lollardfish (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lollardfish) wrote2008-03-11 09:12 pm
lollardfish) wrote2008-03-11 09:12 pm
Penguins
Today, Nico saw his first real penguins. The penguins saw him, too, but they (and the gulls and terns) were really more excited about the fish that the keepers were giving the penguins. Nico, on the other hand, grabbed the front of his stroller and rocked back and forth with great glee. It's a "free flight" area, so the gray gulls (from South America) were wheeling about and shouting, and Nico looked up a lot and was very excited.
He also loves the fish, big fish swimming about in their tanks evoked similar reactions of concentrated excitement. It's a lot easier to focus on the fish in the blue than an animal in the rocky yard, and boy was Nico focused.
This means, I think, that we need an aquarium. We can't actually afford one right now, but maybe in the fall when we come back from Europe. Anything that stimulates my boy's brain is something we need. Fortunately, I did spend the money to get a zoo membership, so we'll be back. Maybe tomorrow afternoon! It's gonna be nice and warm.
He also loves the fish, big fish swimming about in their tanks evoked similar reactions of concentrated excitement. It's a lot easier to focus on the fish in the blue than an animal in the rocky yard, and boy was Nico focused.
This means, I think, that we need an aquarium. We can't actually afford one right now, but maybe in the fall when we come back from Europe. Anything that stimulates my boy's brain is something we need. Fortunately, I did spend the money to get a zoo membership, so we'll be back. Maybe tomorrow afternoon! It's gonna be nice and warm.
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We could try to ship it? I could take it to Mailboxes Etc & have them pack it up, hopefully successfully?
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For info about keeping fish, I'd check out some of the articles & threads on http://www.petfish.net/forum/ Lotta good info there, esp for new fish owners.
Once your tank cycles (basically, develops a healthy bacterial community to assist w/toxin removal) and you add fish, you're looking at daily feeding, and weekly partial waterchanges. (This is the most basic setup- there are other kinds of setup, like I use, and perhaps MorganLF that require even less care than this).
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We've been meaning for a while to put a beta in the 10 gallon.
Advice free of charge.......
But I personally say just get a lot of use out of that membership and let the zoo take care of the fish.
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Craig has a great fish tank that he's maintaining, and Carrie and I have had one over the years here and there. Here's what I recommend (YMMV):
First, don't go crazy and get fish that need a heater, salt water, or special diets right away. This does not mean you're limited to goldfish, though.
There are lots of fish that require minimal upkeep (say a filter and a good cleaning every so often) that are easy to take care of and still provide lots of color and flash. We found, in the end, that a big tank wasn't for us and have settled on a hexagon tank that uses a small light at the and has a bottom filtration system. Easy to take care of and a variety of fish can live there. Currently its stored 'in-between' fish funerals, which happen...
If you do go crazy all at once, you may find the upkeep is a lot more than you expect, so talk to the experts at your local store.
End Chat> Time: 8:09 am CST...logging off...Retry? Abort? Fail?
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I will say bettas are vicious to other fishies. They attack each other or things that look like themselves or anything small or slow. I had no idea.
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Bettas go well with plecostomus, oddly enough, or with little Cori catfish or other bottom dwellers because they don't resemble another betta (bettas really are only interested in fighting each other).
Bettas can also be fine with a small school of neon tetras or some other fish of that size-- with them, you usually have to worry more about whether they'll nip at the bettas fins. Guppies can be okay if they aren't the fancy kind with big tails (again, because a betta without the best vision might mistake it for a female or mail betta).
Bettas, despite the way they are sold and the stuff marketed for them, are happiest in a tank that's at least 3 to 5 gallons in size. And with a heater of some sort. They can survive in a tiny tank without a heater, but they won't be very happy.
I'd recommend something like an Eclipse aquarium setup-- they have the filter and light built into the tank and are very easy to maintain. 5-6 gallon ones can be found new for as little as $30 and more often for around $50 (remember, that includes the filter and light). Then you just need to buy gravel and some plants and maybe some other decor (all pretty cheap). A small heater will run $10-20 and will be necessary for most small fish. It can add up if you let it.
Some setups can be found on Craig's List or wherever, then you just have to be careful that you trust the gear isn't infected with a fish disease or something (buy from someone who seems to know their fish and gives you the history of the tank or else be very diligent about cleaning the gear in a safe way).
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I posted a fair bit about fish in another reply and have a few more tips/suggestions/whatever:
If you get a tank that's 5 gallons or larger, you can "cycle" the tank-- that just means that it becomes something of an ecosystem where there's bacteria in there that eats the waste products and keeps things happier. The practical result? You don't have to completely change the water and clean the tank-- you can get away with partial water changes every couple of weeks or so (depends on size of tank, how many fish in it, etc).
'Course with a small tank, a complete change of water and cleaning it out can be relatively easy, just a bit stressful on the fish. With a single betta or something, it's fairly simple.
Goldfish don't require a heater, but they're also about the messiest of fish. 'Course I had a goldfish that was very tolerant of that and I just let the poor guys tank get all gross and he still lived for many years. Not that I'd recommend that! But they can be cheap (heck, you can buy "feeder" goldfish that are meant to be sold as food for other fish for just a few cents a piece) and simple.
Tanks I recommend (and have used myself):
Eclipse 6
Eclipse 3
Eclipse Corner 5
I recommend Drs Foster & Smith as a seller of pet supplies too (used them for those links)-- have used them for years. Cheaper than most local pet shops (especially the chains). Good informative articles on their site. Super fast shipping (at their cheapest level, even).
Other costs you may have when it comes to having fish: replacement filters, chemicals for treating tap water so it's safe for fish, food.
And if I'm making it sound complicated or expensive, it really doesn't have to be. A plain old bowl with a cheap goldfish or a betta can be a good place to start. (In that case, I actually recommend having two bowls-- so when the one gets dirty, you can just switch your fish friend to the other one that you set up a bit in advance so the water would properly "age". Then keep the fish in the clean bowl 'til it's not so clean, switch to the other bowl, which you'd have cleaned and set up again by then; lather, rinse, repeat except fish shouldn't be exposed to soap! ;-) ).
NippyFish is a fun, cute, informative site about bettas that I recommend to people getting started with them or who just want to find out more.
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