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3K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Lupin 
#1 ·
hi everyone

so today i bought a second hand fish tank (model AR 380 ,22L) i just set it up about 4 hours ago.
Its going to be freshwater.

tommrow i was going to buy probably 3 fish, everyone is telling me goldfish are the easiest to look after.

is there any other fish that are ''easy'' to look after, i think its all the same. I also got a heater with the tank for tropical fish. Is it hard work to maintain a heated tank?
 
#2 ·
i dont have any experience with a heated tank, but if you want hardy fish a goldfish is your best bet. if you're starting from scratch maybe get some comets. they are like 18 cents here. that way if something goes wrong with your cycle or what not then you dont lose too much money. you might want to let to go for a day or two on its own. no fish. put some fish food in there. pretend there are fish that will help you with your cycle. if you can get your hands on some "Cycle" [thats what my bottle says] and follow the directions that would help you too. there is also another one that Byron uses that is good as well. He has uses Cycle as have I and my tanks are fine and dandy. as for some good fish try Golden dojo loaches if you can find them at your lfs. they are long eel like fish with sort of sucker mouths. more like a carp rather than a pleco.

these are very unique fish. they secret a mucous so if they get out of your tank they can live for THREE days. so if it were to get out and you see it all dry and icky you could put it back into the tank and it would probably make a full recovery. also if you touch them while they are in the tank they feel slimey where another fish would feel "normal"

they also store oxygen in their intestines so they can "breathe" outside of the water. its cute to see when they take too much air in. their bums start to float up and they will eventually "fart" to get rid of the extra air.

they even become "friendly" with their owners. they'll get used to seeing you walk around. they will even learn their feeding time. mine will see me walk and their heads perk up. if they see, hear, i unno how they know but once the lid opens they shoot out in search for their flakes. if you have your hand int he tank to move stuff or clean it they will nuzzle your hand like a cat and even kiss your hand. mine have even eaten out of my palm. my one female in my 20 gallon will sit in my hand if i curl my fingers in a hook. i love he muchly :)

other than that id say a goldfish. they are kind of boring and poop a lot. i dont think they are good with many other fish because they do eat a lot and they eat fast so fish like Betta that like to take their time and eat dont make good tank mates. most betta are pretty aggressive too.

Guppies would probably work. they are also known as the "million fish" because they reproduce like rabbits. you could get a male and two females and just wait for the females to have babies, and get more fish. if you dont use a net or some sort of separation or have cover for the fry the adults may eat them though. they are pretty good at surviving as starter fish though. im pretty sure a sword tail is basically in the same boat as the guppy. im not too sure though.

a nice plecostomus [pleco] would be a nice addition once you feel your water levels are safe to sustain fish. a pleco will help to keep your algae levels at bay and itll keep your glass/plants/decorations squeaky clean! they are fun to watch clean too. they live quite a bit and get kinda big too. i think 5" or so. one would be enough for your tank, or snails. problem with snails are that if oyu get dojo dojo will eat your snails if they are not fell enough.

i hope that helped! im kind of all over the place. im no good at orginizing my thoughts! i do recommend the dojo loach though. they are really hardy fish. they live 2-6 years. they get about 6"-12" [i think 12"] long, and they go crazy for bloodworms. also they are sensitive to barometric pressure! so they get really active the night before a storm!

here i go rambling again >.<
sorry i love my little dojos :)
anyway! welcome to the forum.
welcome to the hobby! if you need anymore help im here and so are the many other folks!
good luck bro!

EDIT:
i like your avatar :p
L from Death Note XD nice choice :p
 
#3 ·
good morning and welcome. :)
i don't think that a heated tank is anymore difficult to maintain than cold.
i have a fresh water tropical tank,and i have also kept cold water fish too.
Lupin here has many cold water fish,so you could ak for some truthfull information.
whilst commet goldfish are cheap and small to buy,if they manage to survive the cycle
http://www.fishforum.com/freshwater-aquariums/aquarium-cycle-252/
they are able to grow to around 12-14 inches.
you could have an easy to look after warm water tank,with some pretty fish in there,
that will look lovley.
what puts you off about warm water ?
 
#4 ·
Thanks for that very long and detailed answer i very much appreciate it. The golden dojo sounds really good, i did a bit of research on it, they says its agressive. So i dont think i can get the dojo and some goldies. Tough choice u made it sound so awsome haha.




Willow, i just heard that warm water fish are harder to look after, dirt builds up alot faster?( my friends have told me , yet they both have fresh water fish), the Cycle worries me a bit, i dont have any equipment to measure Ammonia or Nitrate.

I should get a few comets simple fish, not expensive just to see if they survive. Ill get a Dojo if they do :) thanks guys
 
#6 ·
Hello and welcome to the forum! Congrats on the new tank!

Your tank is 22 liters? That is just a little over 5 gallons.
I am afraid it will be to small for goldfish or dojo loaches. It is a great size tank for a betta.

Heaters are not difficult. You will need a thermometer in the tank, so you can make sure the water is the correct tempt.

Most of us here use the API liquid freshwater testing kit. Petco or Petsmart should have it. Sometimes you can find a better price at online stores.
 
#8 ·
Agreed, goldfish are some of the messiest fish to maintain as well...I've read in places where even 3 goldfish should have alteast 50G tank.....I would also suggest a betta fish!
 
#9 ·
I'm not too sure but is comet goldfish also feeder fish?

If they are they should not be used to cycle your tank, because they carry lots of diseases. In fact you should avoid using them for feeder fish as well. They aren't nutritious, and could end up getting your other fish very sick. If you want to feed your fish live fish, its best to give them your own livebearer fry from like guppys, mollies, swords ect.
 
#10 ·
yeah i just suggested comet's because they are cheap
and that way they can get the stuff in the tank that the bacteria need for the cycle
and if something bad happens like if he/she does something wrong and the fish dies
he will still learn from it and not lose 5-15$ of fish hed only lose like 75cents if he gets about 3 :)
 
#11 ·
zebra danios are better imo.
very hardy, ment for tropical aquarium.
Two ways to get a better selection into your tank.
1.) Get a bigger tank
2.) Get a heater

IMO goldfish should be best avoided unless you have good filtration and a big aquarium.
 
#13 ·
I dunno about goldfish being the "easiest". It is true they can survive deteriorating water conditions. The problem however is they are also one of those most susceptible to countless issues especially if not well cared for. They are prone to ich, bacteria infections, tumors, etc if conditions are very appalling.

Twistermom and Willow are correct. Comets can reach 18 inches in length, not to mention the fact these are also fast growers. By thir first year, they would already be 6 inches, never mind how much space they require just to swim around.

There are two categories classified for goldfish: fancy and pond. The pond category includes watonais, wakins, jikins, hibunas/common goldfish, comets and shubunkins. These are the largest goldfish that require exactly a pond or very large tanks. If they must be housed in tanks, a good guideline should be 20g per first fish with additional 15g per added fish. A 75g is the best tank size you can get for your comets or any pond goldfish. The width of 18 inches is quite feasible especially as they grow on the same length as already mentioned earlier.

Fancy goldfish on the other hand include orandas, fantails, ryukins and many others however many of them still reach 10-12 inches in length. Of all the fancies, fantais and orandas are the largest followed by ryukins that simply add more bulk than body length due to their unusually tall bodies. Allow 15g per fancy goldfish. The smaller ones such as tikus pearlscales, hamanishikis (crown pearlscales), tosakins and short bodied variants can cope with at least 10g per fish.

The above statements do not mean keeping them in tanks less than 20g permanently is okay. Each goldfish still needs adequate space to swim and grow which is why for a good start with fancies, a 30g would be the bare minimum. Goldfish are sociable by nature so you should not keep one by itself. As much as possible, stick to at least 2. The more, the better. Of course, you also have to ensure there is adequate space for every fish you get.


Rohland, unfortunately, hibunas, comets and shubunkins are considered "feeder" fish numerous times. While it is true that they harbor a lot of parasites, they still need to be given the same perception that we do with other fish. The first step is quarantine them properly. When I quarantine my new goldfish, they are treated with praziquantel for flukes and internal parasites, both common issues among coldwater cyprinids. A temporary 0.3% salt solution is also done to help destroy most pathogens that harbor the fish. A quarantine tank does not have o be loaded with decorations despite most people criticizing it as a waste of time and money. It should be kept barebottom first and foremost. Sponge filter and heater are all you need to operate that tank. Adding a few decorations in the tank as refuge for the fish also helps make them feel more comfortable with their environment.

Hope this helps.
 
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