My son asked for an aquarium for his 10th birthday

Question

I know that maintaining an aquarium can get quite expensive. What are the necessary items that I need to buy (filters, heaters,etc.) and what are your recommendations far as type of fish and where to buy from. If I am going to buy him some fish I am not going to buy ick infested ones from Wal-Mart. I am thinking of possibly a 5 gallon tank. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Actually maintaining a tank isn't really all that expensive, the initial setup can be but not if you are smart about it. First you need the tank, rocks, and decorations, a filter, and a small heater. Do you have a freecycle group in your area? We have one here and there are always people giving away aquarium stuff. I think Guppies are great starter fish, they are hearty and have some really neat looking ones out there. Mollies are good too but they can get pretty pricey. Guppies breed quite often so if that's what you choose I would only get a few because before you know it you will need a bigger tank.  

Answer 2

A 5 gallon tank would be perfect for a single male betta (Siamese Fighting Fish), and perhaps a ghost shrimp as a tankmate. It's really too small to have a couple of fish - you could maybe go with a few guppies instead, but again, there's a space issue. They have nice set-ups (Minibow is the brand name) that come in 1, 2.5 and 5 gallon setups that come with a lid, filter, etc. As far as the fish go, use your head. If they look healthy, bright, and active, then odds are they're good to go. If they're sickly, skinny, covered in fungus or ick and half of them are stuck to the filter, go elsewhere.

No matter what you do, don't go with goldfish. They require so much more care than what most people give them - 20+ gallons for the first fish, then at least 10 more for each additional fish, not to mention the heavy filtration and aeration. As far as simplicity goes, you can't get much easier than a betta. If you are planning on using a filter, get at least a 5 gallon tank, and cycle it properly (you can read up on how to 'cycle' a tank pretty much anywhere on the internet). The betta will be very happy with his nice new home (they cannot be kept with either males or females of their same species, so it will have to be solo, and females should only be kept together in at least a 10g tank) and your son will have a nice little aquarium and a new fishy friend.

Good luck!

Answer 3

a 5 gallon tank is more waste of water buy a bigger tank 10 to 15 the bigger the tank with less occupants the less water maintenance.

Filter buy an overhead with the smallest pump

Heater not needed depend on the fish your planning to have.

You want a low maintainance fish then swortail, black molly, zebra, white sailfin, guppies.

kOi keeper & goldfish keeper

Answer 4

In my opintion you should get a 20 gallon kit ( comes with heater,light,filter) also you will need water conditioner, bateria starter, and food.  You will need to cycle the tank ( google fish tank cycle or setup ) either with fish or without. You will also need decor and gravel and a water test kit. If your going to cycle with fish buy three zebra danio, they are in my opintion the best. All together it will prob cost you around 140 bucks, at least around Chicago anyways. (you could probly find cheaper) The bigger the tank Is the EASYER it is to maintain because the water conditins will change slower than in a small tank. Heck you could even get a 55 gallon setup at walmart with everything. But décor for about 185 bucks. Good luck and hope your son likes his fish tank.  

Answer 5

I would buy him a chinese fighting fish (beta fish).  They come in many different colors.  They also can live in a fish bowl and they don't need a filter.  They are easy to take care of and they are inexpensive.

Answer 6

Get a ten gallon.  They're about the same price (sometimes less because they're common and go on sale) as a five gallon, and the bigger the tank, the easier to keep clean.  A ten gallon tank is not that large, either.

Do not buy goldfish because they are engineered to grow at least a foot long.  Buy tropical fishes that don't grow more than 3 inches long at adult length.  Tetras are good (and there are many different kinds of tetras) because they don't get pregnant.  Livebearers such as platies and guppies are nice, but you have a good chance of pregnancy and birth happening in the tank.  You need a power filter and a heater.  Get some nice gravel and lots of fake plants (makes the fishes feel secure when they know they can hide).  Keep the temperature between 70 and 80 (it differs depending on the type of fish).  There is a lot more to know about the fishes but you can find more info doing a google search.  And buy the fish from a local store that specializes in fish, don't go to ANY chain.  The starting costs will probably be $60-$90, and then it won't cost more than $5 a month to keep it up.  Be sure to get a gravel siphon also, to be able to clean the bottom of the tank.

Answer 7

Get him a 2 beta fish they are low maintenance and perfect for a ten year old tell him if he take cares this fish he could get a big aquarium. for beta no filter or heater is ness. go to petsmart but first examine the

fish to ensure they are lively get more than one but don't get more than one male.... they are cool because with mirrors they (the males) get angry and their fins and gills flare up (which makes them pretty)

Answer 8

Quite simply you need:

a tank

a filter

a thermostat (heater)

some water conditioner

some gravel

the tank will need to be set up for at least a week before you can put any fish into it. apply the water conditioner as directed (this will promote the growth of the 'good bacteria' needed to help keep the fish alive). the thermostat needs to be set at around 27C. if you put loads of fish in at once they will die so start off with only a few. the best are Mollies or Zebra Danios as they are inexpensive and can survive quite well in a tank that has only recently been set up. whatever you do DO NOT GET GUPPIES OR NEON TETRAS. they are very popular and nice to look at but will not last long in a new tank and your son will just end up being upset because they have died. you can then add more fish after 2 more weeks, the idea is to add them slowly so that the chemicals in the water (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) do not sky rocket.

a freshwater aquarium is a brilliant present for a 10 year old so im sure he will enjoy it. Personally i wouldn't buy him a Beta (Siamese Fighter Fish), they look nice and are easy to keep, but can be very boring for a young person. i think that going to the shop and choosing fish is the most fun part of keeping fish.

Answer 9

like said before, betas are probably the lowest maintenance.

although, if he wants a TANK, i would go with a 5 or 10. i have a 5.5 gallon and its pretty small. you also need a filter, i got a great one for 15 dollars at pet supplies plus. duetto 50. great filter. also a light, rocks, air, maybe some plants. and you definitely need a heater if you ever plan on getting any good fish....

okay, first off, you shoulld get some hardy fish like guppies to "cycle" your tank. takes about 6 weeks to get all that good bacteria in there to naturally cycle the water.i dont suggest gold fish though, they are very dirty and have ALOT of ammonia in their urine and will slowly suffocate themselves in such a small tank.

reason for a heater is that not all fish are as hardy as guppies, gold fish, etc. MOST fish need a pretty constant water temp. they will develop ich iif they are stressed and one major cause of ich is temp fluctuations. i found a good one that always stays at 78 deg for $15 at walmart.

i think getting a tank is a great idea, its a little expensive at first, but its all worth it. after you learn more you might even want to add dwarf froggs to the tank as well

=] hope it helps!!  

Answer 10

I'm 13 and just got a smaller 2 gallon tank and put a male betta fish in there (don't put other fish with betta unless its a big tank and never put 2 betta fish together) and a black mystery snail and a live plant i do have an air pump (prob don't need it) and they can have heaters but really don't need them there very hardy and live for a while my aunt had one that lived for like 4 years but they average around a year hope my advice was helpfull get a male betta they are really beautiful plus ur son prob doesn't want a girl fish in his room

Answer 11

I would personally get at least a 10 gallon tank, so you can get more fish and it doesn't get dirty as fast.  What you need to buy depends on the type of fish you get.  If you buy any type of goldfish or koi you will not need a heater.  If you buy tropical fish you will need a heater, and they will be harder to keep alive.  I would recommend starting with some type of goldfish, and then if he does well with them you can always move on to some kind of tropical fish.

You will need the following for your tank:

-rocks for bottom

-filter (I prefer bio wheel power filters by penguin or millennium)

-food for your fish

-hood with light for top of tank (may come with tank)

-a water conditioner that takes chemicals out of water, comes in a bottle.  I prefer Stress Coat, but others work well also.

Optional items:

-Gravel Vacuums - make cleaning tank easier

-bubble wall and small air pump to run it, adds oxygen to water

-background picture for back of tank

-fake plants or other items to place in tank

-if your son really loves his tank and decides to keep it for a long time you may eventually want to invest in a python gravel vacuum.  It hooks up to the sink and makes cleaning fish tanks incredibly easy!

I would not buy fish at Walmart or even any of the other big pet stores.  I have not had luck with any of them.  If you have a local pet store, I would go there first.

It is best to set up the aquarium and run it without fish for a couple days before adding fish.  Do not buy any algae eating fish for a couple of months, your new tank will be too clean for them.

Answer 12

yes 5 gallons acrylic tank looks ok, but if you purchase 5 gallons glass tank it looks quite small. I recommend you to buy a 10 gallons glass tank with hood and everything for just $8-13, i've seen $8 in PET LAND. I wouldn't buy a heater because during the summer, the water temperature is very warm and in winter, we have heat in my apartment, though heater only cost around $20 for 5 gallons, the electricity fee for heater will cost couple hundreds per year, and you CANNOT use a heater for acrylic tanks. Thus, just buy a 10 gallons glass tank with all setup, and a filter would be good enough, filter produces oxygen, so air pump is not neccessary, happy b-day to your son.

Answer 13

If you are going to get it anyway, its not that expensive.

All you really need is the tank, rocks, filter system, and the fish.

Shouldnt be too much I would go to a local pets mart and get an estimate.