Have you ever owned fish before as a pet?

[Kayla45]

If so what sort of tank would best accommodate some small freshwater fish? My nephew is interested in fish and I wanted to give him something appropriate for his age, any suggestions?

[purplepoppy]

You can get all in one set ups that come with built in filtration systems and lights. Just pick one for your budget but remember the greater the volume the more stable the water chemistry will be thus easier to maintain.

Different water fish will need types of water, for example tetras need soft acidic water while guppies prefer hard alkaline water. Rather than trying to adjust your tap water it's easier to match your fish to what you've already have.

Guppies are often sold as beginner fish but that's because they breed too easily and they want to get rid of excess stock. They're actually prefer brackish water and are prone to fungal diseases.

Research any fish before you buy, does it need a weird diet, only eat live food, extremely clean water, is it territorial or aggressive, does it need friends or best kept alone?

Weather loaches are good for kids, they tolerate a wide range of temperatures and water conditions, they're very active, eat anything and will willing be handfed. You can even handle them for short periods.

[midnightmoon05]

Both mom and my brother has a fish tank and owned fish for many years. I have no clue lol it has lights and electricity this is how clueless I am lol … its pretty big… like 18 x 32… or more… he also has corals.
in terms of your nephew… how old is he?
Will his parents allow a large tank?
if he is younger than 10… they sell some kind of fish… I used to buy for my own kids… but they always died … they were sad to see their fish die so I stop buying them. The tanks were only good for 1 fish.
yiu can take him to a pet store, can learn about it.

[Blunky]

Just recently got into it myself. There's a wide range of possibilities for freshwater stuff alone and tank size requirements vary from a 5 gallon tank (called nano tanks) to well over 150 gallons. It all really depends on what type of fish you want.

If you want something really small but fancy, there's always bettas. Usually want at least a 10 gallon tank for one of those, which isn't that big of a tank. There's guppies, nano fish, even shrimp are a big thing for aquariums. Caridinas and neocaridinas are the usuals for those and they've got some really neat color variations.

Getting the water parameters right is the biggest issue. Can't just dump water into a container and throw fish in as they'll most likely die from the shock. Read up on how to properly cycle a tank and what parameters the particular inhabitants you want require. I will say, the bigger the tank, the more stable and easier to manage the water parameters will be.

[AviatorTom]

When I was younger, we had a tabletop small aquarium with a few goldfish and black mollies in it. The aquarium had a filter and pump, a gravel base and a few aquatic plants. The fish seemed to enjoy it. It was fun daily feeding them. It wasn't fun cleaning the aquarium and filter, which had to be done at least every other week.

[IslaTheWitch]

yep... a huge tank aquarium with sea fishes... :D

[NathanDavis]

nope... never really liked the idea of "water cages"

[TheSpaceGnome]

Yes but tank size is going to be species dependant, some small fish need lots of space, others don't.

[Staximus]

Think about who's going to have to take care of that fish, most likely his parents. Do they need any more chores?

[rizzzz007]

Yeah I had a fish once but died after few months and they all are died so I'm not longer have a fish as a pet

[Wiredone]

Never had fish

[Jackguyy]

Wheb I was little yeah

[Smile456]

Yes, Siamese fighting fish.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I had several fish.

[Jay-_-]

Nope I haven't.

[eagle1951]

yess

[Anonymous]

Yes, I have.