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1st fish advice pls?

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  • 09-12-2011 10:49pm
    #1
    Roola
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭


    Hi there,

    Our 6 yr old daughter wants to ask Santa for a pet fish for Christmas. This will be our 1st pet of any kind so we want to keep it simple...

    Can anyone advise which fish would be a good starter fish, both in terms of the intial spend and the longterm care. I had assumed a goldfish would be the cheapest & easiest but reading through some of the posts on these forums it sounds like even a goldfish would need quite a bit of money spent on a tank & equipment.

    Sorry for my ignorance but are there any fish that will live happily in a simple bowl?

    Any help would be much appreciated, we'd love to have a fish but can't afford a big spend at the moment & don't want to bring a fish into the house if we can't care for it properly.

    Many thanks!


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    #2
    kylith
    Registered Users Posts: 17,736 ✭✭✭✭kylith


    I don't think any fish will do well in a traditional goldfish bowl. The best thing might be a betta (Siamese fighting fish). They'll do ok in a smaller tank, but will need a heater as well as a filter.

    The best thing would be to see what the largest tank you can afford is and then think about what fish you could stock it with. TBH most fish are about the same, care-wise, and all will need as much space as you can give them. Fishlore.com is good for seeing what care requirements different fish have. Aqadvisor is good for checking stocking levels for your tank, but bear in mind that it's default is US gallons.


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    #3
    Rangi
    Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭Rangi


    Agree with last poster,get a smallish tank,good deals can be had now for 2foot(aprox 54ltrs),and they come with everything you need. You can easily get a variety of smaller fish in there,giving her a bit of variety.
    For best info have a look at the forum on www.irishfishforum.com it's local,and the guys know their stuff.


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    #4
    paddy147
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 15,858 ✭✭✭✭paddy147


    +1 for the Irish Fish Forum.

    You can pick up a complete 50-60 litre tank setup there 2nd hand for not alot of euros.

    Neon tetras are a lovely 1st fish to go for,especially for a child.

    Lots of colour (blue and red) and very easy to keep.

    They love to be in a shoal.

    So 10 or more will be very nice for a kid to look at and enjoy.

    Very easy to keep and cheap to buy too,around 2 euro 50 cents each.:)


    PS-Lots of small tanks for sale on www.adverts.ie


    http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_fish+tank/sortby_best_match-desc/



    PPS-Goldfish bowls are cruel IMO.


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