I bought a fish

[zodiac66]

I bought a fish

I am only allowed to have fish where I live, so I bought one for the family. Its a comet and I currently have him housed in a 20 gal. tank. He is only about 3 inches of body and 3 inches of tail so a 20 gal. is fine for now.

Has anyone had experience with this type of fish? I have had goldfish before but not this particular breed. How quickly do they grow?

I will be getting him a bigger tank in the future. How much of a pain is it to clean a 50 gal. tank? How often does a tank of that size need cleaned? In the past, I have always used plecos in my tanks to help with the cleaning.

This was kind of an impulse thing. We went into the pet store to look around and I saw him and had to buy him. It is actually quite relaxing to watch him swim around.

 

[CyberHawk]

I like having fish in a house somewhere..but I'm not to good at keeping them alive. I like getting Neons, or something docile. Goldfish to me cloud the tank up to much. Actually having 1 Angle Fish(not sure their real name, this is more of a nickname I guess)...but they are aggresive, and need only maybe a alage eater to company them. I like getting a clear slide and buying 2 for a 10 gallon tank....but then sometimes they kill themselves hitting the glass looking at the other one...sheesh.

 

[zodiac66]

Goldfish are messy. I had a tank a while back with bubble eyed and celestial ones. Man, were they dirty little fish.

I don't know if I get a decent sized pleco if that would help. They are more for algea than waste tho.

This fish is just awsome to watch. The fins are so graceful while swimming.

It is not uncommon for this breed to live over 20 years. They are more of a pond fish and when I finally find my house, I will have a pond.

 

[CyberHawk]

Well as far as cleaning the tank..my mother-in-law has got one that size..and she only cleaned it about once a year. She told me that when I got my 10 gallon that I shouldn't cheap out on the filter system. I was having problem with algea building up....come to find out it was becasue my tank was getting to much sunlight from a near window...algea was getting crazy. So I moved it to a darker corner, bought one of those 30's$ filter systems....I bet I went for a year easy till it needed changing.
Only problem was by this time..I didnt buy any fish for like 6 months..wanted to see how long it lasted before I killed any more fish. So thats when I bought one of those "angel fish"....and all was good till he jumped out of the tank somehow...figures. So I just cleaned it and put it up. I was worried at this time my new dog would knock it over, esp since he was so jumpy around the house. I may still get it back out sometime...casue like you say..its relaxing to watch fish swim around.
My favorite was always buying litte signs and moving bubble stuff in the tank...and fake plants. Sure made it look good at night with the light on.

 

[zodiac66]

Are fake plants better than real ones? I bought some plastic ones for the tank but I think the real ones look a whole lot better and are probably better for the fish.

 

[CyberHawk]

Well for me..the less "living" in the tank..the better.
I dont know..some of the real plant tanks I see..the stuff is everywhere! Probably just more stuff to mess with and take care of....bad thing for me.

 

[th5418]

My dad bought two fishes from Petsmart two weeks ago. They have a policy where you can exchange/return fishes if they die within two weeks. Exactly two weeks after we bought these fishes, they died. Fishes are no good.

 

[zodiac66]

I have a decent filter..but won't live plant provide more o2 for the water?

I have always had good luck with fish. Never has one died on me before at least a year.

 

[th5418]

I have a decent filter..but won't live plant provide more o2 for the water?

I have always had good luck with fish. Never has one died on me before at least a year.

Yes, plants are a good thing. But sometimes they gunk up a lot. Clean your tank often, please. My dad cleans his tank once every half year. Maybe thats why they died.

 

[CyberHawk]

Ya but the bigger the tank..i'm pretty sure the less you have to clean it, so as long as you use the proper filters and such. Speaking of O2...cant there be to much in the water/per gallon ratio?

 

[{KOW}Spazed]

I have a decent filter..but won't live plant provide more o2 for the water?
.

Nope, all the O2 is released into the air and not in the water. You need a water pump to get more oxygen.


We have a bunch of Koi in our pond out back, some are pushing 9 years old now. Koi don't stir the pond up and live longer than your average goldfish. Plus they never outgrow the size of the tank.

 

[zodiac66]

From what I have read, comets can live to be 20 years. Of course that is under optimun conditions and only according to a few sites. I think is have a decent pump..I spent way too much today for him. The whole kit and kaboodle was $130.00. Thats prolly a drop in the bucket for fish enthusiasts, but thats alot for me.

The kids named him Cheddar..lord knows why. Cheddar seems to be much happier now than at the pet store. They had him in this little cramped tank.

I bet in a few months, I will be buying a 50 gal. tank for him. I have seen some really nice ones..but they cost big $$$.

Its fun for Liam as well. I bought a new digital camera and he got my old one. He has been taking pictures for a couple hours now. He has to get the hang of a digital camera. His thumb was in most of the pics .

 

[DrunkCajun]

For the record, the major problem I've encountered with live plants is they bring in all sorts of diseases, and more often, snails. Every time I tried live plants, my tank would be overtaken with snails within days. Thankfully my Oscars found them quite tasty so it was never a major issue, but I can only imagine the problems in a tank with a non-aggressive fish. I've also had Ich and tail rot make it's way into my tanks thanks to live plants, so be careful.

 

[zodiac66]

Maybe plastic will be the way to go. It just seemed as though the plastic may rip the tail fins..plastic is not as forgiving as live.

I have heard stories about snails...you get one..you have a ton.

I did see that there are some silk plants available now for tanks. Perhaps that will be a better route to go. Gentle yet non-parasitic.

I didn't pay a whole heck of alot for him, but in the short amount of time he has been here, we have all become attached to him. He is certainly not show worthy..he has a big crinkle in his tail fin, but that adds to his character. I just want to provide him with the best environment I can (within a buget, of course).

 

[{KOW}Spazed]

Maybe plastic will be the way to go. It just seemed as though the plastic may rip the tail fins..plastic is not as forgiving as live.

I have heard stories about snails...you get one..you have a ton.

I did see that there are some silk plants available now for tanks. Perhaps that will be a better route to go. Gentle yet non-parasitic.

I didn't pay a whole heck of alot for him, but in the short amount of time he has been here, we have all become attached to him. He is certainly not show worthy..he has a big crinkle in his tail fin, but that adds to his character. I just want to provide him with the best environment I can (within a buget, of course).

You can get tablets to stop ich and tail rot, we add them in every time something new goes in the pond.

 

[Dredd]

How quickly do they grow?

Like most tropical/koi fish, they grow in proportion to the size of their living environment - diet, oxygen levels, and nitrate concentration are additional factors. Off the top of my head I don't remember just how large they can potentially grow - bigger than some of the more common goldfishes though.

I will be getting him a bigger tank in the future. How much of a pain is it to clean a 50 gal. tank? How often does a tank of that size need cleaned? In the past, I have always used plecos in my tanks to help with the cleaning.

Plecos don't eat goldfish poop - which will be a bigger problem than leftover food. Goldfish poop ... and they poop a lot! The detritus will foul the water quickly. Two things will help combat this - a biological (or undergravel) filter, which you install when you put the aquarium together, and a siphon cleaner which you can use to vacuum the gravel once a month or so.

Aside from that, a monthly partial water change, scraping algae and checking for snails (if either show up) are your only regular maintenence chores.

Ideally, a 50 gallon aquarium should only need a complete cleaning every two years or so. A full cleaning is a complete pain in the arse, but sometimes necessary, especially if the bio filters get clogged.

Fish can spread salmonella - don't let your kids mess around with the water and always wash hands thoroughly after tinkering around with the tank.

Are fake plants better than real ones?

They can sometimes require a lot of extra care. Leaves die and foul up the water. Fish will nibble on them and the plants can become really unsightly. Plecos and other bottom feeders will routinely uproot them. If properly cared for, they can create a stunning visual environment - but it's quite a bit of extra work. Fake plants look just fine after they've grown a bit of algae on them.

I have a decent filter..but won't live plant provide more o2 for the water?

Yes - as well as an alternate food source, shelter and they also assist in the biological filtration process. But note everything I said above. A biological filter and maybe a freestanding airstone (like a tank-length bubblestone) will do the job just as well.

Fishkeeping has been a life-long hobby of mine. If you have any other questions, just let me know.

 

[Raistlin Majere]

I remember when I was moving, my brother put my beta in with my oscar to make room.

poor oscar.....

 

[CyberHawk]

I remember when I was moving, my brother put my beta in with my oscar to make room.

poor oscar.....

BETA'S!..thats what they are called..I keep calling them "angel fish"....ok beta's is what I like, but to have two you gotta have that plastic slide thingy..and preferrable a black one, so they cant see each other.

 

[Raistlin Majere]

BETA'S!..thats what they are called..I keep calling them "angel fish"....ok beta's is what I like, but to have two you gotta have that plastic slide thingy..and preferrable a black one, so they cant see each other.

You can get a transparent one with a black cover because when they see eachother, they change colors.

 

[CyberHawk]

You can get a transparent one with a black cover because when they see eachother, they change colors.

red/blue are the only 2 colors right...well, with a mixed dye effect like blue/purple/red I beleive.
I dont understand why they keep them in such small containers at the fish store. Thats why I usually buy 1 or 2, beacause my God...they need some room.