New here and to fish

[MaxDuo]

Recently when a friend took his beta fish along on a trip with some friends and I, I was thinking about how it'd be nice to get a fish of my own just to have something else different going on in here. But then I forgot about it after the trip. Not long ago though someone was telling me that Walmart had some fish kits for pretty cheap, and that they were decent ones you found at other pet stores, anyone know anything about this?

I was thinking about getting Danios..... I know that they will mate but something about you have to take them out of the tank for the kiddies to come along...?


Also algae eaters and whatnot... I don't really know much about them, do they extend the time before I need to clean the tank any... or..? All I know about those is I need dwarf plecos.

Also... I know I'm supposed to slowly put them in, not like 6 fish at once suddenly. How long til I should increase the number of them in there?

Anything else I might need to know......?


Thanks

[emc7]

The first thing you need is to match the tank size with the fish you want. Don't buy a 1 gallon betta tank if you want danios. I generally don't recommend the "all-in-one" systems. There are some nice-looking ones that have filters, heaters, and lights built in, but if one part breaks you are S.O.L. Choosing your own tank, lid & light, heater and filter often comes out cheaper and you can customize for your fish. Get the biggest tank you have room for/can afford. The larger the tank, the more stable the water and the less trouble for you.

Search "fishless cycling", "cycling a tank" and "the nitrogen cycle". It may seem like a lot of trouble to test water every day before you have any fish, but it is much nicer to know your water quality is good on day one than to have fish die and not know why.

Danios are egg-scatterers. If you remove the parents from the tank before the eggs hatch, the parents can't eat the fry. Leave room in your budget and your house for a second tank if you think you want to raise baby fish.

[Obsidian]

Welcome to FF Do a lot of research and it will surely pay off.

With danios if you don't remove the parents they will eat the babies (fry). My own experience is that the fry are not all that healthy, probably from years of inbreeding or something along those lines. I did raise the fry once, just for the experience, but now I just let the adults eat any fry that hatch. They don't seem to make it beyond about 2-3 days.

[MaxDuo]

Thanks for the welcome and the tips on them


Well darn, I guess I'll just let them eat the frys. I thought it'd be cool to have them for a while then let them have babies at some point. But if they are hard to keep alive I won't worry about it for a good while I guess.


Any other fish suggestions? And what about the algae eater thing I mentioned?

[Blue Cray]

Welcome to FF!

[emc7]

A small pleco will eat algae off the glass of a tank. But it won't reduce how often you need to change water, if anything it will up it because plecos produce a lot of waste. If you want a pleco, add it last, after the tank is established. And choose carefully, plecos that grow to 3 ft. long are commonly available in local stores.

[Obsidian]

The fry will survive, they will also be deformed. That is what I meant by not all that healthy.

[Good Wolf]

I recommend checking ebay, Craig's list, or w/e other ad media you have available for free or cheap tanks as oppossed to buying something small. If your like us you'll buy a few fish, and the MTS will kick in. (multiple tank syndrome)

I set up a five gallon and had a horrible experience with it. The smaller the body of water the harder it is to maintain.

Of course I'm just speaking from personal experience.