Aquarium?

[Zanshin]

I picked up a cheap-ish 20-gallon aquarium for my kid last week.  Right now, I have four (down from six) cheap goldfish in there to cycle the tank, and hope to add a few more fish (I'm thinking of a little catfish, an alge-eater and maybe one or two other varieties) in a month or so.

Anyone here have an aquarium?  I know pretty much ZERO about it, but my kid likes fish and I was looking for a way to make him feel better about things.  He loves it.  At this point, I set up the aquarium with the included hanging filter and heater (set at around 79-degrees), and I added some gravel.  That's about it.  The goldfish seem to be doing pretty well so far.

Anyway, any recommendations from people who know about this sort of thing?  Are there any basics I should know?

Thanks.

[rjs246]

Buy a Lobster. Name it Pinchy. Let it grow. Cook it. Eat it. Love it.

[Susquehanna Birder]

Goldfish are pretty hard to kill.

[Diomedes]

I just recently gave up on my 3 year fish tank experiment.  Killed the remaining two fish and threw the whole kit out.  They're a lot of work.  You really gotta clean them all the time..it's standing heated water afterall.

A flourescent bulb will encourage algea to grow, but will also light up the fish very nicely..makes their colors flash. 

Good luck with it.

[Wingspan]

get 2 alge eaters and you'll never have to worry about cleaning it.

[Diomedes]

even if the alge problem is solved by alge eating fish, you still gotta vacuum out the fish waste.  and regarding that, don't put much gravel in there..makes cleaning more difficult.  gotta change their water pretty regular, too.

[phattymatty]

weird, just this morning i was talking about a fish tank for my desk here at work. 

[Wingspan]

I had a betta fish live for four years once. By the end i think he had a stoke, because no fins on his left side worked and he could only turn in one direction. I was hand feeding him with tweezers.

That crotchedy old man betta was awesome.

[Zanshin]

I just recently gave up on my 3 year fish tank experiment.  Killed the remaining two fish and threw the whole kit out.  They're a lot of work.  You really gotta clean them all the time..it's standing heated water afterall.

A flourescent bulb will encourage algea to grow, but will also light up the fish very nicely..makes their colors flash. 

Good luck with it.

Wish I knew you were throwing it out before I dropped $90 on this one .

[Susquehanna Birder]

I'm in Dio's camp on this one. It's a nasty, smelly mess when you have to clean that sucker out. Way more hassle than what I got out of it in the long run.

Any algae eaters I bought were pretty weak. They didn't clean real well, and they died pretty easily.

[Sgt PSN]

I've got a couple of red eared sliders (turtles) that I've had for a few years now.  I keep them in a 20 gallon tank.  They swim a lot and eat fish and crickets.  It's fun to watch.  I've never seen them poop. 

[mussa]

Ive had aquariums growing up and up until recently alittle over a year ago I had 2. A 55 gallon and a tall 30. I had a red-belly piranha and two catfish in the 55 and the 30 tall was a guppy tank, with some silver dollars and beta's and some various suckers.

Z there is tons of information about setting this up right online. Your supposed to let the tank and water cycle for at least a month before putting fish in, to make sure the bacteria present.  There are alot of stuff you can do to make sure everything is okay. Testing the water is sometimes important because certain fish come from diff. types of water.

Goldfish are pretty hardy, but Ive also been told they carry diseases that can harm other fish.  Catfish or suckers are pretty hardy also, but you may want to look into it before getting something expensive. Goldfish are cheap, so no big deal. It all depends how much $ and how rare of fish you want. your pet store might have free info also.

when i moved i didn't have the room for the 55 so i just got rid of the fish and took them down. i loved having the tanks, while it can be work, i think the benefits are great. it therapeutic to just sit and watch.

[SD_Eagle5]

Anyway, any recommendations from people who know about this sort of thing?  Are there any basics I should know?

Thanks.

Didn't see it mentioned, but make sure you're using distilled water. Easiest way to get it is from the tap and leave it sit for 24 hours.

[Wingspan]

Use club soda. The bubbles keep the fish on the look out.