~Desert Rose~

Hi
Im Anneliese 18, from Australia, Im new here, -and Im a chronic fish killer. I dont even name my fish coz i know they're going to die!
I had some goldies a few years ago, but they died, -at the time i didnt want any more, -but this year so far ive been pretty lonely so i got some more - 3 fantails-of which two died -which i believe was something to do with the perriwinkle shells i had on the bottom. (they bleached) -and im puzzled as to the latest deaths. -though its probably something to do with the whole 'nitrite/nitrate' cycling the tank thing, -(i didnt do chemistry, and it confuses me. ) anyway, I like to clean out 99% of the water every week. coz i like it clean. -and if i dont -they die! -i should probably get a filter. I have a corner one -but it took up half the tank and made the water dirty and full of filter material.
I would really like someone to help me, -also im having trouble working out how many fish i can have, my tank is 10inches long, 5wide and 8 high, and i think that means i can only have 1? -im confused with the whole gallon thing. (yes i suck at maths too!)

Right this second i have my last fish in a glass. What do i do with it?! -the 2nd fish acctually started breathing again when i put it in warmer water. -but it still carked it.
Please help.

capekate

Hi Desert Rose,
sorry to hear about your fish dying. But thats what will happen if your not caring for them properly. Without a filter.. heater and testing its just a luck of the draw on how long they will live. You have alot of questions that need to be answered, and if you want to fish keep then maybe what you should do is first go to the the" fishlore.com: tropical fish information" and there you will find about anything and everything that you need to know on how to care for your fish. Do some research on the ones you are interested in, and then check out their needs and provide that for them. I wish you success.. but it will take alot of work and dedication to the fish in order to get them to survive.
good luck, and welcome to the fishlore! ~ kate

COBettaCouple

Sounds like you have a 1.7gallon tank - if you could get a tank of 10 gallons or more, you can have better luck with your fish (and more fish).
http://www.fishlore.com/TropicalFishProfiles.htm - this page has a lot of information on different fish to help you give them happy conditions.

First you'll want to find a freshwater testing kit that uses liquids and tubes like:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113074
You can use it to follow the progress of your tank cycling. Here's a good article on the cycling: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

While your tank is cycling, using one of these to treat your tap water will do great for making it fish-safe and help the fish while you cycle also:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+112994
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+112994

To keep the water at the right temp:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113767 - a good submersible heater like this is great for your tank if it gets cool or cold any where you're at.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113769 - a thermometer like this will let you keep an eye on the water temperature.

For you filter, you might want to get a filter like one of these:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...3&N=2004+22769
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...1&N=2004&Nty=1

Also a good air pump and air stone would be good for your tank.

If you keep the water clean in the little tank and use a treatment like Prime, your fish should be ok living in there until you could get a bigger tank cycled. I'd recommend 40-50% water changes each day rather than 99% weekly.

Stradius011

I'm sorry to hear what happened before. At least you're better than me. I killed 104 goldfishes before I finally researched. : Anyway, that aquarium is way too small. Only a single moor goldfish can live in a small gallon aquarium that's at least 10 gallons. Fantails get to 10 inches and I personally think you should have a 40 gallon aquarium at least for your 3 fantails.

~Desert Rose~

40 gallons! -wouldnt that be like over a metre long!!! where on earth am i meant to put this thing!
maybe i should get some sea monkeys instead..........

COBettaCouple

sea monkeys like to throw wild parties at night so i think a good new tank for you would be a 10g or maybe as big as a 20g high. those shouldn't take up too much room, but would give you the capacity of up to either 10" (adult size) of fish or 20" (adult size) or fish.

you can find tanks even 40g or more that are more tall so they take up less room - the downside is they're a little harder to clean and do water changes, etc.. and not the cheapest tanks either.

poppet

From a fellow aussie good luck, and there are some good deals on ebay if you decide to upgrade your tank.