and some shubunkins and I ended up passing the whole lot on when I moved into this flat as there was nowhere to put them.

[rowanwitch]

I had two fluval 2+ filters running combined with an undergravel set up the water I removed was brilliant fertiliser for the houseplants

[B00]

lol, yeah, i'd kinda figured that one out! I'm thinking of leaving him in a will, he's bound to outlive me!
I do feel mean him swimming about all on his lonesome, but i really want to do away with a tank, apart from the goldy one, so im loathe to get a shoal to keep him company.

[ummmm]

That's interesting to know, Divegirl.

[snags]

I had a 40 gallon tropical cold water set up for approx 2 years: bloody hard work to do it properly and expensive over time (water test kits, equipment, accessories, running costs). Glad I did it but wouldn't do it again.

Join some online forums and get to know the guys in your LFS.