Fishies!!!!

Willowy

Most goldfish are not well kept. They NEED heavy filtration, lots of space, and lots of water changes, or they won't last long. Fancy goldfish need a MINIMUM of 10 gallons each, and comet goldfish (the common feeders and carnival fish) need much more than that---really they're pond fish, not suitable for an aquarium. So that's probably why most of the goldies you've known don't last a year. Personally, I have 3 fancy goldies in my 55g tank. I'm going to add a 4th soon, and I'm still debating on a possible 5th in the future. But I would never put more than 5 in there. I tried having 6 when I first set up the tank, and I couldn't get the water quality to decent levels. even after careful cycling. Obviously 3 of them have died, so something was clearly wrong. This is why I haven't added any more for a while. I think I have the water parameters in the correct ranges now, so hopefully adding one more will be OK!

I wouldn't put anything more than a Betta in a 3g tank. I love Bettas. You could also put 3 or 4 male guppies in there. Most tetras don't do well in small tanks, and I can't think of anything else that would work in there. Except maybe a dwarf frog (make sure to get a dwarf frog, not a clawed frog---clawed frogs get huge!), but that's not really a fish.

If you can still return the 3g setup, you can usually get a 10g kit for about the same price, or just a bit more. You have a lot more options with a 10g.

emily445455

Willowy- Like I said before, I'm not really interested in getting a lot or big fish...a few small fish are fine with me, big fish actually gross me out. Bigger tanks were really expensive....we spent too much money already on everything for our fish...

Willowy

I saw some GORGEOUS male guppies at Petsmart the other day....I wouldn't mind having 3 or 4 of them in a 3g tank. I'd love to add some to my 10g tank, but male Bettas don't like male guppies, because the long tails confuse them so that they think the guppies are other male Bettas . I think you could make a lovely tank with a few of those guys.

What decorations do you have? I like to have a few silk plants in any tank....they add a nice touch and aren't hard to care for like real plants.

Do you have any friends with a healthy fish tank? If so, if you could get a couple handfuls of gravel from their tank, or some dirty filter media, that would really speed up your cycling. I've set up a new tank with nothing more than some used gravel, added fish right away, and it cycled almost immediately, with no fishy deaths.

Criosphynx

my house would make you puke then.....lol Willowy is right tho, a ten gal kit is cheaper (or the same) as a 3g eclipse tank.

Honestly, big fish are more like actual pets and not just decoration. They have an impressive ability to learn.




Btw i know that tank is tiny before i get fish flamed, that picture is about three years old she has a new tank now.

Willowy

Um....wow. That's a BIG fishy! What kind of fish is she? And....how on earth did you get her into another tank?!?!? You can't exactly scoop her out with a little fishy net . What size tank do you have now? I sooooo want a larger tank than my 55g. Maybe a nice 90g tropical community tank.......a 125g woudl be much better, of course .

Criosphynx

Whats stoping you!!! go bigger!! YOu'll be so happy you did!

She a giant gourmami, shes about 16". I've had her since she was 1.5" and that was close to 6 years ago.

Moving her, is well..... interesting. We call it a trip to Sea World. I coat the house in towels first. I have a huge Koi net that a bought just for her. I've had to move her many times in 6 years.

Its wierd dementions, just over 100g. Its STILL to small for her, but the floor in the house is starting to sag lol. We have been looking at a 200g for her, im going to ask my dad to build the stand for it as my x-mas gift. Luckily, being a labrynth fish, its kinda like keeping a giant betta fish, so little bothers her.

When i bought her i was young and actually i had the "i'll get the bigger tank later mentality" (i know) then my young life went to crap and has only recently gotten stable, so my giant friend deserves a new crib for hanging in there.

I still have the silver dollars in that photo, they are about 13 years old now

Willowy

That's my main issue with getting a really huge tank (besides the mental block of spending $1500 on a fish tank)......my house is old (built in 1912), and the joists are only 2"x8" instead of the modern standard of 2"x10" or 2"x12". So I'm afraid the floors won't hold up. And I don't want to put the tank in the basement, because I rarely go down there, and the point of a fish tank is to make your living space look cool, right? I might be able to get my dad to reinforce the joists with plywood......that fixes all kinds of problems. He did that in a house he remodeled, and, trust me, that house did not have a problem with bouncy floors, that's for sure. I'm not sure a tornado could take down that house now. Hmmmmm.......

I don't want any big fish, but I'd love to have a BUNCH of little fish.....30 neon tetras, 10 cory cats, random other schools of little guys....that would be so cool.

Criosphynx

Thats what my SO wants to do, he keeps trying to convince me that our extra unused 55gal should be a planted tank. Im just not up for more work than i have already. I love corys, i know a guy that they wouldnt stop breeding for him, he was pulling his hair out, what a horrible problem to have huh?

1912? yeah, that would probably fall through the floor lol. Our house has built in 1952 and i think the floors are solid underneath. Theres no access anywhere to get under the house.


yeah, no point putting it in the basement. We had one in a corner of the kitchen and its existance was completely moot. I put the fish in the pond and stored the tank.

I guess one of the perks of working in the pet trade is free and cheap equipment. My saltwater setup ran about $200, my pond setup was $30 and my big tank was about $300.


can you build a pond outside? If you heat it yearround you can keep anything you want too.

emily445455

Criosphynx, Yeah I wouldn't be able to eat in the same room that fish lives in...LOL!!! I would love to get a bigger tank, like with a table and everything...but right now hubby and I really can't afford it...so a little one is just fine

Kuma'sMom

Crisosphynx, it's great that you were so commited to helping people in your fish store. Unfortunately, in my experience, that is the exception, not the norm. I've shopped at large fish stores and small mom and pop stores, and I've only ever found one where I'd trust any advice given. As a general rule, it's better not to trust what you're told in the stores. Good stores like yours are few and far between unfortunately. I find it's much better to educate yourself on a good fish forum first, so you can tell when you are being given bad advice.

Roscosmom

"how RUDE!"




just kidding, he takes no offense.

Criosphynx

lmao Rosco ,is that stud muffin yours?

no i totally get that bad advice gets given at alot of places. Its just the idea of things being said with the malicious intent to kill fish that i didn't agree with. Yes bad advice is everywhere. lol

Roscosmom

lol@stud muffin. Yes,he's mine. That picture is like 3 years old though.

I agree about finding the store you can trust. I remember setting up my first tank years ago and my fish store refused to sell me fish for a long time. The owner was like the soup nazi, but with fish. "You go now! No fish for YOU!"

drfong

Emilly, you are missing the point. Read the first paragraph you posted. These are not ways to cycle your tank, they are ways to increase the speed of the cycle. Picking one of these things will not cycle your tank. There are only 2 ways to cycle a tank, with fish and without. The cycle process takes ammonia, there is no way around it. If you put fish in the tank, you get fish waste which contains ammonia. If you don't put any fish in and don't add ammonia you will never cycle the tank by heating it up, running the lights or lowering the water level. These things only help promote the natural cycle, but still require ammonia in the water. I would only do any of these "helpers" while doing a fishless cycle. Any of those things will stress the fish. At this point I would really just fill it up, add some declorinator and some "cycle" which contains bacteria to help with the cycle process. Then add 1 to 2 fish max. Follow my earlier dirrections of frequent water changes to keep the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels low and you'll be fine. Remember to add declorinator to the water you are going to replace the water that you remove durring the water changes and try to have it very close to the same temp as the water in the tank. Does your tank have a heater? If not make sure it is in an area that will keep it around 78 degrees if you are putting in tropical fish. It is really too small for gold fish, but there are other small cold water fish. Also the idea earlier to get some gravel from a cycled tank is a great one. If you know someone with a tank that will give you a few cups of gravel, that would really kick things off.

Let us know what type of fish you are interested in and we will let you know if it will do ok in a 3 gal tank.

As far as the goldfish, you have fallen victim to the longest perpetuated myth in fish keeping. You can keep goldfish in bowls. Unless it is a huge bowl, the fish will not be ok. Your fish may have lived 3 years, but was under great stress for most of it. A common goldfish will get to be 6-7 inches in as little as 6 months if happy and healthy. The myth that they only grow to fit their bowl is only half right. They stop growing, but start stressing terribly. When you go into pet stores and the fish bowls and small tanks have pictures with 3-4 goldfish in them, it is not your fault for not knowing. The companies should be ashamed, and the fish stores should not let people buy a gallon bowl and 4 golds. Also goldfish create much more waste than other fish, so they really need more room based on size than typical community fish.

Good luck?

emily445455

drfong, I understand about the ammonia, I was just getting my tank half full to get it ready and the filter stopped trickling water out...hubby said maybe because the lid wasn't on. IDK.

Hubby wants to get a medium plecostomus, and I liked the mollies and some kind of really bright-neon pink fish. But we'll have to talk which kinds of fish are compatible, which ones need to be in a school, etc.


Thanks...i'm gonna need it, lol. I never dreamed getting fish would be so difficult...I read on a forum that many people who want fish get frustrated and don't get any because they don't understand cycling.....I can see why...

Ok hubby asked, what if we buy a fish and dump the water from the bag into the tank, since it would already have all the bacteria stuff in it? Someone said they just took a handleful of gravel and cycled their tank that way, wouldn't water do the same thing?

Kuma'sMom

Unfortunately, you need a much bigger tank for all of the fish you just mentioned. Really, the only fish that will do well in a 3 gallon tank is a Betta. They're great fish though, and have great personalities. They do need warm water though, so you'll need a heater for your tank.

Won't work, in fact, you should never add water from the fish store bag into your tank. It's usually quite dirty and will foul your water. Adding water or gravel won't cycle your tank, because very little of the bacteria you need is on the gravel or in the water. It lives in the filter media. However, if you know someone with an established tank, you can get some filter media from them, and add that to your tank and it will cycle your tank instantly. I never have to cycle tanks anymore, because I just move a filter from an established tank over.

emily445455

A betta...? That's it? Sigh...

My mom owns a tank..would that work?

Kuma'sMom

Yeah, sorry, but a 3 gallon is tiny. It would be fabulous for a Betta, but that's it. You could MAYBE add a snail, lol, but that's it. I wouldn't knock the Betta's though, they have great personalities if kept properly, and make great first fishes. There are some really beautiful varieties out there too. I'll warn you though, fish are addictive. I started out with one tank, and I'm up to 4 now, and I'm itching to add more, lol.

Just an example of some of the many beautiful Betta's out there.


(Never could get a clear picture of this guy, sigh)

HuskyLuv

The filter has nothing to do with the cover, they run completely independent of each other. Most likely the water level was too low. If you raise the water level does the filter continue working properly?



I don't think any pleco is suitable for a 3 gallon, they're my favorite fish by the way! I have even had a dwarf pleco that only grows about 2.5 - 3 inches and I wouldn't put it in anything less than a 10 gallon.

Mollies are too big for a 3 gallon, again I wouldn't put a molly in anything less than 10 gallons...even that is pushing it IMO.

Never heard of a "bright-neon pink fish" aside from those genetically modified "Glo-fish" (which are actually a danio species) and the "Painted glass fish" which is basically the glass fish injected with dye. I personally do not condone these practices and will not support it. You are your own person and if it's the "Glo-fish" you're thinking of then a small group would do okay in your tank. The "painted" glass fish is too big for a 3 gallon, IMO.


I would never dump the store water into my tank b/c of any harmful things that may be in the dealers water. Acclimated properly (I hope you've researched this as well!) you should be able to remove the fish and put it into your tank with as little water exchange as possible.

Placing gravel, decorations, or even filter media from an already established, healthy tank is a great way to speed of the cycling process. But again, all it does is speed up the process, not replace it. There is beneficial bacteria in the water column, but not nearly as much as the population you will find on surfaces like gravel, filter media, etc.

emily445455

My mom owns a tank, would that work? Would I still have to add ammonia and whatever else?