Sons first pet fish

[Shoran12]

Well today we got our 8 year old son his first fish. I’ve always liked fish tanks and had one when I was young. Always was very calming to me. I think he will enjoy it.

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[Shoran12]

Well, this was a short one. We came home and my sons fish had died. We’re getting him another one in a few days and possibly a 5 gallon tank. The fish didn’t seem to want to eat much but yesterday was swimming around just fine. I took my time making sure he was acclimated slowly to the tank. My kid seems to be taking it very well, probably because he’s caught and cleaned a lot of fish with me. Still it was his pet. RIP old Gill.

 

[that408guy]

Did you use normal tap water by any chance? When starting a tank I would reccomend something like API® Quick Start Aquarium Cycling Water Conditioner. When doing water changes something like API® Stress Coat Tap Water Aquarium Conditioner helps their slime coat and promotes healthy bacteria.

Huge temp flucuations will also cause a lot of stress on a new fish. Direct sunlight can heat up small tanks pretty fast. I would reccomend at least a 10 gallon fish tank, 25 would be even better. Smaller tanks are a lot more work to keep clean and things alive vs a larger one. First month is the trickiest part on setting up a new tank.

 

[Shoran12]

Did you use normal tap water by any chance? When starting a tank I would reccomend something like API® Quick Start Aquarium Cycling Water Conditioner. When doing water changes something like API® Stress Coat Tap Water Aquarium Conditioner helps their slime coat and promotes healthy bacteria.

Huge temp flucuations will also cause a lot of stress on a new fish. Direct sunlight can heat up small tanks pretty fast. I would reccomend at least a 10 gallon fish tank, 25 would be even better. Smaller tanks are a lot more work to keep clean and things alive vs a larger one. First month is the trickiest part on setting up a new tank.

We used distilled water and a product called prime that removes chlorine. I kept his plastic cup he came in the the water for about 40 minutes and every fifteen or so I would slow combine a little water from the tank into his bowl while I was waiting for it to reach equilibrium temperature. We set up the tank and let it sit for 24 hours before buying the fish. I’ll try the products you suggest and I planned on going up to a little larger tank The fish didn’t seem to want to eat much. We only had him for a few days though. Some of the fish looked a bit rough in the cups that petsmart had them in so guess it could be he’s been sitting there a while at the store.

 

[that408guy]

We used distilled water and a product called prime that removes chlorine. I kept his plastic cup he came in the the water for about 40 minutes and every fifteen or so I would slow combine a little water from the tank into his bowl while I was waiting for it to reach equilibrium temperature. We set up the tank and let it sit for 24 hours before buying the fish. I’ll try the products you suggest and I planned on going up to a little larger tank The fish didn’t seem to want to eat much. We only had him for a few days though. Some of the fish looked a bit rough in the cups that petsmart had them in so guess it could be he’s been sitting there a while at the store.

Bummer, he could have already been sick. One thing I use to look for when picking out a fish is ask an employee to throw a little food in the tank and pick one that goes after it. Another sigh is healthy looking fins that are expanded fully. Good luck on the tank.

 

[Shoran12]

Bummer, he could have already been sick. One thing I use to look for when picking out a fish is ask an employee to throw a little food in the tank and pick one that goes after it. Another sigh is healthy looking fins that are expanded fully. Good luck on the tank.

Appreciate the advice. I’ll definitely use it.

 

[9zero1790]

Did you use normal tap water by any chance? When starting a tank I would reccomend something like API® Quick Start Aquarium Cycling Water Conditioner. When doing water changes something like API® Stress Coat Tap Water Aquarium Conditioner helps their slime coat and promotes healthy bacteria.

Huge temp flucuations will also cause a lot of stress on a new fish. Direct sunlight can heat up small tanks pretty fast. I would reccomend at least a 10 gallon fish tank, 25 would be even better. Smaller tanks are a lot more work to keep clean and things alive vs a larger one. First month is the trickiest part on setting up a new tank.

you beat me too it!

 

[that408guy]

you beat me too it!

25 years in the hobby! I got tired of makign my own water and cleaning the dang things ?

 

[9zero1790]

despite not being able to love on them fish are great pets. most are smarter than we assume. over the years ive bred and raised about 10 koi, 8 sarosa comets and inside kept a long list of tropical fish. many of them i am certain knew me and other folks in the house as different folks. id swear some of them knew names id call them lol and they all had unique personalities. as was mentioned above get the biggest tank you can stand, more filter than needed and more oxygenation of the water than folks say to. get the tank set up and water made safe, nitrogen cycled etc. before bringing the new fish home. should make a difference. fish are a lot of fun. bigger tank and over kill on filtration and aeration will make much less work for you guys. let us know how it goes im excited for you guys.

 

[Shoran12]

despite not being able to love on them fish are great pets. most are smarter than we assume. over the years ive bred and raised about 10 koi, 8 sarosa comets and inside kept a long list of tropical fish. many of them i am certain knew me and other folks in the house as different folks. id swear some of them knew names id call them lol and they all had unique personalities. as was mentioned above get the biggest tank you can stand, more filter than needed and more oxygenation of the water than folks say to. get the tank set up and water made safe, nitrogen cycled etc. before bringing the new fish home. should make a difference. fish are a lot of fun. bigger tank and over kill on filtration and aeration will make much less work for you guys. let us know how it goes im excited for you guys.

Appreciate it. This fish was a betta with a 3.5 gallon tank my wife got. Very basic setup. I’m researching tanks now and trying to figure out what tank to get and if I want to try another betta fish or if I should get something else. We were trying to go fairly simple this round to make sure he could take care of it properly and in the future if he liked it then get him something bigger with more fish.

 

[9zero1790]

Appreciate it. This fish was a betta with a 3.5 gallon tank my wife got. Very basic setup. I’m researching tanks now and trying to figure out what tank to get and if I want to try another betta fish or if I should get something else. We were trying to go fairly simple this round to make sure he could take care of it properly and in the future if he liked it then get him something bigger with more fish.

just a recommendation a great fish for pets is the Cory Catfish. They are lively and cute, make friends and hang out together in schools and busy them self most of the time around the bottom of the tanks and plants. once in a while they will "breach" at the top of the tank. a lot of fun to watch the lil cats. they are also very tough and can handle less than perfect water conditions very well. they need to be in groups of a kind though. so get three of them. they can be three different "colors" of cory cats as long as they are corys. in no time the three or more will make buddies and hang out all the time. id say a 20 gallon or bigger. more water means less maintenance. now and then the chain pet stores will have sales for tanks that cost one dollar per gallon- plus tax of course. https://www.aquariumsource.com/cory-catfish/

 

[Shoran12]

just a recommendation a great fish for pets is the Cory Catfish. They are lively and cute, make friends and hang out together in schools and busy them self most of the time around the bottom of the tanks and plants. once in a while they will "breach" at the top of the tank. a lot of fun to watch the lil cats. they are also very tough and can handle less than perfect water conditions very well. they need to be in groups of a kind though. so get three of them. they can be three different "colors" of cory cats as long as they are corys. in no time the three or more will make buddies and hang out all the time. id say a 20 gallon or bigger. more water means less maintenance. now and then the chain pet stores will have sales for tanks that cost one dollar per gallon- plus tax of course. https://www.aquariumsource.com/cory-catfish/

I will definitely look into that. I’ve always liked catfish. They’re tough. I may just bite the bullet and go with something more like you’re talking about. Appreciate it.

 

[Shoran12]

Update: well after my first attempt to keep my sons betta alive for 2 days and not being successful, I’m pretty much what you would call an expert now ? Instead of doing what most normal people would do and replace just the fish, I decided to be my normal neurotic self (see all my posts about my truck if you’re still unsure) and purchase a 29 gallon tank, more water conditioner products, all new plants, a cool looking crashed plane, alcohol, and 6 more bags of gravel. I’ve read the alcohol is good for calming the nerves after setting up a fish tank ?. So tomorrow we will bring home two fish to start and I’ll obsess over this endeavor until I either have it mastered or my family disowns me. They’re pretty insistent on keeping me however. Did I forget to mention this tank is for my kid?

 

[9zero1790]

sweet! much better set up. i see you have the prime and stress coat etc. excellent stuff. a school of cory cats would love that for a new home! after you get really hooked let me know. I have a 400 gallon stock tank just tanking up space in my back yard lol. used to use it for my outdoor fish of and on.

 

[Shoran12]

sweet! much better set up. i see you have the prime and stress coat etc. excellent stuff. a school of cory cats would love that for a new home! after you get really hooked let me know. I have a 400 gallon stock tank just tanking up space in my back yard lol. used to use it for my outdoor fish of and on.

Yeah I used the stress coat and the quick start yesterday. When we go down later today I’m going to see if they have cory catfish. Figured I would get two fish and let them get accustomed to the tank and if all goes well then add a few more. The water test strip looked really good so theoretically the water should be pretty good. Temperature should be around 77-78F right now. If they didn’t have the cory catfish then I’ll have to see what other tropical fish they have. PetSmart is the only fish store close to us. There are a few other dedicated fish stores about 50 minutes away so I may take the drive out to them in the future. Appreciate all the info.

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