This Old Man is here!

This Old Man, he played two,
He played peek-a-boo with his Shih Tzu,
Then he played ding-dong on a bell,
And raced around with his Bangkeaw,
Soon he had to look for a fan,
To cool down his Dobermann.

Yessiree, This Old Man has been keeping pets from when he was just this high. So far, I have had a couple of Shih Tzus, a few Bangkeaws, just one Dobermann, several Poodles, three Persians plus too many Thousand Way breeds than I can remember.

btw Thousand Way breeds are what the Thas call mixed breeds. It's a play on the word "parn" (rhymes with "sun") which can mean "one thousand" or mean "breed". So when a dog or a cat has too many breeds in its lineage, we just call it the Thousand Way breed.

Do I keep fish? Of course! When I was a kid, I remember using up every single free pail and basin to keep my guppies, swordtails and platys. Much later, when I could afford it, I had a couple of silver Arowanas, a few Australians and one Light Golden. That certainly took up a lot of space.

How about birds? Yes, but not the kind that most people keep as pets. My father was very much into birds, especially canaries. I still remember him breeding yellow canaries. Myself, I am more into birds like chickens and ducks. So far I have had turkeys, Red Leghorns, Betongs, White Silkies, Muscovies, geese and sundry other local breeds.

Right now I am living on the fourteenth floor in the middle of the capital city, so I am totally petless. Wifeless, too, but that's neither here nor there. Being deprived of the pets I love, I will have to make do with lurking in forums about pets.

So here I am!

Hello Victor, !

May I ask how old is this old man?

What's keeping you from having a pet right now? It is not much trouble at all if you keep something lets say just one betta in a 5 gallon tank. I am a fish person, so I'll suggest a fish first.

This Old Man will be celebrating his sixtieth birthday next year. That's old, isn't it? As for fish, yes, there is an aquarium in the apartment where I am living now, but it's a four-footer and there's not really much space for it. A betta is an idea but I prefer to get a gold fish if I am starting a small aquarium. They just won't stop eating, right?

Being 60 is only middle aged these days.
My dad is 62, and I don't think he is old. He swims daily back and forth 50 times in a university swimming pool.

Goldfish in fact require a lot of water, because they eat a lot and they are extremely messy - produce a lot of ammonia.
For a single fancy goldfish, you need minimal 20~30 gallon of water.
For common goldfish, you need 40~55 gallon for just one.

Betta on the other hand, it will be fine in a 5 gallon, heated, filtered tank. That is why I suggested a betta instead of a messy goldfish.

Welcome! I don't think 60 is old either. I won't try to talk you into any snakes.

I've had my share of "parns" as well, I have a few now as a matter of fact. Are you from Thailand?

(06-14-2012, 03:18 AM)Ram Wrote: Being 60 is only middle aged these days.
My dad is 62, and I don't think he is old. He swims daily back and forth 50 times in a university swimming pool.

Goldfish in fact require a lot of water, because they eat a lot and they are extremely messy - produce a lot of ammonia.
For a single fancy goldfish, you need minimal 20~30 gallon of water.
For common goldfish, you need 40~55 gallon for just one.

Betta on the other hand, it will be fine in a 5 gallon, heated, filtered tank. That is why I suggested a betta instead of a messy goldfish.

Thanks for the information. That solves the mystery of the cloudy goldfish bowls. I thought it was caused by over-feeding the goldfish. A betta is a beautiful fish but it's usually kept in solitary confinement, from what I have seen. Can bettas be kept in groups? In the same tank, I mean.

(06-14-2012, 07:51 AM)Fishbone Wrote: Welcome! I don't think 60 is old either. I won't try to talk you into any snakes.

I've had my share of "parns" as well, I have a few now as a matter of fact. Are you from Thailand?

I was in Thailand for twenty years. Speak enough Thai to ride the third class trains free of charge. Actually I can read and write Thai, too. Courtesy of the Thai government's Non-Formal Education free Thai language classes.

Why wouldn't you try to talk me into getting a snake as a pet? Truth be told, I have only touched one in my whole life but I was very surprised by what I felt. Totally unlike what I had imagined a snake would have felt.

I remember one of my students had an iguana when it was the in-thing among university students in Thailand. It's a really docile creature. She told me that she could leave it on top of the cupboard when she went to classes in the morning and it would still be there when she came back in the evening.

Ram may have a little more specific info here, but you can keep female betas in a community tank, but they aren't normally as popular since they aren't as brightly colored. I know it's not recommended to keep male betas together, I don't know what happens if you keep males in community tanks, I'd be curious to know that myself.

I'm always for people having reptiles for pets, but what I had meant was I never try to talk someone into it, if they aren't interested to begin with. It's very much different, different types of care, different types of possible problems, different types of interaction with the animals. Many people get stressed caring for them, or just get bored. It has to be something you want to do yourself, not need to be"talked into", I suppose that is what I meant.

(06-14-2012, 08:17 PM)Victor Leigh Wrote: Thanks for the information. That solves the mystery of the cloudy goldfish bowls. I thought it was caused by over-feeding the goldfish. A betta is a beautiful fish but it's usually kept in solitary confinement, from what I have seen. Can bettas be kept in groups? In the same tank, I mean.

Betta must be kept alone. Even female can be territorial sometimes. There are cases female betta killing male betta.
Have any further fish questions? Come to fish forum.

At least here you can virtually share everyone elses pets. That's the beauty of the internet.

If you want a pet, I think snails are the easiest things to take care of. I have a bowl of two right now and I have eggs. Just get a fish bowl and pop in an algae wafer, and there you go! They do multiply very quickly!