fishes

[Orchid]

Was wondering if any fish lovers out there could tell me anything about the little fish that looks like nemo and what not...

I have like a ten gallon tank (empty now) (was hermit crab home, but they have a different house now)..and I was considering trying to set one up with that sort of fish for maybe x mas for my daughter...but do not know ANYTHING about it all...

 

[missyscove]

The fish that looks like nemo is a clownfish. I'm pretty sure you'd need a larger tank to keep a clownfish happy. I keep freshwater fish. Saltwater tanks are a lot more work.

At home I have a 20 gallon tank with an assortment of tetras and cory catfish. I'd really recommend freshwater over saltwater. There are some really nice freshwater fish out there, try tetras or perhaps mollies or platies.

The thing is that the tank itself is basically the cheapest part of a fishtank setup. You'd need a filter, hood, light, air pump etc. Usually it's cheapest if you go for one of the kits they sell at a petco or petsmart with everything included.
In terms of actually getting fish though, I really recommend a local fish store over a big store like petco if you have one. I find I get larger, healthier fish from more knowledgeable people, even if I do have to pay a bit more for them.

 

[degrassi]

Yep, Nemo is a clownfish.

If you have never kept fish before you probably shouldn't start with salt. Salt can be harder and is much more expensive. Plus a clownfish needs a larger tank then a 10g anyways.

If you want to get your daughter a fish start with freshwater, maybe a betta and a few others in the 10g. Start researching the nitrogen cycle and aquariums.

 

[Orchid]

We have had beta's...not for awhile and never in an actual tank....we have a bowl..huge...but a bowl and I admit I got seriously tired of HOW much I had to clean it...goldfish were worse...

Thanks for the info...

 

[degrassi]

Orchid wrote:

We have had beta's...not for awhile and never in an actual tank....we have a bowl..huge...but a bowl and I admit I got seriously tired of HOW much I had to clean it...goldfish were worse...

Thanks for the info...

If you found that a betta bowl was too much work then maybe aquariums aren't for you, as they do require weekly maintance and water changes, more then a betta bowl. Also, just like any other pet you need to research, research, research before setting up an aquarium. The 2 most important things to learn about is the Nitrogen cycle and which fish go together and fit in your tank.