New Aquarist Lured To The Net!

[Zante]

A colleague has told me he's thinking of getting an aquarium for his oldest kid's birthday (5yo)

He mentioned wanting a couple of goldfish and a budget of about £50.

I got him to consider tropical, but what could you get with that kind of budget?
Second hand I'm guessing...

Also I have suggested a few platys and mollies, I think guppies have been overbred and are actually quite delicate. Opinions?

 

[mike455555]

iv mannaged to pick up at carboots tanks full set ups for £5 you can do it easy on £50

 

[Noahs ark6]

I've never had a guppy that lasted over 2 weeks, but have kept delicate fish like Discus with no problems, so i'd personally stay clear of them
Well done for talking them out of goldfish. They just aren't suited to tanks under 200ltrs

Have a look on Ebay, Aquarists classified and Gumtree

 

[mike455555]

i have a spare 2foot tank and light i wouldn't mind selling but i might be out of the way a bit (near Norwich)

 

[Dazzler666]

Yes it can be easy done. I got my first tank, an Aqua 620 (90 litres) with full set-up for £35!! .
Guppies ate hardy IMO as my missus has a load if them. Its trying to get them to STOP breeding thats the darn problem!!! Lol.
That aside, there are
Some lovely coloured fuppies out there but as most things, its down to personal taste but i think they are a good start as they dont really need others as they are not a
Shoaling fish and they eat pretty much anything ... Easy maintenance!!

 

[panda_cory]

I have had guppies for a while and they seem to be fine, so much so they have bred a lot. So maybe he could get guppies but just males other wise he will have a lot more. Depends on your opinion of them.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Oh no, more things to die, neglected and uncared for.

Children should have bikes and footballs and pretend guns, and guitars, and drums. They should be encouraged to read, to dream and to have fun. Their bodies are young and fit and will be able to run across mountain ranges. They should climb trees and play conkers and swim in streams. The young should have many, many things but whatever have, it shouldn't initially be alive unless it's part of a hobby the adult understands and actively participates in.

Children, in general, have the attention span of a goldfish and I denigrate goldfish when I say this. Please, please ensure that the person buying the tank and fish have an interest in them because it's very unlikely that a week later the child will have any interest at all.

My work takes me to peoples houses and I have seen rabbits and guinea pigs living in awful conditions because a parent has left the care to their offspring. Fish are seen as not really alive so not really bothering is not a problem, unless of course you are the fish.

Lecture over.

 

[Zante]

Don't worry SSU. My colleague is well aware it will fall to him to look after them, and he's witnessed two nitrate spikes and a fungal infection in my discus tank in the office.

He knows what he's getting himself in.

... But he did mention he wanted something easy to care for, that is why I thought of livebearers.

 

[KrystaK]

Platy`s and Sword tails are easy to care foe, Molly`s are good too, but they`re actually brackish water fish, which means they like salt water, and as I have experienced they can get what is called the Shimmies when they are in fresh water rather than brakish, they turn silver, get antsy and die :é (So unless you want to add salt to the water I would stay away from Mollies)

Also, depending on the size of the tank some cory cats and maybe some Tetra`s would make a nice addition with a few Platy`s But I think adding those fish is getting up to a 15 gal or more, and that may be a little over the 50$ budget when fish are purchased

 

[Zante]

Can anyone suggest a chiclid that will live happily in hard tap water suitable for a novice?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Can anyone suggest a chiclid that will live happily in hard tap water suitable for a novice?

A lot will depend upon the tank dimensions and even then, the choice of any tankmates needs to be chosen with care, because cichlids by nature are territorial and the tankmates need to have room to escape the aggression.

Lionhead Cichlids (Steatocranus casuarius) are one possibility, I've had 3 broods of youngsters in Southampton's hard alkaline water over the last two years, but I've also had tankmate deaths when the parents were protecting young in my 120x41x51cm Rio240 (Humphead Glassfish; Golden Wonder Killifish; African Butterfly Fish... the cichlids were usually model citizens when not breeding). They could combine well with hard water livebearers, my Limones Goodeid (Ilyodon xantusi) for example have acted as great ditherfish for my 37 Lionhead youngsters over the last few months, I'm sure more common Swordtails/Mollies/Platties would do just as good a job as they all like flowing water just like the Lionheads.

 

[Zante]

The tank will be between 60 and 100 litres, and if there is a viable chiclid species, I was thinking of a species tank, rather than a community tank.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

The tank will be between 60 and 100 litres, and if there is a viable chiclid species, I was thinking of a species tank, rather than a community tank.

At the low end of that range, I would look towards a pair or trio hareem of shell dwellers from Lake Tanganyika, such as Lamprologus brevis.

 

[Dazzler666]

Regards mollies, ive had, got & bred them and never used salt in my water with no problems. The ONLY time im aware you should need salt is when its a total black mollie which do require a small 'salt bath' maybe once per month when/if they show symptoms similar to itch but again, i never did this with my mollie and had no probs!! .
Cant help with malawi type cochlids as never kept them although ive found rams & kribs very entertaining!!