FISH

[sandywien06]

Ok so my mother won't let me get any pets! She says, "no more pets, I am done with pets" Therefore, she lets me get fish (and actually brings a Betta home out of the blue) aren't fish pets???

Yeah, I thought they were, but i guess she doesn't think fish are high maintence, which they can be~~~my goldfish is always diseased and i keep trying to save him but a new disease comes so now i have given up!

So someone answer me: are fish just a decoration or something or is my mother wacko?

And also what should I do about my goldfish??

 

[Flex26]

No. Fish aren't just a decoration!! They're living creatures.

I don't think fish are high maintenance, per se. It's a lot of work learning to keep fish. But once you learn, then it's kinda low maintenance. You definitely came to the right place to learn how to keep fish.

As far as your goldfish goes....what exactly is wrong with him?

I guess your mother's view on fish kinda reflects a lot of people's views on fish....kinda sad.

 

[FroggyFox]

Sandywien...you don't need to cross post in this messageboard...I see 3 from you about almost the same thing just tonight. When most people check the board the look for all of the new/active posts which bring up all posts from all of the forums, so you only need to post once.

 

[catfishmike]

yes fish are pets anyone who tells you different needs to learn a new respect for life.any living creature that we keep and care for is a pet.any time a creature is dependant on us to feed and maintain it,thats a pet.and yes all new posts appear in both the top 25 posts and todays active threads.you can find the active thread button at the top of the main messageboard screen after you click on the messageboard button on the home page

 

[420Loach]

what kind of goldfish do you have? if its a fan tail or ryukin you need a bigger tank. the 1 gal is barely big enough to keep your betta in. fish are easy to take care of once you know how, and care varies with the fish. if you can get at least a 5 gal for the goldfish(try and get a 10 if you can). you also need a filter for your tank, and goldfish are cold water fish so you probably dont need a heater, unless it gets really cold where you live in the winter. you can put the betta in the 1 gal, hed be a little happier in there then the betta bowl. and do weekly water changes on both tanks 20-25%

welcome to the board, i hope this helps you out.

 

[Angelfish]

A pet is a living creature that you take care of (feed, clean, ect) so fish definately fall in to that category.
If you know what is wrong with your goldfish you can purchase medication to make him well, I'm sure he would appreciate that =)

 

[sandywien06]

Yesterday my Goldfish died!! I am going to get a 5 1/2 gal definately but i couldn't find anything bigger. I don't know if I can get anything bigger because I have to buy it myself and I am not rich!! I want to get a female betta and spawn my male betta. Oh and it don't have a betta BOWL it is a vase that holds a gallon of water. Is that okay for him or do I still need a bigger aquarium??

Thanks for replying!

 

[catfishmike]

get your betta into a real tank.buy him an eclipse exporer2 they are made by marineland and are sold at petsmart for about 27 dollars.it's a small investment for a good peic of mind because the eclipse offers a full filtration system andis a two gallon tank.don't get another goldfish unill your fully aware of what it takes to keep goldfish.i'll try to post some links to goldfish sites here soon

 

[Leopardess]

eh, go to walmart and pick up the five gallon kit, it is also 30 bucks unless you get the deluxe which is then forty. This way he has plenty of room, and you can keep other peaceful fish in there with him. The deluxe has a heater, thermometer sticker, light, etc etc. I wouldn't keep a betta in a vase, let alone two, let alone two that will hopefully breed.

 

[sandywien06]

I am not going to put more than one betta in the vase

I am going to buy a tank (hopefully a 5 1/2 or more depending on cost)

What kind of fish can I put with a betta

Is it possible for a male betta to live with a female betta in a large tank or do I still need to buy several females so the male doesn't pick on the one female??

Thanks for posting

 

[Leopardess]

I would get several females, but I don't think there would be enough room for a male and say three or four females in a 5.5g., if thats what you are even thinking.


It kind of depends on the attitude of your betta, some are mean in general and some, like mine, are the sweetest fish ever and wouldn't harm a thing. Generally, go with peaceful schooling fish that aren't nippy and do not have long fins/tails themselves - the betta may confuse it for one of its own kind. Try looking at fish like harlequin or scissortail rasboras, neons/cardinals, glolite tetras should work, maybe some danios, but they might aggrivate the betta with all of their quick swimming (and I think I heard somewhere that they can be nippy)...I don't know, basically anything that is peaceful itself, cories, otos, shrimp, white cloud tetras, frogs - they will also work.

 

[Iggy]

Been researching betta breeding. Is it true you can have up to 300 offspring (fry) is a single batch? I know it is not the norm, but is it unheardof?

So imagine for a sec... having trouble affording a 5'sh gallon tank for 1 betta make, now multiply that by 20, or 30, or what about 100 baby betta fry?

I suggest, just maybe, wait till you got enough coin to get proper tanks for breeding, feeding (live food for fry), and for when you know what exactly you will do with their offsping.

Note: I also plan on breeding a betta pair in about a year once I know how to take care of the one I have.

 

[sandywien06]

Ok you know what you people talk like I am stupid!!!! I posted another thread asking how to breed Bettas and now I am not going to because of the information I got. That is why I asked...to find out if I could do it. I really want to, but I can't right now. Plus I am going away to Florida i a few days so I will be spending my cash there.

Thanks for trying to help me, but now you can stop insulting me!!!!!

 

[Iggy]

Sorry for any insults! Not my goal. Just not sure you were aware of the costs/time involved.

If you want to breed them (like I do), I am sure you can. This forum is a great oppotunity to learn what you need to know.

I am in the same situation as you ($$$ for getting tank/setup), so I am trying to learn as much as I can while I save up. Hopefully, I will be a much better (allbeit textbook) expert when I do have the right setup.

Hang in there - enjoy Florida

 

[Leopardess]

I don't see any insulting going on...you asked an honest question, you got an honest answer. Your post seems more insulting than the one that it is in response to. The multiple exclamations seems a little offensive to me...but that's just me.


Please, I'm not insulting you, I'm just stating what's what.

 

[catfishmike]

whoa folks everyone just calm down.sandywien06 your going to get some anwsers you don't like some times thats the way it is.especialy when many people have suggested that you put your betta in a proper tank and you then repost that you still keep your betta in a vase.it's not that people are insulting you it's just that they know what they are doing.most everyone here started about the same way as you.i know i did.i realise that there is a lot to learn along the way when keeping fish but everyone has your best interests in mind.we want you to sucsessfull at keeping fish and what we are telling you is one way to be sucsessfull.you don't have to do it our way,there are plenty of books out there that will help explane things for you as well.but unfortunatly most of them say what we say too.what i'm getting at is no one is insulting you, it's hard to hear what tone people type in.

 

[sandywien06]

I am sorry you felt that my post was insulting. I was just trying to get across that it felt like your responses. Your responses weren't the ones I was talking about. The one that catfishmike sent is one of them. "don't get another goldfish unill your fully aware of what it takes to keep goldfish" That right there made it seem like I don't know what I was doing....and I do know what I am doing. I have had past goldfish that have done well. In fact, I had three at one time. (This was years ago). The problem was that this peticular goldfish was always sick. I got him at a fair so all of the moving is probably what made him sick with Ich and then right after he got over that he got a bacterial infection and was bloated with protruding scales (It is called Dropsy) Yeah see I do know what I am doing. So rather than treating Dropsy (which takes antibiotics and a lot of work) and having the fish get sick again and have it suffer again, I didn't because I felt really bad for it. I kept feeding him until he died.

Also, Iggy posted this: "So imagine for a sec... having trouble affording a 5'sh gallon tank for 1 betta make, now multiply that by 20, or 30, or what about 100 baby betta fry? I suggest, just maybe, wait till you got enough coin to get proper tanks for breeding, feeding (live food for fry), and for when you know what exactly you will do with their offsping."

This made me feel like I couldn't figure out that I couldn't do it own my own without someone tellling me I couldn't do it. I first of all didn't know that there were over 300 babies in one mating...I thought maybe 100 and then most of them would die because of the high mortality rate (They can catch diseases). So I thought maybe 50 would survive. My friend wants a few, my cousin wants a few, I want a lot of them because I love them...and I am sure I could find other people who would want one...like my brothers and sister...their husband and wife...my brother's girlfriend, My friends at work. I haven't even asked them if they wanted any yet. So I do have a lot of people that could possible want one or two of them.

 

[Iggy]

Hey, we are all in the same boat here. I tried to explain myself in my last reply. We have a lot in common,.. a love of fish, wanting to both breed bettas. You just complained earlier on about cash, so I added the 'cannot afford' thing just to help you get in the right frame of mind, not to stop you, just to prepare you a little.

We assume you are asking questions to get our opinion and help. Do not get your feelings hurt by some tough love answers.

 

[catfishmike]

i'm sorry if you felt that way.what i was saying about the goldfish is that so many people have the misconception that a bowl is the perfect home for a goldfish.while goldfish are quite hardy fish they need a lot of water not just a gallon,so when i look at your signature and see 1 gallon and betta vase that sends up a red flag right away.the minimum tank for one goldfish is a 15-20 gallon tank and thats living dangerous.no one is saying your stupid or anything else.it's just that a lot of people start small for so many reasons and then fail.i'd rather you know the in's and out's of a fish befor you have to go through a death of another one.if it means anything i started almost he same way as you.it was amazing that any of my fish lived considering all the things i did .so lets get on the right foot.how long have you been keeping fish?how old was your oldest fish?

 

[Leopardess]

sorry if I seemed harsh or whatnot...I agree with what catfishmike said about getting answers you don't necessary want to hear, too..

Um, sorry, I just got a little weary from the start when I read that you asked if fish were a decoration or a pet. That in and of itself says to me "she doesn't belong in fish." Also, we were not trying to patronize you, but merely attempted to answer your questions. Also, you have to expect a certain amount of skepticism about your fish keeping abilities when it states in your signature that you have a betta "vase" and goldfish in a one gallon (yes, I do have TWO in a five gallon - I saved them in the first place and they are soooo small - I don't know why either, actually, they are four years old!).

Also promoting skepticism is the fact that you "gave up" on your goldfish. What will keep you from giving up on any future fish? They will almost undoubtely also get sick at some point down the road. You need to be determined to stick with it and give them the proper medications to help them live...your goldfish may have had you medicated it...I had harlequin rasboras that had mouth fungus and I treated them for four months! I spent well over 100 bucks on just medication.



Anyway, as catfishmike said, tell us about your previous fish/ fish experiences.