(12-12-2012, 02:34 AM)JaimieSkye Wrote: My daughter has 2 goldfish. She won them at a carnival 6 years ago and they are still going strong. She keeps them in a 5 gallon tank with a filter. I have always gotten my children fish as a first pet. They learn the responsibility of feeding and caring for a pet. I teach them to clean the tank by themselves.
Every fish species have their natural life span. For some fish species, 2~3 years is a long time. For goldfish, even 10 years is not enough.
(12-12-2012, 02:34 AM)JaimieSkye Wrote: As far at the above post talking about bettas being easier to care for than goldfish, I personally haven't had any luck with them. I'm sure there was something I wasn't doing right, but I'm not sure what it was.
To keep a betta, first you need a big enough tank. A minimal 5-gallon tank is highly recommended for a single betta fish.
Betta is tropical fish, and they require at least 78F water temperature in order to live healthy. You must have a heater capable of reaching that temperature range. You must also have a filter as with all fish in captivity. An air pump is not necessary because betta is a labyrinth fish, and they can directly breath from the air.
As with all fish, the new tank should go through a fishless cycle before getting the fish, in order to avoid ammonia poisoning which is the #1 cause for fish dying in captivity.
It is the best to keep betta alone as it is not only territorial and can be aggressive toward other fish, but it also is often a victim due to the longfin being targeted by nippy fish. If you have to keep some other fish in the same tank, I would suggest nothing more than some bottom feeders such as corydoras catfish.
