Fish tank

[ttdub]

I'm thinking about getting a fish tank because a buddy of mine is big on them as a hobby, and he was talking about how soothing they are to watch. I've been down lately and honestly would like to get a tank. Something small like a 10 gallon fresh water tank. What do you guys think? Anyone here have one?

[Jozee]

I used to. They are soothing to watch but a real pain in the rump to clean. I got rid of mine because it was too difficult to clean when you're not well. Just my opinion tho. It may be much easier for you.

[SueAnn]

I got rid of my tank  for the same reason, very hard to keep clean.  My son's girlfriend has a little  bowl that hangs on the wall and has a Beta fish in it.  It is very cute and would only take a short time to clean out.

Sue Ann

[ttdub]

How big were they? I'm trying to be positive about this, but it's starting to get hard. Lol

[Jozee]

Mine was about a foot by a foot big.

[Patze]

Used to have them growing up, and am thinking about getting a really small one (hopefully the clean up won't be so bad).


Patze

[ttdub]

Used to have them growing up, and am thinking about getting a really small one (hopefully the clean up won't be so bad).


Patze

I have been reading for a while, and honestly, a bigger one with a filter is way easier to clean. You only have to take out about 10% of the water with a pump then while it down a little, and fill it back up. That's it.

[lynnmarie219]

I also have had fish tanks over the years...but don't now....right now I have a turtle tank...and turtles can be very dirty if you don't keep up on the tank...lol...but I love them.

Anyway...fish tanks can be very soothing to watch...getting a good filter is definitely going to help you out. Try out a small one first to see if it's going to interest you and if it does you can  always upgrade to a bigger tank. They come as small as a gallon or two and go all the way up to huge ones like 50 -100 gallons!

There are so many pretty fish you can get....as well as little frogs, crabs, and other bottom eaters and algae eaters that will help keep your tank clean too.

Have fun and let us know what you decide to do!  

[Katybarstool]

My DH had a tank of fish some years ago. They were coldwater fish and were a pain to keep clean. Eventually, they all died, and he didn't replace them.

Just had to tell you a funny though: recently my friend was reading a book about fish to her 5 year old. The book included information about prey and predators (as in different kinds of fish). To check her little girl's understanding at the end of the book, my friend asked her daughter, 'which would you prefer to be, prey or predator? The little girl considered for a few moments then said , 'I think I'd rather be an angelfish!'

I thought that ws so cute.
Kathyx

[Pupcake]

I have had tanks for years.

They are a little bit of work- I do a 10% water change and vaccuum the gravel every week but it only takes about 15 min.  If you don't keep up with the regular cleaning then it is MUCH harder.

I'd suggest at least a 20 gal filtered setup.  Big enough to hold some fish but not super hard to care for.  My 1st was a 20g hexagon.  More of a vertical tank and very interesting to watch the levels.

Right now I have a 44 pentagon corner tank.  My fish range from 1" Barbs to 10" Severums.  I have pictus catfish that go up and down the sides.

Good luck

Pup

(I'm not telling you that my old tank sprung a leak last weekend and I stood with my finger in the dike until DH could get home to help-  Tha't never happened before :-)

[Pisces24]

How about starting out with something small - like a beta fish in one of those gallon tanks?  That way you  can see how it will "work" with you before you invest a lot of $$ in it.

Fish are soothing to watch and supposedly help is lowering bp. But as my mom used to say, you can't take a fish for a walk.  Me I like something that wakes me up in the morning, appreciates me, bawls me out when breakfast is late, gets pushy and annoying at times. ( just realized that my sound like a husband.    ) I have kitties as they are pretty self sufficient

[Patze]

Aw Pisces, that does sound like having a "hubby"! 

You have self sufficient kitties???  They make them???  Wow, the fur ball I have is always after me to do this or that or another thing...whew, he's more work than kidlet was! 


Patze

[Meld256]

ttdub,

Sounds like a good idea!    You've already been given lots of advice, so I won't repeat any.  Fish seem like a low-maintainence pet (except for that tank cleaning) and if you don't have other pets, it may be something you really enjoy. 

I think for those of us who are home quite a bit, caring for any animal can help us by taking our minds "off ourselves" for a while, and they are fun to watch! 
Good luck with your decision; you'll need to update us, ok?
Melinda

[irish]

I am going to throw a klunker at you.  Guess I thought I had better mention it. If you get infections easily from a immune system that is weak I would think about this a lot longer.

There are mycobacterium that cause infections and it can survive in water and cause issues for people who have immune disorders. If  you wear gloves and even a face mask when you are cleaning the tank I would think it would be ok.

I have low t-cells and got Mycobacterium kansasii a few years ago and had to take 3 different kinds of antibiotics for one year. The one I had is a second cousin to TB but is not contagious. I had it in my lungs, liver and spleen.

I just wanted to let you know that these bacteria pretty much live in the soil and water and don't cause problems for people usually. It is the people with low immune systems who are high risk for infection that have problems.

The beta fish are fun to watch and would be a lot easier. Get a big enough fish bowl for it though. My grandkids had one named "Mabel" who lived about a year. I think she died from dirty water cause they didn't have a big bowl and also didn't change the water often enough. I loved the name though. Good luck. Irish

[ttdub]

I am going to throw a klunker at you.  Guess I thought I had better mention it. If you get infections easily from a immune system that is weak I would think about this a lot longer.

There are mycobacterium that cause infections and it can survive in water and cause issues for people who have immune disorders. If  you wear gloves and even a face mask when you are cleaning the tank I would think it would be ok.

I have low t-cells and got Mycobacterium kansasii a few years ago and had to take 3 different kinds of antibiotics for one year. The one I had is a second cousin to TB but is not contagious. I had it in my lungs, liver and spleen.

I just wanted to let you know that these bacteria pretty much live in the soil and water and don't cause problems for people usually. It is the people with low immune systems who are high risk for infection that have problems.

The beta fish are fun to watch and would be a lot easier. Get a big enough fish bowl for it though. My grandkids had one named "Mabel" who lived about a year. I think she died from dirty water cause they didn't have a big bowl and also didn't change the water often enough. I loved the name though. Good luck. Irish

I really appreciate the info. I will have to do the mask thing (though I don't get infections too easily). I will be keeping it in my room, so hopefully that won't be bad. I will most definately try to keep it as clean as possible. Does the Mycobacterium automatically live in water, or is it just that their is a chance?