new to fish!

[Christina717]

Hello everyone my name is Christina. I live in lebanon PA and love animals. I have 3 hamster a dog,cat, and a bunny. I am however new to having fish!.
I wanted to start small because im still new to the whole fish thing. had fish in the past and after 1week they would die, so after the 3rd one I just stoped because i wasnt ready in my opinion to have one. So after I found this site I was very HAPPY to see a post about Fishless Cycling and after reading it and taking notes I went on a hunt today to find pure ammonia to get it goin. After going to 7different places I happen to find the right stuff at Weis. I shook it and no FOAM! YAY!
I have a 10gallon tank with 3 small fake plastic plants. A aquaclear 20gallon filter, air pump and some polished stone gravel. I only plan to have 1 goldfish in this tank. When I went to petsmart today to buy the stones I saw a telescope goldfish and fell in love so I plan on getting one of those fish they said it can get up to 6inches...so im hoping it will be ok to put in a 10gallon tank.
Let me know what you guys and gals think!

I just started the fishless cycling today and tested it and the ammonia is a around 4 maybe a little higher!
THANKS-CHRISTINA

 

[somethingsfishy]

Hi and welcome. This is a great site and the people have lots of experience. Idk much about goldfish I just wanted to say hi.

 

[Christina717]

THNX. yeah idk much about any type of fish. hopefully people can keep me on the right track to have a healthy tank for my fish. if everyting goes right i might try a 55gallon and get more fish!

 

[Coursair]

I'm sorry to tell you 10g is not big enough for Goldfish. Rule of stocking Goldfish for long term health is 20g minimum for 1 Goldfish. And you'd need about a 40g filter. They get large and messy.

Beautiful fish, but not good for a 10g

Look at White Cloud Mountain Minnows if you don't want to run a heater. Or a
spectacular Betta if you want a larger fish.
Bettas do prefer heat, but my room stays quite warm.

One of my 10g with all live plants, this is a new tank so plants just got planted. 1 Betta and one Guppy are helping me do a Fish In Cycle.

View attachment 51869
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This is my other 10g established Shrimp Tank


View attachment 51873



If you ever want to try live plants, just let me know.

Female Cherry Shrimp



View attachment 51874


>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My other tank, live plants, gravel and Cherry Barbs, Neons and Harlequin Rasboras.



View attachment 51876

 

[Christina717]

I think a 10gallon should be big enough for the first couple of month then when I have the extra money i will get a bigger tank but im not gonna spend the money if my fish keep dieing

 

[redsea]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice!

 

[somethingsfishy]

Just keep cycling and your fish should all live. I started smaller too and just recently bought a 90g. The best advice for this hobby is to pick your fish first then buy a tank.

 

[Christina717]

I will stick with goldfish since i like allot of different kinds i might get a 29gallon tank next when i have the money

 

[agwats]

Welcome to the best aquarium forum on the internet!

A 29 would be perfect for a Goldy. As long as you get one that's relatively small it should be ok in the 10 for a little while but keep in mind they grow pretty fast so it wont take long for it to outgrow that tank. A lot of people think they don't live long but that's because they shove them in tiny tanks with little filtration and the fish slowly poison themselves to death. When properly cared for your goldfish can live 10+ years!

Also check craigslist you can usually find tanks there pretty cheap or free. Just make sure they hold water b4 you buy. Sealing them isn't hard but since you are new to the hobby you probably have enough to think about

 

[Christina717]

i do have a 40gallon reptile aquarium that can hold water its kinda rough looking though. I would need a light though and at least a 110gallon filter but petsmart has nice aquariums. I like the longer ones rather than the tall once since im quite short

 

[agwats]

The longer ones work better for most fish anyway. And the forty gal would be great for a pair or goldfish. It would be cheaper to clean and buy a hood and filter than to buy the entire setup. Keep in mind if you buy a kit you'll need to upgrade the filter anyway but then you'll have one for your next tank (the hobby is addictive and it doesn't take long to get MTS)