# Starter fish tank for children



## bluebaron (Nov 8, 2008)

hi all,

My 9 year old wants to get some fish anyone suggest a good starter tank/fish?

i thinking of a bio-orb? basically something thats nice to look at and low maintainance.

Thanks for you advice.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Bi-orbs are alright. Not an amazing tank, but they are a nice little starter one. 

As always: get the biggest tank you can afford in terms of money, time, effort, space etc. The bigger the tank, the more easy it is to maintain good water quality. 

If you dont go for the bi-orb (which I personally wouldn't, but they are a fine tank), a 2/3 X 1 X1/1.5ft tank is a nice starter size. You can keep a nice amount of fish in there. 

I would suggest getting the all-in-one set ups as a first tropical tank. They are usually alright: heater, internal filter, light, light starter unit, lid, condensation tray, substrate, decorations. Just add fish and water... in the opposite order. 

Take a look at the thread called "Fishless Cycling" at the top of this section. The tank must be cycled properly. 

Good luck


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## ip3kid (May 21, 2008)

Too be honest i wouldnt recomend goldfish as they can grow up to 18 inches.

Goldfish are pondfish.

Go with tropicals, Tetra's,Guppys,Mollies.


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## Boothy (Feb 26, 2008)

rummy nose tetras are a really great and easy fish to keep, I have 5 of them in my community tank...other great starter fish are most tetras, platties, guppy, mollies, and gouramies are a really nice peacful fish that are fairly easy to keep. :2thumb:

try to get fish that will cover the three areas of the tank...for the bottom, cory's are great little fish, I have bronze and peppered corries, for the middle and top, gouramies, tetras, live-bearers and maybe hatchet fish, although these need a tank with good covers over the water as they can jump out.


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## Paul_MTS (Mar 23, 2008)

Rummy Nose are no way a starter fish and will perish in a newly set up tank.

I always recomend guppies, neon tetras, mollies, swordtails or platties for first fish in a tank, and yes I practice cycling with fish.

Good start tanks are tanks like Elite Style 35/60/90, Tetra AquaArt 60 (although the filters aren't too hot on these and finally Juwel Rekord tanks. With Rekord make sure your buying new stock as they have recently changed styles and the new style lids are so much better than the old ones.

Have a look on Pet Supplies, Aquariums and Pond Supplies, Dog Food & Pet Food Online for all the tanks I have listed.


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## tinks30 (Nov 2, 2008)

Bi-orb can look nice in the shop but once you get it home it will tell you that you can put fish in 48 hours later, this is not the case, they don`t seel you the fish and won`t have you going to them to complaine when the fish die! You are using an under gravel air powered filter, these are not very good at filtering goldfish have big poo`s that the filter will not cope with! Also Bi-orbs warp the view of the view of the fish too! You would be looking at around £100 for the tank and £40 for a stand.
I would go for an aquaone 320 for your money. The tank is £49.99 with heater, light and filter. The stand ia £39.99. If you buy the tank from a maidenhead aquatics store you will get an internal filter, otherwise you will get an undergravel filter from other shops these filter are not the best for begginers. 
As for fish go for some danio`s they are quite hardy and come in many sizes and colours. Neon rosey barbs are nice if you like the goldfish look, fish you want a fish with a personality go for a siamese fighter, but you can only have one male and no guppies on fin nipping fish.
Hope that helps?


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## bluebaron (Nov 8, 2008)

Thanks for all the advice, i will let you know later what we decide on.


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## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

I at all wouldn't recommend a Bio-orb. Way too much over-priced and pet shops sell them saying things they cant actually house to get the customers to buy it. My friend's story:

'Went to the pet shop to see which is the best sized tank for 2 angelfish. The Pet shop recommended a 30ltr Biorb. So he got it home and cycled it. Went bck to pet shop, and then they decided that he couldnt keep Angels in there, and this was said by the lady who sold him the bi-orb and advice, so was sold 3 guppies instead.'

What i'd recommend is a moderate sized aqauarium 60ltr (24 X 12 X 12"). You need to set-up and cycle your tank (loads of threads on here) and then your ready for fish.

In terms of the amount of fish, you wouldn't be able to fit much in that tank. But it's easy enough to create a attractive, easy aquarium to keep up with. Which is what you want for your 9yr old daughter.

The Fish:

2 x Honey gourami's or 3 x Male Guppies

6 x Neon Tetras or Cardinals

6 x Corydoras Catfish (panda's) or 6 x Kuhili loaches (might freak out some girls)

That would be a stocked tank and nothing else could be added so pick with care. An idea would be to pop down to your local aquatics and get your daughter to pick some fish she likes, and you write them down and post them here and will tell you if there suitable.


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## labmad (Sep 23, 2007)

I guess i am old fashioned, but i like plain and simple rectangular tanks, i dont like things like bi-orbs as the view you get is distorted, i like to see the fish so i can enjoy watching them without having my eyes go funny after a while 

It is also easier i think to spot if the fish has a problem

You can pick up tanks by the likes of Juwel or Fluval etc etc as complete set-up's, which will include lights, filter, heater etc etc - something like a fluva Roma 90 or a juwel rekord 96 or i think they have new models out now which are the 600 and 800 range - if you look somewhere like aquarists classifieds you may well be surprised at some of the nice tanks people are parting with


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