I want to get fish. Can anyone give some advice?

How do you pair them up? I want a male and a female but i guess that if they don't have company they will just keep on making babies, right? And what are you supposed to do to get them to that point? Can you install a water warmer if the aquarium doesn't have one? And what are those ''water softeners'' ? Why would I even need them? Some general info, please? Thanks!I want to get fish. Can anyone give some advice?
Buy an aquarium, as large as you can afford - because the more water you have, the more forgiving it is with water chemistry mistakes.





Your aquarium should come with (or buy it separately), a hood with a light, a heater and a hang on the tank filter and filter media.





You will also need a water conditioner that removes chlorine and chloramine - not a water softener. Water softeners are for specialty fish that live in a more acid environment - like some tetras and other South American fish.





Get a themometer and a test kit (test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH)





Before putting any fish in your tank, you will need to 'cycle' it. This means that it has grown enough beneficial bacteria to break down the ammonia and nitrites into nitrates.





Be patient and don't rush this step - it might take 4-6 weeks or longer.





If you really want to breed your fish, start with a couple of guppies or swordtails. But think about what you will do with all of the offspring. These fish will give birth about once a month - anywhere from 5-50 at a time.





These two breeds of fish are very easy to differentiate the males from the females, so you will be certain to have one of each in your tank. It's a good idea to have about 3 females to one male so the male doesn't pester just one female to death.





Of course that means you will have a lot more babies... And they will continue to have babies for as long as the tank conditions and their health will allow them.





And then, those babies mature and start having babies of their own... Pretty soon, you will be having a population explosion of fish.I want to get fish. Can anyone give some advice?
Remember to feed your fish, and that fish get SO scared when you tap the tank, they just might die. Tell kids that visit that. Normally you should feed fish 3 times a day. When u pick one out, ask a worker if it can do tricks of some kind, or get a friend(another fish) to make it more intresting!
You should get exotic fishes.
Whatever you do dont get betas because they fight and they end up killing them ssefs so maybey gold fish and i dunno babe





sorry
Best thing to do is a choose a fish you like. Tropicals are nice, easy to keep and generally prettier than coldwater. Marine is expensive and more difficult.





Some nice fish that can be kept in pairs are...mollies, gouramis, cory catfish, angelfish. A betta is nice, but can't be kept with any other bettas or anything else with long fins, but can be kept with a small shoal of fish such as tetras or danios.





Google all those names to find pics.





You'll need a heater for the tank. You need to choose the fish you want, then figure out how big you need the tank. Then buy it and the filter and the heater and the gravel. Rinse everything thorougly with water (no soap!), set it up, add water dechlorinator, leave it up for a few days to check everything is working.





Now add a pinch of food and leave it for four weeks, whilst checking every day with a testing kit to find the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Once you've had a couple of 'spikes' of ammonia and nitrite (where it goes high for a few days), you can then begin to add fish, slowly.





I dunno what water softeners are, I presume it just must mean water treatment, which you use everytime you put more water in the tank.





Hope this helps!





EDIT:





Lol. Love the way Liam D 'knows all bout fish' but doesn't seem to know what white cloud minnows are tropical and need a heater..? Dim or what.
Hi Lana.


1) You can pair them up anyway you want.





2) If they don't have any company, they just don't go ahead with the deedeedoodah (making babies). I had 2 female guppies and 1 male guppy, and they haven't had company for a few monthes, but they didn't go ahead and make babies until September. I got them last year in September! It takes them a year or more to mate.





3) You just have to wait for them to get ready and adjusted to each other. Be careful though, some species can make up to 30 babies! That's what I got now!





4) You can BUY a HEATER if the aquarium doesn't have one. You can either get one that latches onto the inside of your tank (submersible) or the one that just hangs from the top of the tank (semi-submersible).





5) Water softeners soften the water up incase the water is too hard. If the water is too hard, some fish that are sensitive to these conditions will die or get sick. That's why you need them.








SOME ADVICE:





- get fish like mollies, platies, and guppies: they breed easily and they don't lay eggs so it doesn't take as long





- buy some nice gravel for the bottom and a gravel vaccuum to clean up the gravel when it gets full of food





- get flourescent lights: they don't give off as much heat as the other ones do, and that means you won't have to keep going to the store as often as I do to get water





- buy some wallpaper for the tank: it makes the fish feel more at home and it makes the tank more scenic





- buy some FAUX plants: real plants are a pain in the butt and faux plants don't die or get as nibbled at as real ones





- buy a good filter: try one with a biowheel so you don't have to keep going to the store for cartridges





- if you are planning to breed, get some stuff that the babies can hide in so the parents don't eat them: like breeding grass or java moss (java moss also provides the babies with food)





- if you want, you can get one of those air ornaments: it gives the fish air and it's fun to watch the octopus/car/etc. go up and down





- don't overcrowd your tank with ornaments!!





- make sure you don't get one big fish and one little fish: BIG FISH %26lt; LITTLE FISH





- sometimes fish like tetras like to be in schools of 6-10





- get a chinese algae eater as long as you don't have any large, disc-like sides





HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!
When you go to the store, take note of the exact fish you're interested in. Certain fish do not get along. Betas certainly do not, and I've had poor experience with damsals. Lionfish are also solitary. If you get clownfish (which do go well together), for instance, and you want them to breed, put in a sea anenome. Don't buy everything all at once. You need to get the supplies first, get the tank up and running and make sure it's balanced and cozy before you put fishies in there. During that time, you can research the fish you're interested in.





By ';water warmer'; I assume you mean a heater? There are automatic heaters for tanks in which you can set a desired temperature and they will warm up or turn off to keep it consistent. They can be a bit pricey, but they're a necessity with many fish.





Certain chemicals to even the PH balance of the water are needed, morely with salt water fish. You will also need a hydrometer. Salt water fish require a lot of work and sometimes money- If you're not sure you want to deal with the chemicals and checking the water balance and all that, try fresh water fish first and move up later.





Whichever you decide to get, the pet store employees should help direct you to the materials you need. Be as picky as you want. They usually carry a variety of the same type of material, so you don't have to buy the most expensive one (which they may pick out for you). Also be sure to always ask why it's needed and what it does.
Hi Lana,





This place is full of excellent suggestions, so check 'em out.





The only thing I'll add to the advice you'll get here is for you to be aware that a fish tank has to have a healthy bacterial population for the fish to live and thrive.





The best way to get this going is to set up your tank, learn about keeping chloride out of your water (ask the store employees... if they look at you dumbly, go elsewhere for now), and buy some attractive plants. On top of this, ask the store's expert for a few ounces of gravel from their healthiest, cleanest and most trustworthy tank (this is a gamble, but it almost always pays off in terms of getting the right bacterial mix into your tank).





Start off with only 2 fish, and for the first 10 days, feed them only once every other day, only as much food as they'll eat in 1 minute. After 10 days, your tank will be ready to roll. Add only 1-2 fish per 10 days until you're where you want to be. If the water gets cloudy, turn off the heat, and don't feed your fish for 5 days.





The only thing I disagree with here is the one person who feeds their fish 3 times a day. Unless you want to maximize growth, don't do this. Once a day, or once every 2-3 days is more than enough for everything but cichlids.
I read the questions on your profile and they were all good valid ones. As for fish, go to a pet store in your area that specializes in fish. Talk to the owner or clerks there about your desires for fish and they will help you. Plus you can always go back to them for future help. GOOD LUCK AND HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING.
I can tell you everything, firstly avoid aquarium heaters till your more experienced ok. I started keeping fish a few year ago, i reccomend ';white clod minnows'; these are the easiest of fish to care for and one of the most peopualr and widely available, they will live in any conditions and do well in a group of 6+ other fish include the common goldfish( i personally hate them, they are likely to get diseases, they eat small fish, and are incredibly messy) i reccomend a 15-30 litre tank to start with, in this you can keep about 6-12 small fish happily, and water softeners are not needed for basic fish, i dont even need them and i keep exotic fish now, they are really only needed for extreme tropical fish or marine fish( which i would avoid even though they are unparraelley beautifull) also if you want a bit of every form of fish heres a great list cloud minnows,american flag fish(slightly harder and less available), algae eating shrimp( to keep the tank clean), these are great starting fish, also only keep males or females together for now, most fish sex readily and you will fish them eating baby fish all over the tank, males are usually more beutifull than females, also u must have a filter to suck up waste and left over food, also for the mentioned fish a well planted aquarium is best with some caves for hiding in and such this keeps them feeling safe and calm as well as happy!!! hope this all helps.
i would recomend that you read up a bit on keeping fish.It's a great hobby and if you place your tank (s) in the right place you can get hours of enjoyment watching your fish.There are some facts you do need to know to maintain a healthy tank and a little pre study will help insure your fish stay healthy.I like the ';For Dummies'; series of books they have good info and are great to keep around as a reference source.Try..';Freshwater Aquariums for Dummies'; it will answer many of your questions.
ask the pet store employee for assistants
All good questions.


Seek professional help for your answers, otherwise yo may end up with a tank of dead fish.
Hi Lana, the best thing that you can do is go to a smaller family owned shop where they are sold. The staff in those places tend to be better informed than people working for the nationals. You will need to decide on the type of tank you want to set up, cold water or warm water to start with. That then narrows down your choices of fish and you should buy a book on whichever type that is, take it home and study it. It will advise you on the types of fish who should not be mixed and also the diseases that they get. Then go back to the shop armed with your book and new knowledge and make your selections. Remember, fish start out small and grow quite rapidly so dont get too many to start with. I had fish for over 40 years and loved them but my daughter now has mine in her new home and i quite frankly was glad not to have to clean them out any more!
ok ill awnser you qestion,unlike many how are just a waste of your time!!


starting with tap or water safe, you need this becasue of the chorine and copper and other toxic metals that are within the water that can kill the fish also it adds beneficial bacteria.


im not sure what you mean on install a water wamer,


but if you have a cold water tank then yes you can to house tropical fish and if your setting up tropical then you need it regardless.





with mating if you want babies quick and dont care what they are then guppies or mollies etc breed quickly,





but its not as simple as setting up a date and hoping they mate!! it may take weeks or months for male and female to mate also some mate and stay partners for life or duration of the pregency and brooding. but unless you buy from a specilist store being a fish store then you arnt garrented male and female and pet stores dont have the foggist about male and females half the time.





now pairing them up if that ment mating then ive covered that above


if you mean which fish can go to gether then all fish stores will state communaty fish or live alone like red tip shark which are very teritoral on the other hand guppies, algea eaters, silver sharks, plecos are all very good fish to keep together








and i hope that helps





good luck with you fishy blind date's!!
whooop penis
get a dog