I went today to buy our children a fish tank and some goldfish. I went into pets are us and decided to get a decent sized tank and probably 3-5 goldfish. I asked to buy them but the guy wouldnt sell them me because I hadnt set up my tank. Anyway, I bought a tank and I have dutifully followed the instructions, washed it out, washed the gravel, put some water in, and added the stuff which gets rid of the tap water chemicals. I also got a bottle of other stuff in the kit which is supposed to add beneficial bacteria to the tank, and of course a filter.

When did all this start? Im sure there is a good reason for it, and I will guess that fish dont like just being plonked in a tank full of tap water. But when I was a kid,you just got your goldfish from the fair, and if you hadnt got a bowl, you put it in a trifle bowl until you scrounged one from somewhere. You cleaned them out once a week and they had a swim in the washing up bowl while you did it. I had goldfish that lived several years - admittedly the ones from the pet shop lasted longer than the fair ones.

I know someone on here will tell me all about why I have to wait, and if its for the good of the fish, fair enough. I was just curious when and why things changed.

You said it yourself- it's for the good of the fish- if you let your tank mature properly, your fish stand a much better chance of survival once introduced - and I imagine fish suppliers are taking more care of their livestock now because of more stringent rules on selling. I suspect far more fish died when introduced to a fresh tank or bowl in the past than we ever knew about.

Also, its not just about letting the chemicals come out of the water and for the tank to mature. You need to beprepared for the tank to 'cycle'.

This is basiucally the process of growing bacteria in your filter to remove ammonia and turn it into nitrite, and then turn the nitite into nitrate which is much less toxic to the fish. You remove the nitrate by changing the water.

Goldfish are quite messy so you need to make sure you have a good biological filter.

I would recommend having a good read of this site:

www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk

in particular the parts on the nitrogen cycle.

there are also articles on the cyclingprocess.

In order to cycle your tank you need an ammonia source. This can be by putting afish in the tank, but that fish will suffer very high levels of ammonia and nitrite which is will not like and will shorten it's life.

Alternatively you can buy pure ammonia and follow the fishless cycling process, which will take a couple of weeks but you will eb able to fully stock your tank at the end of it.

Either way you will need to get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate water test kits.

If you just put several fish in the tank without doing this it is likely that some if not all will die, they certainly will be more prone to disease.

I know how exciting it is for kids and they don't want to wait, but its better in the long run to set it up right.

HTH

Thank you. I keep hearing different calculations on how many fish we can keep. I read on the net 1 inch per gallon. My tank kit says 4 x 2.5 cm. My tank is 21 litres. How many fish would you put in?

I would like at least 3 goldfish, perhaps 4 or 5.

I live in S8 and got my tank from pets are us at Heeley. Is there another fish retailer in the area, that is one which you would recommend?

Thank you. I keep hearing different calculations on how many fish we can keep. I read on the net 1 inch per gallon. My tank kit says 4 x 2.5 cm. My tank is 21 litres. How many fish would you put in?

I would like at least 3 goldfish, perhaps 4 or 5.

I live in S8 and got my tank from pets are us at Heeley. Is there another fish retailer in the area, that is one which you would recommend?

A 21 litre tank is around 4 gallons, so I'm afraid that's only two regular sized goldfish, probably only one as they grow larger than 2 inches :)

A 21 litre tank is around 4 gallons, so I'm afraid that's only two regular sized goldfish, probably only one as they grow larger than 2 inches :)

I'm afraid Twiglet is right.

Have you considered tropical fish? they really are no more difficulat to keep than goldfish.

Or you couls stay cold water and get some white cloud mountain minnow:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Cloud_Mountain_Minnow

which are smaller so you could have more, and probably alot less messy than goldfish.

While the 1 inch per gallon rule does give a guide, you can get more 'inches' of little fish than big fish as big fisher are bigger in all directions!

If you want any more advice just shout!

I checked out the white cloud minnows and also danios. We will probably go with some of those if they are less messy than goldfish. I was told they are very hardy and good for beginners. The Hobby Aquatic place at Heeley told me about them and I think I will probably go there. They seemed to know what they are talking about.

I havent got a heater for tropical fish. Any others who tolerate cold water, suggestions?

I really dont just want 1 goldfish in a tank which to me is largish (I know its not to a real enthusiast). It will be boring. I bought a larger tank rather than a goldfish bowl as we dont want just one fish.

I now have white cloud minnows which are conditioning my tank.

The lady at the aquatic shop said I could have some other fish in with them, but leave it a week and she would test my water (!) if I brought in a sample.

I havent fed them yet as my leaflet said dont for 24 hrs, which seems a little anti social. I have some goldfish flake and will give them a pinch a day, presume this is enough.
please keep the advice coming!

Another place you could go is Fish Inc at Finchwell Road Handsworth (opposite the Asda), they have quality stock and expert advice. I personally prefer these to Aqua Hobby.

There is also a local Aquarist Society www.svas.co.uk where you can ask any questions and get help.

If you have Danios with any other fish I'd advise getting at least 4 or 5 as in fewer numbers they can sometimes be a bit aggressive towards other fish, if there are enough of them they tend to keep themselves to themselves.

Thank you I will try SVAS I have a few feeding questions.

Im trying to get a bigger tank, if anyone has one at a reasonable price let me know.

Im trying to get a bigger tank, if anyone has one at a reasonable price let me know.

Its an additctive hobby!

In relation to the people at the shop testing your water, I would always say its beneficial to have your own test kits, then anytime something seems wrong you are ready to find out if the cause is poor water qualioty.

Also, not wanting to sound too contradictory of the lady int he shop, but its likely to take much longer than a week for the filter to cycle, more like 3.

When you add more fish do it a few at a time to allow the filter to adjustm if you put too many fish in at once you will start to get toxins building up again because there are not enough bacteria in the filter to deal with them straight away.

In regards to feeding, feed only what they can eat in a minute or so, if you have any uneaten food left ont he bottom fo the tank you need to syphon it back out again so it doesn't sit and rot and foul the water, especially during this cycling stage.

While cycling I would feed only every other day, they will be fine on this amount of food and it will help preserve water quality a bit. Also as the levels of ammonia and nitrite rise they are likely to have less of an appetite.

Good luck with it all!