Fish!! Owners, please give advice!?

Fish!! Please answer here, fish owners! I need help!?

Fish owners out there, please give me a guide on how to care for fish! They are not from the sea, so I'm not harming them. About tanks? When do you clean it? Feeding? I have done research but I want human advice. Water for them? What about food? What brand do you recommend? Thanks! I hope to see, thorough, lengthy answers! ;)
What type of fish do you suggest I get?
Answers:
There isn't enough time for me to type out (or even enough space) all the information you need to know about how to keep your fish. As well as using the internet get as many books as you can, learn about which species are compatible and which aren't and go to a specialist aquatic centre and talk to somebody there.
If you've never kept fish before and want something easy I would go for either coldwater species (goldfish, shubunkins, Oranda's/Fantails etc) or a tropical community fish tank (tetra's, barbs, rasbora's, danio's etc).
Bare in mind that coldwater fish are often sold in totally undersized kiddies tanks - remember that these guys can grow up to 12 inches in length! They shouldn't be kept ideally in anything smaller than a 36 inch aquarium, and that's on the small side!
There are lots of choices of tanks that you can buy as starter kits for tropicals and many come with complete kit that you need - again the bigger the tank the better and depending on what type of fish will depend on how many should be kept in the tank.
If you've never kept them before avoid Cichlids species, and other "speciality" fish. Incidentally - a 10 gallon tank is way too small for most species (apart from perhaps dwarf varieties such as Apistogramma's) especially as some can grow to the size of a dinner plate or more :)
For all species the general rules are as follows:
Cleaning: For the first six weeks when the tank is going through the nitrification cycle (basically maturing) you should be doing a 20/25% water change once a week - after six weeks this can be reduced to every 3/4 weeks or so - again only taking out small amounts of water. It's also worthwhile investing in a gravel cleaner siphon, which will get any trapped debris out of your gravel, and generally helps the whole water change experience a little nicer. The filtration itself should always be cleaned in water from the tank itself, to avoid any disturbance to the bacteria. Never change all the water at once as this can cause severe stress not only to your fish but also pull your tank completely off course and leave it with a full stocking of fish but nothing to break down their waste.
Feeding: again this should depend on the age of the tank. It's a known fact that one of the biggest killers of all fish is overfeeding. To begin with the fish should be fed once every other day, and just a small amount of food - enough that they'll eat within a minute or so. The more mature tank can be fed once a day or more. Some tank inhabitants need specialist types of food (such as plecostomus, corydoras, synodontis and other bottom dwelling species) so their diet should be considered too. It's worthwhile giving a variety of foods, and frozen livefood is excellent (not only is it more cost effective but because of the fact it's frozen it kills off many pathogens found in live foods). Brand-wise isn't so much of a problem, as there are many great brands out there.
With regards to compatibility: With coldwater fish it's sometimes best to either stick to single tailed varieties (such as Goldfish or Shubs) or the fan tailed varieties. I've known people keep the two together successfully but also a lot of people that have had problems with the single tails (remember that Fantails originated as a Goldfish - they are indeed the same species) chasing the much slower Oranda's around and over competing for food.
With the tropicals it's a bit more problematic with there being so many species on offer! But if you go into a good specialist retail outlet they can show you the different varieties that will mix - there are many species of tetra, livebearer, rasbora, and barb which will mix, but some can be fin nippers or not compatible with certain species because of their eventual size/water requirements etc. Many shops offer what is known as a traffic light system on their fish tanks where if it has a green dot next to the tank it's a community fish (ie gets on well with all other fish), if it's yellow it has certain habits, gets to a certain size etc which means it can't be kept with all species and if it's got a red dot next to it it means it's a definate no-no!
Hope this helps a bit! There is just so much information that can be given about these guys!

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Different fish require diff care. Depending on many things. Tropical fish like warm enviroments and live plants to swim in. They like their space. If your starting out try some Mollys they are fun to watch and easy to care for. Platties are also great little care in those..Angle fish are my personal favorite.
The actual aquarium size is relatively unimportant. However, the number of angelfish per gallon is critical. This figure varies depending on several factors. Obviously, size has a lot to do with carrying capacity. Other variables that affect this include, pH, temperature, feeding practices, water changing volume, water changing frequency, strain of angelfish being kept and the overall quality of angelfish you desire to raise or maintain. Keep in mind, the number of angelfish per gallon a tank can handle, will vary immensely from one situation to another. The following would be a very general guideline.



Nickel size bodies 1 angelfish per gallon
Quarter size bodies 1 angelfish per 2 gallons
Silver dollar size bodies 1 angelfish per 3 gallons
Stock ready to be paired 1 angelfish per 5 gallons
Full grown breeding pair 20 gallon tall


Aquarium Filter
Good biological filtration can be easily obtained a number of ways. Angelfish body shapes are not designed for efficient swimming, therefore gentle aquarium filtration is preferred. Lots of water movement will stress them somewhat and cause slower growth due to the increased energy expended to swim against a current. Angels Plus Sponge filters are ideal for fish hatchery situations, where expense is a concern. In show tanks, undergravel filters works well. In a densely populated tank, an undersized power filter or canister filter will make a good secondary filter. A very effective secondary filter that will not clog is a fluidized bed filter. We use these in all of our big tanks. In general, the limiting factor for angelfish carrying capacity is not filtration. It is dissolved organics and high bacterial loads that develop from keeping too many fish in a tank, overfeeding or changing too little water. Large, frequent water changes are the easiest way to lower these bacterial levels. Sophisticated systems will sometimes incorporate the use of ozone, foam fractionation and U.V. to accomplish the lowering of these organic and bacterial loads, but most of us will rely upon water changes to accomplish this important facet of angelfish care.


Aquarium Temperature
Angelfish have a tolerance to a wide range of aquarium temperatures, but immune system response is best at higher temperatures. Therefore, if your fish husbandry is less than ideal, you will have more problems at lower temperatures. 80掳 F is a good start for a hatchery situation. Mid to upper seventies is fine for show tanks.

As a cold blooded animal, angelfish will live longer at lower temps. Higher temperatures will promote faster growth, more frequent breeding, better immune system response and shorter life spans.

A good reliable aquarium heater is important for valuable angelfish. We highly recommend Jager Submersible Aquarium Heaters.


Feeding Angelfish
Feeding is more of an art, than a science. No one can tell you exactly how much food to put in an aquarium. The ideal amount will change everyday as the angelfish grow, and will be different with varying temperature, pH, maintenance schedules and frequency of feedings.. Good observation is the key. Overfeeding angelfish is worse than underfeeding. Feed a variety of high quality foods and observe the aquarium and the angelfish closely when feeding. If you want to feed a superior fish food, try making your own paste fish food. We have a great fish paste food recipe.

Angelfish Fry - you will find it difficult to raise any number of high quality angelfish with anything other than live baby brine shrimp for the first 3 weeks of their life. We feed it exclusively for the first 5-6 weeks. Artemia is critical at this point. Check here for more details on hatching brine shrimp eggs. Introduction of a new fish food usually requires that it be introduced gradually. Angelfish should be voracious eaters when they are healthy and properly fed.

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Hello! I LOVE fish... just last night my son got 2 new Black Moors (they are a type of goldfish, black, and have bubble eyes - cute) and I got a bright yellow Chiclid. We have a 35 gallon tank in the living room that we've had for 3 months.
We've got 3 large Schubunkin Goldfish, 2 Tetras or Neons, 3 algae eaters, 4 snails. Also have 2 minnows we caught at the river!

~My Chiclid is in it's own gallon tank - they are beautiful but very agressive! (Beta's are beautiful as well - but again very agressive. Both Chiclids and Betas eat Beta Food. Get the color enhancing formula and it makes a BIG difference.)~

All the rest habitate great together -
I use a home-mixed food of: Slow-Sinking Goldfish Pellets, Goldfish Flakes, and FreezeDried Shrimp. Those 3 together work well for the variety I have. I feed twice a day. Just enough so they are done eating in about 5 minutes.

About once a week I take 3 gallons out of the tank and replace it will 3 spring water gallons (I buy from Wal-mart). I also use No More Algae tablets (1 tablet per 10 gallons) when I change the water.

If your tank ever gets foggy - use Start Right Tablets (1 tablet per 10 gallons). Works great.

As far as advice on what to get - Start off small:
10 gallon tank/lighted top = $30.00
Gravel and Fake Plants = $10.00
Fish Net = $2.00
10 Gallons of Spring Water = $10.00
(all from walmart)

Fish -
Chiclids are my personal fav - very active, bright, fun to watch. 4 go well in 10 gallons
Goldfish/Schubunkins are bigger and less active, easiest to care for. 3/4 go well in 10 gallons.
Children love to get the little neons, tetras, fantail goldfish - all are small and cheap - A good rule for that is 1 inch of fish per gallon in tank!

When buying your fish - make sure you know what kind of water to have - some like cold - some like warm! A good heater is about $10.00.

Make sure your fish have the correct food, and temp of water. If you don't get a lighted hood, put a lamp nearby - Fish like the light.

It's always a good idea to get an Algae Eater or a few snails to help keep the tank clean.

A good filter is important too - usually one will come with the tank and hood!

Other than that I am out of advice - anything else just feel free to ask!