(11-30-2012, 01:54 PM)Victor Leigh Wrote: The only goldfish that I know of that had lived for years were the ones that lived in ponds. They do grow to quite a big size. In a goldfish bowl, I don't remember any goldfish which lasted more than a couple of months.
I think for a beginner, a betta would be a good first-time pet. This fish is rather hardy. It doesn't need an aeration system, too. I have seen bettas kept in bottles which came up to the surface now and then to gulp air.
No offense, but you are providing all the wrong information a beginner shouldn't have had. Please do not provide any comment at all if you really don't know what you are talking about. Sorry.
Goldfish's natural life span is decades. If they live any shorter it can only mean the owner is doing something wrong. "Months", it is totally wrong here. It's like a human live only for a few years after born and someone say it's natural. Whether the fish lives in a pond or in a tank should have no impact on their size nor their life span. We fish owners know the false myth of "fish will only grow according to the size of the tank" spreading among those who don't know anything about fish.
Once again, no fish should be kept in a bowl, because those bowls are just for commercial purpose, they are no place for real fish keeping because fish die in there.
Betta is easy only when the owner is doing everything right. Betta fish can breath directly from the air (because they have the labyrinth organ) that makes them not require air pump and air stone, that is true. However, all the other basic needs of the betta fish are no different from other fish species. Their labyrinth organ (only) allow them to breath from air, and it doesn't make them immune to ammonia poisoning or below ideal temperature.
No fish should be kept in a bottle. Those pretty flower vase sold with a betta is nothing more than marketing and animal cruelty because there is no heater, no filter. Betta is tropical and they will get sick and die in water temperature lower than 78 to 80F. All fish in captivity require a filtration system in order to just survive. Because they produce ammonia and it is toxic to themselves. Only through the means of biological filtration the ammonia can be kept at 0ppm.
Once again, I am sorry I have to take you on, because I do not want OP nor any other readers to get the wrong information that we fish keepers try so hard to educate beginners not to fall for.
