I need some help, my baby sister's birthday is coming up and i wanted to give her a fish tank with some fish

Question

I have an old 2 & 1/2Foot long, I Foot width, 1 & 1/2 Foot and my dad owns a small lake with lots of small perch, roach, rudd, tench, bream and jackpike and i know a river where some brown trout are. If i catch some can i put them in the old fish tank?

If so, which species would be best (bright colours, etc)?

And what do i have to do with the tank to make them feel at home in the tank.

I live in Ireland. I don't have a heater or a filter.

Answer 1

If you have no filter than the answer is no you can not. Lakes a rivers have high levels of bio filtration which you can not get in a tank with out a filter. As far as those fish are concerned you need to figure out how big they get to see if they can comfortably fit into your tank.

Answer 2

i would just buy 3 guppies from a pet store. a trio, 2 females and 1 male. then you will have babies very soon and will entertain a 3 year old seeing all the tiny little baby guppies. also guppies are very colorful and kids like them a lot. and your large tank will definitely come in handy when the guppies start breeding. hope this helps! : )

Answer 3

You really don't have the equipment for stocking native fish.  Also, you should check your local laws because it is usually illegal to put gamefish in an aquarium without special collectors permits.

Answer 4

absolutely not! those fish get way too big for that tank and they need clean filtered water. she is 3, she will not take care of fish, she can't even take care of herself! is she going to do weekly water changes, gravel vac, algae scrub, recognize illness and treat it properly? i don't think so!

Answer 5

Not a good idea.  You need to make sure first that she wants one and knows how to care for the fish and aquarium.

Trout will not live long in a standard aquarium, but perch and bream types will.  That's provided they're the same in Ireland as in the US.  These fish don't need a heater, but a filter and aeration is needed.  I'm not sure what the others are.

You don't mention your sister's age.  She needs to be old enough to care for the fish herself.

Answer 6

I seriously think those fish would get too big for that size tank.  And You absolutely need a filtration system.  Water moves naturally in lakes and rivers and this movement creates oxygen.  Filtration systems provide the same service and without it your fish won't survive.  Better idea would be to go to a pet store and talk to someone who knows about aquariums.

Answer 7

Sounds like you live in a beautiful place! If I were you I'd buy something maintenance-free....I bought my son a beata fish....and the tank does not require a filter....it cost me under $25.00 for fish, food and tank...plus the fish is still alive after almost 2 years!!

Answer 8

those fish are not suitable for a tank, buy a heater and a filter and get her a beta or some tetra fish.  You need to get gravel and a backround,   some fake or real plants.....I don't know Irish currency but cost 50-100 bucks USD....

Answer 9

I highly recommend a beta fish. They are very easy keeping fish and you dont need a filter or heater for them...  I have owned 3 Betas and they are beautiful fish to have. But also know that you can only have one of them in a tank. They are fighting fish and will fight...  They are very colorful fish too.. Come in bright colors...

Its funny cause I would hold a color pen up to the side of the fish bowl and they will puff their gills out... they think its another beta.... they dont eat much either... and are very clean.. I usually cleaned the fish bowl about once a week but sometimes didnt need that often lol...

Answer 10

You could make a sponge filter.  They are very easy to make.  Do a google search for DIY sponge filters.  You could catch and keep some minnows for quite a while and then release them back into the lake or river when they get too large for the tank.  She would probably enjoy watching them swim around.  Dace minnows are good and they grow fairly slowly, although I don't know how you would pick a species when you are catching minnows!  Just net a few minnows and get some aquatic plants and put them in the tank for her.  When the fish start to get too big for the tank, release them back into the stream and get her some more minnows.